• Category

    Weddings

    Category

    Home designers Chip and Joanna Gaines, famous for their reality TV series Fixer Upper, recently celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary.

    Posting a sweet throwback on his Instagram, Chip Gaines wrote “Juuuust married! Everything about you has made everything about me better. And 17 years later I’m still learning from and loving on the most incredible woman in the world. After all these years Joanna Lea Stevens, you really are the girl of my dreams.. Happy 17th sweet girl. I love you?”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CA2iLwQg7Jp/

    The two’s love story is adorable. Joanna’s father owned a car repair shop, where Joanna also worked. Chip came in one day to have his car fixed, and saw a picture of the then 23-year-old Joanna hanging on the wall, but Joanna was not there. “I knew I’d marry her one day just by the picture on the wall,” Chip told Popsugar. 

    The love-struck man kept returning to the shop with excuses about his car, actually just hoping to see Joanna in the flesh. When he finally did get to meet her, he had no doubt about his first instincts, and asked her out. The rest is history! They now have four children together.

    Congrats to the lovely couple!

    Feature image: Instagram / Chip Gaines

    While the ongoing pandemic has caused many a cancelled wedding and much disapointment, one thing is for certain: it has also brought out the creativity in many. A Detriot couple made the most of it by posing for a pandemic-themed photoshoot in an abandoned building to keep with the times.

    Matthew Engelke and Lilly Ayrapetryan (now Engelke), tied the knot on March 20. Their orginal plan was to marry at a courthouse in April, but their plans fell through as the pandemic intensified.

    Instead, they brought their wedding date up and teamed up with their friend, photographer Scott Sprague, to have a pandemic-themed wedding and photoshoot. Not even coronavirus could put a stop to their nuptials, and they even incorporated it into their ceremony.

    Sprague did an amazing job of capturing their special day. Photos show the couple wearing real gas masks, looking eerie, but still loved-up, in the creepy building.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CAA2n3gjttC/

    “My favorite photo is one with the gas masks and in between them reads a message that states, ‘What we need in the world is more love,'” said Sprague to the Daily Mail.

    “I had this whole idea to pay homage to the American Gothic picture in my head, which has a couple wearing white and black, just like a wedding with a bride and groom.

    “So we created this whole story with the wedding photos for art, saying this is where they now live due to the pandemic.”

    Picture: Unsplash

    While lace, silk and tulle often reign when it comes to wedding dresses, we cannot help but love satin.

    Satin is a type of weave that produces the smooth, aesthetically pleasing final fabric we know today. This fabric is classy, sophisticated and flattering on many shapes. It’s also incredibly versatile, and looks amazing regardless of the dress style.

    Here are a few of our favourite satin looks:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B-mx7_GlZen/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs5gO4DBB-T/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CALOh6fJ55E/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CA6BHmRHhXn/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CAxdg7iDat4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CA00_1PBKiW/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CAqDhddn5WI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CAQAXvaHROs/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CAfckL0hpIM/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CAIpWuRJzI4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    Feature image: Unsplash

    South Africa’s favourite sport has ground to a halt, so it seems our rugby players are using this time for the more important things in life.

    Springbok and Lions fullback Andries Coetzee recently wed his fiancée, Mart.

    The two planned a large, lavish ceremony (as celebs do) for April 25, but the celebrations have been put on hold until 2021. In the meantime, the two got married at the Magistrate’s office.

    “Even though it wasn’t the big white wedding as planned (… yet, and believe me that day WILL come somewhere in 2021) the feeling of being married to my best friend and the love of my life exceeds all my expectations,” the new Mrs Coetzee said on Instagram.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CA5VgOqFk48/

    “Introducing Mr and Mrs Coetzee! Congratulations to the newlyweds ❤” the Lions Rugby Union said on their Instagram with the same picture. 

    Mart could luckily still have her bridal shower at La Vie Lente Bistro Venue in February earlier this year. “My ? is full and overflowing with love and appreciation. I am SO spoilt, grateful and sincerely HAPPY!!! #kitchen_tea ” she said on Instagram.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B84RPOQFNE8/

    Congratulations to the happy couple!

