Local musician and producer Zakes Bantwini and singer, actress, model and television presenter Nandi Madida celebrate their 4-year wedding anniversary today, June 8.
Taking to Instagram, Bantwini wrote a sweet message dedicated to his wife on their special day.
“I am the luckiest of husbands, because I get to call you my wife, each and every day of my life. Happy wedding anniversary to us my love @nandi_madida ?, 4 years married today & 7 years together ? #happyanniversary.” he wrote.
Madida shared the same image, writing, “Singing* Do you know what today is? It’s our anniversary.. our anniversary! Happy anniversary to us! 7 years together, 4 years married! We’re NOT goals, just two imperfect humans who love each other so much and enjoy doing this life thing together ❤️. You’re such a gift in my life @Zakesbantwini.”
Adding a touch of childlike wonder to weddings for as long as we can remember, the flower girl is not only adorable but is a well-loved wedding tradition too. The meaning and origin of the practice, however, is far from romantic.
There are two main things this tradition is connected to. According to Readers Digest, it signifies the bride losing her innocence and is based around fertility (like many other wedding traditions are).
In ancient Rome, most marriages were arranged and their purpose was more to ensure that the family name gets passed along to children, rather than for love and happiness. In those times, Readers Digest reports, only young people would attend to the bride.
A young girl would walk down the aisle before the bride in order to toss wheats and herbs on the walkway. This was done in order to bless the couple with fertility and prosperity, and of course, to chase away those pesky evil spirits. In the Medieval times, the tradition was roughly the same, however little girls scattered garlic rather than wheats and herbs.
From here, the tradition of little girls walking down the aisle with a bouquet of flowers became what it is today.
Readers Digest also reports that another point of having a little girl walk down the aisle first was to represent the transformation – showing the bride going from being a child to an adult. This is also why flower girls are often dressed similar to the bride.
Brides reports similar origins, however, they attribute the beginning of this tradition to the Greeks, in addition to the Romans.
As the tradition evolved, in the Elizabethan era, the flower girl (and all other children in the bridal party) were included to represent the idealisation of childhood, according to Brides. People during that time saw kids as a representation of hope and innocence.
Further along in history, in the Victorian Era, flower girls began to look more similar to those of today. They carried baskets of blooms and wore a floral loop on their heads, which represented everlasting, or unending, love.
Today, we still include children in our wedding parties. However, it’s unlikely that many people practicing the tradition believe it will bring them fertility, nor do they prescribe to the idea that by getting married a bride is giving away her “innocence”. The practice, these days, commonly revolves around the cute factor and the idea of having little nieces and nephews being part of such a special day.
Esteemed Vogue editor Anna Wintour is often considered a trailblazing visionary. While this is often in reference to her mark on the fashion world, it also refers to her wedding day.
According to famed American fashion journalist and former American editor-at-large of Vogue magazine, Wintour included her exes in her intimate, 40-person wedding to David Shaffer back in 1984.
In his memoir, The Chiffon Trenches, Talley wrote, “I wore my best gray Dior suit and left straight from the office, arriving at Anna’s Sullivan Street home at twelve-thirty p.m. … The banquet table was filled with family and, strangely, her ex-boyfriends. They all came over from England for her wedding. I guess it was some kind of English custom.”
Maybe it is a British thing. Various members of the royal family have also extended invitations to former lovers. Prince Harry famously invited exes Cressida Bonas, Chelsy Davy, and Ellie Goulding to his 2018 wedding to Megan Markle. The New York Times reports that Prince William invited four of his exes to witness his 2011 nuptials to Kate Middleton. And, of course, Prince Charles had ex (and future wife) Camilla Parker-Bowles front and centre when he wed Princess Diana in 1981.
Inviting your ex to your big day seems pretty awkward, unless you have continued to have a non-romantic relationship with them post break-up. Or, maybe it’s an elaborate power move to prove to them that you could do better. Either way, it’s a pretty polarising decision that one has to make for themselves.
Bride-to-be’s have dozens of nightmares leading up to their wedding day, but your hair doesn’t have to be one of them! A bad hair day on your big day can be avoided by following these 5 easy steps.
Step 1: Plan Ahead
When booking your appointment with a hair salon, make sure to mention if the appointment is for a specific occasion, so that the hair salon can make sure they have adequate time for the perfect consultation. A perfect consultation will help your hairdresser select the best suitable hair colour and hairstyle for your big day. Your eye colour, skin tone, hair history, current hair condition and facial shape plays an important role in this decision.
Find a Wella Professionals hair salon near you HERE.
Step 2: Prepare your hair at home
Moisture and hair condition is critical! So you should invest in a professional home care treatment range, such as the Wella Professional Fusion Range, which is an instant and long-lasting hair care recovery regimen. It contains Silksteel Technology that provides 95% more resilience against breakage. Creating a soft as silk and strong as steel hair texture. Also, give your hair a break from heat styling for a while, before your appointment.
