We had a chat with Stephanie Hall-Tarling and her team of dedicated wedding planners at The Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa in Cape Town. They told us all about wedding disasters they have had to fix, Stephanie’s favourite meals on the 12 Apostles wedding menu, as well as some helpful tips for brides planning their own wedding.
Could you tell me a little bit about your involvement in planning weddings for overseas couples?
We are as involved or uninvolved as the couple would like us to be. We are with them during planning stages, discussing all hotel based plans, including making recommendations for various suppliers, décor, photography, timelines, and food and beverage.
On the day, we are with the couple helping to ensure all details are in place, including place cards, favours, checking suppliers are on schedule, making sure the bride and groom have eaten lunch and has had enough water. We will often help brides into their dresses if it is a trickier dress or if bridesmaids are battling to get the perfect fit. We have also been called to help grooms to tie, their bow tie and fold their pocket squares.
We are always in the background. From ensuring a smooth entrance into the ceremony gardens and checking everyone is in place to making sure the correct music is queued.
During pre-reception drinks and canapes, we will be around to pop the bouquet into some water and if needed help her change into flat shoes before going off for their romantic couples photo shoot.
Before the guests make their way into the beautiful reception area, we ensure all candles are lit and the venue is perfect.
We help brief MC’s as to what needs to be said and when, and will keep them up-to-date throughout the evening. We manage the event, the MC would just be our voice. We want them to have a good time too.
We also do our best to try keep everything on schedule as much as possible. It is a wedding, so there are often last minute changes and challenges that can sneak in, but we are on hand to help with the decision making for these and can assist with a plan of action or alternative if needed.
Which meal on the 12 Apostles wedding menu is your favourite?
We offer a plated starter, buffet main course, plated dessert and plated cheese course (if you choose to include cheese). Our chef is very flexible with the menus. We are happy to exchange items within the menus, and if there is something in particular that couples would like to include on the menu, which is not on any of the wedding menu selection. The couple just needs to let us know and we will do all in our power to provide this for them.
The springbok starter is amazing! It’s such a lovely dish, showcasing one of our local venison.
Cured Springbok: Rooibos and citrus cured, tartare, salt-baked beetroot, pickled-pearl onion, apple gel, toasted crostini, horseradish mayonnaise.
The main course dishes, which I just adore are:
Grilled fish of the day, olives and sundried tomatoes.
Mozambican chicken, cashew nut and coconut curry.
Grilled blesbok loin, blackberry and juniper jus.
Variation of seasonal baby vegetables, olive oil and herbed butter.
Grilled asparagus, tenderstem broccoli, red onion and pine nuts.
And then for the grade finale… I love, love, love the Assiette de Desserts, this dish is 3 small desserts on one plate, so you do not need to choose just one, everyone gets to taste them all.
Bea’s baked cheesecake with lemon crème fraîche topping.
Strawberry crémeux, strawberry gel.
Dark chocolate torte, berries, chocolate sauce.
Have you ever had any wedding day disasters that you’ve had to step in and fix?
Every wedding has some little mishap, but that is why we love what we do – it keeps us on our toes. Most challenges however, are minor, as the big planning usually prevents the big disasters.
- We have had the zip of the brides dress break, so we sewed her into her dress.
- A friend of the family was meant to do the photos for the couple and just did not arrive, so we managed to get another photographer who arrived just in time and was able to get all the details and shots they wanted.
- Grooms pants ripped! Handy needle and thread to the rescue again.
- Father of the bride stuck with a flat tire, so we sent a driver to collect the dad so he was not too late. The driver then dropped off one of the hotel staff who changed the tire and drove the car to the hotel.
- Groom knocked off the wedding cake before the ceremony (I still have no idea how he did this exactly to be honest), so we got in touch with the bakers and had an almost identical cake delivered during the starters.
Do you have any advice for stressed-out brides who want everything to be perfect?
- Failure to plan is planning to fail, and this is most important when it comes to your timeline. Make sure that the venue, and all suppliers are in agreement that the time allocated will be sufficient for them do provide stellar service. Also allow time for “mishaps” and delays, especially before the ceremony. While doing hair and makeup you may get emotional and need to catch your breath. Rather be ready too early and have extra time for photos than be in a mad rush to get to the ceremony.
- Hand everything over! You should not leave things for yourself to do the day before, or the day of the wedding. This should all be done and finished and you should be relaxing and catching up with friends.
- Have someone else place the place cards and do the favours. Hand specific jobs to specific people who you trust to get the job done for you. Get one person to oversee everything is in place as you had imagined (that’s where we come in). Often the couples who are “super-detail-orientated” forget to mention all the little details, as they think that it would be a given. If you have small details in mind hand them over to someone else to ensure everything is in place. Make a list, or 10 if you need to, hand them over and have faith that it will be done.
- Don’t sweat the small stuff! A wedding day is all about going with the flow. Perhaps you had imagined your beverages being served under a specific tree, but it will now be under another one due to wind direction or whatever it may be. As long as it comes together and is practical and your guests are comfortable, that is the important thing. People look back at your wedding day and think, “was I taken care of? Did I have a good time? Was the food good? The rest of the details really are just gravy (or a red wine jus).
- Take time to take it in! Everyone says the day goes by so quickly and this is so true. Allow yourself a few moments to take things in. Catch your breath before you walk down the aisle and be present in the moment. Sit at your table and look around the room, pay attention to what people are wearing and who is chatting to who. During your photos take a deep breath in of your partner’s fragrance. Capture your own moments which are just for you.