Michelle and Alex met through mutual friends in London. Unbeknown to Michelle, Alex was the man next door who sang "Roxanne" by Sting repeatedly until 4am! In all fairness, he did pop in the next day to apologize once he realized someone had moved in... and then it took him two weeks to ask her out!
The proposal took place as the couple were strolling along the banks of the Thames River. They had just passed the Tower Bridge and were taking in the sites, when Alex popped the question. "It was so very romantic!" Michelle smiles.
Alex is Greek and Michelle is South African and they approached Aleit with the directive that they would like their wedding to represent a fusion of their cultures and personalities. A Catholic service was held in St Mary's Cathedral in Cape Town - a sentimental touch as the bride's parents were married there too. Guests then drove to Cloud's Guest house which is perched on the shoulder of the majestic Hellshoogte pass in Stellenbosch.
"Our wedding day was absolutely perfect! The night before they had forecast rain but the weather turned out to be brilliant. In this case the inaccuracy of the weatherman was certainly in our favour. I was most looking forward to seeing the floral arrangements and table settings as Faye, Anneke (from Leipzig) and I had spent a lot of time getting this just right! Even though the wind came up and spoilt our plans of an open air dinner, the professionalism and ease in which the dining area was re-arranged impressed Alex and I as well as our guests! Alex loved the Chef Aleit had recommended - his Greek cuisine was second to none. In fact our guests from Athens said it was the best Greek food they'd ever had!"
Due to busy schedules, the couple delayed their honeymoon which was planned for the Caribbean later in the year.
Asked what her recommendations would be to future brides, Michelle says: "Try to slow down and absorb everything on the day. You spend months planning all the fine detail and then the day goes by so quickly. You end up missing half of them. Most importantly spend one on one time with your husband at some point during the reception. Listen to Aleit, they know what they talking about, we were dead set on not having a 'vineyard' wedding, but the location they recommend was breathtaking and perfect for our needs! Over the year and a half we spent planning our wedding the Aleit team felt like family. We spoke with Faye almost daily and after the wedding it felt a bit like losing regular contact with a friend. We had exceptionally high expectations - half of our guests were from abroad and a few were themselves in the event planning business. However, nothing prepared them for the luxury and excellent service provided to us by Aleit, his team and their service providers that day. Some of them are calling it the best wedding they've ever been to!! I don't think Alex and I would have enjoyed the day as much if we had decided to plan this ourselves. Every stressful opportunity was taken away knowing that we were in safe hands." |