Dark to light – This can be a tricky process. It is important to be honest about your hair history with your hairdresser and make sure to have realistic expectations, because the end result might not be achieved at the first appointment.
Wella Professionals Color Renew is a zero-damage colour reducer that optimises and prepares your hair for a new colour, by removing the current colour from your hair, without affecting your natural hair colour. This service can be performed more than once on the same day, depending on the colour build up in the hair.
Wella Professionals WellaPlex is another great treatment option to use when going from dark to light. It works as a bond multiplier, which links the bonds inside the hair, reducing damage during the lightening process.
Image: Unsplash
Ask your hairdresser about Color Renew and WellaPlex, should you want to change your hair colour.
Light to Dark – This desired result is far more achievable with your first appointment. Wella Professionals KPME+ will provide you with even, pure colour results with natural depth and shine and it requires very little prep and salon time.
Image: Supplied
It is also important to invest in a good professional home care range to ensure your colour stays true to tone and does not go brassy. The Wella Professionals Brilliance Range is pH optimised, which means that the low pH formula helps to de-swell the cuticles after colouration, ensuring up to 7 weeks colour protection.
Shop the Wella Professionals Brilliance Range HERE.
Remember, having a visual reference with you is another great tool for the hairdresser to use, because everyone sees colour differently!
Step 4: Know your stylist
Certain colour changes, such as removal of unwanted tones, are more difficult and should be handled by a true colour expert. Stick to one hairdresser for the duration of your wedding journey and make sure you understand each other.
Image: Unsplash
Step 6: Book a post-colour appointment
Schedule another appointment 1 week after your colour change for a Wella Professionals Illumina Glossing Service. This will add an extra glow and shine to your locks, before you say ‘I DO’! This is a quick and super easy service to add shine and refresh colour all in one.
The time leading up to your big day can be very emotional and stressful. Be sure not to leave everything for the last minute.
Find a Wella Professionals hair salon near you HERE.
Coulpes have had to get extra creative in tying the knot amid the coronavirus pandemic. While weddings cannot go on as we know them, this South African wedding venue has created an excellent alternative.
Collisheen Estate, one of the most sought-after private function facilities on the Dolphin Coast of KwaZulu-Natal, is now offering drive-in wedding packages.
A representative of the state explained to Wedding ETC that the drive-in wedding concept started off as a joke, but they grew more serious about it as lockdown continued to affect the wedding industry.
Currently, wedding ceremonies are not allowed during Level 3 lockdown. People may only marry at Home Affairs or with a marriage officer. However, Collisheen Estate hopes that their latest offering will provide a new alternative to allow couples to still say ‘I do’ while following safe social distancing.
The estate is awaiting further announcements from the government on when they may legally open the service to the public amid the nationwide lockdown. However, they have already had lots of interest from couples still hoping to say ‘I do’ this year.
“Sunset Oval Drive in weddings are a site to behold! The most magnificent sunsets turn this unconventional day into a magical fairytale,” writes the company on their website.
“Our very experienced venue coordinators are here to help you coordinate your special day and liaise between you, the venue operations team and coordinate any service providers to ensure a perfect day. Our Executive head chef and team will prepare delicious canape’s for you and we will serve it directly to your guests’ cars. Collisheen Estate adheres strictly to all of the health and safety precautions and we assure you of our best attention at all times.”
There are two drive-in wedding packages: a standard and all-inclusive option. The standard package includes canapes and venue hire. Couples may choose their own service providers who will be guided by the Collisheen team.
The all-inclusive package includes venue hire, catering and refreshments, photography and videography, a wedding cake, a bridal salon and much more. This option allows couples to just arrive on their big day, taking away the stress of planning and managing a wedding.
Across the US, protests against racial injustice and police brutality have been widespread after the unlawful killing of George Floyd. In most cases, protesters prefer not to stand out to ensure that they are no easily identifiable. One Philadelphia couple, however, made a statement by celebrating their wedding at the protests on Saturday, June 6.
Dr. Kerry Anne Perkins and Micheal Gordon got married at the Logen Hotel in Philadelphia. Immediately after, they made their way outside and were cheered on by thousands of protestors during a ‘Black Lives Matter’ (BLM) rally.
According to E! News, this was not planned. The couple were taking some wedding shots outside the hotel when protestors passed by and they decided it was only right for them to join in.
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Rev. Roxy Birchfield, the wedding planner, told E! News that,”They were supposed to get married at Legacy Castle and it was postponed.” Since the postponement, the pair decided on a micro-wedding on the lawn of the Logen Hotel instead.
According to People, there was a special moment as they made their way out. The massive group of people made way for the couple as they walked to the middle of the street hand-in-hand and stopped for a kiss.
