You are the one I want
Couple settle on Shania’s loving song
CHILDHOOD friends Jermaine Moodley and Yavisha Ramnarain chose to begin 2014 as husband and wife by exchanging vows in a fairytale wedding.
The pair met in Grade 2 at Simla Primary in Shallcross. They attended different high schools but remained friends. They started dating in 2010 when they went to university.
In March last year, after a relaxing weekend together watching movies and eating popcorn, Jermaine, 27, took Yavisha, 26, by surprise when he handed her his late mother’s engagement ring and asked her to be his wife.
After a few minor challenges, Yavisha said, everything resolved itself, and with the help of her immediate family and Jermaine’s grandmother, the wedding was planned with no stress for the bride.
“The biggest challenge in planning our wedding was not having the support and love of my parents, who are both [dead]. I really missed them during this special period in my life,” said Jermaine, a stock control manager.
“The best memory for me was deciding which song to walk down [the aisle] to,” said Yavisha, a junior brand manager.
“Every time my mom, dad, sister, or brother heard a song that they thought I would like, they would play it for me or sing it to me and try to convince me to walk down the aisle to that song. Sometimes my dad would even do a dance to the song for me.”
She chose Katilana Ada from the movie Jai Ho.
The couple wanted their close family and friends to share in their special day and settled for 400 guests.
The invitations were red and gold cards, in keeping with the wedding colours, covered in red velvet cloth and silver diamanté stones.
“Never leave anything for a man to plan,” said Yavisha. “Jermaine drove me crazy when he told me, a week before the wedding, that he had forgotten to send out his wedding invites.”
On the eve of the wedding, both families celebrated in dance after the traditional rituals.
On the morning of January 5, the couple sent each other messages expressing their joy and excitement.
Dressed in a red lengha with gold threading and Swarovski stones, Yavisha walked down the aisle beside her father — very special for her, she said, because he is the apple of her eye and her pillar of strength.
When she saw Jermaine, dressed in a cream and gold suit adorned with Swarovski crystals and a red scarf, she was overwhelmed with happiness and joy.
In a north and south Indian fusion ceremony conducted by Guru Dayalan, the couple said their I do’s at Sibaya casino’s Imbizo conference centre.
The stage décor included four waterfall features, red roses and a horse and carriage centre piece. Each round table had fresh red roses and crystal lanterns. Attached to red napkins were gold bows.
Jermaine said it was an emotional moment receiving his paternal grandmother’s blessings.
For starters, the guests were served vegetable nuggets, potato samoosas, chilli bites, sev and nuts and fresh fruit juice. The buffet lunch consisted of vegetable lasagne and biryani accompanied by dhal, salad and pickles. For dessert were soji, mini milk tarts, naan katai biscuits, burfi, chana magaj and laddoo with tea or coffee.
At the end of the ceremony, Shania Twain’s song You’re Still The One played before the couple cut a three-tier cake that had a white chocolate border and red roses.
The newlyweds, who are settling in their new home in Northdene, Durban, have postponed their honeymoon to later in the year when they will travel to India.
How he describes her: Funloving, caring, sweet, passionate and unpredictable. Yavisha makes me laugh all the time and always puts a smile on my face. She’s very unpredictable and carefree and always full of laughter.
How she describes him: Kind, understanding, energetic, bubbly and generous.
What she thought when she saw him on the wedding day: When I first looked at Jermaine, I noticed the big smile on his face and it made me happy to see him smiling and cheerful.
What he thought when he saw her on the wedding day: I thought Yavisha looked absolutely stunning and breathtaking. She made the most beautiful bride and was glowing with joy and excitement.
Wedding planning advice: Your wedding should be about you and everything you have dreamt about. Take your time to plan your special day and enjoy all the planning together.