Real Wedding Stories

The Wedding Story

Brian and Najma met in April 2014, by introduction of a mutual friend. They would text back and forth until he finally asked her on a date. Our first date was at a Mizz Khalifa concert that June of 2014. Najma says, “he was different from the guys I’d normally date, so I decided to follow my heart and give him a chance.”

They navigated a long-distance relationship for a couple of years as she lived in Johannesburg at the time and Brian in Middelburg. Then in November 2016 she decided to take a leap of faith and move to Middelburg. Many things happened in 2017, Brian paid for her loloan, they started building their dream home and moved into it in November and best thing that happened was that she fell pregnant with their son.

The Celebration

“My husband is my best friend and my family, and after 9 years of being together we are an unstoppable force. We both love food and enjoy trying new things. We live in a small town and do not have access to a lot of restaurants, so I like playing master chef with my husband, we try out new recipes and he’d tell me how they taste. Thus far I’ve had only positive comments so I could be the next Gordon Ramsey, or my husband is just too nice to tell me the truth. He’s very quiet and reserved while I am the life of the party, a classic story of how opposites do attract,” tells Najima.

In 2019 Brian booked a trip to George for them, which is situated in the Western Cape, to fulfil a wish Najima had. Brian had planned a special dinner for us them at “See nápity” an award winning fine dining restaurant overlooking the Tows River estuary in the heart of the Garden Route. After an incredible meal and whilst they were waiting for their dessert, Brian proceeded to tell her how he fell about her and how much he loves her and before she knew it, he went down on one knee, and asked her if she would marry him. And of course, she said Yes!!

The Ceremony

The next morning, they announced their engagement to their friends and family. It was only in 2022 after having breast reduction surgery that she was ready to plan the wedding of her dreams.

After scouting more than 10 wedding venues around Joburg and Mpumalanga, they arrived at Inimitable and Najma said her heart skipped a beat. It was everything they were looking for, elegance, modern, and very appealing to the eye, a mini paradise and she could immediately picture herself walking down that aiden. Najma said that from the moment she laid eyes on it she was in love.

The words to describe their wedding was ‘a dream come true’. Najma remembers “I wanted it to be memorable not only for Brian and myse, but for friends and family. And the guest, were not disappointed. Brian’s Aunt mentioned that, to her, it was the wedding of the year.”

Initially Najma didn’t have a clear vision of what she wanted her theme to be except that she wanted to include pink as it is her favourite colour. Her bridesmaids wore dusty pink gowns, her bouquet had splashes of pink and the table settings had pink and gold for elegance. She was happy that Brian did not oppose to her choice of pink for their day.

Najma tells us that Pinterest was her main source of inspiration, a combination of different flower and bridal boards really made her vision come to life. When she communicated her vision to Zavion’s team, they knew exactly what to do, and the result was more than she could ever have imagined or dreamed.

The ceremony boasted beautiful Tiffany chairs and an arch which included the same flowers as her bouquet, really added that wow factor! For the reception she chose square tables and cle and ghot chairs. The centre pieces included mirrors and glass under plates with white upside-down croissant style napkins, gold Cutlery and dinner and pillars candles with grouping style florals. Dropping fairy lights everywhere brought the whole look together beautifully.

Najma was always in love with the idea of looking like a princess on her wedding day. Her vision included a ball gown, long veil, lots of flowers, and feathers, an updo and a face tan looking pure inance. Finding the right makeup artist was the first step, however, she made it happen. Najma admits to not being a healty, fortunately, she found a comfortable sparkly Jimmy Choo shoe. As she chose a 6-metre-long veil she opted for little or no accessories and had only a gorgeous hairpiece included in her classy up style.

Their children were involved in their wedding and Najma said it was a highlight for her to watch her 2-year-old daughter who was their flower girl, holding onto her brother as they walked down the aiden together. Her brother carried her flower basket as she was too shy to. Najma says she wanted them to see what love looks like and share this special moment filled with happiness, love, and joy.

Love, Laughter & Forever

The details. The people. The magic.

Other fun elements to their wedding were the sparkle and bubble machines, which the guests really enjoyed. They asked the guests who were making speeches at their wedding what their favourite love songs were, and they used these songs as an introduction for their speeches.

The food was a unique experience as they were able to curate their own menu from scratch, including: African food which Brian loves and Mexican which she loves, resulting in a very different taste!

“The whole day was a highlight for me, my close friends and family got to celebrate such a wonderful union between my husband and me. From the moment I entered the venue where I was treated like a queen, to getting dressed and walking down the aisle seeing everyone I love, smiling and crying. To all the pastels blessings our marriage by surrounding us with prayer. And the food being exactly what we wanted. To the decor and the best part my photographer, My brother-in-law killing it has our MC. Dancing and celebrating with my family and friends. I could on and on. However, worth mentioning is the service at Inmitable, it truly is 5 star and the staff are remarkable,” tells Najma.

They come from a very diverse family with people living in different parts of the of the continent (Kenya, Swaziland, Zambía, and Zimbabwe) and them being able to attend the wedding made it extremely special.

Advice Najma tells us is to take in every moment because time really does fly. Having a wedding planner is important. It helps to manage stress. Having that extra person doing research and calling and emailing vendors on your behalf is a massive win. Budget, budget, budget! Discuss this with your partner before anything, making decision clear from the start. Seek spiritual and marriage guidance beforehand, wedding planning can take a toll on your mental health, and it helps when you have someone helping you see the big picture and end goal.