1
00:00:00,440 --> 00:00:03,640
Speaker 1: Hello, Hello Lester. This week on the Luxury low Down,

2
00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:06,120
Speaker 1: I thought i'd cast my gaze on Cape Town's uber

3
00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,960
Speaker 1: luxury wedding industry that's now starting to wind down before

4
00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:12,520
Speaker 1: it revs up again in November. The Creme de la

5
00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:15,400
Speaker 1: Creme wedding plan as I stalked, say that eighty percent

6
00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:19,759
Speaker 1: of their nuptial extravaganzas these days comprise of foreign brides

7
00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:23,800
Speaker 1: and grooms. Apparently, Cape Town has become the luxury wedding

8
00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:27,920
Speaker 1: destination from November to April for many reasons. Firstly, the

9
00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:31,040
Speaker 1: weather is fab and it's a convenient halfway point for

10
00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:34,320
Speaker 1: traveling guests spanning the globe, as well as having the

11
00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:38,120
Speaker 1: most ideal venues and services. And of course the affordable

12
00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:41,600
Speaker 1: rand helps too when it comes to budgets, averaging from

13
00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:44,920
Speaker 1: one point two million for locals right up to thirty

14
00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:48,640
Speaker 1: million Rand for foreign budgets ready to elope. Yet, there

15
00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:51,160
Speaker 1: are also a vast range of venues to choose from,

16
00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:55,040
Speaker 1: with the Winelands being a favorite choice, especially along the

17
00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:59,360
Speaker 1: so called Millionaire's Mile which stretches from Takara to Boschendall,

18
00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:04,040
Speaker 1: with Bergelergen being the ultimate venue du jure. Some of

19
00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:06,880
Speaker 1: these farms can cost around half a million ran to hire,

20
00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:09,840
Speaker 1: and that's just for the main event. Then there's the

21
00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:13,080
Speaker 1: welcome to Cape Town bash which is often hosted at

22
00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:16,640
Speaker 1: the Zeitsmoker, followed by the pre wedding brye, and then

23
00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:19,840
Speaker 1: there's the Bloody Mary after party and the post mortem brunch.

24
00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:22,679
Speaker 1: That all need to be considered as many of the

25
00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:25,319
Speaker 1: guests fly into Cape Town for the week, and so

26
00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:28,800
Speaker 1: the wedding fast becomes a festival of dreams. When I

27
00:01:28,959 --> 00:01:32,600
Speaker 1: ask the planners why Cape Town, they say, apart from

28
00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:36,920
Speaker 1: the obvious reasons like natural beauty and affordability, Unlike Europe,

29
00:01:37,160 --> 00:01:41,279
Speaker 1: Cape Town subscribes to a yes culture. Apparently, in Europe

30
00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:43,520
Speaker 1: you would have to accept what's on offer, kind of

31
00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:46,640
Speaker 1: take it or leave it. In South Africa, if you

32
00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:49,720
Speaker 1: can dream it and pay for it, we will deliver

33
00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:53,520
Speaker 1: in spades. Also, the spaces and venues allow for less

34
00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:57,640
Speaker 1: restrictions and rules with regards to noise and scale, and

35
00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:00,920
Speaker 1: so weddings can continue with wild a bat London into

36
00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:04,640
Speaker 1: the early hours with a constant notion of a surprising

37
00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:08,800
Speaker 1: reveal from an amphitheater for the ceremony to a glass

38
00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:12,720
Speaker 1: riverside clear span marquee for the meal, to an ancient

39
00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:16,200
Speaker 1: heritage building transformed into a bar for the jawl, and

40
00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:19,640
Speaker 1: then there's the silent disco in a camphor forest to

41
00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:23,240
Speaker 1: wind down, all happening at the same venue, with the

42
00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:27,400
Speaker 1: gen z brides and grooms often having three different wardrobe

43
00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:31,200
Speaker 1: changes during the night. The flower escapes also are on

44
00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:34,560
Speaker 1: an enormous scale and often imported blooms that have to

45
00:02:34,639 --> 00:02:38,200
Speaker 1: be refrigerated until the big day, to special wheat fields

46
00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:41,400
Speaker 1: that are grown in advance, as well as canopies of

47
00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:46,400
Speaker 1: handstitched crystals and giant displays of tassels and king proteas.

48
00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:50,200
Speaker 1: Think the Secret Garden meets the Chronicles of Narnia meets

49
00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:53,600
Speaker 1: Willy Wonka, but the serenade is performed by the Ndlovo

50
00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:57,080
Speaker 1: Youth Choir instead of umpe lumpas. Food and drink is

51
00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:02,359
Speaker 1: also of epic proportions, eating sushi stations with chefs slicing

52
00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:06,000
Speaker 1: whole bluefin tunas before your eyes, to dom mardes being

53
00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:08,760
Speaker 1: rolled from the vine leaves of the farm you're standing on,

54
00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:13,239
Speaker 1: to tequila fountains and specialized cocktails the likes of Pilomas,

55
00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:18,440
Speaker 1: negronies and espresso Martini's its food and drink porn on steroids,

56
00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:22,720
Speaker 1: and it's extremely instagrammable. I soon learned that the word

57
00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:27,200
Speaker 1: buffet is not allowed and is considered dated and last century.

58
00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:30,600
Speaker 1: The harvest table is now all the rage and heaving

59
00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:34,280
Speaker 1: with abundant local produce and sexy snacks. The likes of

60
00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:39,200
Speaker 1: Bridgeton and Vikings, photographers and videographers are present, but a

61
00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:42,360
Speaker 1: sign of the ultimate luxury wedding is a media team

62
00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:44,720
Speaker 1: who will take over the bride's phone for the week,

63
00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:48,880
Speaker 1: snapping up digital content and reportage in real time of

64
00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:53,680
Speaker 1: the guest's reactions and enjoyment. Invitations arrive with mood boards

65
00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:57,119
Speaker 1: and themes with African luxury in mind. If you think

66
00:03:57,160 --> 00:04:00,400
Speaker 1: this sounds unbelievable, you might be surprised to hear that

67
00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:04,280
Speaker 1: venues are booked up years in advance, so the commitment

68
00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:07,880
Speaker 1: is real and the wedding planners, who are generally self

69
00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:12,200
Speaker 1: proclaimed OCD and on speed dial, are the superglue that

70
00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:16,360
Speaker 1: brings it all together, from managing massive budgets to family

71
00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:20,560
Speaker 1: dramas and expectations, as well as always having a plan

72
00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:23,159
Speaker 1: b up their sleeves if they have to deal with

73
00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:27,520
Speaker 1: the biggest nightmare, the Voldemort of all weddings, a black southeaster,

74
00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:32,240
Speaker 1: but evidently it is extremely rewarding in many ways, and

75
00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:35,560
Speaker 1: sharing the joy of a perfect I do moment is

76
00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:40,120
Speaker 1: a big driver of an extremely stressful and lucrative industry.

77
00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:42,600
Speaker 1: That's it from me, Lester. I'll be out and about

78
00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:45,800
Speaker 1: luxury hunting until next week's Luxury Lowdown.