All posts by Samantha's Bridal Team

Defining Trends At Samantha’s Bridal Wedding Fair 2018 – Wedding Venue Guide

Why are trends important? They are a documentation of progress and experimentation, and allow us to connect with people in this very moment. Could you imagine looking back into a trendless history? How would any era be remembered? There is something absolutely beautiful about creating something meant for this very moment.

So where do we turn to when we are looking to predict the wedding trends for 2018 and 2019? Well it certainly isn’t Pinterest as those are weddings that are happening now and were determined by trends from two years ago. We are always look to the arts, design, fashion, interiors, lifestyle, and travel for insight into what will be influencing wedding trends this year.

When choosing a wedding venue, youll need to think about the venues location, size, and style to make sure its a fit for you and your future spouses big day.

Destination weddings are quite particular, as couples that are getting married in a place different from where they live, because they are more adventurous and really want to live that particular destination in its full splendor. What they really love is to use their surroundings and implement the typical things and the culture of that specific region into their weddings. With travel becoming a higher priority for individuals, couples are becoming less and less afraid to go big or go home: meaning that they are more likely to travel to their dream destination, no matter how farflung or who can (or can’t!) make it.

We are rounding up the top destination wedding trends we’re seeing from our couples so you can be in the know when planning your own romantic getaway! Below is a list of some of the most popular wedding venue types to get you started!

1. BANQUET HALL
These venues are often one-stop-shops for your wedding, and may offer catering and other services in house. Banquet halls are usually on the larger size, and work well for weddings with bigger guest counts.
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2. FARM/BARN
Dreaming of a rustic wedding? Farm or barn wedding venues may be exactly what you’re looking for. These venues offer rustic charm and an innately casual feel, plus amazing, scenic backdrops for photos.
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3. PARK/GARDEN
Many couples dream of getting married outdoors, and for good reason. A naturally beautiful venue, like a park or a garden, isnt just nice to look at; it also doesnt require too much additional dcor, which can be great for your budget. Just beware, youll want to make sure you have an indoor venue lined up in case of inclement weather.
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4. MANSION
Historic homes or mansions have an innate sense of nostalgia and a vintage vibe. These charming venues usually feature both indoor and outdoor spaces for weddings, as well as lots of unique opportunities for portraits.
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5. COUNTRY CLUB
Its clear why country clubs make popular wedding venues, from the well-manicured golf courses to outdoor and indoor options for ceremonies and receptions, to in-house catering and other services, country club weddings are often stress free and stunning.
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6. BEACH
While a beach wedding provides you with plenty of natural scenery and decor, and theres still so many fun things you can do to accentuate your location.
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7. RESTAURANT
If you and your future spouse are foodies, a restaurant can be a great location for a wedding. Of course, the food is going to be top-notch, and restaurants are already well appointed with tables, chairs, and dcor. These venues are typically more intimate and therefore best for smaller guest counts.
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8. HOUSES OF WORSHIP
In 2018 more couples are opting to say their vows in a house of worship than they have in the past few years. Part of this resurgence is the return to formality and tradition in weddings.
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9. THE WILD
The most popular excursions for young couples are anything that can be photographed well. Whether this is an animal encounter, or a breathtaking view, the top excursions going into 2018 will all be Insta-worthy.
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Find your perfect wedding venue without all the stress by location, budget and styles at the Samantha’s Bridal wedding fair 2018 where top wedding venues will be showcasing. Save the date!!

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s engagement photos released

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are celebrating their recent engagement with the release of their official portrait photographs. The couple looks royally in love in the stunning snaps shared by Kensington Palace on Thursday, which were taken earlier this week at Frogmore House in Windsor by fashion photographer Alexi Lubomirski.
The royal engagement photographs have been released featuring Meghan Markle in a show-stopping dress by the renowned Ralph & Russo. The gorgeous gown features a tiered tulle skirt complete with an entirely sheer bodice decorated with intricate leaf embellishment making Meghan looks every inch the fairy tale princess in this wow-factor design, but with an unexpected dramatic and bold twist! Could this be a hint of what she will wear on her big day?
The couple will wed at St. Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle in May 2018.
Here are some of the photos:

In this photo released by Kensington Palace on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017, Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pose an official engagement photo, at Frogmore House, in Windsor, England. (Alexi Lubomirski via AP)
In this photo released by Kensington Palace on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017, Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pose an official engagement photo, at Frogmore House, in Windsor, England. (Alexi Lubomirski via AP)

In this photo released by Kensington Palace on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017, Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pose for one of two official engagement photos, at Frogmore House, in Windsor, England. (Alexi Lubomirski via AP)
In this photo released by Kensington Palace on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017, Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pose for one of two official engagement photos, at Frogmore House, in Windsor, England. (Alexi Lubomirski via AP)
In this photo released by Kensington Palace on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017, Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pose for one of two official engagement photos, at Frogmore House, in Windsor, England. (Alexi Lubomirski via AP)
In this photo released by Kensington Palace on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017, Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pose for one of two official engagement photos, at Frogmore House, in Windsor, England. (Alexi Lubomirski via AP)

photos by Alexi Lubomirski

Angela and Bill’s luxury wedding at the Fairmont Norfolk Hotel

Samantha’s Bridal in partnership with Fairmont Norfolk Hotel organized the luxury wedding showcase to give the creme de la creme a chance to showcase what they can offer to sophisticated and discerning couples. It was a taste of what a luxury wedding is all about. At the end of it all, one couple was to win a luxury wedding and Angela and Bill were the lucky couple selected.

Angela and William met in the line of duty. It was love at first sight for William but Angela took some time before she said yes to William. In the beginning he looked like a ladies man since he was in the entertainment industry but eventually, Angela got drawn to his charm and outgoing personality.

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Bill, as his friends call him, proposed twice. He wanted to do it just before the introduction to look like a serious man before Angelas parents. The first time he proposed was when they were on holiday in Mombasa. However, it was bad timing as Angela had just lost her laptop and the long hours at the police station recording a statement on the stolen laptop had just put her in a bad mood. The second proposal was successful as he organised a spa for his heartthrob and afterwards took her to a five star restaurant where he went on one knee.

With the proposal and dowry out of the way, Angela, a meticulous bride, began her search for vendors who could translate what she had in mind into a perfect nuptial. It was this search that drove her to the Samantha’s Bridal wedding Expo, which her then fiance wasn’t keen to attend. It was after experiencing the luxury wedding showcase that William gained interest in the whole affair. Angela made him practice how to answer the questions and after the interview, the two, anxious about how the event would turn out, kept their fingers crossed and hoped to be the chosen couple.

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The win made the planning to be way easier being that the couple knew what they wanted from the start. For William, a wedding is a brides affair and as long as his bride was happy with everything, he was happy.
Angelas 8-5 work schedule was her main challenge. The prize covered venue, decor, make up for her and her best maid, rings, 2 cars that took her to the wedding venue, 2 gowns, videography and photography. In addition, their honeymoon as well as the grooms tuxedo was catered for.

“For me, it was more than I had envisioned. I loved the venue with the flowers and the deco. The venue looked really great. I cant even compare with the luxury wedding showcase because I think where the wedding was looked much better,” says William. The elegant Louis wedding chair is the latest trend for the most exclusive luxury weddings and Rita Creations incorporated them at the wedding reception.

“The luxury wedding was a great idea as it shows couples on the various ways of making their wedding better and more so different,” says Angela
It is a great avenue where the local designers can showcase their designs and make the Kenyan bride realize that everything they desire can be sourced locally.

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Photography by Versatile Photographers and Aquatronics
Venue: Fairmont Norfolk Hotel
Men’s Suits: Big Boss
Gown and Maids dresses: Peggy Onyango
Make up: Lintons Beauty World
Cake: Black Forest Cake House
Roses: Tambuzi LTD
Mineral Water: Executive Still waters
Tunnel of Love: Prima Flora
Decor: Rita Creations
Church Venue: Evensis
Cocktail drinks: Jos Hansen Ltd.
Entertainment: GigMasters Entertainment
Violinist: Scott the violinist
Wedding rings: Rajshyn Jewellers
Transport: Lesus Executive Car Hire Services

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CONGRATULATIONS ANGELA AND BILL
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Prince Harry is officially off the market!

