Considering a destination wedding?  Well then today’s feature is going to be right up your street!  Based in Washington, travel lovers Marcia and Jermaine wanted to pick a special location for their wedding so choose to tie the knot in the beautiful Cape Winelands in South Africa.  With a wedding party of just eight (including the bride & groom), their day was an elegant celebration of their love set in stunning surroundings with the people they love.  Working with luxury wedding planners Wedding Concepts, Marcia chose a stunning palette of magenta, gold and cream, and an abundance of rich florals – even carpeting the aisle!!  The rich colours and glowing candlelight were set off perfectly by the warm autumnal setting.  Her dress, by designer Tadashi Shoji adds the perfect amount of sparkle and glamour, as does Jermaine’s sharp suit!

Jermaine and I meet on a Wednesday evening at a Happy Hour function. The local radio station was hosting a 70’s costume contest and I was with my co-workers sitting on the patio. I discovered later that Jermaine was there by himself. Towards the end of the evening, Jermaine ask me to dance and before I left we exchanged business cards. After that evening, we became inseparable and six years later we decided to get married. I wish I could tell you this romantic story of how he proposed to me but that would not be the truth. Over the years we took a very slow practical approach to discussing marriage – which felt very comfortable for us. One day after our church cookout he asked me if I would get married again and I in turn asked him the same question. After some honest discussion we discovered that we felt the same way – the answer was “yes”. One weekend we selected the diamond, designed the ring and placed the order. When the ring arrived – we were excited to see the final product – he opened the box and put the ring on my finger. Although we already felt engaged, the ring made it official.       

We live in the United States in the Washington DC area, and knew from the very beginning that we wanted a destination wedding. So we combined our love for travel and our desire to get married in a memorable location and decided that Cape Town, South Africa would be the ultimate destination. I knew a year before we got married that I wanted Wedding Concepts to plan my wedding. We love wine and South Africa is known for their wines so getting married in the wine cellar at the Grande Provence Heritage Wine Estate was the perfect match. The Estate is located in Franschhoek and the grounds are absolutely beautiful!  

My dress was by designer Tadashi Shoji – I purchased the dress at his flagship store in Irvine, California. I love the elegant style of the dress, the sparkling beads and the draping of the fabric. The dress was very comfortable (the designer is known for this feature) and easy to pack ! This was a very important to me considering I had to transport the dress as a carry-on for our 17 hour flight!  The earrings were Givenchy (crystal small flower petals). The shoes were from Grace (specializes in elegant wedding shoes). The headpiece was from BHDLN.

I choose various shades of pink and magenta with gold and cream accents.  I wanted our celebration to feel classic and glamorous, but most of all elegant.  In my bouquet, and in the table arrangements, our florist used a mixture of beautiful Orchids, Roses, Tulips & Snapdragons to stunning effect.  We celebrated after the ceremony with our guests over a meal and wine, with beautiful glowing candlelight and the sun setting outside.

photography

Wedding Concepts presented us with portfolio’s for a few local photographers and I selected Gavin Casey after looking at his website – I loved the way he captured the moment in a natural way. I especially admired the emotion he captured. I was so happy he was available to photograph our wedding.

favourite moment

The moment we saw the wine cellar before our guests was a feeling we will never forget. The design of the wine cellar with the brick walls, wood doors and arching pillars was absolutely beautiful yet simple. Also, the combination of the dimmed lighting, chandeliers and detailed rose carpet created the intimate feeling we were looking for. The room felt elegant !!

advice

Regardless of the size of your wedding or location (local vs destination) hire a wedding coordinator!! For such an important event, it will be the best investment you can make! Selecting Wedding Concepts was the best decision I made!! My day was stress free and best of all I was able to focus on enjoying my special day.  

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Suppliers: Photographer: Gavin Casey Photography // Dress (Designer & Boutique): Tadashi Shoji // Accessories: Givenchy crystal earrings // Shoes: Grace // Florist: Heike from Fleur Le Cordeur // Cupcakes: Roxanne Floquet // Stationery: Lara from Lara’s Designs // Venue & Catering: Grande Provence // Guitarist: John Russell // Planning & Coordination: Megan Kenny at Wedding Concepts