Altus & Paula say I do – again!

Will it be second time lucky when Paula and Altus finally tie the knot… again?

Hillside’s been seeing a lot of darker days recently, but among all the drama there’s some good news for hopeless romantics: a wedding! After Altus (Heino Schmitt) cheated on wife Paula (Diaan Lawrenson) in November 2014, things fell apart for them. But on Friday 19 September, the couple again promise to love each other forever – and this time we hope they really mean it. For the glamorous occasion, Paula’s gorgeous wedding gown and most of the guests’ outfits were specially made by the 7de Laan wardrobe team – and we got all the juicy details on the day they filmed it.

HEART TO HEART

One month – that’s how much time Altus gave his bride to organise their second wedding, but soapie fans know that things never quite work out like they should. One of their biggest challenges was the fact that Paula’s father Marthinus (Deon Lotz) wasn’t keen on the couple reuniting. Paula found out that her parents had split when her dad revealed from his hospital bed in Venezuela on Monday 14 September how he divorced Paula’s mom after she cheated on him. He was just trying to protect his daughter from getting hurt, like he did. Thankfully, Marthinus agreed to give the union his blessing.

BUNDLE OF NERVES

On Wednesday 16 September, Paula returns to Hillside and little does she know that Altus went ahead with the wedding arrangements, despite her request to put the occasion on hold. Altus is determined not to let Paula slip through his fingers again, says Heino. “He realises she’s the love of his life and wants to surprise her with a beautiful wedding.” So he catches her unawares on Thursday 17 September when he tells her that they’re getting married the very next day.

7de Laan’s set designer Bennie Marais and his team specially built a chapel for the ceremony, as well as a separate reception set for the romantic scenes that were filmed way back on Tuesday 7 July. Diaan says that filming her second 7de Laan wedding felt like déjà vu. “Heino and I looked at each other on the day and joked that we could’ve sworn we’d been there in front of the altar before,” she says. Heino adds that filming the nuptials was a busy day. “The previous wedding [in September 2012] was shot over two days, but this time we filmed it all in one day. We were busy ’til late, but it was great fun and good to wear fancy clothes again.”

They’re husband and wife again!

Paula stepped out in style in this pair of R1 500 Steve Madden designer heels.

7de Laan set designer Bennie Marais says that he preferred candles for table decorations. “I wanted to get away from the fairy lights that are so often used at weddings,” he says. Diaan says that she was jealous of Paula’s hair: “Morné Marx, the head...

Aggie (Mimi Mahlasela), Pulane (Masego Sehoole) and Kim (Corné Crous) add a touch of fun and glam to the guestlist in their very different dresses.

Paula’s new ring was sourced at the Swarovski store and is worth R1 500, while Altus’s is a plain R500 titanium band from American Swiss.