Real Wedding

Gold, Black & Pink Alternative Glam Wedding in Durban: Chris & Tarryn

Tarryn describes her romance with Chris as a true rom-com story! They’ve known each other for years and had been best friends for about 7 of them before Chris proposed in front of her son in a favourite beach venue.

Their wedding is an alternative glam mish-mash of all the things they love, with a real DIY element to the day – all be it very glam DIY!

Words by Tarryn. Images by Kelly Daniels Photography

We wanted our wedding to just be about all the things that we love. I love all things art inspired and Chris loves all things nature inspired so we wanted to infuse these two together.

We were also inspired by the gorgeous city of Durban and wanted to make sure that we used her as the backdrop for our photos. We worked with Oh Happy Day who did all the on the day planning.

I wanted something different for my wedding dress as I’m not really a plain white dress kind of girl. I wanted something with an old Hollywood kind of feel to it and I found that piece of fabric and instantly fell in love. My mother actually made my dress for me!

We hired the groomsmen jackets and ties. We bought black jeans for them and shoes were supplied by themselves.

My bouquet and the bridesmaids bouquets were all handmade from paper by the very talented Heather Tilbury (a friend of the family).

I wanted something dramatic and out of the ordinary for the bridesmaids and searched and searched but could not find anything. Heather and I met and she came up with the gorgeous black flowers and I was in love!

The ceremony decor was a combination of hired goods from Settings Function Hire and saris that we borrowed from a family friend. Chris made the frame which we draped the saris on.

My son walked me down the aisle and the ceremony was performed by our friend Kyle. He made it so personal, it was such a magical moment.

We hired a taxi to take the bridal party around for photos. Minibus taxis like that are the main form of public transport in South Africa – this one was decked out with super loud music and even had flashing lights.

The moments Chris and I were alone during our photo shoot were so memorable – we just marvelled at being married.

Our wedding photographer Kelly was amazing from start to finish. We wanted a wedding that showed off both our interests and personalities and wanted to showcase the beautiful vibrant city that we live in and Kelly jumped on board from the beginning.

Kim from Crystal and Vine did the most amazing living table for us. I did all the stationery and my whole family was involved in dip dyeing all the napkins.

Joelene styled the venue and did the most amazing settings and courtyard styling for the pre- drinks. The name tags were chosen as Chris is a huge animal lover.

Chris is gluten intolerant so we needed a cake that he could eat – we went for an ice- cream wedding cake. The bottom layer was almond, middle layer was five-star chocolate mix and the top layer was yummy salted caramel.

I purchased the cake toppers on eBay. Chris has a tattoo of Jack from Nightmare Before Christmas on his leg, so the toppers were very apt.

Our dancefloor was under the stars in the courtyard so we gave all the ladies flip flops to wear when dancing (bought from mrp and then my mom covered them in ribbon) and all the guys were given a pair of sunglasses.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Izee Kamowa was our first dance song. This was one of the first songs that Chris ever sent to me, so it had to be this!

Congratulations Tarryn & Chris!! We hope you are enjoying married life.

Love alternative glam weddings? Check out these beauts…

An Alternative & Hand-made Glitter, Stars & Skulls Backyard Wedding: Natasha & Luke

Off The Shoulder Lace Wedding Dress & Alternative Decaying Chapel Venue Wedding: Ella & Daniel

wedding credits / photographer: kelly daniels photography / wedding venue: happy hippo & ciao bella cafe / wedding planning: oh happy day / brides dress: my mother, carol slavin / grooms suit: zara, topman / brides shoes: asos / hair: headmasters hair company / makeup: brittany smith, nixon make up / paper bouquets: family friend, heather tilbury / wedding cake: the polar stop / toppers: etsy / stationery: bride

1 comment
  1. This Wedding looks amazing! the photographer captured everything perfectly. This has really inspired me with my own work, thank you for sharing :)

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