With pockets as deep as gold mines, how far are couples willing to go to have the picture-perfect luxe wedding? 



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The lagoons overlook the snow-white beaches with its swaying
coconut trees, embraced by the turquoise waters of the sea in the island nation
of Mauritius. It’s a scene straight out of a movie, with a couple cavorting in
the distance.



Over 100 guests from South Africa have also gathered on
these sands for the weekend wedding of businessman Lebo Gunguluza and his
long-term girlfriend Lebo Mokoena.&nbsp; 



The total cost of this union: almost $300,000.&nbsp; 



“I didn’t mind exceeding the budget, because you only do
this once,” says new bride Mokoena.



The couple flew over 30 guests and provided them with
five-star accommodation at the LUX* Grand Gaube.&nbsp; Part of the guest contingency included the
behind-the-scenes crew for the wedding, as well as the speakers who had to
spend four to seven days in Mauritius to prep up. 



“We did not want to have a local wedding because we wanted our guests and family to have a different experience. We also wanted our family members who did not have passports and have never flown out of the country to experience a different country,” Gunguluza says.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="924" height="616" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-5.jpg.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-40547" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-5.jpg.jpg 924w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-5.jpg-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-5.jpg-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-5.jpg-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 924px) 100vw, 924px" /><figcaption> Snow-white beaches of Mauritius. Picture: Supplied</figcaption></figure></div>



The weekend celebrations started on a Friday last September
with a cocktail meet-and-greet party. Belly dancers who were dressed in floral
red and yellow danced the evening away with guests, with a local band taking
them to the all-white party on Saturday. 



This was just a build-up to the romantic wedding reception
with shades of blush, ivory, and gold which was to take place on Sunday at 4PM.




“Every time I think about that day, I want to do it again,”
the new bride says.



The couple chose not to have bridesmaids and groomsmen and
the guests were encouraged to dress in black and white. 



“I didn’t have bridesmaids because it makes you choose
between your friends. I felt that if you got an invite to our wedding, you were
worthy enough. So, we wanted everyone to be bridesmaids and groomsmen. I think
we made it intimate and everybody felt like they were VIPs,” says Mokoena. 



Everything fit perfectly as the bride’s two white wedding
dresses were designed by Antherline Couture. 



For the ceremony, she wore a white ball gown with a diamanté
top heavily embellished with beads; while the groom looked dapper in a white
tuxedo jacket designed by Master Suit SA.&nbsp;&nbsp;




The color white was indeed conspicuous.



“I have always felt that white is pure and because I was
signing my life away, I felt I needed to be pure, hence I said my husband
needed to wear white as well,” she adds.



The lavish white wedding was organized by renowned wedding
planner Precious Tumisho Thamaga who ditched her seven-year career in Public
Relations &amp; Marketing to become an event planner. 



Thamaga organizes events and weddings for affluent clients
such as the Gunguluzas.



“They are busy people and they don’t have time to do the
administration and the back and forth of vetting in suppliers,” Thamaga says,
as she takes over the pain of wedding planning.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="927" height="615" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-6.jpg.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-40548" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-6.jpg.jpg 927w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-6.jpg-300x199.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-6.jpg-600x398.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-6.jpg-768x510.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 927px) 100vw, 927px" /><figcaption>Lebo Mokoena and Lebo Gunguluza (middle) with wedding guests in Mauritius. Picture: Supplied</figcaption></figure></div>



While working in the corporate world, she had attended many
weddings that she felt were put together in a way that created a disconnect
between the guests and the wedding couple.



“So I saw an opportunity in the fact that there were not a
lot of wedding planners that were black,”&nbsp;
Thamaga says.&nbsp; 



She decided to focus on corporate clients in order to turn
her passion into a profitable business. 



“A lot of people did not expect a black person to be
professional and take the business seriously. 



“It was not just a hobby or someone helping out a family. It
was an actual business and I made sure that I got taken seriously from the
onset,” Thamaga says. 



In order for Precious Celebrations (the name of her company)
to prosper, she had to have a business strategy in place. 



