Zani & Andreasreal-life weddings by wedding ConCepts

Look: golden wedding gala: a grand setting featuring soft shades of cream,

white and champagne”

Guest List: 180 guests from around the world – with many celebrities from, Us,

europe, south africa and neighbouring african countries

Photographer: Christopher Munton, www.chrismunton.co.za

At Wedding Concepts, the year 2012 started in style with the most glamorous designer wedding bash at the stroke of midnight – literally! Zani & Andreas – both living in New York but with South African and Danish roots, wanted to showcase the unique sounds, sights & flavours of South Africa to their stylish and elegant global crowd on New Year's Eve 2011.

From a family of internationally known talents, personalities,

musicians and now fashion designers, both Zani (in an exquisite

Vera Wang gown), her mum, Felicia Mabuza-Suttle (in Oscar de La

Renta), and the well-known Wedding Concepts team formed the

formidable design force behind this opulent celebration.

The style & design of the wedding was to be impressive but with

a sense of understatement that would be brought through using

original and personalised elements. It was important that the

creative design and atmosphere was a true reflection of the couple’s

personalities: elegant, charming, romantic, intimate and fun – with

some quirky traits here and there for good measure. With this in

mind, the Wedding Concepts team ensured a luxurious outdoor

ceremony followed by an opulent marquee reception that would

house the festive and final countdown till the clock struck 12.

The lake-front ceremony setting afforded the guests a 180 degree

mountain view whilst they listened to The Soweto String Quartet,

followed by the 14 piece Zulu Dance Group who led the couple &

their guests in African tradition from the ceremony to the cocktail

hour, where they were met by a vibrant Marimba Band and colourful

signature cocktails that the Wedding Concepts team had created

especially for the couple.

For a grand welcome to the reception, a peaked marquee with a

dramatic floral creation, luxe-sofas and cascading chandeliers

welcomed the guests – along with a lavishly styled dessert table

featuring 13 delicious desserts surrounding a magnificent wedding

cake (all in the soft colours of the wedding of course).

Guest were met with a grand setting – featuring soft shades of

cream, white and champagne contrasting carefully with handpicked

golden elements, stylish amber glasses, fine silver plated charger

plates and cutlery, and finished off with foiled, luxurious wedding

stationery. The opulent floral creations by the talented Okasie team

were a talking point in their own right. Exquisite customised lighting

key too: with a total of 12 crystal chandeliers suspended inside the

marquee, hundreds of candles providing a soft glow on the tables

and fairy lights cascading from the trees outside.

The gastronomic highlights were to reflect the diverse flavours of

South Africa with guests casually sharing a culinary feast presented

“platter style”. For dinner a renowned band performed dance

classics culminating in a brilliant Michael Jackson cover just before

midnight, with the dance party lasting until 4 AM.

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South Africa’s premier Wedding Planners, Wedding Concepts pride themselves on handcrafting uber- sty-lish weddings of distinction for clients from across Af-rica and the globe.

From highly personalised conceptualisation to executing &

overseeing each detail of their exclusive designer creations,

Wedding Concepts is a full service Wedding Coordination

company with headquarters in Cape Town – yet working

across South Africa and in other African countries.

With over 60% of their clientele hailing from the UK, Europe,

US and Africa, their quest has always been to orchestrate

bespoke weddings that offer the unmistakable energy and

charm of our African country-fused with their world-leading

levels of skill, service and creativity.

Having co-ordinated and managed over 400 unforgettable

weddings, their internationally experienced team and network

of the finest service providers, can help you achieve everything

you’ve ever dreamed of and more… We are excited to share

with you some of their most exclusive real-life destination

wedding celebrations. Wedding Concepts’ founder and MD

Christina Holt has given us an exclusive behind the scene view

of how she and her team have designed and managed some of

Africa’s most lavish celebrations for their clients.

www.weddingconcepts.co.za

(part of the Concepts Collection,

www.conceptscollection.co.za)

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