GlassPearl.co.za/blog

If ever there was a year for celebrity weddings, 2009 was it.

In the last two weeks alone You magazine placed the pictures of five weddings on their cover.

The latest issue features Sandy Ngema and rugby player Ruan Pienaar’s weddings.

Like other celebrity weddings, Sandy Ngema’s will feature on Top Billing on 14 January 2010. And we all know you haven’t arrived until Top Billing deems you rich or famous enough (or both) to feature on that show.

Celebrities like Cindy Nell , Bryan Habana, Meshach Mavuso (Isidingo’s Vusi) and Khanyi Dhlomo were some of those who had Top Billing Weddings.

For the others there are always You, Huisgenoot and Drum magazines.

Amongst the celebs who got married in 2009 are rugby’s Jaque Fourie (who joins fellow newly wed as a WP/Stormers player this year), Ruan Pienaar, Luke Watson and Morne Steyn. Also DJ and Supersport presenter Darren Scott.

Soap stars Dawn Matthews (Scandal), Thabiso Mokheti (Generations’ Sam), Izak Davel (Egoli’s Scab), Jacques Blignaut (7de Laan’s Vince), alsoHeino Schmidt (7de Laan’s Altus) and Stian Bam (7de Laan’s Dawid Greeff).

A few other well known South Africans also made it to the altar at wedding location venues across the country.

Cindy Nel did the whole wedding package deal when she got married in the KZN Midlands in 2009, complete with wedding website to give wedding guests all the information they needed.

Everything from dress code (white clothes), directions to the wedding venue, accommodation, etc.

Singer Lira, former SA Survivor contestant Gareth Tjalink (the cute doctor ) and Idols winner Karin Kortje were also amongst the newly weds.

Some wedding trends among the local brides and grooms were:
1. Wedding websites (great idea used by Cindy Nel)

2. Multiple dresses worn by the bride. The traditional wedding gown, followed by sexier reception dress and finally departure for honeymoon dress.

3. Enclosed wedding venues, to provide exclusivity to magazines and Top Billing.

4. If you’re lucky you (and famous/infamous) enough, you could get paid to have your pictures in the weekly tabloid mags. You magazine claims to have paid Jurie Els and Hestrie Cloete for their wedding pics. They not saying which other local celebs got paid.

So that was 2009.

Couples who got engaged during 2009 and who might be taking wedding insurance while scouting wedding locations are:
* 7de Laan’s Paula – Diaan Lawrenson and Jody Abrahams
* singer Kurt Darren,
* SA Idols winner Jason Hartman,
* former Idols contestant Bianca le Grange,
*another former Idols contestant Melanie Lowe,
* e-tv morning host Graeme Watkins and
*Top Billing presenter Tumisho Mashaba.

See wedding trends for 2010.