We’re so stoked to share the full blog post of Daiana & Samka’s Luxury Wedding at Cavalli Estate in Stellenbosch! Cavalli is one of our Top 10 favourite wedding venues.  If you’re looking for a modern, sophisticated venue, but still have the charms and vistas that make the Cape Winelands such a popular choice, then look no further!  This is exactly what appealed to our couple as well.  Their venue choice was in many ways an extension of their stunning modern home in Johannesburg.

A Luxury wedding needs a good start!  So it was no surprise that our couple chose the luxury 5-star Luxury Majeka House Guest House, just 10 mins from Cavalli to do their preparations.   Apart from Daiana’s wow dress by Gert-Johan Coetzee, it was Samka’s choice of white BOSS sneakers that stood out – awesome to work with such an on-trend couple!

Design & Décor

We’ve been looking forward to this wedding ever since Aleit Weddings booked us at the beginning of 2018.  We knew it was going to be different.  Whenever the wizards of aCreate are involved, you can expect out-of-the-box design and décor.  The conventional makes way for the creative and the end result is almost always fresh and unique.  And with Cavalli being the blank canvas it is, Deejay and team had Carte Blanche to make dreams turn into reality.  For the ceremony, formal, upright tiffany chairs were ditched in favour of fashionable couches, loungers and bar tables and stools.  It just makes sense to turn your ceremony area into the pre-drinks area without doing a thing!  The added bonus is that your guests do not have to move at all!  Clever if you ask me!

The reception at this luxury wedding – WOW – Two long tables with what looked like a forest of suspended greenery and naked bulbs overhead.  Cavalli was transformed into a fairytale setting – warm and cosy – Kudos to Aleit Weddings!  To top all, the chick modern restaurant at Cavalli was transformed into a full-on night club – complete with neon signs and lights and the talented DJ West to rock the house.

The Entertainment

As important as the setting and decor were for our couple, even more, was the entertainment.  Ever since Daiana set foot in Stardust Restaurant in Cape Town, she fell in love with the live entertainers. She was adamant to include the same type of entertainment at her wedding.  You can imagine her excitement when word came back from the planners that they secured the actual performance team of Stardust to perform at the wedding.  The guests were totally surprised when their waiters suddenly pulled out the mics and started singing!  What an awesome experience!  Other entertainment included a marimba band during the pre-dinner drinks and traditional African dancers to lead guest into the reception.

It was also a special moment for me, as I covered Samka’s sister, Nkensani’s wedding at Velmore Estate in Centurion 7 years ago.  I could not believe that it was their boys that were the ring bearers!  How time flies…

Lastly, I have to mention Ian and the team of Vision on Fire – It was so awesome to work with you guys again!  These guys are on the next level of creativity.  Working together with videographers can sometimes be frustrating, especially if they do not give consideration of being in your shot or taking over too much.  But these two gentlemen showed their experience and thoughtfulness – what a pleasure to work together! I can’t wait to see the video!

Photos by Stefan Steenkamp & Jo-lizna Botha