Spring Wedding Essentials

Nearly 200 000 marriages are recorded each year in South Africa. And before these weddings take place, extensive planning must go into making the event that many of us have dreamed of since childhood, one to remember. 

Important on the list of things to plan is a guest list filled with our loved ones and supporters, the colour themes that will mark the occasion as uniquely yours, and the food and decor, to name a few. These are some of the elements that go into this year’s Spring wedding essentials which include renewed colour palettes, rustic dining, and events spaces inspired by nature.

Wedding colour groups and families

For the past few years, wedding planners have advised brides and grooms to choose a maximum of two or three wedding colours. The thinking behind this has been similar to the idea that too many cooks spoil the broth, with too many colours ruining the balance of the flower, decor, and bride and groom’s outfit colours. However, what this Spring’s trend of picking sets or palettes of colours suggests, is that there is harmony and balance in selecting the right colours together. 

Think of a range of tones of browns, or a range of tones of pink or other pastel colours. A tip for getting the ‘wedding colour palette’ right this spring, is to look at choosing palettes that are in harmony with natural colours, to match the flower arrangements and other natural colours of the event. 

To add a pops of floral colour to the affair, Nicol Carelse, Guest Relations Manager at Radisson Blu Hotel Waterfront advises to “Celebrate all of the floral abundance this season promises to hold by adding flowers to your hair. Floral touches can become overwhelming, so a simple, yet pretty way to do this is to insert flowers into a flower girl’s braids, glue fresh flowers onto the bridesmaids hair clips or pins, and for the bride to don a delicate flower tiara.” 

Less-frills catering

Inspiration from this trend comes from the reality that many couples are having to have smaller weddings due to rising living costs. This means that it also makes sense to think of reducing catering costs with a wedding plan while ensuring that dishes served on the day are just as special, unique and delicious. 

A way to do this is to have bowl food served to each table, with guests serving themselves. For a typical Indian-style menu, this could include one table being served bowls of roast tikka chicken, soji, biriyani and potatoes and veg, and passing the dishes around to each other for self-service. For an Italian theme, a bowl service could include layered eggplant parmigiana, mozzarella, basil and tomato salad, grilled seafood or a delicious beef or lamb ragu with freshly baked bread and homemade butter for guests to mop up the ragu sauce. Desserts can also be served self-service style on a separate table. 

Guest gift bags

Happily, for anyone that has ever taken home a piece of fruitcake as a wedding keepsake and found it in the freezer a decade later, this Spring idea focuses on useability. 

Spring-inspired gift bags that guests can take home to use could include items such as a Spring floral-scented soap and items that speak to the newness and growth of both Spring and a new marriage union. This could include a young plant or bags of seeds that should be planted in spring, such as marigolds, poppies, petunias, begonias, and dahlias, which when planted in Spring will grow to yield a lovely summer bloom. 

Natural feel settings and destinations

Spring is about enjoying the wonders of nature and across South Africa there are many. While this trend of weddings in nature settings does not necessarily mean that weddings have to be outdoors, the decor and setting should be inspired by all of the woods, plants, and earthly abundance that the season has to offer. 

“With our hotel being positioned literally on the edge of Cape Town’s Atlantic Ocean, blending in with nature, we’re seeing an increase in these types of weddings. The element of nature and options for fresh air and space are there, but the wedding parties themselves are smaller,” says Carelse. “Wedding parties are looking to create a sense of intimacy with their guests by booking smaller tables, banquet style, for example,” she adds.

Take inspiration from the bright colours, abundance and fresh foods of the season to plan a memorable Spring wedding to remember when planning your wedding this year.