Surprise your guests

Get your friends and close family members to prepare for a weekend away without telling them about your plans to tie the knot - as a clue you can mention something like a mystery weekend of fun and games and that they should bring fancy clothes to play the part - this should get them all excited and in the mood for festivities without having a clue of what's to come. Let a few key people in on the Plan so that they can help with the wedding arrangements (would be a good idea to prepare the parents of both families for this event - you don't want to end up with disgruntled family members while you're supposed to be celebrating - it's a respect thing). This should turn out to be a weekend of fun, excitement, laughter and yes.. tears!

Laid back picnic

This is perfect for a small, cozy wedding - besides the fact that there is not much fuss, stress or too much planning involved in a picnic wedding, the scenery will make for absolutely beautiful photos. You can either get a wedding planner to glue all the details together or you can do it yourself - there are quite a few venues that cater for picnic celebrations - they usually supply delicious picnic baskets for adults as well as healthy, interesting ones for children. You can always add an extra toy or colouring book and crayons to the kiddie's basket to keep them busy while the adults kick off their shoes and sip on some bubbly while taking in the view!

Themed Weddings

If you want to spice up your wedding, a great way to go about it is to have your guests and yourselves dress up! Most people still enjoy dressing up, those that are still young at heart at least! There are quite a few venues that offer this, for example you can have your guests dress up in medieval outfits (usually for hire at the venue), the bride and groom can play the part of the king and queen and you make up your own rules as you go along. These kind of themed parties are usually a lot of fun as they have a set program that includes entertainment for the evening. The menu (as well as the lack of utensils) and games make for an interesting night!

Roaring Forties Floating Restaurant

For something completely different, celebrate this special day aboard the beautiful Museum Ship, CS Cable Restorer, which houses the unique Roaring Forties Floating Functions Restaurant and Conference Venue, permanently docked in historic, picturesque Simons Town. Their décor is nautical but elegant, with navy blue table cloths and Long Island striped overlays. They also hire out our white linen and chair covers for functions but for weddings they are already included in the venue hire. They have a beautiful outside deck adjoining the functions/ conferencing area. This area is lovely for pre-dinner / arrival drinks as well as being a great spot to take photographs with Simons Town as your backdrop.