“I made sure that I put a lot of time and effort and
strategized properly what it was that I wanted to actually focus on, and find a
niche [in]. I believed that would separate me from somebody that was already in
the industry,” Thamaga says.



However, her job is not always alluring. 



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="923" height="614" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-8.jpg.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-40549" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-8.jpg.jpg 923w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-8.jpg-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-8.jpg-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-8.jpg-768x511.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 923px) 100vw, 923px" /><figcaption> Lebo Mokoena and Lebo Gunguluza&#8217;s wedding in Mauritius. Picture: Supplied </figcaption></figure></div>



“When I started in the industry there weren’t so many
wedding planners and now it is a different story and everyone thinks it is
easy-peasy and it is glamorous,” she says.&nbsp;




Planning a luxurious wedding takes eight to 12 months and
can cost anywhere between R300,000 ($20,813) to R4.5 million ($312,203). 



The most expensive wedding Thamaga planned was for a public
figure she cannot disclose the name of.&nbsp; 



“It was a destination wedding and the experience from when
the guests arrived to the wedding day was memorable. When they arrived, we had
a cocktail party and we had activities like canoeing and on Sunday we had an
all-white party. [This is] so that people don’t depart on Sunday and may leave
on Monday.”&nbsp; 



Only the affluent sign up. 



“The smallest wedding that I have had to plan had 80 people
and it cost R2 million ($138,000),”&nbsp;
Thamaga says. 



She has turned away some clients in the past because their
budget was insufficient for the type of wedding they envisioned.&nbsp; 



Thamaga organizes 26 weddings, on average, annually, from
countries such as Mauritius, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Botswana and now she plans on
taking her bespoke company global. 



One of the unique aspects of her business is that she has
maintained a good relationship with the suppliers she has in each country, and
has kept her expenses to a minimum. 



“The wedding planning-event planning industry is quite
lucrative if you do it right. I am not the type that would have too much
inventory because I want to feel like the inventory belongs to me; that would
limit my creativity,” she says. 



“I make sure that I don’t have a lot of expenses, I have
coordinators that I have worked with for years and they have full-time jobs.” 



Thamaga’s greatest challenge so far was whether or not to
outsource other wedding planners when her business was increasing. 



“It can be a bit daunting to realize that your business is
growing,” she says.



But she opted to remain boutique.



“I had to decide that it is not about the money. I am
building an empire where I want a legacy and an ongoing relationship with my
clients.”&nbsp; 



She involves her clients every step of the way to bring
their vision to an unforgettable reality, and believes that weddings are
expensive because of the growing aspirations of the young. 



“It is not just in South Africa, it is worldwide,” she says.



Despite the tangible costs of conducting these dream events,
the wedding industry in South Africa is largely unregistered as it is a fluid
market where services and costs are difficult to track and document accurately.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="930" height="618" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-2.jpg.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-40551" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-2.jpg.jpg 930w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-2.jpg-300x199.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-2.jpg-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-2.jpg-768x510.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 930px) 100vw, 930px" /><figcaption> Fred Elu Eboka, a Nigerian designer who dresses delegates as well as the rich and famous. Picture: Supplied </figcaption></figure>



Africans, no doubt, spend millions per year on costs
associated with marital ceremonies. This is the reality of the unregistered
wedding industry. Despite the recession and slow economic growth, the wedding
industry continues to attract many entrepreneurs to its lucrative
opportunities.



As, people never stop getting married.



The Marriages and Divorces report released by Statistics
South Africa last May shows an upward trend in civil marriages. Civil marriages
increased by 0.6%, from 138,627 marriages registered in 2015 to 139,512 in
2016. 



A wedding dress is an important part of a celebration and
the bridal couture market continues to show growth. 



Wise Guy Reports Database Global Wedding Dress Market
Insights, forecast to 2025, states: “The wedding market demand grows
continually, and the wedding garments market has notable increase every year.
In this case, the competition is also very intense among companies. The
involved companies should seize the opportunities to expand the gold mine.” 



