Wedding Gowns & Bridal Fashion

Celebration House is getting ready to host the Cape Town Wedding Festival, which is held at the V&A Waterfront every year.

One of the big advantages of attending the Wedding Festival is that it gives you the opportunity to meet, face to face, many of those directly involved in the wedding industry and to see first hand what they have to offer, as well as how they present themselves.

At this year’s event, visitors will be able to interact with a host of service providers — exhibits include those by leading dress designers and top venues, photographers and videographers, as well as gift registries, jewellers, florists, stationery experts, cake decorators, chocolate fountains and many more.

Capturing beauty and romance
Pam Black of Celebration House explains, “beauty and romance are the essence of a wedding, we want to capture these vital ingredients in our festival”.

During the weekend of the festival there will be mini-fashion shows three times a day. As before, the aim of these shows is to highlight the ‘do’s and don’ts’ of buying a wedding dress, and give brides-to-be some guidelines for choosing a garment that is suited to one’s individual body shape.

“We have asked our designers for some insider tips and secrets on how to look gorgeous on your wedding day, and this useful advice will be passed on to the fashion show audiences. There will be two shows on Friday and three on Saturday and Sunday,” says Pam.

After eleven years of talking to brides, they know one thing for sure — they all love trying on wedding dresses. Thus a feature of the festival that has grown in popularity is their ‘dressing-up box’ — an area dedicated to the trying-on of wedding gowns created by our top designers, with advice provided by a leading stylist. There is no charge for this service but as it is a popular attraction, but it is necessary to book a time slot to avoid disappointment.

Another popular attraction is the ‘make-up box’, where several of our leading make-up artists will be on hand to provide makeovers and, together with hairstylists, offer advice on looking stunning on your wedding day. It is also necessary to make a booking for this complimentary service, so remember to do so when you arrive at the festival.

An ‘interactive festival’
“We have always prided ourselves on having a very ‘interactive’ festival, as we feel it is important for couples to go home inspired and full of interesting new ideas to help with planning their weddings. With this in mind, we know that this year’s exciting new addition to the Festival, our ‘Inspiration Zone’, is going to be a huge hit, as it will provide visitors with a feast of exciting and stimulating ideas,” says Pam.

Festival tickets (R35 per person, under 18 free) will enable you to come and go throughout the day, at your leisure. And should the man in your life start to feel that he is on wedding-overload, there will even be a spot at the back of the marquee where he can ‘chill out’.

Throughout the weekend, a variety of musicians — from string quartets to soloists, African drummers and more — will be at the festival to entertain you.

Visitors will also be eligible to enter the fabulous Festival Competition, with a top prize this year of an original Robyn Roberts wedding dress worth R10 000. There are many other wonderful prizes up for grabs as well, including a night for two at a private game reserve, an ante-nuptial contract, wedding transport, and much more. Details are listed on their website, www.celebrationhouse.co.za or www.capetownweddingfestival.co.za.

The Cape Town Wedding Festival will be held at the V&A Waterfront (Market Square and The V & A Forum) from 7-9 September 2007.