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A Berta Bride for a Breathtaking Jewish Wedding Full of Flowers, Corgis, and Jewish History at Villa Arcadia, Johannesburg, South Africa

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While we adore ALL the wonderful Jewish weddings we feature here on STG, for our last post of the year we always try to select something with that little bit of extra wow factor. And if we say so ourselves, we’ve outdone ourselves with our ’22 pick. The fabulous South African Jewish wedding of Shari, who works in marketing and media, and Gavin, a musician, is truly one for the books.

First off the flowers… there really isn’t much we can say beyond WOW. From the Amalfi Coast-inspired floral chuppah to the artfully curated tabletops to the hanging arrangements – all we can say is do yourself a favor and scroll through the exquisite images by Shanna Jones Photography ASAP!

Just as stunning was Shari’s Berta gown. She knew “Demi” was the one for her the moment she set eyes on it, and purchased her dream dress from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor The Wedding Club in London, “who were absolutely incredible in organising it despite the distance from South Africa”!

We also love that Shari and Gavin opted to wed in a venue with Jewish history: dating back to 1903, Villa Arcadia was the first Jewish orphanage in South Africa, and it was instrumental in homing war orphans from Eastern Europe.

There’s so much more to say about this wonderful day – how sweet is it that the couple’s corgi, Nika, served as their flower girl?! – but we’ll let the bride take it from here…

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How we Met

Shari, the bride: We met very unexpectedly through mutual friends who were dating, we both went to his house with very low expectations. The only reason they thought to set us up was because Gavin was tall enough for me!Continue ReadingContinue Reading

A bohemian Jewish wedding bringing the outdoors inside at Lourensford Wine Estate, Cape Town, South Africa

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Today’s stunner of a real wedding comes all the way from Cape Town, South Africa, and is, unbelievably, only our second STG South African real wedding. Needless to say, if this is the level of wedding pretty coming from that part of the world, then we’d definitely like to see a lot more, please!

When presented with a chuppah this breathtaking, it seems ludicrous not to talk about it first, and, frankly, this divine design deserves all the positive adjectives. Decadently draped in fresh flowers, it’s so astounding that you’d be forgiven for almost failing to notice the awe-inspiring mountainous backdrop of Gavin and Kelly’s Jewish ceremony.

Beautiful bride, Kelly, looked a million bucks in her sublime custom-made, boho-inspired dress, flanked by no fewer than 12 bridesmaids.

With a natural ethos in mind, Kelly’s brief for wedding planner, Veronica, from Petals Group, was to bring the outdoors inside, which Veronica managed with aplomb.

The day was immortalised in images by much-sought-after photographer, Shanna Jones who did such a phenomenal job that she earned one of the most passionate reviews of a supplier we’ve published on these pages. We can certainly see what all the fuss is about — just look at this spread, a picture of perfection.

We’ll pass you over to Kelly’s capable hands to tell you more about her and Gavin’s ethereal and whimsical wedding day.

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An idyllic Cape Town venue

Kelly, the bride: We got married at Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West, Cape Town. Gavin is originally from Cape Town, which really is one of the most beautiful places in the world, so we decided to look at venues there. We loved the relaxed and informal, homey feel of Lourensford and we knew we wanted to get married there from the second we viewed it.

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Bringing the outdoors inside

We knew what we wanted from the beginning. We wanted a very earthy, natural boho look and feel. We wanted it to be understated and nothing over the top. We knew we wanted flowers, but, more so, we wanted greenery. If we could have done the whole wedding outside we would have, but with Cape Town weather being temperamental it wasn’t worth the risk, so we wanted to try bring outside inside. We used, Veronica, from Petals Group. She was outstanding and we could not have done a thing without her. She really guided us throughout the process.

Overall, what we really wanted was our wedding not to be a big show. We wanted it to be small, intimate and authentic and really just to celebrate our love. Every part of my day felt sincere and genuine and all the love and care for me and Gavin was so present. I think people felt that sincerity, and enjoyed the evening because of it. That’s what made it special to me.Continue ReadingContinue Reading