“It ended up being a very powerful moment,” Kerry-Anne told ABC News. “Not only are we feeling the movement of the people … but I’m meeting my husband, on our wedding day, as a strong black man and a good representative of who we are as people, what our men are like, what our culture is like. It was just a very, very empowering moment for us considering all of this is happening at one moment in one time.”
After the thrill of their celebrations this weekend, Perkins took to Instagram to talk about what happened.
“Never in our wildest dreams did we think our love story would capture the hearts of so many people. We are grateful to share our special day with such a pivotal moment in history, and we are honored to be a positive representation of Black Love and why Black Lives Matter,” she said alongside some digital drawings created by a variety of artists.
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Congrats to the happy couple!
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Image: Instagram / Screenshot from @luxorweddingfilms video
Tradition says that brides carry bouquets on their wedding day to ward of vengeful spirits trying to thwart the newlywed’s happiness.
Today, however, brides aren’t as superstitious when it comes to their bouquets, and often choose any flowers they like. Flowers have their own unique language, and convey unsaid meanings. When picking your bridal bouquet, you might want to keep these blooms out of it.
Carnation
Be careful when picking the colour of this flower. A white one says ‘you’re sweet and lovely’ and pink says ‘I’ll never forget you’, while two-tones carnations mean ‘I cannot be with you’. Steer clear of yellow ones entirely, as they signify disdain. Not the stuff of romance…
Much like its name, this flower has a dark meaning. Snapdragons have three different meanings: strength, deviousness, and grace. In ancient times, people would send this flower to mistresses, and also to beg for forgiveness from a lover. With its deceptive connotation, you might want to avoid this bloom on your big day.
Unless you’re trying to incite violence, you might want to stay away from this bloom. Tansies have historically symbolised formal declarations of war, and can even tell the recipient that they make the sender sick to their stomach. As such, this flower is associated with feelings of hatred and resistance.
Buttercup is a popular nickname among couples, but this flower has a meaning not that appropriate for loved ones. Buttercups are said to symbolise childishness because it is so closely associated with children, and thus gifting this flower insinuates you think the recipient is too.
This flower is typically gifted to someone going through a process of separation or change where something in their life has ended. It is poisonous, and commonly seen at funerals. It connotes that all good things come to an end. A nice meaning, but not fitting for your big day.
If you’re planning a winter wedding, you’ll want every aspect of your day to fit the theme. From the decor all the way to your cake, your day can easily be transformed into a winter wonderland.
White cakes are pretty fitting for a winter wedding, but your cake does not have to be boring. Get inventive with simple additions like texture, lace and pearl detailing and chocolate ‘icicles’ to bring life to your dessert.
Here are some cakes that will fit your winter wonderland:
Fruit isn’t just for eating! Apples, oranges, lemons and berries are full of benefits beyond what they do for your body.
Using fruit on your wedding day is a super easy and simple way to incorporate colour and a feeling of freshness to your day. Another bonus: your venue will smell amazing!
From seating charts to decor and even your bridal bouquet, here are a few ways to incorporate fruit into your big day.
Winter is upon us and the cold has crept in to our lives, causing most of us to stay indoors. What better way to stay warm than with a good dose of love and happiness?
Many assume that winter weddings are not ideal. The rain may ruin your perfect pictures and make it inconvenient to travel to the venue and the cold may leave your guests feeling a bit fidgety. But there are ways around all of this!
Let’s not forget, according to folklore, rain on your wedding day is a sign of a good luck to come! Who wouldn’t want to ensure some of that on such a special day?
Apart from the good luck you’ll receive at your winter wedding, there are some other advantages of celebrating your nuptials in the frosty season. Here’s why you should consider it:
– Availability
Since its extremely common to want a summer or spring wedding, venues, vendors, and everything else you’ll need for your wedding will be much more readily available in winter. You’ll get to take your pick and have everything be absolutely perfect on your big day.
– Affordability
Similar to the point above, you’ll get better rates for almost everything since you’re getting married outside of peak wedding season. Rates drop as demand drops, so you won’t break the bank with your winter wedding.
– Guests who are not tired of weddings
If you’re getting married in peak wedding season, it is guaranteed that your guests have been to at least one or two other weddings around the same time as yours. While we all love a good wedding, attending many, one after the other, week after week, gets tiring (and a bit repetitive – or boring even).
A winter wedding almost ensures that this is not the case. Your guests are likely not invited to any other weddings at the time, which means they’ll celebrate yours with full force!
– Romance-filled photo shoot
Look, we’re not saying a sunny forest photo shoot isn’t romantic. However, a kiss in the rain makes for one of the most perfect photos for your wedding album. Don’t miss the opportunity!
– Fun with food
A winter menu is usually more diverse than a summer one. You don’t have to worry about spicy food that makes you uncomfortable in the heat, cold or creamy food that melts or gets soft in the heat, and the list goes on. You’ll have many more options for food in winter.
– Comfort is key
No sweating in your dress or suit and no worries about melting makeup. Do we really need to say any more?