    Image: Instagram/mart_coetzee

    For most of her career, the iconic, doe-eyed Audrey Hepburn was positioned as the antithesis of Marilyn Monroe. Despite this, the Belgian-born actress had just as tumultuous a love life as the bombshell. Hepburn had tied the knot twice times in her life, and was engaged three times.

    Each wedding featured a stunning gown that has inspired many brides, including Megan Markle. We take a look at the Breakfast at Tiffany’s star’s love life that was just as dramatic as the characters she portrayed onscreen.

    1952: James Hanson

    A pre-fame Hepburn was engaged to British wealthy businessman Lord James Hanson while filming her breakout first major motion picture, Roman Holiday, for which she would later win an Oscar. However, the budding Hollywood star had her reservations, and ended up calling off the wedding. In later years, Hepburn explained that their busy work schedules were to blame.

    “My schedule commits me to a movie here, then back to the stage, then back to Hollywood. [James] would be spending most of his time taking care of business in England and Canada. It would be very difficult for us to lead a normal married life,” she said in an interview.

    Her mid-length, boatneck silk dress designed by the Rome-based Fontana sisters had already been made at the time the wedding was called off, so Hepburn had the designers donate the gown to a bride in need.

     “I want my dress to be worn by another girl for her wedding, perhaps someone who couldn’t ever afford a dress like mine, the most beautiful, poor Italian girl you can find,” she had told them. Amiable Altobella from Borgo Carso in the Province of Latina won a radio contest and became the lucky bride to wear this iconic gown to her own farm wedding.

    In 2009, the dress sold at an auction for $23,000.

    Credit: Pinterest
    1954: Mel Ferrer

    Hepburn met her future first husband, actor, stage and film director Mel Ferrer at a party a year after her first engagement ended. Fellow actor and Roman Holiday star Gregory Peck introduced them to one another.

    The twice divorced father of four was 12 years Hepburn’s senior, but that did not phase the couple.

    For their big day, Hepburn stunned in a Balmain tea-length flared dress with a satin sash, a high neckline and balloon sleeves  that she accessorised with elbow-length gloves. The pair married in Burgenstock, Switzerland in an intimate ceremony on September 25, 1954.

    Their marriage, however, was not the stuff of fairytales. Hepburn struggled to carry a child and reportedly suffered four miscarriages throughout the marriage. The pair were also plagued by infidelity rumours, as both were said to have had affairs. Hepburn had a much publicised love affair with Sabrina co-star William Holden, who at the time was also married. In later years, Holden called Hepburn the love of his life, and tried to win her back after she married her second husband.

    In 1960, Hepburn gave birth to her first son, Sean Ferrer. The couple divorced in 1968 after 14 years of marriage.

    Credit: Pinterest
    1969: Andrea Dotti

    Heburn met and fell in love with Italian psychiatrist Andrea Dotti in 1968 while on a meditteranean cruise. The air married in 1969 at a town hall in Switzerland. Hepburn wore a pink woolen Givenchy minidress featuring long-sleeves and a funnel neck. She accessorised with white tights, white gloves, a woolen headscarf and ballet flats.

    At the age of 39, Hepburn gave birth again, this time to second son Luca Dotti. She then took a break from Hollywood to focus on her family. However, she did not have an easy time. she would go on to have another miscarriage after her second son’s birth. Both Hepburn and Dotti reportedly had affairs throughout their marriage. Hepburn is said to have had an affair with Bloodline co-star Ben Gazzara, while Dotti garnered much publicity for his affairs with young women. The couple divorced in 1982 after 14 years of marriage.

    Credit: Pinterest
    Robert Wolders
    Hepburn’s final love was Dutch actor Robert Wolders, who she met at a party in 1980. While she never married Wolders, Hepburn said in an interview with Barbara Walters that her time with him marked the happiest years of her life. Her relationship with Wolders continued until her death in 1993. On why they never married, Wolders explained it never felt necessary.

    “I felt she had two unhappy marriages, it was wonderful the way it was,” he said in an interview with People magazine. “When Audrey would be asked, she’d also say, ‘Why mess with a good thing?’ I remember her saying to one interviewer it’s more romantic this way because it’s not another piece of paper, but out of loyalty to each other that binds us together. Had we been younger and wanted to have children, it might have been different, but that’s just not the case.”

