Inside Charl & Jes’s Cosmic Burning Man Wedding
Written by Peta Ireland Al Akawi on July 3, 2019.
Tagged under: Burning Man, Burning Man festival, Festival, Real Wedding, Unique wedding ideas, bridal fashion
Hot off the back of Glastonbury, we’re SO excited to share with you this ultimate ‘festival vibes’ Real Wedding featuring dashing Groom, Charl, and oh so stunning Bride, Jes. Charl, a South African Dubai expat DJ, and his Kiwi Dubai expat Yogi Bride, Jes, tied the knot in 2018 at the iconic Burning Man festival. Burning Man, a wild 9-day arts event that takes place every year in the Black Rock Desert of northwest Nevada, is notorious for outlandish fashion, artistic performances and one hell of rave!
We got to ask Charl some ‘burning’ questions to find out more about his unique nuptials at Black Rock City. Get ready for some seriously cool Real Wedding inspo!
♡ Charl, tell us how you proposed to your beautiful wife Jes?
We were on the Playa at Burning Man in 2016, where friends of ours were getting married. The night before when I climbed in bed after having an epic day of connection with Jes, it just made sense for me to propose to her. So the following day at the closing of our friend’s wedding I got down on one knee in front of all our friends and asked her to be my life partner! It was an incredible moment filled with so much love. Then we went and had a big party in the camp. It wasn’t going to change anything on our path, we were already family.
♡ Did you have a specific theme in mind for your wedding and if so, what was the inspiration behind it?
The theme was ‘come as you are!’ Burning Man styles are always fabulous and everyone turned up in their gorgeous outfits. We were all relaxed and had an element of ‘go with the flow’. We had it in our camp and it was very connective and heartfelt.
♡ Your wedding was far from traditional, so we’re intrigued to know if you had a wedding cake?
Haha! No wedding cake but we did serve Cacao. Oh, and I performed the ‘Haka’ for Jes!
♡ Where did you and your bride find your fabulous outfits?
Jes worked together with a designer called Julia Milan. Julia does all the costume design for Blue Marlin Ibiza UAE and The Act. So she created something quite unique and special for us.
♡ What made you decide to have your wedding at Burning Man?
For us it’s home. This is where we first became family and it just made so much sense. Burning Man has played a big part in our story as partners, we love our families around the world in fact, but for us everything happened on the Playa here and its how we choose to honor each other in our way….
♡ What was the most enjoyable part of planning your wedding?
The most enjoyable part was how easy it was! The day felt effortless and pure magic!
♡ What did you find the most testing part of the wedding planning process?
Honestly, it was an easy flow all the way.
♡ What are your tips for couples looking to get married at their favorite festival?
Never mind festivals (Burning Man is a lot more than that!) but I would advise people to just honor their partner and whatever speaks to you as a couple, and not to what everyone else maybe wants.
♡ What would your best piece of advice be for couples planning a destination wedding?
Go to Burning Man. It will teach you the skills to plan your own wedding wherever you want…
♡ What kind of ceremony did you have?
A cosmic one. We also served Cacao.
♡ What was the most memorable part of your big day?
The Haka! And sitting there at the altar as beloveds surrounded by our beloved friends.
♡ Anything/anyone else you wish to add/credit?
Yes. Thank you to all our friends that supported us, who spoke, who took photos, who turned up to be with us and help create this special moment. We will FOREVER treasure it.
The Groom’s Little Pink Book
Bride & Groom’s Outfits: Julia Milan / Venue: Burning Man / Everything else: THE BRIDE & GROOM!!
Christina Victoria says
What a brilliant, unique and beautiful set of images with so many great ideas!!! Love it!