The Best Wedding Planner In Joburg

The thing about having a wedding is that chances are you’ve never had one before, so chances are, like I did you really have no idea what it takes to pull one off.Before I met from Runaway Romance, who is THE best wedding planner in Joburg, South Africa and the world, I figured all I needed was a dress, some cake and Craig. Turns out I was pretty far off.

We had never even considered having a wedding planner because at the time it seemed like a luxury, plus we weren’t exactly sure how a wedding planner would help us. From our first meeting with Rebecca I basically fell in love with her, her style and just her pure and heartfelt passion for helping people create their perfect day. If you get one thing from this post it should be that wedding planners are not a luxury, they really know what they are doing and can save you loads money.

I’m not sure many people outside of my lose friends and family know this but the week before my wedding, in typical Anna-Belle style I got food poisoning. No, it wasn’t your average get sick for one day and then feel fine a few days later. This was sitting in hospital getting drips the night before the wedding sick. I couldn’t even lift my arm to type a message let alone put the final touches on my wedding.

Besides being the brains behind the beautiful table decorations, our backdrop and about a million other things Rebecca (with the help of Craigy) made things happen that would never have happened. She even patiently sat on the phone and calmed me down while I balled my eyes out because I was worried I would be too sick to go to my own flipping wedding and the weather decided not to play ball on top of everything else!

One of the best things about Runaway Romance is that Rebecca brings an entirely different energy to the planning process. She doesn’t stick to the rules because each and every couple is different and she really does take the time to get to know you so each and every decision she helps you make she has your taste and best interest at heart. Rebecca also doesn’t do big weddings, she’s all about small gatherings and non-traditional venues.

Why you ask? Well:

1. Having fewer guests allows for incredibly exciting venue options. These are normally a lot more budget friendly and haven’t been used a million times before.

2. By breaking away from traditional wedding venues couples get to choose a space that 100% reflects them and their relationship. They don’t have to change their style or ideas to fit a place.

3. By having fewer people at your wedding you have more time, budget and freedom to focus on the real reason behind the wedding day…your love, each other, the start of your marriage, the romance, the smaller touches that are really important to you.

For my wedding there was literally not one thing that Rebecca suggested that I (Craig too!) didn’t love. Her vision for my wedding was inspired by our personalities, style and of course the beautiful venue of Constitution Hill. The colour palate was a mixture of dusty pinks, greens and copper. Constitution Hill has so much history behind it and Rebecca knew we wanted to respect and celebrate that. So by keeping the decor simple  the building  was the main visual.

Throughout all the décor elements there was a continual mix of old and new… an old building but with a new more positive use, old books next to modern science jars, old reclaimed doors turned into tables. This was even brought into my bouquet that Runaway Romance handmade with a mix  of old dried grasses and seedpods with new fresh flowers. It was all incredibly meaningful and symbolic but in a subtle way.

We didn’t have any formal seating plan as we wanted to hang out with our guests as much as possible and encourage them to meet different people and still sit with exactly who they wanted to, we really wanted people to feel as included in our wedding day as possible.

If you’re getting married I really really do recommend Rebecca and Runaway Romance to make your day extra special. You can contact her via her website here. If you missed our wedding pictures check them out here.