    Credit: Pinterest

    Feature image: Pinterest

    Static wedding venues are so last season. Why not get your marriage started on a journey literally with a wedding aboard a train!

    The Rovos Rail in Pretoria is South Africa’s most luxurious train, linking the country to destinations such as Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania, Victoria Falls and Namibia. There are a number of inter-country trails as well.

    The train was first established in 1989, and has since earned an international reputation for its world-class travel experience.

    “With discreet and friendly service, fine cuisine and a selection of South Africa’s top wines, Rovos Rail harks back to a simpler, more elegant era encompassing the timeless grace and high romance of African exploration,” says Rovos Rail on their website.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B5KCm6ap-fB/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    The events train can be hired for a truly unique wedding day. Couples and guests will feel as if they’ve stepped back in time, surrounded by the old-world elegance of the 1920s. Guests are greeted at the private station by a sparkling wine reception before the bride makes her grand entrance in the cab of a steam locomotive.

    Couples say their vows on the large train platform in the Edwardian station, with the old steam train in the background. Following the ceremony, guests step aboard the luxury train for a unique reception.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BmNT_vIFosJ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CA0FZJ0lYjV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    The train accommodates up to 250 guests and rental includes the train journey as well as a 5-star four-course dinner or lunch, canapés, wait staff, and a full bar hire. Of course, we cannot forget about the stunning views of the passing scenery.

    The train’s interior is designed to emulate the old world glamour of the 1920s.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj6lrwxFeV0/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B5PE5W8pbuW/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    Would you say ‘I do’ to a train wedding?

    Feature image: Instagram / Rovos Rail

    The fight for the legalisation of same-sex marriages has been a long and difficult one, one that is still ongoing in many parts of the world. Slowly, however, global support for the cause has seen an increase.

    Same-sex marriage has been in legal in South Africa since 2006, making it the first African country to do so. However, this did not come easy.

    In April 1994, the post-apartheid interim constitution came into effect. Within it was the Bill of Rights, which stated that “No person shall be unfairly discriminated against, directly or indirectly, and, without derogating from the generality of this provision, on one or more of the following grounds in particular: race, gender, sex, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture or language.”

    This was the first bill in the world which prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Yet, it would be years before same-sex marriage was allowed in the country.

    According to SouthAfrica.To, the country slowly became more accepting of members of the LBGTQ community. In 1999, immigrant partners of LGBTQ citizens were allowed to apply for residence in the country. Three years later, in 2002, the Constitutional Court made a ruling allowing LGBTQ couples to jointly adopt.

    In the same year, on October 18, Marie Fourie and Celia Bonthuys launched an application, supported by the Lesbian and Gay Equality Project, for same-sex marriages to be legalised and registered. The application was dismissed by Pretoria High Court judge Pierre Roux on the basis that the couple had not properly criticized the constitutionality of the existing marriage law.

    After much back and forth with both the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), their appeal was finally heard by the SCA ,which handed down its judgement on November 30, 2004. The SCA ruled in favour of the couple, noting that the common law definition of marriage, at the time, was invalid as it unconstitutionally discriminated on the basis of sexual orientation. However, on a technicality, the court could not invalidate the Marriage Act, which meant that their marriage could not be immediately solemnized. This matter was then taken to the Constitutional Court.

    At the same time, the Lesbian and Gay Equality Project launched a lawsuit which contested the constitutionality of the Marriage Act in the Johannesburg High Court. This was later heard by the Constitutional Court in conjunction with the Fourie and Bonthuys case.

    On December 1, 2005, the Constitutional Court ruled that the Marriage Act was discriminatory and unjustifiable. Justice Albie Sachs said: “The exclusion of same-sex couples from the benefits and responsibilities of marriage, accordingly, is not a small and tangential inconvenience resulting from a few surviving relics of societal prejudice destined to evaporate like the morning dew. It represents a harsh if oblique statement by the law that same-sex couples are outsiders, and that their need for affirmation and protection of their intimate relations as human beings is somehow less than that of heterosexual couples. It reinforces the wounding notion that they are to be treated as biological oddities, as failed or lapsed human beings who do not fit into normal society, and, as such, do not qualify for the full moral concern and respect that our Constitution seeks to secure for everyone. It signifies that their capacity for love, commitment and accepting responsibility is by definition less worthy of regard than that of heterosexual couples.”