A previous client of Thamaga’s has spent R200,000 ($13,876)
on two wedding dresses and this is nothing for Fred Elu Eboka, a Nigerian
designer who dresses delegates as well as the rich and famous.&nbsp; 



He moved to South Africa in 1992 at a time when African
designs were not being celebrated globally.&nbsp;




Twenty years ago, Eboka sold wedding dresses for R15,000
($1,041) a piece, and now sells for R250,000 ($17,344) a piece, depending on
the design.&nbsp; 



“A designer of my caliber in South Africa is undersold
because there are people in the United States selling wedding gowns for $250
and I am here selling them for maybe $80, it just doesn’t make sense. It shows
that our economy is really bad because a designer of my caliber should be
operating on the same level as them, or very close,” Eboka says.



He is a luxury designer.&nbsp;




“When you think of luxury, it is not just the product, it is
not just the textile – it is the whole experience from when you drive in, to
when you sit down and have the designer talk to you and learn about your life.
The whole artistic process contributes to the cost value of the gown.” 



He says that the reason wedding gowns are expensive is
because they are meant to be timeless pieces. 



“Traditionally, wedding gowns are classical couture. It is
not like the normal evening dress that you wear to look beautiful on one night.
A wedding dress is like training for the Olympics. You train for them for the
rest of your life,” he says. 



Eboka also says when designing a wedding gown, you need to
take time to know the client, family and their fancies in order to meet the
clients’ need. 



The material of the wedding gown is usually expensive
because he sources the textiles from across the world, and he takes two to
three months to create a gown, depending on the embellishments. 



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="924" height="614" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-3.jpg.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-40550" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-3.jpg.jpg 924w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-3.jpg-300x199.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-3.jpg-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-3.jpg-768x510.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 924px) 100vw, 924px" /><figcaption> Fred Elu Eboka, a Nigerian designer who dresses delegates as well as the rich and famous. Picture: Supplied  </figcaption></figure></div>



“My designs have a lot of artistry,” he says. 



Eboka is a wealthy man but he still believes that the
industry is not as lucrative as it could be. 



“But we do well, without being arrogant about it&#8230; You have
to be fully aware of the industry and have the intellectual capacity to
understand the potential of the market,” he says.



Pictures are an important element of a wedding because they
capture the moment for life. 



International award-winning photographer Daniel West meets
his clients in a restaurant so he can get to know them better and learn the
history of their relationship. 



“We, as photographers, need to click with each couple, it is
actually vital because we are going to be in their space from the beginning to
end.



“So, when we do not gel, we are going to find ourselves in
an awkward situation on the day because we, as photographers, are also
problem-solvers. We don’t just take pictures on the day,” West says. 



His packages start from R18,000 ($1,248) to R60,000 ($4,163)
and he says it is because the couple is paying for the quality of the work. His
packages include waterproof genuine leather-bound photo albums that he says
last a lifetime, as well as 500 images that are both edited and unedited. He
also arranges the location for the photoshoots. 



“It is more than about taking pictures on the day, anybody
can take pictures but the work that I do has more of a boutique feel,” he says.




“You pay to have something like this on the table that will
last you a lifetime,” West says. 



He does not only take pictures on the day but the
photoshoots can take up to three months. 



“Each couple that I take pictures of has a different story
and that is where I draw my inspiration.” 



West says that it takes a while for the business to get to a
point that is profitable because photographic equipment is expensive. 



“In the beginning, it is unfortunately not lucrative because
you have to look into getting the equipment that is up to standard, however, it
took me about seven years where I could get to a point that I could make a
business out of it,” West says. 



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="927" height="616" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-1.jpg.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-40552" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-1.jpg.jpg 927w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-1.jpg-300x199.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-1.jpg-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SnipImage-1.jpg-768x510.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 927px) 100vw, 927px" /><figcaption> International award-winning photographer Daniel West with his clients. Picture: Supplied</figcaption></figure></div>



His annual turnover before expenses is R800,000 ($55,502)
and he has about 25 clients a year.



