Destination Weddings/Cultural Weddings

Cape Town Destination Wedding with Spectacular Mountain Views

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Okay all you jet setters, take note of this gorgeous South African wedding adventure! Flying thirty hours, from every direction, Carla and Fareed’s closest family and friends circled the globe to take in all the mountain majesty and culinary splendor that Cape Town could offer.

The views, oh the views!  The awe-dropping Cape Town cliffside venue alone would be worth the trek in our eyes.  To the credit of mother nature, only a few classic, subtle details like billowing rose centerpieces, and Carla’s modern open-back Pronovias gown, were necessary for such a beautiful, multicultural, adventurous event.

Thankfully, the spectacular mountain vistas are captured not only in photos, but also in a dramatic, wide sweeping film you can watch at the end of this post.

 

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Our Love Story

Our story is very crazy and serendipitous!

We both moved to San Francisco in 2014 – myself from Manila and Fareed from Australia. I needed a temporary place to stay while house-hunting around the Bay. I rented Fareed’s place on Airbnb for a couple of weeks.

We got along instantly. We became best friends then got together. He was a kindred soul from the moment we met.

But I always tell my friends, what are the chances? It’s probably 1 in a million. If his place was taken on my dates or if I opted to go with another apartment, everything would have been different and we would never have met.

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The Setting

We had an ambitious plan to have the intimate wedding of our dreams somewhere very far – and it all worked out!

Fareed and I have loved ones from Manila, Australia, US, Singapore and Pakistan. We wanted everyone to bond over a shared adventure. Africa has always been on our list – we’ve heard how amazing the nature, food and city vibe of Cape Town is. We decided to take the plunge and plan the wedding of our dreams!

Cape Town is just an unbelievably beautiful city and immersing in it added so much vibrance to our wedding!

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The Ceremony

What made our wedding special is how personal everything was. We wrote our own ceremony and our own vows.

Hearing each others’ personal vows is enough to make me teary eyed. Hearing both our fathers talk during the ceremony was very touching and memorable. We wanted everyone to have a role.

 

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The Photography & Videography

We chose our Cape Town suppliers from afar which made it more tough. The main quality we looked for was authenticity. We wanted a videographer and photographer who would really understand our story and capture our little moments.

We couldn’t have asked for a better photographer and videographer! Our best friend and my Maid of Honor gifted us with wedding photographer – she personally vetted and chose the wonderful folks from ZaraZoo.

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The Food

Being crazy foodies, food was very important! 

Since we had only 30 guests, we spoiled them with the best African cuisine. Throughout the three day celebration, we made sure that the food was to die for.

We served traditional African food – Spring bok –  and paired it with locally grown wine from the vineyards of Cape Town. We made sure everyone had an unforgettable meal.

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Special Moments

We loved how everyone bonded over the 3 day celebration. We took advantage of all our loved ones being in the same continent so we planned a full day tour, a special dinner, wine tasting, which all led up to the wedding! Everyone left feeling closer to each other. I can honestly say I feel a deeper connection with each and every one of my guests. That made the destination wedding worth it!

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Advice to Other Couples

Our biggest advice is to set your own wedding based on what makes you a couple. Do not be pressured to follow traditional rules of what a wedding should be. Have fun with planning and follow your heart with what makes you excited – whether it’s that non-traditional dress, the far wedding venue or the grand meal!

For finding suppliers, trust your instincts! It’s all about trust. Listen to what your gut tells you and go with them. You want to work with people you have a strong, built in connection with.

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