“I

n you, I’ve found the love of my life and my closest, truest friend.” The words Bianca embroidered at the very end of her wedding train, her message to Marc.

Bianca Warren, now Frew, celebrated her marriage to Marc in early December last year. A relatively small, intimate and exquisitely curated affair, it was everything she’d ever wanted, with everyone she ever wanted … to the person she wasn’t sure she’d ever meet.

For Bianca, life had been all about work: “For the last 15 years I’ve dedicated my life to my business – that’s been my family.” But that all changed when she met Johannesburg-born and bred Marc. In typically South African fashion, Bianca and Marc met at a braai. After a few months of dating and living together, Marc purchased Bianca her dream home and gave her full reign to decorate it: “This became my second job – a fun but challenging project. I have a little side business-cumhobby called Black House Décor, where I – together with my mom – decorate homes.”

Now firmly a couple, they headed off to Mykonos on holiday, and Marc proposed: “Completely unexpected,” she grins. But as would be expected, she had ideas, loads of ideas, as to how her dream wedding would be: “Small, formal, intimate, timeless, white, and on the beach. I looked at KZN beach venues, but they were either over-used or not what I visualised.” Bianca and Marc also had family and friends coming from overseas, so an extended destination wedding felt right: “We settled on The White Pearl, a hotel in Mozambique.”

Bianca laughs, “Of course, October and November are one of my busiest times of the year – I was designing and making dresses for seven brides, three of whom were getting married on the same day in December I was. I did not have that fairytale ‘getting your dress ready’ moment you see in movies! In between my brides and meetings, I was juggling my own fittings and alterations.”

She does admit to a weakness: “I bought a number of different fabrics. In my head, I wanted something fairytale and ‘poufy’, but I ended up choosing fitted, heavily beaded with a little bit of a train.” It was exquisite. “I was so comfy and happy in my dress, I would not change a thing.” Bianca’s wonderful work team all wanted to be involved in beading, embroidering and sewing, and each played a part.

Bianca‘s dress was white, the guests in black: “With fabric from Minty’s, I handembellished each flower individually. The base of the fabric is an intricate crystal beadwork – an ombre – which went from very heavily beaded to little beading. I appliqued the lace individually, then added the pearl detail on top of that. The top was constructed on an Italian Illusion Mesh, and I used a power mesh underneath – it was semi see-through, the beadwork and crystals went over it so it wasn’t too sheer. The wedding dress was boned and corseted; I custom-made my three-metre» long, non-functional veil with the little quote at the bottom for Marc.”

As a long weekend destination wedding, it went beyond the wedding: the Meet ‘n’ Greet was a boho beach vibe, the wedding black tie, and the last night (requested by Marc) a shebeen evening. “The boho vibe was beautiful, with huge fire pits on the beach, peonies from Belinda at Peonie Perfect, covered pods with beanbags, local instrumentalists, fire dancers and singers from the community, large platters of prawns and Mozambique chicken. It was laid-back, with everyone in neutrals, khaki, beige, creams, and champagne.” Exquisitely boho, Bianca wore a crocheted lace dress with bronze and gold beadwork with a frill trim around the edging.

The wedding was richly black and sophisticated, Marc stylish in his custom Frank Bespoke and Bianca simply exquisite in her striking beaded gown. She laughs at the couple’s different definition of formal: “Immediately after I walked down the aisle, Marc’s shoes were off, and he asked for the first dance barefoot, outside, overlooking the full blue moon. I was a little taken aback, but I’d learnt that marriage was a compromise – I’d been allowed to plan the entire wedding … as long as it included a shebeen and he could remove his shoes for both events!

“We were married on the deck, the weather picture-perfect with the ocean and waves crashing behind us,” says Bianca. “It couldn’t have been more romantic, surrounded by the love of friends and family, in a dream setting.”

White was everywhere, from the decor to the flowers: “All my orchids were potted with their roots. We chopped them at the second node, and used the sprays in the arches, displays and bouquets. After wedding, we brought them home to put in our trees to reflower, a beautiful memory to remind us of our special day.”

