From Friday 7th to Sunday 9th September 2007, the V&A Waterfront was abuzz with romance, as Celebration House hosted its 11th Cape Town Wedding Festival.

The Festival was held in a beautiful Chattels marquee on Market Square and in the Forum of the Victoria & Alfred Hotel alongside.

As before, to ensure that visitors got to meet the best in the wedding field, exhibitors at the Festival were either Celebration House service providers or Waterfront tenants. Says Pam Black, owner and founder of Celebration House: “We made a decision when we opened Celebration House eleven years ago to promote only service providers who are trusted names in the industry, and it is a decision we have adhered to ever since. All the service providers who exhibit with us and at our annual Festival are recommended professionals. I have worked with many of them and seen them ‘in action’ and it is always their attention to detail that sets them apart as professionals.”

Exhibitors at the Festival
Exhibitors at this year’s Festival were many and varied. Among those exhibiting were venues, dress designers, stationery experts, videographers, photographers, dj’s, jewellers, honeymoon specialists, marquee suppliers, caterers, wedding magazine publishers, gents’ suit hire companies, and gift companies.

Fashion shows
In addition to the chance to chat to service providers who are all experts in their various fields, visitors to the Festival were also able to enjoy the Fashion Shows that took place three times a day. Designers showcased a variety of bridal styles, including cute outfits for young attendants.

Makeovers
Visitors loved the Make-up Box, where our experienced make-up artists spent the weekend hard at work, providing brides with free makeovers.

Foot massages
Another popular stand, well utilised by many visitors, was the one hosted by Mangwanani Spa, whose team of attractively attired staff offered visitors complimentary foot massages.

The Dressing-up Box
Choosing a wedding dress is never an easy task and many brides-to-be took advantage of the opportunity to try on dresses at The Dressing-up Box. This gave them the chance to experiment with different styles. As one bride remarked: “It was great fun fitting on real designer wedding dresses. And the advice they gave me was awesome, as the wedding dress I had in mind was totally not what they recommended for me!”

Festival Competition
The lucky winners of the wonderful prizes offered in our Festival Competition have been announced and their names may be found on our website www.celebrationhouse.co.za. Thank you to all who entered this exciting competition and also to our generous sponsors.

Refreshing break
The friendly staff at the Five Roses Tea Garden offered everyone complimentary tea and muffins, and this area of the marquee provided a very popular and welcome stop for visitors during the Festival’s three-day duration.

It was amusing to see how many grooms took advantage of the opportunity to have a break and ‘chill’ on the comfortable couches when they felt they were heading for `wedding overload’. Complimentary copies of the Weekend Argus were also handed out to visitors, to enjoy along with their refreshing cup of tea.

Chocoholic’s dream
Chocoholics were certainly well catered for at this year’s Festival and very few managed to walk past the chocolate fountain at the Chocolate Falls stand, without being tempted to stop and taste.

The stunning array of beautiful wedding cakes using Lindt chocolate were crowd-stoppers, as were the tastings of both cake and chocolate truffles offered at their stand.

Inspiration Zone
A new feature of our Festival, the Inspiration Zone, was an instant hit and received many compliments. Our grateful thanks to Debbie of Gifted, who spent many hours planning how best to lay out the tables.

If you were one of the many who were disappointed at not having a camera with you at the Festival, you will soon be able to view more of Alexander Photography’s photos of the various tables at Celebration House.

Feedback from visitors to the Festival has been very rewarding and we have loved the use of adjectives like ‘stunning’, ‘amazing’, ‘lovely’, etc. Many have commented on the number of wonderful ideas they found, and one couple admitted that they discovered there were many things still to do that they hadn’t even known about.

If you would like to add your comments about the Festival, please drop us a line at info@celebrationhouse.co.za.

Photos by Alexander Photography

Were you caught on camera?
Our roving cameraman, Clifford Alexander, captured photos of some of the visitors to Festival. Visitors whose faces are ringed in the photographs will receive a copy of Pam Black’s latest publication, The really useful WEDDING BOOK for South Africa. To claim your prize, please visit Celebration House in Claremont. This prize is valid until 31 December 2007.

Photos by Alexander Photography (click on images to enlarge)