    Thereafter, parliament was given a year to change the definition of marriage (which originally stated that the union was between husband and wife). Should they not complete the task in time, the law would automatically be altered to include LGBTQ unions.

    In September 2006, many South Africans protested against same-sex marriage, as the Civil Union Bill had been approved by the Cabinet the month before. In November, a day before the final reading of the bill in the National Assembly, the Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota spoke in favour of it. “The roots of this bill lie in many years of struggle…This country cannot afford to be a prison of timeworn prejudices which have no basis in modern society. Let us bequeath to future generations a society which is more democratic and tolerant than the one that was handed down to us,” said Lekota.

    The next day, on November 14, the bill was passed by the National Assembly. It was then signed into law on November 29. South Africa’s first same-sex marriage, between Vernon Gibbs and Tony Halls, took place days later, on December 1.

    Ten years after the legalisation of same-sex marriages in South Africa, in 2016, the first traditional same-sex wedding took place, according to Insider. Tshepo Cameron Modisane and Thoba Calvin Sithol married and combined their Zulu and Twana traditions in their ceremony, reported the Huffington Post.

    While same-sex marriage has indeed been legalised in the country, many still struggle with violence and acceptance. In 2011, GlobalPost claimed that South Africa was one of the worst countries in which to identify as LGBTQ+. They cited high rates of murder and rape as a danger to the community.

    Additionally, at the time when same-sex marriages were legalised, an exemption was added in the marriage law to allow religious institutions and civil officers to refuse to conduct same-sex marriage ceremonies.

    While Parliament adopted the Civil Union Amendment Bill in 2018, which repeals the allowance for marriages officers to refuse to marry couples, venues have still denied couples access on these grounds.

    Examples of this have occurred as recently as this year, when a Western Cape wedding venue, Beloftebos, refused to allow a same-sex couple to hold their ceremony on the premises. Legal action was taken immediately and the court-case is still ongoing, with the venue recently filing a case for discrimination.

    Clearly, the struggle of social acceptance continues in South Africa. However, should a same-sex couple want to get married, they are fully allowed to do so according to the law.

    Find the full Con Court ruling for the Fourie case here.

    Image: Pexels

    You’d think that by now, we know everything there is to to know about the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Megan Markle. That’s not the case.

    Harry and Megan’s official royal photographer, Chris Jackson, recently let the public in on anothet unknown fact from the big day.

    Speaking on the Royally Obsessed podcast, Jackson told hosts Rachel Bowie and Roberta Fiorito that there was a very special guest at the wedding that many might not know about.

    “What I thought was lovely was the fact that the couple invited 2,000 charity representatives from their various charities to be the first witnesses of them emerging from the chapel as a married couple.”

    Also in the crowd was a young orphan that the Duke of Sussex had met during his gap year in South Africa back in 2004.

    “Prince Harry invited Mutsu, a young orphan from Lesotho who I’ve met a few times over the years. He’s actually the boy that Prince Harry met on his gap year,” Jackson said. “He was one of the first people to see them come out as a married couple.”

    Feature image: Instagram

    Old Hollywood exudes class, glamour and style. The many men and women who graced the silver screens, sang right into people’s souls and kept many entertained have also gone down in history for their fashionable wedding moments.

    Decades later, we cannot forget the iconic looks some celebrity brides chose to walk down the aisle. Here are a few of our favourite dresses from famous brides in American history.