He believes that the industry is regarded as valuable in
South Africa and it is growing because people are becoming more enlightened
about the photography industry. And social media has become an important
motivator driving this industry. 



“It is vital to have a good photographer for your wedding,
because you as a bride are not quite educated of what is out there and what is
not [in terms of photography].”



A good photographer needs to have foresight. 



“The quality and charisma of your photographer is really one
of the most important things you pay for because if something were to go wrong
on your wedding, like rain, what does your photographer do? Do they stand back
or make a plan?” he says. 



Other luxe services associated with weddings include limos
and chauffeur services, and florists, live music bands and gourmet caterers
flown from around the world.

The more money you are willing to throw, the
more sparkling the champagne, crystal and caviar on the beach

SnipImage (7)

Lifting The Heavy Veil On Wedding Costs

Class, culture and sheer opulence are hallmarks of an urban Nigerian wedding. Lagos is emerging a wedding planner’s playground. Every weekend sees one or the other wedding convoy making its grand sojourn through the city.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29748 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/c57907c076cb3533fdee4d24678e019d-291x300.jpg" alt="" width="291" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/c57907c076cb3533fdee4d24678e019d-291x300.jpg 291w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/c57907c076cb3533fdee4d24678e019d-300x309.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/c57907c076cb3533fdee4d24678e019d-600x618.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/c57907c076cb3533fdee4d24678e019d.jpg 617w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 291px) 100vw, 291px" />
But destination weddings are the order of the day. Be it Mauritius, Cape Town or Dubai, the venues are getting more creative, and the event planners boast busy calendars, globe-trotting from one exotic venue to another. All they ask for is a meaty budget.
Mati Gono is a London-based wedding planner specializing in premium and tailor-made wedding experiences for her clients. The clientele of her events company, Just as Planned, is 85% elite Nigerian. Her specialty is organizing the A to Z of lavish nuptials.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29747 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/223A3795-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/223A3795-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/223A3795-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/223A3795-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/223A3795-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/223A3795.jpg 1023w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
“Nigerian weddings are very colorful, opulent and there is never a dull moment. They are full of culture and the family is usually the focus. So whether there is the traditional breaking of the Kola nut, an opening prayer, or a live band, Nigerian weddings are full of character and the guests really come out to celebrate the couple getting married,” says Gono.
Gono, who recently planned a $161,000 Nigerian wedding, is accustomed to the lofty expectations of her clients.
“On one of our most demanding weddings to date, we had to ensure the service and hospitality was 110%, due to the types of guests we had attending. The logistics were a little challenging [it was a wedding in central London] but I like a challenge and we pulled it off.”
Attending the wedding were high-profile guests, including the bride’s brother, Nigerian footballer Victor Chinedu Anichebe, who plays for West Bromwich Albion, and US reality TV star Angela Simmons.
The traditional aspects of a Nigerian wedding involve color, culture and identity. Cloth merchants who sell traditional fabrics experience year-round boom – the grander the nuptials, the more expensive and richer the fabric.
Glamorous designer gowns – as many as three – are a must. As is music. Best-selling artists and live bands are flown in from across the world to perform. In addition is the use of newer trends in technology and media. The runup to the wedding is given enough coverage on social media: hash tags are de rigeur.
“The couple use it to inform their guests as this enables friends and family to share their special day with the world,” says Gono.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29749 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/223A3784-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/223A3784-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/223A3784-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/223A3784-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/223A3784-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/223A3784-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/223A3784.jpg 682w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
Another trend is the unique chandelier wedding cake. It’s one of the many wow elements of a wedding, says Gono. From venues that cost £50,000, centerpieces and decorations that cost £5,000, to catering at £10,675, it is all about flashing the cash. Gono has been fully involved in the business of weddings, and already has bookings for the new year. But she has always had a love for event planning. The very first wedding she planned and executed successfully was in 2007, and there was no looking back. She started her company in 2011.
“It was a natural calling. It all started with coordinating a few events for friends and family and it grew from there,” says Gono, as she animatedly prepares for her next overseas trip looking for an even more exciting destination for another lucky bride and groom.

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