It’s official! Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are officially engaged. Their royal nuptial will take place at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle in May 2018.’ Royal officials have revealed that Prince Harry designed the engagement ring himself, and that it includes two diamonds that belonged to his mother, the late Princess Diana.The two stones are mounted on a gold band around the larger central diamond from Botswana, an African country Harry has visited with his bride-to-be.The ring was made by the official jewelers to Queen Elizabeth, Cleave & Company.

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This engagement apparently raised eyebrows on both sides of the Atlantic for a particularly British set of reasons: Shes a biracial woman who will be the first American divorce to marry into the royal family in nearly 81 years. However, despite all these controversies, there will be a wedding and we can’t but wish the couple a happy ever after!

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Whats the future of Kenya’s Bridal Fashion? 6 Beautiful Trends from Bridal Fashion Week 2017

The New York fashion week has come and gone, but the trends on the runways will have a lasting impression not just in New York but also here in Kenya. From gowns designed purely of tulle and feathers, through to mega-dangly earrings, the fashion week was full of memorable moments. The styles that graced the runways were a departure from tradition and a celebration of femininity and romance. Throughout the 20th century especially after the Second World War- New York City rose in stature as a fashion capital, challenging the dominance of Paris in the 1940s and ’50s.
As a fashion capital, New York has a major influence on international fashion trends and we anticipate that Kenyan wedding designers will infuse the style into magnificent designs. Here is a look at some of the designs during bridal fashion week.
Feathers and Fringe
Textured embellishments such as fringe and feathers made an unanticipated appearance. Designers like Hayley Paige and Berta adorned their wedding dresses with layers of feathers, while the worlds largest bridal brand, Pronovias closed their show with a bedazzled gown with fringe from top to bottom.

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Fierce Jumpsuits
Many bridal designers have extended their bridal collections beyond glittery ball wedding dresses as well as mermaid silhouettes. Designers like Theia as well as Ines Di Santo sent glamorous jumpsuits down the runway that could be worn as a wedding dress as another option or worn during pre wedding events.

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Inspired by Outerwear
Intricately designed capelets, blazers and bolero jackets paired with gowns of all shapes and sizes at the catwalk. Designer Inbal Dror paired a structured blazer with a revealing tulle skirt while designer Allison Webb paired a heavily beaded bolero with a simple silhouette.

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Sheer Perfection
Skin is always in and designers have proven this to be true during this bridal fashion week. Designer Berta showcased a wedding gown with a detailed lace appliqu design and a full sheer skirt and train. Another designer Reem Acra accentuated a metallic ball wedding gown with a voluminous sheer-paneled skirt.

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Blush is the New White
Top designers such as Galia Lahav, Lazaro, as well as Inbal Dror all sent blush-toned wedding dresses in traditional silhouettes like the ball gown. Another trend that was slightly daring yet a departure to the norm was the introduction of the soft shades of pink as well as rose wedding gowns.

An American woman marries an Ethiopian prince in a lavish wedding

Last month, an American woman became an African princess when she tied the knot into the royal family of Ethiopia – after meeting her future husband at a modern day ‘ball’.
Ariana Austin, 33, married 35-year-old lawyer Joel Makonnen, a great-grandson of Haile Selassie I, the last emperor of Ethiopia, on September 9 in Maryland.

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Born in Rome by his exiled parents Prince David Makonnen and Princess Adey Imru Makonnen, Mr. Makonnen is part of a Solomonic dynasty whose reign ended in 1974. That was the year when a civil war broke out in Ethiopia after Haile Selassie, the 225th emperor of Ethiopia, was deposed by a Marxist Derg military coup. Unfortunately Mr. Makonnens father passed away in 1989 of circulatory failure though many believe that he might have been murdered.
He talked about weighty things as a young man, Ms. Austin said. He mentioned the revolution. Things that sound heavy for someone who was 23.
It was a union of two heritages when this twosome tied the knot on 9 September in a lavish Ethiopian Orthodox Christian wedding with 13 priests, two crowns and a pair of capes. Austins father walked her down the aisle, a custom not usually observed in that church, the report noted.

