Rustic wedding of Lize Collett

Elegant, Rustic Burlap, Vintage is all word that comes to mind when I think about the wedding of Lize and Raymond Collett. I had the privilege of being a guest at this wedding that took place at Allesverloren in Riebeeck Wes - http://www.allesverloren-fcv.co.za

According to http://www.squidoo.com/rustic-wedding-burlap#module159003044 a “rustic wedding are basically a wedding that moves away from the traditional weddings and substitutes a more earthy atmosphere for the standard wedding theme. There are a wide range of rustic weddings, from simply changing the locale to a rustic venue (such as a barn) all the way to a full-on rustic wedding with burlap tablecloths, napkins and invitations.

If you are a very traditional bride, rustic weddings are probably not up your alley. Rustic weddings are ideal for a bride that wants to differ slightly from the mainstream in order to reflect her individuality, to make the wedding night unique and to connect with an earthier atmosphere. Some even plan rustic events so that their guests feel more relaxed, as it is less formal than the traditional wedding setup.”

Let’s go back to Lize’s wedding. First of all – the wedding took place in a fairy tale forest. Guest walk on a little walkway deeper into the wood – just to be surprised with this beautiful wedding ceremony setup. 

What made it special were all the little details that you saw between the trees.

The cutest little boys and girls came walking out of the forest as part of the wedding procession followed by the bridesmaids and THE BRIDE! 

She looked lovely in an awesome dress from www.elizabethweddinggowns.co.za. Again – it is the little touches that made the biggest impact. The way her hair was done – the beautiful hair come that she had in and the unexpected inlays in the dress in a milo colour - Vintage, Royal, and Elegant.

The ceremony was done between the tall blue gum trees under a rustic wooden gazebo.

The rustic, vintage elegance flowed over to the reception. The décor was planned and made by Helene Uys – the mother and Gabby Labushcagne did the flowers. The arrangements were made out of tortured willow, South African fynbos and roses. A beautiful combination of flowers. Again the little touches of the small birds and crystals where amazing.

The wedding cake was the best - or the first time ever I saw a "rice crispies" wedding cake! It not only looked delicious- it tasted better than most wedding cakes I've ever had.

Wedding planning - Study at home

Wedding planning course

  I think it is one of the most rewarding jobs that there is. Being a wedding planner... being able to see the joy on the face of the bride when she walks down the isle.... being the person that will help make her dreams come true for her wedding day!

Just think about it - most girls will dream their whole life about their wedding day. They will first start to play weddings with their friends, when they are older - they will start dreaming about prince charming and the beautiful wedding dress that goes with that.

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That’s not all... add to that the fact that you will be the person that will need to organize the day to the most final details - from the cake, the dress, the honeymoon, the reception to name a few. Think about all the human emotions that flow at a wedding. Mother in law and the bride, mother in law with the bride’s mom - I can not count how many times me or my staff had to help make peace between two warring factions! But it is all in a days work.

If you think a wedding planner is just sitting behind her computer and organizing the wedding - think again! You will have to know about the latest trends in the wedding industry, you will have to be able to advise the client what is the best way to go about with their budget and you will have to know how to make the best with the money that the bride have available for her dream day!

I always say that it is not difficult to make a dream come true with a budget of R200 000.00. What makes you a GREAT wedding planner is if you can take a small budget of a bride and groom and STILL make their wedding day a huge success!

Come and learn the tricks of the trade!

ECTA Creative Solutions have just launched their Wedding Planning Correspondence course! 

Enroll in April 2013 and get the course for R2500 instead of the normal R3500.

For more info: contact our office at 0218560163 or go to our website: www.ectaint.com

Graduation in Nairobi 2013

What a privilege it was to be part of the yearly Graduation ceremony of Divine Schools Africa. 

Not only was it held at the prestigious Panari Hotel in Nairobi but the guest list was absolutely impressive. That evening we rubbed shoulders with Mrs Kenya, the owner of the Mrs Kenya competition Terry Mungai, Esther Passaris of Adopt a Light, Treasurer of the American women association Mrs Trudy Hall Mugo and many more.

The evening started of with ushers bringing in the 200 students. 

Sue introduces the sponsors of the evening - Mrs Catherine Matsitsa(Samantha Bridal), Mr Mathew Gathua (Valentine Cake House), Mrs Terry Mungai (Ashleys Kenya), and Mr Stephen Maina (Kenya Weddings).

The best student of the year was Pascalia Maingi of Mashariki Consultancy. The students got certificates for Draping, Flower arranging, Event Management and Wedding Planning.

After the handing out of the certificates it was time for a little bit of fun. The excellent MC - Mr Alexander (Ole Sankale) had the guest dancing and laughing with his jokes. We had the privilege to cut the large cake that was given to Divine schools.

Then the fun of the evening started. We had a wonderful networking dinner at the Panari filled with entertainment, good food and new friends. An awesome graduation tradition that we can bring to SA. Watch this space….

Indian Themed Event

Colors of India themed event

When the client – Echo (Erinvale Care and Help Organisation) ask us to do their yearly gala event and they announced the theme – I was immediately so excited. I’ve always wanted to do a themed event on India. What is there not to love about the Indian Décor? The bright colors, vibrant décor and amount of flowers!

The website Colors of India describe it like this -”India stands for its incredible culture, spectacular forts & places, great traditions and rituals. This so called "country of snake charmers and magicians" boasts of a great civilization. Be it the people, lifestyle or the mystical charm- India has always amazed the world with her uniqueness. Colors of India, as the name suggests, is an attempt to highlight various aspects and achievements of India and its people.” http://www.thecolorsofindia.com/

If you decide to use the Colors of India for a function – make sure that you choose bright jewel colors and not dull pinks, purples etc.  First go onto the internet to start researching what the colors means to the Hindu people. Also go and Google Indian traditions and pictures to start getting an idea on different focus areas that you can try and create. As an example: www.manicksorcar.com has a picture of an Indian shrine in a home.

We took that idea and create at the fire place in the venue a type of shrine. The difference between realistic décor and suggestive décor is the amount of thought you are putting into your focus area. We could have just put the statue in front of the fire place with a few candles on the ledge – but we decided to do realistic décor and due to that reason you need to bring a lot of smaller detail to make the “shrine” look real. Have a look at the amount of statues, candle etc.  On the ledge of the fire place. Also look at the water in the little container of the statue with some rose leave floating in them.

We were extremely fortunate to have a few of FCE’s students (http://www.fce.org.za/) at our function to help us set up the décor. It was part of their practical training on how to do themed décor and they really did an awesome job in setting up this Colors of India function. Just look at the photos of when they were busy setting up versus the finished themed venue.

When you have to decide on colors that you are going to use for your function – look at jewel colors, Bright pink, emerald, yellow, blue etc. Be careful not to just throw color around – try to use the color with a purpose in mind. Rather use bright color tablecloths instead of a white or black color table cloth. It will make it so much more difficult to bring in the brightness of the Indian functions if your base colors are in black or white.

Depending on your budget – you can play around with a multitude of different centre pieces. You can just use candle or you can “paint” a picture with flowers on the table. When you decide to go this route – try and use a flower type that will not wilt to easily. Especially if it is a warm day. Have enough people around to help you pack out the patterns on the table. Try to start painting with the flowers not more than an hour before the function.

Don’t forget colourful Indian dancers! Indian music, incense and last but not least – the smell of real Indian food. The real success of any themed function lies in the use of all 5 senses.  Enjoy your colors of India function!!!!

For more DIY themed event ideas go to our website www.ectaint.com