Monthly Archives: November 2011

We're delighted that Chris and Marilize's wedding has been featured in SA Weddings! This stunning couple celebrated their wedding at the estate on Good Friday this year, and what a gorgeous day it was. Read the full article here, or check out our blog post on the event.

Melissa and Don celebrated their wedding at Val de Vie on 19 November 2011, and we loved every minute of coordinating this special occasion for such a wonderful and loving couple. Here is what the newlyweds had to say about their big day, we thank them for their kind words!

"There are not enough words to describe how incredible our day was. Not only was everything perfect, but we felt taken care of in a way that we have never felt before.

A million thank you's for making our day extra special and for your kind and supportive words throughout the planning.
It was incredible to work with you ladies and I will be singing your praises to EVERY bride-to-be that I come across.

Don & Melissa"

Carla and Grant recently tied the knot on Saturday 26 Nov 2011 at Val de Vie, and we really enjoyed working with this lovely couple.
We were equally thrilled to read Grant's feedback on their special day: "Thank you guys for everything, really you guys are amazing." We think you are an amazing couple and it's wondferful to see two people who are so in love.

Photograp by Greg Lumley

Don't miss Top Billing tonight to see their exciting feature on Ryk Neethling's birthday party and his beautiful home at Val de Vie. The stylish event was attended by a host of socialites, celebs and sports stars, who all enjoyed a fabulous evening at the estate.

Click here to read more about the show.

Here are some more photos of Ryk Neethling's recent birthday party at Val de Vie, taken by the savvy Twisted Lifestyle. Our events team coordinated this chic event, which was sponsored by BlackBerry, Chivas and Nikon. The party was featured on Exspresso and it will also be on Top Billing tonight, be sure not to miss it!

Visit Twisted Lifestyle's blog to view more photos.

We can't wait for the Secret Diary Designs Open Day on 15 and 16 December! This talented design studio creates the most beautiful stationery, from invitations and save the dates to cards and place settings. Their annual Christmas market gives you the opportunity to find some beautiful stationery creations for the festive season, or to simply get inspired for your next party or evemt. Be sure to visit their website to view their beatiful work.

We love Twisted Lifestyle's write-up on the recent BlackBerry Pink Polo event. As Twisted Ross puts it, it was "a day of fashion, wine, bubbles and sweet goodness but the beautiful day out is all about raising awareness as well as funds in aid of Breast Cancer." Click here to read his full blog post about the occasion, as well as to see more photos.

Olympic gold medallist, Ryk Neethling, celebrated his 34th birthday in impeccable style on Friday the 18th of November. The exclusive event took place at his newly built architecturally designed villa on the picturesque Val de Vie Estate in Paarl.

Blackberry sponsored the celebrity party where guests where driven around to the black and white chess inspired Bedouin tent in front of Ryk's house in classic Rolls Royce's. Nikon was there to capture every moment on camera whilst Chivas lavished guests with whiskey and cigars.

Scalini will be hosting a trunk show at Val de Vie on 24 November, showcasing their exclusive range of luxury fashion. Guests receive a 10% discount on all purchases, making this a fabulous opportunity for all style-savvy ladies to update their wardrobes!

Click on the inviation below to view more details about the event.

The wonderfully creative and feminine team from Leipzig recently had a photoshoot at Val de Vie for their new website. This talented team is renowned for creating the most beautiful floral decor at weddings and events, so we were delighted to lend a hand!

Their new website will be going live in the near future, but for now you can visit their old site or their blog to check out their gorgeous work.

The 4th and 5th of November 2011 marked a brand new event on the South African calendar, set to become an exclusive annual affair. The Célébrer Luxury Wedding Workshop was the first of its kind and presented something completely different to the traditional wedding expo. Set in the opulent surroundings of the Val de Vie Estate outside Paarl, it was a luxurious day of inspiration, creativity and pampering for brides-to-be who managed to get the inside edge from South Africa’s top wedding experts.

Gorgeous Top Billing presenter and bride-to-be herself, Jeannie D, was MC on the Friday and Good Hope FM radio DJ, Ayanda Tini, was MC on the Saturday. Every aspect of planning your wedding day was covered and discussed by the top industry experts from wedding planning, couture bridal fashion to the best wedding menus, cakes, honeymoons, jewelry and much more.

Both days started off with headline sponsor, Estée Lauder’s top make-up artists heading up the beauty segment, advising guests on how to take optimal care of their skin with demonstrations of bridal make-up. Then hair specialists from Be Première gave tips on the latest hairstyles from the catwalk and red carpet.

South Africa’s top wedding planners, Aleit and Wedding Concepts, shared their insider knowledge on all you need to know to pull off an amazing wedding and Décor guru, Alwijn Jacobus Burger, shared his expert knowledge and inspiration on how to be unique and different when choosing the theme and décor for your big day.

A fashion panel was lead by beautiful celebrity stylist, Marilize de Clercq, who asked top fashion designers Hendrik Vermeulen, Kobus Dippenaar, Stefania Morland and Jenni Button all you need to know when choosing a style for your wedding dress. Each designer also showed some of their gorgeous bridal couture in a fashion show later in the day.
Brides-to-be got top advice on wedding menus from award-winning Celebrity Chef, David Higgs, and Val de Vie’s winemaker, Harold Versfeld, talked about wedding wine pairings. Isabella Niehaus, Kanya Hunt and Lindt’s Chocolatier, Dimo Simatos, demonstrated different wedding cake options and lucky guests got to taste some of the cakes as well.

After the gourmet wineland lunch, Exclusive Serenity gave tips on how to choose the best honeymoon destination and Johan Louw from Uwe Koetter Jewelers spoke about what designs to choose for engagement rings and custom made wedding bands.

During intervals, La Maison mixed the up the décor in the decadent Val de Vie Ballroom where the workshop took place, with stylish chair changes, luxurious cushion props and lighting.
Amazing prizes were also up for grabs and some very lucky brides-to-be walked away with Val de Vie wines, vouchers from La Maison, Bosch appliances, Estée Lauder hampers and vouchers from @Home. On the last day of the workshop the two grand prizes were drawn: a pair of diamond and tanzanite earrings from Uwe Koetter worth R16 000 and a luxury honeymoon - a five night stay at the 6 star Coco Palm Bodu Hithi resort in the Maldives - worth R40 000, courtesy of Exclusive Serenity.
Renowned wedding photographer, Jean-Pierre Uys, was there to capture every detail and Cape Town´s premiere wedding videographer, FJS, filmed the day. Fairlady Bride was the proud media sponsor for this fabulous event and every guest received a luxury goodie bag.

This Luxury Wedding Workshop was proudly organised by Vivid Luxury, the luxury brand specialists; in partnership with Val de Vie Events, the wedding experts who produce hundreds of fabulous weddings every year. The event was a massive success and is set to roll out next year to Joburg, Durban and Bloemfontein and become an annual institution worth coveting.

Here are some photos from the recent Val de Vie Fun Run. The event was a great success and gave participants the chance to enjoy some outdoor fun (and keep fit) in a beautiful setting. Well done to all the runners!

Val de Vie hosted the launch of the new Nikon 1 in September, an event which was attended by a mix of media, dealers and VIPs. As these photos show, it was a chic event that showed off this exciting new product. Ryk Neethling, ambassador for the Nikon 1 cameras, welcomed guests to the estate, where they had the opportunity to use the new Nikon 1 and to capture the first polo game of the season, played by the Val de Vie teams. To top it off, guests received a Nikon 1 goodie bag containing a bottle of Val de Vie Ryk Neethling 2009 and a Lindt chocolate treat upon departure.