Welcome back! You’re back on this site for one of a few possible reasons. Either you’ve listened to my speech and heeded my call. Or you are part of the late comers, who eventually decided to read the invite properly. Or maybe, you’re just interested in some gossip on who did what and whether your name was included in the vote of thanks.  But, we decided to give you much more.  So below you will find a bit of the background information on our whole story.  You know, the normal pieces of juicy information that everyone loves concerning newly weds.  But for those of you who are more visual, there are plenty of pictures and videos for you to scroll through.

The First Date

Okay, so this wasn’t exactly our first date, but as you can see it was a really cool date.  I mean, how could a man charm his lady any more romantically than taking her to see the Proteas demolish the Aussies at the Bullring?  After watching the green-and-gold do the job, we eventually had a lovely dinner, which, to some of you, may have been the truly romantic part of the day.  Nonetheless, this was one of our first dates.  It was also the day I met Sarah.  To a barrage of interrogational questions!  And there was one question, where my response was well below par, and I was judged for months to come.  Better though to answer  to the sister than to the father! 

Some Time Later

Naturally, all new relationships are kept top secret.  For some reason this seems to be the most logical thing to do.  So rather than just succumb to the inevitable and introduce this new love to family and friends, we just snuck around believing that the novelty of our feelings will somehow be protected in secrecy.  For us, this was the point when we broke our veil of mystery.  We posted this pic on Facebook, the source of all truth, declaring our love for each other and tearing down all those barriers of privacy.    

The Proposal

Yes, that is a hot air balloon!  So if I may blow my own horn; when it comes to proposals, this was right up there with the best.  We left in the unholy predawn hours to what I, deceptively, said was a boat trip at Harties.  But, as the road wound ever more away from that false destination, she secretly suspected that this was the day.  The poor early morning light hid my plans till the balloons were fully inflated.  Still though, my true intentions remained hidden.  So as we sailed over the northern reaches of our special city, I got down on bended knee and popped the question.  And in spite of her expecting the question, she reacted with utter surprise, shaking and tearing.  Obviously, she said “yes”.  

That is a Tanzanite.  But it’s not just any Tanzanite!  I picked this stone up at a store, at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro, on my return from the summit.  As some of you may know Tanzanite diamonds are endemic to Tanzania and specifically to the area around Kili.  As I have it, these blue stones were spewed out of the local volcanoes and are thus only found there.  So I literally got the stone at the source.  Then, back in Mzansi, I had it set in locally produced white stones and metal.  My wedding ring was just as cool, but more about that later.

Planning the Damn Thing

Okay, it wasn’t “Damned”, but it was certainly a monumental effort.  The venue, food, music, table seatings, the procession, attire, decor, the first dance, speeches and I can keep going.  I’ve been involved in some huge projects before, but they were all simple in comparison.  We sent and received thousands of emails, made hundreds of calls and ran countless errands.  Our minds were so full of wedding and planning information, that we barely thought of anything else.  It almost filled our entire

existence.  But as time went on, the wedding became like a living being.  A living being that we had nurtured from childhood to a young adult.  We took care with its development and its future. And as it took shape, we turned into doting parents.  Parents, who pushed their child for perfection and would not accept anything less.  In fact, we’re sure that all of our suppliers were actually getting rather annoyed.  However, this was to be the biggest day in our relationship and nothing less than faultless would suffice.  So much so did our attachment to this thing we were creating become that after the event, we felt a profound sense of loss.  As if our child had suddenly graduated and no longer needed us.  What were we going to do with all our time now?  Our mailboxes would go back to mundane emails filled with spam and bills.  Looking back though, while the wedding united us officially, it was the planning that united us emotionally.

Dance Lessons

One of the most enjoyable aspects of planning our wedding were our dance lessons.  We booked a ten-lesson package with Mr. Stewart, who choreographed an entire dance routine.  He then managed to turn me into a mediocre, at best, waltzer.  Shan was a natural from the beginning.  I knew the dance sequence but she had the rhythm.  During those lessons we grew closer as an engaged couple.  One of the best ways to get to know someone is to dance with them.  Sometimes, even more so than a conversation.  Now we didn’t exactly get a “ten” for our first dance at the actual wedding.  But here is a link to one of our rehearsal videos.  Please excuse our ridiculous attire.

Click here for the video of our First dance rehearsal

The Night Before

Now if you’ve been for an Indian wedding before, you would know it is not a single day event.  In fact, in some cases it can go on for three days.  Although ours was a Christian wedding, we adopted those parts of Indian weddings that we loved.  The “Night Before Party” was one of those.  Shan’s event took place at the Rock Church Johannesburg, in a beautifully renovated former-clubhouse.  The theme of her event was back to school – very much in line with her career.  Ron and Clinton dressed up like school boys, complete with a backpack and uniform, and directed the entire event.  Here are some of the top pics from the evening:

 

My event took place at the Venue@185 in Johannesburg.  The theme was blue denims and white shirts.  And literally everyone pitched up in the appropriate dress code, except of course for one or two rebels.  Marci conducted the event in style and we spent the evening eating, drinking and being merry.   Below are some of the top pics from that evening:

 

The Big Event

The morning of the big day had arrived.  We couldn’t help but make one more turn at the venue to conduct our final checks.  By mid-morning all was locked and loaded and ready to go.  Even the weather seeemed to be playing along, or so we thought.  Our initial fear was rain and to our relief it never realized.  What we got instead was a blistering heat wave.  We had obviously suspected it, but we never realized how truly imposing the heat would be.  More about that later.