    Grace Kelly
    For her 1956 weding to Prince Rainier of Monaco, actress Grace Kelly stunned in an Victorian-inspired gown made of 125-year-old Brussels lace, taffeta, and thousands of hand-sewn pearls. The skirt was made of ivory faille and featured three petticoats: a smoothing petticoat, a ruffled petticoat and a foundation petticoat. The gown itself was made of 100 yards (91 metres) of silk net, and the veil was 90 yards (82 metres). To keep the veil in place, Kelly opted for a Juliet cap decorated with lace, orange blossoms and seed pearls instead of a tiara.
    Credit: Pinterest
    Audrey Hepburn

    Breakfast at Tiffany’s star Audrey Hepburn married actor and stage and film director Mel Ferrer in 1954. For their big day, Hepburn stunned in a Balmain-designed tea-length flared dress with a satin sash, a high neckline and balloon sleeves  that she accessorised with elbow-length gloves and a flower crown.

    Credit: Pinterest
    Priscilla Presley

    The King of Rock and Roll married longtime girlfriend Priscilla Ann Beaulieu in 1967 in Las Vegas. She wore a floor-length white babydoll dress made of chiffon, with a beaded neckline and pearl-encrusted long sleeves. And who can forget that bouffant veil!

    Credit: Pinterest
    Mia Farrow

    A then up-and-coming actress Mia Farrow married megastar musician Frank Sinatra in 1966. The actress wore a two-piece skirt suit with elbow-length sleeves, following the mod style aesthetic of the decade.

    Credit: Pinterest
    Elizabeth Taylor

    This iconic actress had been married a number of times throughout her life, but our favourite dress was from her very first marriage to Nicky Hilton in 1950. Taylor wore a high-necked satin gown designed by Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer costume-designer Helen Rose, who famously went on to design Grace Kelly’s wedding dress.

    Credit: Pinterest
    Julie Andrews:

    Before she hit it big with her breakout role in The Sound of Music, up-and-coming actress Julie Andrews married her first husband, set designer Tony Walton in Surrey on May 10, 1959. She wore a long-sleeved ankle-length gown decorated with floral appliqué and a trailing train.

    Credit: Pinterest
    Bianca Jagger

    Bianca Jagger epitomized ’70s style in her 1971 wedding to rockstar Mick Jagger. The Nicaraguan-born socialite wore a crisp white YSL Le Smoking jacket with no undershirt, atop an ankle-length skirt. She accessorised with a large, veiled sunhat.

    Credit: Pinterest
    Brigitte Bardow

    Actress Brigitte Bardowe married her Babette Goes to War costar, Jacques Charrier in France in 1959. Instead of a traditional wedding dress, the blonde bombshell opted for a pink gingham knee-length dress.

    Credit: Pinterest
    Jacqueline Kennedy
    Jacqueline Bouvier became Jacqueline Kennedy when she married future US president John F. Kennedy. For their 1953 nuptials, she wore an ivory silk-taffeta off-the-shoulder gown with a massive skirt. The dress was designed by black seamstress Ann Lowe, who opened the door for many other designers of colour.
    Credit: Pinterest
    Ava Gardner
    Iconic actress Ava Gardner married third husband Frank Sinatra in 1951. She wore an intricate dress featuring trim box pleats along the neckline and short sleeves, and accessorised with a pearl necklace.
    Credit: Pinterest
    Sharon Tate
    Valley of the Dolls actress Sharon Tate married director Roman Polanski in 1968 in true 60s style. She wore a high-necked babydoll minidress with puffed shoulders and long sleeves. She accessorised with ribbons and flowers in her hair.
    Credit: Pinterest
    Marylin Monroe

    Marylin Monroe married third husband, playwright Arthur Miller in 1956. For their nuptials, Monroe wore a mid-length figure-hugging gown with ruched sleeves.

    Credit: Pinterest

    Feature image: Pinterest

    The variety of men’s hairstyles have almost surpassed those of the ladies, and rightly so. They have been neglected for decades, but their time has come.

    From short to long to braided to shaved: We love them all! Take a look at these gorgeous haircuts, perfect to suit your gorgeous groom.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B5IW3sQBohV/

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CA7ftuMhaQE/

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CAhrbzGnxWF/

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CAaqNd4BnUw/

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B2mxIdGJ3KE/

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B37HqXIH4jX/

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bqpjd7OBbsk/

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BoIWqlenB7x/

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CAfZj5og-0A/

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B9SOuEthsdl/

    https://www.instagram.com/p/-Aq-FhQPAF/

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CAvaGdGJ8Ua/

    Image: Pexels