By Dianne Tipping-Woods

Having just gotten married, I’ll probably never be in such a good position to write about weddings as I am now, fresh off the nuptial bus so to speak! Since the wedding seal broke about two years ago, with the first of my school friends getting hitched, there has been a steady stream of nuptial festivities. I have been to full catholic ceremonies, same-sex ceremonies, Hindi ceremonies, Jewish, Afrikaans and African ceremonies…For the most part they have been as beautiful as the friends involved. And one feature they all have in common is “the dress” or some variation thereof.

Until announcing my engagement, I had no idea about the amount of interest this component of the modern wedding would elicit – from family, colleagues, friends, and service providers - anyone who got a whiff of the wedding plans. And to be honest – I hadn’t really thought about it. Nor did I have any idea what I was getting myself into…

As the questions mounted, so did my anxiety. The dress, the dress…I didn’t know where to start! Eventually succumbing to the pressure, I agreed to look at some of those bridal magazines – you know the ones. And then I mentioned that I quite liked one of the featured dresses.

A month or two later, on a trip to the USA to see my  sister, a parcel arrived and my sister confessed that she and my mom had in fact ordered a wedding dress for me. I felt huge relief because it meant I didn’t have to look for one, try dozens on, or even worse, sit through fittings and lament my lack of regular pilates and spinning classes…On the other hand, would it fit? Was it white (!)? At least twenty questions passed through my mind after the inital relief abated. I put on my most gracious smile and prepared myself for the worst…

Luckily, my mom and sister displayed their usual impeccable taste. The dress wasn’t white;  just off-white actually and, softly flattering. The history of the white (or off-white) wedding dress is an interesting one; Roman brides wore white as a symbol of happiness as opposed to purity and, the Victorians, because it was extravagant and impractical. I made my peace with it and thought to myself, “right, the dress is sorted!”

Unlike the dress, my wedding venue was carefully chosen for so many reasons – none particularly practical - but so important to myself and my husband. And as we began finalising the plans, I decided to try the dress on once more before the day because…the dress is so important.  Luckily I did, as it didn’t fit quite as well as it had. Alterations were in order. And, in the back of my mind, with a more complete picture of the wedding, small doubts began to surface.  Was the dress me ? Was it Mapungubwe? Perhaps I should have spent more time on it…

Mapungubwe, our wedding venue, is a National Park and World Heritage Site where South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana meet. It’s a magical place, with a landscape dotted with baobabs and sandstone formations that glow with a light particular to the place. It is an ancient place and a young peace park: beautiful,  hopeful and historic and, in August, the Mopani trees, with their richly symbolic leaves, are a thousand shades of red, orange and green.
 
The dress needed something more than just a simple alteration, but time was running out. I went into a Bridal Shop that I pass everyday on my way to work – Pink Chilly - thinking that at least I should get the fitting sorted, else I wouldn’t have a dress at all, let alone the perfect one…

If the dress was a lucky gamble on the part of my mom and sister (who perhaps know me quite well after all) I struck the jackpot with Pink Chilly. I was met by two warm and amazing women with the uncanny ability to put me at ease and read my mind; at least that was my deduction when I left their premises with the feeling that they had a plan and would get the dress just right, both in terms of fit and, that something extra. After descibing the kind of wedding we were having (as brides do), Pink Chilly suggested, unprompted, that adding wooden beads of various sizes, hues and textures to the bodice would transform a pretty romantic gown into a pretty romantic gown with some African oomph!  “You can do that?” I asked. 

“Yes, and add some custom-made wooden beads and bracelet accessories to complete the look,” they smiled.

The cost was minimal and it turned out more beautiful than I could have hoped. From the guest book at Pink Chilly, their success isn’t just a ‘one-off’. They are slick, professional, sensitive and so creative – as well as incredibly nice. Thank – you to Pink Chilly in Pretoria and, to my mom and sister! I still don’t really believe that the dress is so important (I would have married Joel in anything), but,  as I had a perfect dress without even trying another one on, that’s easy for me to say