Shaun and Samantha wanted a casual wedding that would reflect them as a couple. They opted for a modern, urban location, Hotel 64 on Gordon, in the heart of Durban. "We decided on the casual route, canapé food served all night, cocktail tables rather than table settings and a constant string of all types of music", began the bride.

"We also served frozen margaritas instead of 'headachy' champagne and had a black, bronze, copper and gold colour scheme. It all really came together beautifully. The flowers were causal collections too, with no table being the same! We created an enchanted bubble for ourselves that night. We really could have been anywhere on Earth!"

"We saved money by doing and the décor and flowers ourselves! We never had any cash injected from anyone else, and saving on our own was difficult, but in the end we managed to spend carefully and made sure we paid cash so we weren't left with a load of debt after!"

"We collected and bought décor over 10 months so we were only spending a little at a time...we also looked for sales and budgeted carefully so overall we really did well on our expenditure but had all the 5 star elements that make a great wedding! We had amazing food, amazing music and an amazing photographer!"