Garden ceremony blessed by sunshine
THE first thing Yegesperan Denver Naidoo thought when he saw his bride, Levashni “Lee” Moodley, at Durban’s Hilton Hotel for their pre-wedding shoot was that he must have been a saint in his previous life to have been blessed with such a gorgeous bride.
September 14 was the day they had been looking forward to after Denver proposed in August last year during a romantic dinner at his home.
“He presented me with a huge box, and when I opened it there were many smaller boxes inside, much like the Russian dolls, each one containing a special message. When I got to the ring box, there was a note inside asking me to marry him and he was on his knee holding the ring. It was a precious moment,” said Lee.
The couple, from Kensington in Johannesburg, met after Lee’s best friend, who worked with Denver, had given him Lee’s number. And on the pretext of wanting to extend his MBA network, Denver, an actuarial management information systems manager, phoned Lee, a finance executive. They were both studying for an MBA at the time.
A week later, on July 9 2011, they met at Spiga D’ora in Durban. For two years the couple pursued a longdistance relationship, because Denver was in Johannesburg and Lee in Durban.
Weeks before the wedding they sent the invites — a simple and beautiful hardcover card in cream, gold and red — that had an abstract Ganesha on the front. Inside was a personal message and a quote from Mahatma Gandhi: “Love is the strongest force, yet it is the humblest imaginable.” The cards were sent to 300 close family and friends.
The week of the wedding brought festivities at both homes. A range of speciality dishes were served every evening at Denver’s family’s Pietermaritzburg home and there was a nalengu the evening before the wedding at the Comrades Hall.
Lee had mendhi applied two days before and her nehlengu was a day later at the University of KwaZulu- Natal’s Comsa lounge.
After the photo shoot, Denver, dressed in a threepiece cream suit, and Lee, in a traditional cream, gold and red sari, arrived at the Coast of Dreams at the Durban Exhibition Centre.
There was an unusual zigzag petal aisle that led to a wrought-iron gold gazebo draped with pink, yellow and orange flowers. On either side were two huge white Ganeshas.
The entrées were spinach and feta in phyllo pastry accompanied by a creamy garlic dip and mini bread cups filled with a creamy mushroom ragout. Then there were Brie and peppadew canapés with a sweet chilli dip and spicy vegetarian koftas served in a Chinese spoon with a coriander dressing. This was washed down with glasses of Bombay Crush served in the garden after the ceremony. The guests mingled around cocktail tables or sat in lounge areas set up in the garden.
Then everyone moved inside the venue, which was decked in white, silver and crystal with soft blue lighting that created a romantic ambience. Lee changed into a long red ball gown with crystal beadwork.
The guests were entertained by Men in Black, who sang Always by Atlantic Starr for the opening dance.
The starters included cheese and sweetcorn samoosas, vegetable spring rolls and a cream cheese dip served with Melba toast. The main course was vegetable biryani, dhal, soya prawn chutney, broad bean curry, roti, pickles and salads. Soji topped with sultanas, almonds and cream was served for dessert.
They then cut the three-tier white, silver and crystal cake. Each tier had a different flavour — chocolate, caramel and red velvet — and was surrounded by 50 vanilla cupcakes.
The couple spent a week in Mauritius on honeymoon.
How she describes him
“Denver is a man of great intellect, humour and humility. I admire his ambition and value system and he makes me deliriously happy.”
How he describes her
“The perfect combination of brains and beauty, sophistication and cultural values.”
What he thought when he saw her on the wedding day
“I was probably a saint in my previous life to be blessed with such a gorgeous bride.”
What she thought when she saw him on their wedding day
“He looked so suave and handsome — there was not an iota of doubt that he was the perfect man for me.”