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The magnificent reception came complete with a candy table, a photo booth, and Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley, as well as Bruno Mars hits. More so, the blend of these two cultures was seen in the spread of Ethiopian foods and the Guyanese black cake that most of the guests took home. It is reported that when the dancing went low, the two love birds were busy planning on how they were going to move together in Washington as they lived separately prior to their wedding.
If the wedding didnt take so much time, Mr. Makonnen joked, we would have moved out already.
Twelve years ago, this lucky bride of Guyanese descent, met a man, just like the Cinderella fairy tale, on the dance floor of a Washington D.C nightclub and little did she know that she was dancing with a prince Joel Makonnen, the great-grandson of Haile Selassie, the last emperor of Ethiopia. The last time the social web went this viral on a royal wedding was during Prince William and Kate Middletons nuptial, which took place on Friday 29th April 2011. Their love story too resembled a fairy tale being that Kate caught the eye of her prince charming William during their campus days. In Kenya too the cultural wedding of the presidents son, Jomo, caught our attention as everybody desired to know just who the lucky maiden was despite it being a hush hush affair.

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For Miss Austin, marriage came last after pursuing a masters degree at Harvard, finding a job and occasionally finding time for each other, typically defining the modern day social life where even prince hood is left aside in pursuit of greater things.
I think we both had this feeling that this was our destiny, Ms. Austin said. But I felt like I had things that I had to do.
Mr. Makonnen too was finishing up his law degree at Howard University, when he took the relationship a notch higher by buying a princess-cut diamond ring for her real time princess.
We wish this African royal couple a happy ever after.

“We were so excited to hear that we had won the honeymoon package to Dubai at the Samantha’s Bridal Expo,” says Maureen

Honeymoon comes in all shapes and sizes.Maureen and Anthony didn’t know that their coming to the Samantha’s Bridal Expo would result in them winning the grand prize of a honeymoon package to Dubai, courtesy of ATS and Air Arabia. They had lots of fun and their dream wedding was amazing too. Here are some of the photos on their big day!

Photo credits @Enginerdstudios

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“When I realized the she was an actress, it bothered me alot,” says Patrick

Choosing the right man or woman to be your life partner is one of the toughest decisions that one can ever make. While some professions have been known to be more suitable than others, some people have been forced to compromise a little bit just to be with the love of the life. So this week’s question is, does career affect the choice of mate?
Patrick an accountant, had a rough time accepting the fact that his wife to be, Monicah, is an actress.However, they managed to come to a compromise and finally tied the knot. Here are some of their photos of their big day.

Photography by EllieKimani photography

 

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“When I heard that she was mine, I was relieved that the stress was over,” says Keith

Mixing parents and wedding can be a tough experience especially when there is a clash of demands.  Parents as well as family members insist on making demands and some of them expect to have their way when it comes to their children’s wedding. They feel like they have a right or a say in how things should be done.  For instance, some may  insist on where to have the nuptial or reception, what color napkins to use, whom you should consider intimate enough to invite and this may result to bad blood between in-laws  and no couple would desire not to have their folks bless their union. This was the main challenge as Jedidah and Keith planned their nuptial as their parents insisted on having many cards to invite their friends. They fortunately resolved the conflict and were able to tie the knot and we wish them a happy ever after!

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“He just told me that the relationship is over and left, ‘ says Alice Peace

Most people hold the belief that long distance relationships never work out.  Some have been discouraged by their families or even their best friends not to take things very seriously in case their hearts are broken. But, the extra distance is great sometimes in a relationship as it makes the simple things valuable and precious. Things that we take for granted like being able eating together, to hold the other person’s hand, walking together, feeling each other’s touch, taking a walk together, … these small wishes could suddenly mean so much more in a long distance relationship. Long distance relationship may be tough but it has its own surprises too. Well, that’s whats Alice and Evans had to deal with in the relationship till they finally tied the knot. Here are some of their wedding photos to relieve the moment:

 

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