For the wedding tables, Bianca wanted pure white, no greenery, with gold accents. Her fine attention to detail was everywhere. Bianca not only made the embroidered hand towels and waitrons’ aprons, but each serviette was embroidered with the names of the guests: “Everyone wanted to take theirs home, and they did.”

And there were flickering candles simply everywhere, Bianca’s own brand: “I have a range of rooms sprays and candles with the signature scent I developed, ginger and wild lily. For the wedding, the candles were all in glass candleholders and the unmistakable scent was wonderful.” The reception was lit like fairyland.

For the last night, Bianca organised Marc’s shebeen party. She rented a local shebeen, ordered R&R and local beers, with a Mozambican menu. Guests » travelled there in taxis over the dunes. She laughs, “It was very, very festive, and the older guests who’d been sceptical of staying late, looking askance at the red plastic chairs – were the last to want to leave.”

Bianca’s team were tried and tested professionals with whom she’d worked before: “Valenti did my hair and make-up

– I’ve worked with her for 15 years, and recommend her to all my matric dance girls and brides: “We’re a good team,” she smiles. Rowena from The Floral Team did the flowers, and our DJ was Dave Ward of Top Jocks.

For Bianca, her mom, Linda, “my rock” – was simply amazing: “I don’t know what I would have done without her. She sourced everything, and ran the show. She knew I wanted it to be perfect, and made sure it was – it was deeply appreciated by Marc and I.”

“In you, I’ve found the love of my life and my closest, truest friend.” A simple vow made by Bianca to Marc, words to embroider into their life story from here on in. *

Bridal Tips From Bianca

• When choosing your wedding dress, you can be on trend, but don’t ignore timeless and elegant styles. Keep in mind your body shape, what suits you, and what you’re most comfy and confident in. Ultimately that choice will look and feel best.

• For your first two wedding dress fittings, don’t include too many others. You’ll be trying to make everyone happy. Only when there’s a beautiful base you love, bring in others.

• It’s an early start for everyone. Don’t rush getting ready. Give everyone their make-up and hair times, and don’t waver on those – make sure you have enough time for you.

• Choose clip-in extensions over permanent.

• If possible, choose real tan over fake tan.

• In stiletto heels, get a clear shoe tab so you don’t fall into the grass or wooden decking.

• Give a bridesmaid a lipstick for the bride and bridesmaids to use during pics.

Considering the world has always been in a constant state of flux, relevancy in terms of skills, life skills and values taught at schools should always have been a factor, shouldn’t it?

For a long time though, education and schooling felt inflexible and distant from the reality of what the world beyond school demanded of its “new recruits”.

“Hericlitus said it over 2000 years ago – change is the only constant in life,” says Waterfall College Principal Bryony Green. “But what impacts education today is that the rate of change has picked up significantly.” She feels that in some respects, this means educators need to go back to basics – to focus on the “soft skills” that will arm school-leavers with the foundation they need to adapt to an everchanging world.

Constant Change

Ongoing conversations around this constant change, and exploring ways to arm children for the future, are alive and well in the schools we spoke to.

“The world in which these pupils will live as adults will look vastly different to our current reality,” says Claire Keyworth, Senior Primary teacher at Durban Girls’ College (DGC). “Advancements in technology will drastically change the face of the workplace, and we have to identify what our students will need in order to be successful in their lifetimes. This is where 21st century skills are so important –collaboration, creativity, problem solving, independence, critical thinking. These skills are developed in our school through the Thinking Schools pedagogy, to which we prescribe.”

The Thinking Schools concept is attributed to the late Professor Burden of the University of Exeter. For him, “A great deal of evidence would appear to indicate that a significant proportion of pupils pass through their 15 000 hours of schooling without being required to do much real thinking at all.” Accreditation as a Thinking School was given to DGC’s Junior Primary, an acknowledgement underpinned by the requirement that the