Dirk Visser Photography
Article written by Pam Black of Celebration House, Cape Town’s unique wedding information centre. First published in Die Burger Leefstyle newspaper August 2007
The last few weeks at Celebration House have been busy ones, as we start putting together the final touches to our Cape Town Wedding Festival, which we organise each year at the V & A Waterfront (this will be the 11th such event). At times it has often felt like organising a big family wedding, as we orchestrate this huge event and witness all the separate strands coming together. Just as one would expect in any large, extended family, we have been blessed with many people stepping forward to offer assistance with the preparations in many ways. The major difference (compared to the usual offers one receives from family members when organising a wedding), being that the assistance I have received comes from some of Cape Town’s finest wedding service providers, so I know that everything is in capable hands!
Since its inception as the first wedding show in Cape Town way back in 1996, the Cape Town Wedding Festival has over the years become synonymous with quality, largely due to the fact that all exhibitors at the Festival are there by invitation only and are either members of Celebration House, or V & A Waterfront tenants. The reason for this is that weddings today are costly affairs and, even though at times it has meant turning away exhibitors, we believe that in the long run it is worth it, as we want visitors to this event to feel assured that those they will be meeting there are all specialists in the wedding industry, and therefore names they can trust.
Since our very first show we have felt strongly that, as beauty and romance are the essence of a wedding, we want to capture these vital ingredients in our Festival. As in all preceding years, instead of being held in a sterile hall setting, the Festival is therefore housed inside a marquee (the stunning Chattels marquee, which will be erected on the V & A's Market Square next to the Amphitheatre), and also in the sumptuous Forum of the 5-star V & A Hotel, which adjoins the Square. The marquee has been specially built to include the trees on the Square and, with its glassed side panels, looks quite spectacular. With the trees inside the marquee, the sea at our doorstep, majestic Table Mountain as our backdrop, and impressive exhibitions inside, we feel visitors to the Festival cannot fail to agree that our goal of capturing the beauty and romance of a wedding is achieved with great success!
Visitors will also be eligible to enter our fabulous Festival Competition, with a top prize this year of an original Robyn Roberts wedding dress worth R10 000. (All the more reason to ensure that you attend the Festival and hand in your entry at the Celebration House stand.) There are many other wonderful prizes up for grabs as well, including dinners for two, make-up vouchers, limousine rides and many more. Details are listed on our website, www.celebrationhouse.co.za.
During the weekend of the Festival we will also be staging our informative mini-fashion shows three times a day. As before, the aim of these shows is to highlight the ‘do’s and don’ts of buying a wedding dress, and give brides-to-be some guidelines for choosing a garment that is suited to one’s individual body shape. We have asked our designers for some insider tips and secrets on how to look gorgeous on your wedding day, and this useful advice will be passed on to the fashion show audiences. There will be two shows on Friday and three on Saturday and Sunday.
After ten years of talking to brides, one thing we know for sure is that they all love trying on wedding dresses, and a feature of our Festival that has grown in popularity is our ‘Dressing-up Box’, an area dedicated to the trying-on of wedding gowns created by our top designers, with advice provided by a leading stylist. There is no charge for this service but as it is a popular attraction, it is necessary to book a time-slot to avoid disappointment.
Another popular attraction is our Makeover Box where several of our leading make-up artists will be on hand to provide makeovers and, together with hairstylists, offer advice on looking stunning on your wedding day. It is also necessary to make a booking for this complimentary service, so remember to do so when you arrive at the Festival.
We have always prided ourselves on having a very 'interactive' festival, as we feel it is important for couples to go home inspired and full of interesting new ideas to help with planning their weddings. With this in mind, we know that this year's exciting new addition to the Festival, our 'Inspiration Zone', is going to be a huge hit, as it will provide visitors with a feast of exciting and stimulating ideas!
On arrival, all visitors to the Festival will receive a Festival Directory, showcasing the services of exhibitors at the event. This handy guide is also filled with useful information on wedding planning that makes it an invaluable reference to take home with you.
Festival tickets (R35 per person, under 18 free) will be in the form of a coloured wrist-band, enabling you to come and go throughout the day, at your leisure. And should the man in your life start to feel that he is on wedding-overload, there will even be a spot at the back of the marquee where he can `chill out'! Complimentary copies of the Weekend Argus will also be available for visitors to take home with them.
Throughout the weekend, a variety of musicians - from string quartets to soloists, African drummers and more - will be at the Festival to entertain you. Details of musicians' performances at the Festival may be found on our website www.celebrationhouse.co.za or www.capetownweddingfestival.co.za.
- One of the big advantages of attending the Wedding Festival is that it gives you the opportunity to meet, face to face, many of those directly involved in the wedding industry and to see first-hand what they have to offer, as well as how they present themselves. As this year’s event, visitors will be able to interact with a host of service providers - exhibits include those by leading dress designers and top venues, photographers and videographers, as well as gift registries, jewellers, florists, stationery experts, cake decorators, chocolate fountains and many more.
The Cape Town Wedding Festival will be held at the V & A Waterfront (Market Square and The V & A Forum) from
7-9 September 2007.
Opening times: Friday: 13h00-18h00 Saturday: 10h00-18h00 Sunday: 10h00-17h00
To keep up-to-date with Festival news, visit www.capetownweddingfestival.co.za or www.celebrationhouse.co.za
We look forward to seeing you at the Festival this Spring!
