Samantha and Claude Tie the Knot in the Cape Winelands

By The Celebration Team 27 Jun, 2016

About the Bride

I was 29 when we got married, and have lived in Cape Town for the past 5 years. I have been in Marketing/Advertising since having lived in Cape Town. My parents have the most incredible marriage and friendship, and I have always wanted that for myself. So having found my soul mate, made me want to get married.

About the Groom

Claude was 30 when we got married. He works in e-commerce. He has lived in Cape Town his whole life.

How did you meet?

We met at a bar in Cape Town when I was down here on holiday, and have been together ever since.

How long were you together before the wedding proposal?

2.5 years

About the Proposal

We got engaged at the Hoenhort in Constantia, Cape Town.

My husband made me believe that he was given a night away at the Hoenhort, from one of his suppliers at work, which included massages and dinner. Meanwhile, the whole thing was planned.

That hotel is one of my favourite places on this earth, and so having been proposed to there is very very special.

The Wedding Planning Process

We used Gail Kantor from Piece of Cake Wedding and Events. Gail was exceptional in her service delivery, timing, and in her whole manner.

She is the person you want next to you when you are stressing out and the whole world is annoying you, she is the calming energy you need. She enabled us to have the fairytale wedding we were envisioning, everything came to life exactly how we imagined it.

She brought the whole event together so beautifully and efficiently. The whole planning process took about 8-9 months.

The Hen Party / Bachelorette & Stag Night

I had a bachelorette in JHB with all my friends there - it was at the Barnyard theatre followed by a nightclub, and it was lots of fun. I also had a kitchen tea at my best friend's house in Cape Town, a lady came to teach us how to ice cupcakes. All my friends also brought their favourite recipe with, and decorated it at the tea, and then all the recipes were given to me to make my own recipe book.

I also had a kitchen tea at my best friend's house in Cape Town, a lady came to teach us how to ice cupcakes. All my friends also brought their favourite recipe with, and decorated it at the tea, and then all the recipes were given to me to make my own recipe book.

All my friends also brought their favourite recipe with, and decorated it at the tea, and then all the recipes were given to me to make my own recipe book.

The Wedding Details

We had lots of flowers everywhere - the tables were lined with individual flowers in single vases, which were placed down the long rectangular tables in gradients of colours. We had a flower wall for the guests to have photos in front of, and we had a swing near the drinks area. We also had a photo area, with a hanging frame, for the guests to get behind and pose with props.

At the end of the night, we had midnight snacks for the guests - hamburgers and hot dogs.

Tips and / or advice for future bridal couples?

If family members would like to be involved in the organisation, my best tip would be to choose 3-4 things that you would like to 'own'/organise for the event, and delegate the rest to the family. That way you still feel like you are in charge of the things you want, but everyone else gets to be involved too.

Accept that things go wrong, most the time (especially if you have a quality event planner like Gail at Piece of Cake) you won't even know the things have gone wrong. So instead of panicking about the little things, rather keep reminding yourself that the only things which really matter are that you are getting to marry your soul mate. The other stuff is all just silly and won't even be remembered the next day (and if it is, it will make a really good story).

Invest in a wedding co-ordinator, it really does allow you to focus on the fun stuff, while they manage all the processes of the day. They also add so much value in good tips and advice leading up to the day - things you would never even think of.

What was the most memorable part of your wedding day?

We are Jewish, and one of the traditions of a Jewish ceremony is to have the 'veiling of the bride' just before the ceremony. So basically you and your groom have not seen or spoken for a week before the wedding, and the first time you see each other is at the bedeken, which takes place about 30 minutes before you get married. It is very emotional, and it was definitely my most favourite/memorable part of the day.

Did you go on honeymoon? If so, where? And, why there?

Yes we went to New York for 2 weeks, it was a winter wonderland and it was truly the most exciting and fun experience. We thought that it would be way more exciting to do an adventurous honeymoon (something we would appreciate much more now while we are younger), and we can always spend lots of holidays when we are older lying on a beautiful beach somewhere.

We thought that it would be way more exciting to do an adventurous honeymoon (something we would appreciate much more now while we are younger), and we can always spend lots of holidays when we are older lying on a beautiful beach somewhere.

Samantha and Claude Tie the Knot in the Cape Winelands