I had a fairly uneventful wardrobe experience.  I was dressed and ready, well ahead of time.  Thanks to my well organized folks, who took care of everything!  In fact I was standing outside the chapel a half hour before the scheduled start.  Shan’s morning was a little more eventful, as it should have been.  A number of dress and makeup incidents delayed many of the female retinue, the bride in particular.  There was even an almost event with the rings coming loose from their tie-ons.  But, in spite of all of this, we  managed to get the event going, a mere 10 minutes late.

I will never forget the expression on Shan’s face when she walked down the aisle.  She sent goosebumps crawling all over my skin.  A feeling like that could not be faked and in that moment I knew for certain we would be okay.  In fact, more than okay!  We would be awesome together.  And so it began!

Most of you reading this would have shared this special day with us, so instead of boring you with details, I will fill you in on a few bits of inside information:

• We scheduled the day down to the minute.  We even took delays into consideration. But we grossly underestimated the travel time for our photo shoot.  The pics were worth it, and you will see them below, but we recognize that we left most of our guests waiting hungrily for our return.
• The aircon was working just fine till about 4pm on that day, after which it packed up allowing the wrath of the heatwave into the hall.  I thought that we had walked into hall filled with burning coals.  Shan’s makeup was close to melting, guests were using just about anything to fan themselves and the few fans located within the hall did little to alleviate the problem.  For us that was the biggest fail of the day.  But, what is a wedding without a few mishaps.
• The planned sequence of events for the reception was completely different from what actually happened.  At one point we literally winged it.
• We, or should I say I, totally messed up our first dance.  Fortunately, the smoke hid my two left feet trundling over the bottom of Shan’s beautiful dress.  However, we nailed our second run at it, at the end of the evening.  Only a few people were left to witness it though.
• I had no idea about Shan’s little prelude to our first dance.  I was taken by surprise but thoroughly enjoyed it.
• Eighteen bottles of two-litre cool drinks went missing that night.  We are still in the process of recovering them.
• We spent hours on the seating plan, considering things like compatibility with other guests, age, angle and so much more.  Trust us, it is a difficult thing to do. We meant no offense and really tried to accommodate everyone.  Remember, some close friends did not even get an invite.  Had I known that so many people would not pitch, even though they confirmed, we would have done things differently.

I guess that in any major life event, there are certain details that will stick with you forever.  These are the moments, that pictures or words cannot describe.  Moments that are defining and that truly encompass the occasion!  Our top three moments of the day were these, in no particular order:

• Shan walking down the aisle and just taking everyone’s breath away – And as I am told, I had a look on my face that she will never forget.  I think it must be the look of a man beholding something truly lovely, knowing that it was his forever.
• Our second first dance – As I said earlier, we made a lot of mistakes in our first dance.  Our second one though, went much better.  And the great thing was that it just kind of happened.  It wasn’t part of the plan, it’s was without prompt.  We asked the DJ to end the evening with our song, The Goo Goo Dolls’ Iris.  Once it started, Shan and I found each other and then, I’m not sure how or why or even what happened first, but we ended up redoing our first dance surrounded by our loved ones.  It was the perfect end to an awesome evening.  And if I may say so myself, I feel we nailed that one.
• Then, there is one moment that, to be honest, only Shan and I would recall.  At some point, in the middle of all the celebrations, while everyone was dancing, eating or just socializing; Shan and I found a quiet little spot, away from everyone and just slow danced, really closely.  It was a quiet, peaceful moment where we realized that it all worked out.  But more than that, this was the beginning of the rest of our lives.

And so the night came to an end.  It was a bitter-sweet feeling.  Sweet in that we are now man and wife.  But bitter in that it was now all over.  All the happiness and joy of having family and friends around to celebrate with us, was now a thing of the past.  Life, for the most part would return back to normal.  That wasn’t really the case though.  As it turned out, and as we should have known, a new marriage is an exciting adventure and ours had just begun.  So below, is a number of pics from the evening that I hope you would enjoy.  Oh, and of-course, our wedding highlights video!  Just click on the link below:

Click here for the video of Shaldon & Shantal Wedding Highlights

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The Mini-Honeymoon

Work pressures and just the timing of our wedding meant that we couldn’t really have a proper honeymoon straight after the wedding.  By the way, did you know that the term “honeymoon” actually originates from a 16th century belief that the first month of marriage is the sweetest.  The suffix “moon” denotes the period of one lunar month and prefix “honey” describes the sweetness of that month.  You can literally translate it to “sweet-month”.  So ours, while certainly being sweet, was just a few days long.  We spent four days in the Mother City; where we did those things that couples do when in love, you know, walks on the beach and stuff.  We partied with Goldfish, took long romantic drives around the Cape, visited the penguins in Simonstown, ate fish and chips in Hout Bay, dined and danced and basically just took it, and each other, all in.  I know that hardly anyone would have taken the time to read this far so for you, here are some of our top pics from that trip:

The Actual Honeymoon 

Now this was the real deal, albeit six months late.  This time we went all out and holidayed in Spain and Portugal.  What a splendid vacation!  I can write a whole new blog on that trip, and maybe I will, but instead we’ll just share the photos. By now, I’m sure that most of you are bored to sleepiness with my insistent writing.  So we present to you, in full HD, our trip to the Iberian Peninsula:

Acknowledgments

As I said in my vote of thanks, putting this wedding together was a gigantic effort and we could not have done it without the help of the people mentioned below. And this portion of the blog is truly for those that contributed to our special day. So here it is! And except for our parents who we mention first and the suppliers who we mention last, the list is in alphabetical order. We do not believe that any contribution was any more substantial than the next. Each of you gave according to your abilities and Shantal and I truly appreciate every bit.

• Our parents; Vernon & Marlene and Babu & Lavie: For things we cannot even put into words! As children, we will never be able to truly repay you, except by ensuring that we do the same one day for our kids. Your support throughout the entire wedding journey was invaluable. Thank you for just being. We love you guys immensely.
• Aaron: For being a tireless body of help. You were like Forest Gump, going on and on to assist with even the most, seemingly, trivial aspects.
• Pastor Anton: For doing the official paperwork for our wedding, ensuring that we went into this big day with one less worry.
• Arusha, Marcia and Matthew: For your tireless work during Shaldon’s Friday niight party.
• Uncle Devan and Prema: For the awesome entertainment and DJ for Shantal’s Friday night party.
• Jon, Crystelle and Judah: For your generous financial contribution and being so much apart of our wedding day. From absolutely mastering the ceremony to the best, best manning ever and bearing the rings so cutely!
• Kiran: For supplying and masterfully operating the DJ equipment at Shaldon’s Friday night party.
• Klyde: For running around with Ron to make sure everything went smoothly on the day.
• Aunty Neru and Aunty Paula: For assisting with the food. It was delicious!
• Pastor Russel and Aunty Sharnu: For officiating our ceremony so immaculately. For sacrificing your time to spend this day with us and making it all that more special.
• Ron and Irene: For working tirelessly on our wedding day ensuring that there were no glitches.  For sacrificing your own time and fun to keep Shantal and I relaxed!
• Rona: For your beautiful work on the dress, dressing the bride and helping her look and feel amazing.
• Rebecca: For your killer dance moves and helping the bride pull off a special dance for the groom.
• Uncle Runga and Aunty Evelyn: For the beautiful decor and flowers for Shantal’s Friday night party and the wedding ceremony.
• Sarah: For your tireless work in helping us prepare for the wedding and for being a special part of our big day. For being by the bride and groom’s side every step of the way.
• Saroj mummy, Aathe and Aunty Rosy: For assisting with the food. It was prepared with great love and the guests enjoyed every bit of it!
• Stewart and Rebecca: For your generous financial contribution and taking such good care of our gifts. For helping Shantal feel and look like a glamorous bride.
• Trevor and Amy: For leading the hymn during our ceremony. It was superb!
• Yolan, Asher and Neriah: For being a big part of our wedding day and making each moment memorable for us. For mimicking the bride so immaculately, carrying those rings protectively and keeping the crowd entertained!
• All our suppliers:
• • Ambrosia – Chairs
• • Arline Photography – Photography and videography
• • Café Patisse – Wedding cakes and desserts
• • Cut Out Design – Invites
• • Hair Innovations – Bridal party hairstyles
• • Iniek Decor – City of Joburg landmarks and seating plan
• • Make up by Rah – Bridal party make up
• • Mr Stewart/Arthur Murray Dance Studio – dance lessons
• • Nitelife Productions – Music
• • The Photobooth Guys – Photo Booth
• • Planning to Perfection – Garden Games
• • Randpark Golf Club – Basically everything
• • Red in Paris – Decor
• • Socialight- Fairy lights
• • Tracy Dean – Events coordinator

Now, I’ve mentioned my wedding ring earlier on in this post, and then mentioned that I’ll talk more about it later.  And, if you were sharp enough, you would have noticed that I never really got to it.  I didn’t forget!  My ring was made from Titanium, a strong light metal.  Set within a resin on the outside of the ring is a number of gears.  A tough, light metal used for high-tech engineering applications, filled with little gear wheels.  What could be more apt for me than that.  That’s Shantal!  Her attention to detail and sense of uniqueness, gave me a ring that is truly me and is set apart from most other men’s wedding bands.