A Unique Steampunk Themed Wedding In South Africa
Written by on October 29, 2015.
Tagged under: A Unique Steampunk Themed Wedding In South Africa, Real Wedding, South Africa, South African Weddings, Steampunk wedding
Steampunk Themed Wedding In South Africa
Today, we head to South Africa to bring you a real wedding with a unique theme, and was planned by both the bride and groom. Denver and Lizann, who are both from Johannesburg, held their August wedding just outside of the city in a quaint town called Parys, at a lovely venue called The Nutcracker Country Retreat.
The couple, who have been together for a total of eight years and engaged for two and a half years, waited until they found a theme that appealed to both of them before planning their big day. Whilst driving in the car, the idea of having a ‘Steampunk’ themed wedding was discussed, and they both collaborated in order to create this original and visually stunning event. Below, we find out exactly what Steampunk is, and discover how they tailored their wedding to this theme. Oh and the awesome couple are the good friends of Bride Club ME’s lovely account manager ‘Bonita’. Enjoy!
How did he propose?
Denver proposed in the airport lounge on our way to Australia to visit my family. Being distracted, I turned around to find Denver on his knee and my first reaction was “Are you sure”? Well, we were both sure and the rest is history. He proposed then because he wanted to keep it a secret from the new in-laws as well.
Let’s talk wedding gowns. Where did you buy your dream gown?
The dress is a work of art by Marlize, the designer at Immagika. I gave her our theme and a few ideas that I liked and she used them to create the most beautiful dress for me.
Did you decide upon a wedding theme? If so, talk us through your choice…
Our theme was Steampunk, which is a bit like the Victorian era with a twist. Think 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne or the Dracula era. It involves lots of extravagant dresses with corsets, gentlemen in top hats and all sorts of gadgetry and paraphernalia. After an initial discussion, the more we toyed with the idea of a Steampunk wedding, the more we knew it fit our ideas and personalities perfectly.
Firstly we decided that for our guests there should no option BUT to come in theme as this would also make sure that no one felt left out AND it would make the day a success. We also wanted to incorporate the idea of ‘the chemistry of love’ as a theme, and we had our amazing marriage coordinator, Ryan Hogarth, incorporate this idea into the ceremony.
We sent out save the date fridge magnets with a picture of a steampunk heart called ‘The Tinkers Heart’, which we kept as a central theme throughout all our correspondence with our guests. Our wedding invites were small puzzles that the guests had to build, and from the invite they got details of the website that Lizzy set up. Our website not only gave people the details of the wedding, but had a lot of information on what Steampunk was all about. It also provided them with many ideas for doing steampunk on a budget.
We made sure that we sent the invitations out early so that people had enough time to think about their outfits. By doing this, our guests were almost more excited about the dress up opportunity than we were, and the enthusiasm with which people accepted the challenge was truly amazing. Every single person who attended the wedding came dressed to theme. It made us feel incredibly honoured and humbled that all of our friends would put so much effort into their costumes, for our day to be a success.
How did you incorporate the Steampunk theme into your wedding décor?
Some of the details that we included were an old fashioned typewriter with ink stamps for people to write personalised messages to us, which we have now bound in a book. We kept the décor of the tables quite simple with the use of succulents, as well as constructing copper pipe decorations ourselves.
Between the ceremony and the reception, when we had our photographs taken, we had our guests play traditional parlour garden games like croquet, giant pick up sticks and boules.
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process?
The most enjoyable part was seeing how the guests slowly started to figure out what the theme was, as the save the date just hinted at the idea. As the mystery unraveled, there were no real traditional limitations on the theme and it was incredible watching peoples’ imaginations go to work.
What was the most testing part of the wedding planning process?
Watching our anticipated budget double from what we initially thought it would be, mainly due to the great ideas that we came up with.
What are your three top tips for a bride to be?
Make it an experience that your guests will talk about for the next year. Get them involved. Choose a venue that suits your theme or your style of wedding. The smaller the number of extra additions that you have to make to the décor, the better. Remember that this is your day, and the planning and ideas are for you. However, if you need help to get things done, then ask for it. We didn’t have bridesmaids or groomsmen, but we did have our friends help us set things up, fold pamphlets, help seat people at the ceremony and even set up the décor for the reception.
Bride’s Little Pink Book
Venue: The Nutcracker Country Retreat / Photographer: Nicole Phillips / Dress: Immagika / Attire for the groom and select guests: Hollywood Costumes.
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Solveig Klahr says
Denver & Lizzy’s – SteamPunk Wedding was the most awesome wedding I have ever attended!
Fairy Bride Mother says
Lucky you! We wish we were there, it looked fabulous! :)