By Word of Mouth catered this wedding in the bush of South Africa.

exotic unions

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Marriage in the Wild

By Liese Gardner
Photos by Joe Breyer

This past year, By Word of Mouth in Johannesburg, South Africa, brought two cultures together under an African Thorn tree in the famous Madikwe game reserve. The elegant bush wedding attended by 60 people seemed to spring up from nowhere, but owner Karen Short, design manager Colette le Clus, and head chef David du Plessis, knew better. They and their staff had spent many sleepless nights to make the bride’s wish of “fabulous simplicity” happen 300 miles from their offices and miles from nowhere.  This union was exotic for more than just location. The bride was from hip and modern London, the groom from a farm in Botswana and what they wanted was a seamless mesh of elegance within nature. Plus,  because so many of the guests would be traveling from England, it was important to the bride and groom that  the event also be about the real Africa and not an African theme. “The bride and groom are terribly funky and stylish and the guest list included everybody from top London hair dressers to local farmers,” says le Clus. “Therefore it needed to be quite eclectic and cosmopolitan in order for it cater to everyone.”

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THE LOOK
To give guests an experience of the bush and its wild beauty, By Word of Mouth integrated three areas of the game farm into the wedding festivities. Each was at least four miles apart, and guests were driven from each location in safari trucks to give them an opportunity to view the indigenous game. The ceremony was held on an open African plain with

three African thorn trees behind the minister, creating a dramatic background. “We had to be practical with regards to our décor angle, as the white stage at the ceremony absorbed a large amount of the budget,” le Clus explains. The addition of white chairs and three chandeliers contrasted with the rustic surroundings, and white Chinese parasols provided shade from the sun.  After the ceremony, guests were transported to the Madikwe gardens for cocktail. An award-winning botanical garden in the Bushveld complete with roaming buck on the horizon, was so naturally beautiful that decor was kept to a minimum.  “We wrapped white muslin around and between the trees to form
a pathway from the gate to the cocktail area and we supplied stylish white ottoman sets for guests to lounge around on.” French tunes and Buddha Bar music played while guests found their place cards for the reception seating hanging on white ribbon tied between two trees.

For dinner, they entered a beautiful thatched boma (or enclosure). The bridal table was covered in garden roses placed in low vases. Silver candelabras of various heights created a regal feel. The smaller tables were set at an angle and featured white light boxes placed below chic glass containers. Arum lilies and orchids were placed in alternating arrangements, matched by sparkling crystal candelabras. Each guest got their own candle and individual succulents in white pots which were placed on every napkin. Crystal glassware did more than just look beautiful, the name of each guest was placed over the red wine glass. “But there was an African twist,” Le Clus says “The names were done in a beading design made to reflect the lime-green and white color scheme.”  “Creating three distinctive looks for three different areas was a wonderful experience,” Short says. “But our favorite moment was when the African dancers ran in from the bush into the ceremony area. The sound of their footsteps approaching us was dramatic. The guests had no idea what was coming next.”

THE FOOD
The couple wanted a hearty yet simple meal that would appeal to both their South African and overseas guests
and the menu had to include lamb. An entrée of braised lamb shank with gremolata risotto, braised spring greens and a honey lemon jus was chosen but the catering firm also was asked to prepare entrees from “grand dad” and a niece for dinner. For grand dad it was eggs and chips with steak. And to represent the niece, macaroni and cheese topped with prawns. But before guests sat down for the main course, there was no shortage of creative food and food presentation.
Earlier in the day when they first arrived at the bush ceremony, guests were served ginger beer and home-made lemonade in bottles to quench their thirst in the dry highveld (highland) bush. Later, during cocktails, the menu was cutting edge with a slight hint of African flavor. “For example,” Short says, “Some of the canapés that were served was the biltong and blue-cheese cheesecake with the kumquat preserve and the baby prawn martinis with papaya salsa, lemongrass and coconut.” The canapés were presented simply. “Sosaties” (traditional skewered meat) were served straight “off the braai” (grill or barbecue) in the true South African fashion with a variety of sauces and preserves. Another exotic union was the dual his and hers sorbets. Not only a unique contrast to the hearty lamb shank main course but “his” (zesty lemon and basil sorbet on green melon salsa in a martini glass) and “hers” (pink raspberry sorbet on brunoise strawberries served in a martini glass) sorbets again personalized the wedding for the bride and groom.

BBQ marinated beef and pepper kebabs with spicy
tomato chili jam served in mini bamboo sleeves.

THE CHALLENGES
You didn’t think a wedding in the bush would be easy, did you? The challenges were myriad starting with heremoteness of the locations. The venue was five hours from the main office and kitchens of By Word of Mouth on pot-holed dirt roads. As back-up, every full truck was followed by an empty truck so in case of a breakdown, or puncture, the empty truck could be loaded and keep on going. “There was no time to waste,”Short says “As we had a large amount of things to setup with minimal staff so everybody had to follow their schedules religiously.” Electricity was also a concern. “Rural Africa does not have the best infrastructure,” Short continues, “And electricity at the game lodge was only for the bare necessities, yet we had to power up an industrial kitchen. We brought in two diesel generators that had
to be placed miles away from the venue as sound travels extremely far in the empty silent bush and we did not want any interrupting noises.” One of the generators was back up in case the first one broke down. “It would take us at least 20 minutes to get to it on the dirt roads,” Short continues, “So we just planned that the other one would automatically kick in if necessary. “Those generators didn’t even cover the refrigeration.  The lodge had a small walk-in and a tiny chest freezer, both already packed with supplies. By Word of Mouth resolved this by bringing in refrigerated truck and keeping them running the entire weekend on gasoline. That meant also bringing extra gas. Creating an event of this caliber in the middle of nowhere clearly shows what catering is all about. And the news of the accomplishments of Short and her team traveled fast By Word of Mouth (and now by the power of the pen), even from the depths of the South African bush.

www.bywordofmouth.co.za

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