Modern Wedding: Elegant Spring Wedding Essentials Elements

Nearly 40,000 marriages are recorded each year in Kenya. And before these weddings take place, extensive planning must go into making the event that many of us have dreamed of since childhood, one to remember.
Important on the list of things to plan is a guest list filled with our loved ones and supporters, the color themes that will mark the occasion as uniquely yours, and the food and decor, to name a few.
These are some of the elements that go into this year’s Spring wedding essentials which include renewed color palettes, rustic dining, and events spaces inspired by nature.

Wedding color groups and families “Contrasting Color Schemes”

For the past few years, wedding planners have advised brides and grooms to choose a maximum of two or three wedding colors. The thinking behind this has been similar to the idea that too many cooks spoil the broth, with too many colors ruining the balance of the flower, decor, and bride and groom’s outfit colors. However, what this Spring’s trend of picking sets or palettes of colors suggests, is that there is harmony and balance in selecting the right colors together.

Think of a range of tones of browns, or a range of tones of pink or other pastel colors.

To add pops of floral color to the affair, Nicol Carelse, Guest Relations Manager at Radisson Blu Hotel Waterfront advises to “Celebrate all of the floral abundances this season promises to hold by adding flowers to your hair. Floral touches can become overwhelming, so a simple, yet pretty way to do this is to insert flowers into a flower girl’s braids, glue fresh flowers onto the bridesmaid’s hair clips or pins, and for the bride to don a delicate flower tiara.”

Less-frills catering

Inspiration from this trend comes from the reality that many couples are having to have smaller weddings due to rising living costs. This means that it also makes sense to think of reducing catering costs with a wedding plan while ensuring that dishes served on the day are just as special, unique, and delicious.

A way to do this is to have bowl food served to each table, with guests serving themselves. For a typical Kenyan-style menu, this could include one table being served bowls of roast tikka chicken, soji, biriyani, potatoes, and veg, Ugali (Cornmeal Staple), Irio (Mashed Peas and Potato Mix), Githeri (Beans and Corn), Pilau (Spiced Rice), Wali wa Nazi (Coconut Rice), Sukuma Wiki (Collard Greens / Kale), Nyama Choma (Roasted Meat), Matoke (Plantain Banana Stew), Chapati (Flatbread), Kachumbari (Tomatoes and Onions), Bajias and passing the dishes around to each other for self-service. For an Italian theme, a bowl service could include layered eggplant parmigiana, mozzarella, basil, and tomato salad, grilled seafood, or a delicious beef or lamb ragu with freshly baked bread and homemade butter for guests to mop up the ragu sauce. Desserts can also be served self-service style on a separate table.

Guest gift bags

Happily, for anyone that has ever taken home a piece of fruitcake as a wedding keepsake and found it in the freezer a decade later, this Spring idea focuses on useability.

Spring-inspired gift bags that guests can take home to use could include items such as a Spring floral-scented soap and items that speak to the newness and growth of both Spring and a new marriage union. This could include a young plant or bags of seeds that should be planted in spring, such as marigolds, poppies, petunias, begonias, and dahlias, which when planted in Spring will grow to yield a lovely summer bloom.

Natural feel settings and destinations

Spring is about enjoying the wonders of nature and across South Africa there are many. While this trend of weddings in nature settings does not necessarily mean that weddings have to be outdoors, the decor and setting should be inspired by all of the woods, plants, and earthly abundance that the season has to offer.

“With our hotel being positioned literally on the edge of Cape Town’s Atlantic Ocean or Diani in Mombasa blending in with nature, we’re seeing an increase in these types of weddings. The element of nature and options for fresh air and space are there, but the wedding parties themselves are smaller,” says Carelse. “Wedding parties are looking to create a sense of intimacy with their guests by booking smaller tables, banquet style, for example,” she adds.

Take inspiration from the bright colors, abundance, and fresh foods of the season to plan a memorable Spring wedding to remember when planning your wedding this year.

Photo and video courtesy of Mayowa & Demi lade’s White Wedding

Content courtesy Bella Naija Weddings, Samantha Bridal, I Africa & NFH