My wedding planning tips – from skincare to venues

I was recently married, when I say recently I mean last year November. I cannot believe it is almost 10 months since. Time really does fly when you’re having fun.

Anyway back to the reason for this post. Wedding planning can be quite an overwhelming experience, so I decided to put together a post for brides to be. A little list of my suggestions. Boy, I wish I had one when I was planning.

Here goes:

• Prep that skin

If you want that fresh dewy look on your big day, you need to make sure to start prepping your skin at least 6 months before the big day. I did this and it really did make the difference.

My regime was as follows:

I did 3 IPL sessions at Aesthetics 11 (Then Legs 11) on my decollete to treat redness and sun damage. I was gonna do this for the slight pigmentation on my cheeks as well but when assessed was told not to do IPL as this pigmentation hormonal (Melasma) and is not sun damage.

Tip: When considering IPL or any form of laser for pigmentation make sure that you go to a qualified practitioner/therapist who is able to do a proper assessment and decipher between the two, you don’t want to zap melasma as this will only make it worse. If you call to book an appointment and they slot you in without first assessing your skin, this should be seen as a massive red flag!

So what did I do for my face?…

I continued with my monthly chemical peels at Just Skin Aesthetic Clinic combined with Dermapen treatments at Aesthetics 11 with Dr Wade (he’s since opened his own clinic, Natural Aesthetics). I’ve done a detailed post on Dermapen if you’re wondering what this is 🙂

I did a very light peel about 10 days before my wedding and then a hyaluronic acid jelly mask and LED lights about 3 days before at Just Skin, for brightening. You don’t want to do any aggressive treatments too close to the day and I would suggest cutting out retinol etc about 10 days before.

• The Dress

This is one that can be so over thought. Believe me, I know!! I saw and emailed nearly every designer in Cape Town, as you do.

My advice would be to set up an appointment with a bridal house, preferably one that offers a range of styles and go and try on various different styles, even the ones you’re not too mad about, be open to all styles and don’t limit yourself to that one dress you saw on Pinterest. Sorry to say, that tight fitting low back dress is not flattering on all body shapes. Make sure to choose something that compliments you.

For fittings, I would recommend Calegra Bridal as they carry a wide range of styles from various designers. Cindy Bam was also great and really helped me figure out my dress style. I had a dress shortlisted from both these houses.

But then one day on one of my google binges came across Charlotte Francina. We met and the rest is history. I was sold and wanted a custom gown made by this most talented lady.  She was an absolute gem from start to finish and was able to interpret my vision with ease. Her pricing was also not, mortgage your house vibes.

Together we created the dress of my dreams!

• Hair and make up

This is soooooo important and I would advise you spend some money on someone good. For reals ladies! Don’t skimp on your face.

Algria Ferreira did my make-up and Jeannette Genis my hair, this power duo are amazing, having done weddings and worked in the fashion industry for yearsss. They normally get booked up quite quickly and if you can get them then do it! They re not only amazing at what they do but are just all round amazing woman and felt very much a part of the family #noregrets

Other Make-up artist/Hairstylists that I would recommend are:

Gina Maskell

Kirsten Rossiter 

Lisa Bailey

Marlinette Newman

Melissa Fourie (Van Zyl)

Natasha Papadopoulos

I hope I haven’t left anyone out, but these are the ones I remember off the top of my head.

• The venue

The most important and expensive. Don’t get suckered. Do your homework! There is no need to be ripped off. I was absolutely shocked at the prices that some places charge, for, JUST THE VENUE! It’s ridiculous.

Make sure to get this booked ASAP. As soon as you have your date get the venue booked! The more well-priced venues are snapped up pronto. So get in there. QUICK!

We did some serious research and made a list of venues within our budget. We then spent a day out driving to the various venues on our list. The first one we visited was Vondeling out in Paarl, and we were sold! It was amazing and was also one of the more affordable options. From the beautiful chapel to the guest house, everything was amazing and none of the other venues on our list compared, even some of the more expensive ones. Do have a look. It’s stunning and I would choose it again in a heartbeat. #noregretsagain

• Wedding planner

The best investment! Again do your research. We chose Leanne Bester from Heavenly love and she was AMAZING from start to finish. Seriously I am not exaggerating, so many people noticed and commented on her efficiency. She handled everything in her stride and really did absorb a lot of the stress before and on the day. I would totally recommend her to everyone I know but unfortunately, she is moving overseas, but maybe hit her up for a recommendation, based on her high standard, I would totally trust her judgment.

• Wedding singer

We had the most amazing Jodie Lane sing at our wedding and she added to the already awesome atmosphere. We spotted her at a festival hosted by a friend of mine and were sold, she was just divine and we were so happy to have had her sing me down the aisle and during pre-drinks. It can be a bit pricey but if you can get someone to sing on your day, it’s so worth it and again do your homework.

• DJ

Another important one. Do your research. You want someone that’s gonna get that party started. Also, start making a list of songs you like from the moment you start planning, just make a note of or Shazam songs that you like as you hear them. Our DJ was just amazing and many of our guests commented on how good he was. We used That DJ Guy. They weren’t overpriced and were just awesome.

• Photographer

THE most important of the lot! Seriously. You can have a kak ugly dress and venue etc but if you have a good photographer he’ll make it look like magic. He’s your back up. I loved our choice, we chose Dean Maber and we were just so so happy with our pics.

• Videographer

A lot of people choose to cut the videographer from the budget and I would say don’t do this, seriously, don’t, we almost did and would have so regretted it. The day happens so fast and you have so much going on, you miss so much, the video is a nice way of going back a reliving it all. It was one of our BEST investments. We chose Popped Red Balloon and OMG, no words!

Here’s our trailer and we were also given a full-length DVD.

• Guest list

This is the trickiest part of all! It’s so hard drawing up the list and whittling it down. All I can say is try not to feel the pressure. I know you want to invite the world but invite who you genuinely have a connection with as a couple. We didn’t have a person at our wedding that we didn’t both know and this made it that much more intimate and special.

However even though we tried to be as practical as possible, I did have some guest list regrets and wish I could have included my many cousins in on this day. It’s just so tricky, especially if you both come from big families it’s not just one or two people, it’s like 20! I don’t think you can escape not having a small amount of regret, but try not overthink it. It will all happen the way it’s supposed to.

I know my post sounds like I’m basically punting all of my service providers but seriously, I really feel like I did have the best. I couldn’t fault a thing. The only thing I wish I hadn’t done was overthink it all as much as I did.

All in all my absolute top tip: Do your research and then just go with the flow, don’t overthink things and try to have fun! Before you know it, the day will be over.

Happy planning x