Fan-tastic Fans!

My dear friend got married exactly 8 days ago, and I'm still giddy with excitement for them! It's such a wonderful thing when someone close to you gets married.

In the days leading up to the wedding, Harare was experiencing a heat wave. The temperatures, I cannot talk about them, I think back and I start to sweat. While I was crispifying in the heat one day, I realised my friend was such a genius for getting us fans for the wedding instead of  bouquets. They totally came in handy... and... they're so fun!

The fans our friend bought for us at her wedding... Super fun!! $5, Pink, Joina City, Harare

Other places to look are at Floral Wonder at Sam Levy's Village, and Favourize, along Kwame Nkrumah avenue in the Harare CBD.

To the Zimbo brides in the diaspora who love shopping online, check out this and other beauties on eBay.com:

Gorgeous antique ivory fan

Another place to look is Etsy.com:

Gold Lace wedding fan

The list is by no means exhaustive, I advise you to shop around, and make your wedding cool and creative!

What do you say ladies? Will we be seeing fans at your wedding?

Kitchen Party Outfit Ideas

Phew! I’m surfacing from the tidal wave of kitchen parties, just long enough to write this post and dive in again into the sea of “5 more days before my friend gets married!” So we went for our final dress fittings, we’re getting our hair done tomorrow, and yep, we’re still practising masteps! So this’ll be a short post, with lots of pictures!

I’ve had kitchen parties on my brain for a while now... planning and attending so many will do that to you. It’s such a huge deal for a Zimbo bride to have a kitchen party, and for many it was the highlight before the wedding. With the diasporisation of our nation, the kitchen party format has changed. For some, the tete no longer does the planning. Nowadays it can be the bridesmaids, a female relative, or even the mother, when at some point it was taboo for her to even attend! With the modernisation of kitchen parties, comes the addition of themes and dress code. It’s pretty much the norm in other countries, but frankly quite new in Zimbabwe, where we’re still paying to see the muroora’s face! So when you receive an invitation with a dress code, here’s a handy little guide for you:

Casual
Many kitchen parties don’t really have a dress code, so it’s safer to stick to the casual dress code. Here are a few ideas:

                                

                

If the kitchen party doesn’t have a dress code, the above ideas would be appropriate if the kitchen party’s hosted by the bridesmaids, and has lots of young people, with a young speaker, or one who’s young at heart.

Smart Casual

I would put the majority of kitchen parties in this category. Where the party’s hosted by the bride’s in-laws or her female relatives, you could expect a lot of older ladies among the bride’s friends. The mood is a bit more formal, and your dress should reflect that:

            

            

Smart

Some kitchen parties are becoming fancier and fancier, with the invite specifying a smart or formal dress code. Here are some ideas:

            

            

Other

If you like your outfits a bit more edgy, try the following:

  

I found all these ideas at Asos Fashion Finder. Check out their website for more ideas.

What do you say ladies? What would you wear on your kitchen party? What did you wear? What other outfits would you like to see on this page? I’d love to hear from you!