Little Works featured weddings: Chantal & Roleen
Meet Chantal and Roleen, a lovely couple that we got to work with on their wedding stationery. We absolutely love their story!
How did you and your wife meet?
Roleen and I met more than eleven years ago when I was a waitress at a coffee shop in century city that she frequented.
How did you propose?
A few months after we met I knew that she was the one for me and asked her to be my wife. Marriage between same sex couples wasn’t legal yet back then and quite frankly we had no desire to have a piece of paper to tell us what we already knew…that we were committed completely to each other.
The actual proposal wasn’t anything fancy I’m afraid…we sat in her favourite restaurant at the time Diva’s, sharing a pizza and I just came out and asked her…taking a ring off one of my fingers to use as an engagement ring because we couldn’t afford anything fancy back then. Later we asked my Grandfather, who was a diamond setter by trade, to make us two rings which we designed and wore for many years (Roleen still wears hers today). For the wedding though we had a jeweller friend design and make two brand new rings for us to mark the continued bond between us.
How long did it take to plan your wedding?
We chose our wedding date to coincide with our anniversary so we had almost a year to plan which was way too long.
What was your theme and why?
Our theme was a mixture of elegant, vintage, classic and earth. Now while this might sound like a mix match of oddities, it actually worked very well. We had originally wanted an outdoor wedding with more of a rustic vintage feel but when we came across the venue we got married at we immediately fell in love and had to alter our plans slightly. Haute Cabriere hosted our wedding, so from an outdoor afternoon wedding we changed to a cellar ceremony and indoor, underground reception in the evening. There were two details that were non-negotiable though…for Roleen it was Lace and for me it was birds. So we incorporated lace on the tables and flower bottles outside and I had little bird cards placed on certain wine glasses in the reception hall.
Your favourite moment of the day?
My favourite moment of the day was by far when I saw Roleen in her wedding dress for the first time, walking down the aisle towards me. She looked more beautiful than I had ever seen her and she radiated love. We locked eyes and I didn’t stop smiling till the evening ended and we passed out dead on our feet from sheer enjoyment and relief that the day had passed with little to no major upsets.
Any advice for future brides and grooms?
Every girl dreams of having an amazing wedding but at the end of it all, no matter who you ask, whether it was a R500k wedding or a race to the local home affairs office, what you remember most is holding your significant others’ hand in front of your family and friends and saying I do. Don’t get hung up on the small details because at the end of the day it really doesn’t feature.
Some practical advice…don’t drink too much the night before, visit the ladies room before you put your wedding dress on and always have your bridesmaid hold some tissues for you because you will shed a tear before the night is over. Top tip…take a moment to look around at all the family and friends you have invited and watch them enjoying the moment. After months of planning, it is over so quickly that you must take a moment to enjoy it and watch others enjoying it.
How did you choose your wedding suppliers?
We went to a few wedding expos and also scoured the internet. I’m sure we boosted CNAs sales by buying every wedding magazine known to man but ended up using little to nothing from them. A very helpful website was the Little Pink Book which is where I found Little Works if I recall, and also just approaching local businesses. Of course we had to lead with “if you have a problem with same sex marriage let us know now” but we only encountered one company who wouldn’t deal with us due to their religious beliefs.
What was it like working with Little Works?
It was an absolute pleasure to work with Little Works. Nothing was impossible for Michelle, even a request for some of the invites to be in a different language was met with no arguments at all! The invites, menus and place names were printed timeously without any errors and within our budget — which is always a good thing! (One small touch that I do recall…when we went to collect the invitations, Michelle gave them to us in a beautiful box covered in angels and music…two items that are very close to my heart).
What would you do differently, if anything?
On the day itself we had a small drama unfold with regards to a couple that had an argument…I would have erased that totally (I can confirm though that they worked out their issues and are now getting married on 4 July).
Thanks so much ladies!