Laetitia and Lloyd – Grand Daddy Hotel

How did you meet?

Growing up in the same neighbourhood; hanging out in the same circle of friends; going to the same teenager parties; eagerly anticipating the next summer month to get a glimpse of Laetitia in shorts or a skirt… Hey, it was simply a matter of time before the Gods, not to mention the brides’ perseverance – she took ten months to convince him we were meant to be, brought us together…

How did he propose?

After nine and a half years together he finally decided to pop the question… (smile). He completely surprised her with a trip to Johannesburg (a trip she’s always wanted to do), with visits to Emperors Palace; Johannesburg Zoo; Kievits Kroon Country Estate & Spa; Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site; Hartbeespoort Dam; Pilanesberg Game Reserve Game Drive and Sun City, among others. He arranged for her annual leave without her even knowing about it. The last evening of the trip, he proposed at The Bridge of Time which is the route to and from the Valley of Waves at Sun City. The magical lighting of the Palace of the Lost City at Sun City as the back-drop, the burning torches which are placed at regular intervals along the bridge and the central fountain made it the most romantic and memorable location during the trip to propose…

How did you experience your wedding day?

Beautiful Bride. Incredible wedding. A happy time! A celebration with friends and family in surroundings which were beautifully decorated. Nervous as hell for the ceremony on the yacht – was it going to rain; was it going to be too windy? Again… those Gods gave us a spectacular day!

The best moment for the Bride and Groom?

Receiving all the positive and lovely comments and remarks from our guests, during and after our big day. For the groom, seeing his wife-to-be step out onto the deck from below the yacht and being amazed at her pure beauty and confidence as she walked along while the yacht was swaying to and fro. The joy of seeing her facial expressions as she neared him. For the bride, seeing everything come together especially after her hair and make-up was done and she put on her amazing wedding dress. Luciano, Robyn and Michelle (from Robyn Roberts) were amazing. She felt gorgeous and confident and ready to meet her groom.

Something nice about us please

This is easy to answer. The Aleit Group is solely responsible for making our big day spectacular. On the day, the Aleit team was amazing, from rushing around collecting perfume for the bride to getting cotton and thread to mend a dress of one of the guests. No task was too daunting for team ALEIT! Their management skills, passion, commitment to extraordinary levels of client satisfaction, their core position in the wedding planning industry and hence vast network of contacts… there’s just no other! We could write a whole page about what we think of this bunch of professionals, but it will boil down to one word: brilliance! They matched all our eventual service providers with our personality, and they did that wonderfully – from our minister to our musicians… Every meeting to discuss ideas was made into an occasion. This made the planning process stress-free and memorable. We always looked forward to our next meeting with the Aleit Group. .We can’t wait for our next special occasion just to work with you all again!

Where did you honeymoon?

The honeymoon was on board the Brilliance of the Seas cruise-liner and along the Mediterranean coast. The weather wasn’t great (no rain, just flippin’ cold at times – perfect for cuddling), but the experiences made up for that. Malta and Rhodes were romantic, Egypt and Athens were breathtaking, Barcelona was busy and tiring, and Sicily was outright beautiful. Two weeks of pure joy.

Any advice for future Brides and Grooms?

The big day can be stressful, if you allow it to be. Don’t allow decisions about budgets, colours, patterns and layouts to spoil a single minute of it. With the Aleit team planning towards your day is almost as spectacular as the day itself… capture the planning process on camera or video. Have fun planning, be happy, compromise and respect each others’ thoughts and ideas, and enjoy each other during the process. Ladies – shoes, shoes, shoes! Make sure you have comfortable shoes.