A case of ‘Get me to the hall on time’
It all began with campus romance
NERVES and agitation, coupled with traffic, made Samantha Naidoo’s threeand-a-half hour journey to Durban on her wedding day feel like a lifetime.
But for the Dundee supervisor it was worth the effort to leave home at 5am because she knew she was going to marry the man of her dreams, Vimalin Moodley.
Samantha, 25, met Vimalin, 28, in 2006 while studying at Varsity College in Westville, Durban.
“I was new on campus, so my cousin introduced me to her friends, who included Vimalin. We became friends and were attracted to each other’s personalities,” said Samantha.
During dinner at a restaurant in 2010, Vimalin, a boilermaker from Verulam in Durban, deliberately dropped his napkin, for which Samantha reached. As she looked away, he slipped a ring into her glass.
“I was surprised when I looked at my glass. As I took it out, Vimalin popped the question,” she said.
The couple selected Kendra Hall in Durban as the venue where they would exchange vows. After booking it, they took charge of all the planning.
“Our only challenge was not receiving our invites on time. After the first batch was spoiled by the printer, we had to choose new invitations, which were given to guests only three weeks before the wedding,” said Samantha.
The invites were cream and rectangular in shape with a gold design on the front and a gold Ganesha in the middle against a red background.
Two days before the wedding, Samantha had mendhi applied. A day before, the couple had separate nehlungu ceremonies and festivities at their homes.
It being the Easter long weekend made it convenient for family and friends to travel to the wedding.
On the morning of April 19, Samantha and her family made the trip to Durban for the 3pm wedding.
“We left home very early in the hope of beating the traffic, but it seems others felt the same. The traffic was crazy and I was so agitated and worried because I had to still get ready for the wedding. Fortunately, I made it to the hall in time.”
Samantha, dressed in a deep-red sari embroidered with Swarovski crystals, walked down the aisle with her groom, who wore a shiny grey suit and a deepred tie.
The couple made their way to the stage, which had crystals and a Ganesha, white and black draping and three chandeliers, as well as fairy lights.
The round tables were covered in bronze table cloths. In the centre of each were statues of Radha and Krishna playing a flute under a tree.
On arrival, the 300 guests were each given a Bombay Crush. As they witnessed the south-Indian ceremony, starters of potato samoosas and puri pathas were served.
On each table there was a variety of sweetmeats. The main course comprised vegetable biryani, dhal and pickles, followed by soji for dessert.
After being pronounced husband and wife, the newlyweds cut a three-tier cake decorated with red roses. Each layer had a different flavour — red velvet, carrot and Ferrero Roche.
After a memorable day, the couple spent two nights at the Oyster Box hotel in Durban before jetting off to Mauritius for their honeymoon.