Planning: A world-class wedding celebration

A WORLD-CLASS WEDDING CELEBRATION

Wedding planner extraordinaire Marius Barnard describes a meticulously planned three-day Hindu wedding celebration that he and his company put together in 2019

A Hindu wedding ceremony is like no other and Weddings by Marius had the awesome opportunity to coordinate and plan an extravagant three-day Hindu wedding for Anuradha and Sachin at a spectacular Durban wedding venue, The Capital Zimbali, near Ballito. Initially, the wedding celebrations were booked for Cape Town, but Anu and Sachin had a sudden change of heart and settled for the striking venue near Durban instead. “We worked for nearly seven entire months,” Marius remembers. “This Hindu wedding ceremony had to be absolutely flawless.”

Day 1

Festivities kicked off on 17 October, 2019 with a welcome dinner hosted at The Capital Zimbali. The majority of guests booked an entire week’s stay at the resort. “It was an extraordinary event,” Marius remembers, “replete with a live band, whisky and cigar lounge. The room was bedecked to the nines and radiated style and elegance, despite the event being an informal get-together for friends. A braai and colourful drinks were followed by an after party of note, held at the resort’s ballroom, where dancing continued until the wee hours.”

Day 2

The following day at noon, all the guests were invited to an exotic pool and mehendi party (this is where the bride and her female guests are decorated with traditional hand art). “The venue was decked out in the exquisite traditional colours one would expect of a Hindu wedding,” Marius explains. “The event included food stations and entertainment provided by a skilled caricaturist. While the DJ expertly mixed his music, the ladies were lavishly decorated with mehindi art and the gents enjoyed themselves around the swimming pool.”

That evening, guests congregated on the deck of the resort’s restaurant for a magical al fresco dinner under the African sky. “Our team set up thousands of lights and cocktail tables, comfortable low dinner tables, luxurious daybeds and designer lounge nooks so that guests could relax after a day at the pool,” says Marius.

Day 3

On the morning of the main wedding ceremony, the set-up commenced in earnest. The venue for the ceremony was the upper pool deck. Here, a traditional wedding mandap was set up – a purpose-built, stagelike structure was constructed over the swimming pool with a ‘floating’ walkway for the couple to reach the sacred altar where they would be married.

The groom’s family met at the pool area close to the beach at 2pm to start off the baraat – the groom’s wedding procession. The groom and his family members were transported to the wedding venue in a decorated golf cart. The bride’s family congregated at the wedding mandap and waited in anticipation for the groom to arrive. Then came the moment everyone waits for at a Hindu wedding ceremony – the arrival of the bride and her bridesmaids. “When Anu entered with her bridal party, everyone gasped,” Marius remembers.

Anu looked absolutely exquisite in her Sabyasachi designer sari. During the sacred three-hour traditional ceremony, guests enjoyed high tea and other refreshments. This was followed by a photo shoot that took a number of hours. Then everyone retired to their rooms to prepare for the evening’s festivities.

The reception, a gala dinner, began after 8pm. Called a sangeet (a term used to describe a celebratory event during an Indian wedding), it was held in the resort’s ballroom. The word sangeet translates to ‘music night’ or ‘musical party’ – and it certainly lived up to its name. As guests arrived, they were welcomed with a choice of champagne or wine plus delicious canapés.

The doors to the ballroom swung open to reveal a scene that mirrored all of Anu’s dreams for this momentous occasion. The décor included delicate duck egg blue table linen, ghost chairs and a mixture of round, rectangular and square tables laden with gold cutlery and gold-rimmed glassware. It was elegance personified.

A waterfall mounted on steel trusses erupted in a shower of golden sparks as the bride and groom entered for the start of the reception. “We masterfully framed the main table with an abundance of ‘growing’ florals so that it was brimming with colour and style,” Marius explains. Dinner commenced with a delicate mushroom soup followed by an entrée of Greek mezze, berry sorbet and a choice of either braised lamb shoulder, seared line fish or brinjal carpaccio. After the meal, the sangeet took over and the dancing began.

“I am so proud of our team,” Marius adds. “We definitely showed that it is possible to create a world-class wedding event in South Africa. All it took was excellent organisation, careful planning and lots of hard work. “It was an absolute privilege to plan this magnificent event with this astonishing couple for close on seven months. They really are the most remarkable couple I have ever had the pleasure of coordinating a wedding for. Anu and Sachin completely trusted us to plan this amazing event – and that is a reward in itself. We cannot thank them enough for giving us this incredible opportunity!”

STOCKISTS

Wedding planner Marius Barnard, Weddings by Marius | www.weddingsymarius.co.za Venue The Capital Zimbali | www.thecapital.co.za