Growing up I absolutely loved Princess Diana (didn’t we all?) and fantasized about a wedding dress just like hers. That long train that stretched on for at least 8 metres!! Prince Williams engagement to Kate Middelton has triggered all our memories of that momentous wedding day, but while Kate wears Princess Diana’s old engagement ring, I doubt whether her dress will mimic that of the late Princess.
Having a look at some Royal wedding dresses, I noticed the train that went on and on didn’t start with Lady Diana Spencer. Below the photos of Her Majesty the Queen on her wedding day to Prince Philip, and her daughter Princess Anne to Captain Mark Phillips show both dresses with extensive trains.

The elaborate patterns on Princess Elizabeth‘s 15-foot train (attached at the shoulder) were embroidered in pearl, crystal and appliqué duchesse satin. Princess Anne‘s dress was an embroidered Tudor-style wedding dress with a high collar and mediaeval sleeves. Pearls of silver thread picked out a design of flowers on the long, pure silk gauze train

Lady Diana Spencer married Prince Charles in 1981 in a silk taffeta wedding gownl. In true 1980s fashion the dress had huge puff sleeves and a frilly neckline, and was bedecked with 10,000 hand-stitched pearls. Most notable about the gown was the record-breaking 25-foot train.

The wedding I actually recall watching was that of Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson to Prince Andrew. She wore an ivory duchesse satin gown that had a 17-foot train embroidered with an “A” for Andrew, and featured an anchor to represent the groom’s experience in the navy.

While designs have improved over recent years, it looks like Kate Middleton will still have to endure the long train of the Royal wedding dresses.

Princess Letizia wore an off-white wedding dress when she wed Prince Felipe of Spain. The dress featuring a tight-fitting bodice with a turned-up collar and a sweeping skirt and long train (ofcourse) embroidered with symbols.

On 19 June 1999, Sophie Rhys-Jones married Prince Edward in a sleek panelled long dress-coat and an ivory silk train. he dress has a medieval feel and it is V-necked and corseted. The veil was also sewn with beads, and was longer than the train itself.

French-born Marie Chevallier married Danish Prince Joachim in this elegant full-skirted, off-white gown. The fairy tale gown was made of 19th century inspired lace and tulle and boasted a 3 metre train.

Finally, this is one of my favourite Royal wedding dresses, and it would appear the only one that doesn’t feature a ridiculously long train.

The romantic and classic cream-coloured gown worn by Canadian Autumn Kelly for her wedding to Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest grandchild, Peter Phillips. The classic gown featured a fitted bodice and lace shoulders, and an A-line skirt in Italian duchesse silk and French Chantilly lace. The regal front transitioned to a fun back with little lace bows, and her veil was hand-embroidered and beaded silk tulle.

So, what appears to be the latest trend in proposals nowadays, is some thought going into making sure that all the effort our boys put into making the proposal romantic, fun and special, is captured on video or in photographs.

I first saw this put into action, when Iaan proposed to Christine Meintjies in Munich earlier this year – he sneakily arranged for photographers to capture the whole thing!

Watch the video of the Surprise Engagement Shooting from Caringo PhotografiX.

Then, a friend of mine was convinced sky-diving on a beautiful spring day in Cape Town was just a brave idea of her now-fiance, who proposed as she landed from her 11,000ft jump. (The video was included in the adrenaline rush proposal… and while I’ve seen it, I don’t have a copy to publish!)

And finally, I’ve just been sent this video of Frank and Kasey getting engaged in Central Park, New York. Some techie friends, musicians (playing Kasey’s favourite song), a bunch of iPhones running custom apps all made this video possible.

So now the big question… how romantic was your proposal, and do you have a video or some photos of it to share?

In all honesty, what was published could’ve been my opening paragraph to a really long article – condensing my top wedding planning tips into the 500 words they requested was a near impossible task! There is so much more to say, and so many tips to give away. I’ve probably said it before, but I could plan my day again and again, and with so much more info readily available online these days – my biggest tip (for today), is drag out the planning for as long as possible. Such a fun time deserves to be lingered over and enjoyed for at least a year!

Read my Wedding Planning 101 article or see the digital version (page 15) of the paper that is currently being distributed in London this week.

ps. Will post the original (unedited) version in a few days too!

But on watching the video carefully, you have to remark at what a beautiful house the bride got ready in, and had those initial photos with her new husband… and it made me think, we spend so much time thinking about our reception venue and our ceremony venue, and the venue of our first night as husband and wife – but seldom little thought goes into the venue of where we have our photos and the venue you’ll get ready in.

Perhaps you’ll have a good photographer that will mention it to you, but incase you don’t – watch this video and you’ll have to agree that its worth thinking about a few other venues.

And incase you’re wondering, the track is Steve Jablonsky, The Island. I’ve already downloaded it.

Coco + James // Teaser from Americana Cinema on Vimeo.

The rich golden colour of champagne translated into beautiful luxurious wedding dresses is what it’s about.

These are a couple of gorgeous photos of wedding dresses with a little twist in that traditional wedding dress colour. Champagne is softer than white, lavish and beautifully modern.

This is possibly one of my favourite wedding dresses!

And this, just because its an amazing photo!

These exquisite photos taken by Prophotography, Lizelle Lotter and Nikki Meyer

For more photos of this happy bride taken by Nikki Meyer, click here

For now though – this is how it looks! but still.. so much excitement right now!

Well… its true. We booked it. The location was perfect and its one of the few churches with a centre aisle in the area. While we didn’t wed there afterall, I always wondered what it would’ve been like. Sometimes location is everything!

I came across these photos of real weddings in the church and I just had to share them!

Stunning church, perfect location!

See more photos of the blank canvas here

Photos by Zara-Zoo and Germinate

Having actually not visited The Tyger Valley Bridal Expo previously, I’m not going to promise anything – but I can assure you that, as with most bridal fairs, you will be able to find top wedding service providers under one roof. Bridal Expos are great for the newly engaged to absorb ideas as well as pick up handy business cards for local suppliers for when you need to start getting quotes and making decisions. Brides in the full throng of planning, you’re likely to find the solution to tick that last item off your list (until, that is, more items are added to it!)

If Winter does decide to hit us in the Cape by the end of August, and you can’t face venturing out, here’s a good reason to. Brides and grooms-to-be have the opportunity to WIN their dream wedding to the value of R220 000 sponsored by Meerendal Wine Estate and others.

I think we did it the hard way. While, yes – I fancied myself getting married in Italy with all the comforts of a South African wedding. And yes, Olivello did fit the bill magically… I realize now, we could’ve recreated our dream Italian wedding in a factory probably. But ssshhh…. Don’t tell any wedding planner I told you that!

A lot of brides complain about not wanting to use one of the ‘popular’ or ‘common’ venues. But the pictures below tell the tale of how the same venue can be transformed in so many ways to create the perfect wedding for the couple being married that day. With the use of lighting, flowers, chairs and table clothes, Nooitgedacht in this example, can go from being a popular venue to your dream wedding venue.

Photos of Nooitgedacht taken from my favourite photographers Lizelle Lotter, Nikki Meyer, Sybrand Cillie, Du Wayne and also my latest discovery Lauren Kriedemann