Melissa Rom & Lloyd Grant Madsen

18.10.2013

VENUE: Green Leaves Stables, Magalies Mountains

DÉCOR STYLE: Modern with a traditional touch, classy, elegant

NUMBER OF GUESTS: 180

HOMETOWN: Johannesburg

Lloyd and Melissa met in Durban in 2010 through a mutual friend. Says Melissa: “It was during the World Cup, and the city couldn’t have been more festive and alive. Instantaneously, there was a spark. We spent time together, just enjoying one another’s company. We met my parents at a petrol station as I needed to head back to Pretoria – and they swear by the connection between us. Apparently they could just see it!”

Lloyd was living in Amsterdam at the time, playing hockey and working at a private investment bank. They stayed good friends for the next 2 years and saw one another whenever he was in South Africa. They started dating in early 2012, and Melissa says that if it wasn’t for Skype she doesn’t know where they would be today! “We travelled together for quite some time, and had the privilege of experiencing the London 2012 Olympics together, a dream come true for us both! After the Olympics Lloyd decided to move back to South Africa (he had been in Amsterdam for 4 years) and settle down.

“We spent the festive season together with our families, and as Valentine’s Day approached we decided to do a ‘joint effort’ dinner at home: I did the starters and dessert, and Lloyd did the main. After a lovely evening together and delicious food I gave Lloyd his present, which was a simple T-shirt and card. He asked me to wait downstairs as he had to get my gift from upstairs. “He came to fetch me, and took me upstairs. I walked into our room (with strict instructions not to look left), and he held my hands and began to tell me how much he loved me and how much I meant to him. I said ‘You’re making my heart beat fast, what’s happening?’ He asked me to please switch off the lamp and turn around. As I did so, the first thing I saw were the words ‘MARRY ME’ in candles, Moet champagne in an ice bucket, rose petals everywhere, and hand-cut hearts stuck all over the cupboards. “He got down on one knee, and tucked in a Ready Bear’s arms was the box for my ring. He uttered the words ‘Will you marry me?’ and with tears flowing I said ‘Yes!’ My brother, who was in Paris at the time, called and said ‘Finally! Mom’s been crying since this afternoon!’. Our families were overjoyed at the news!”

There was quite a bit of drama around getting hold of the one-of-a-kind engagement ring that Lloyd wanted to give to Melissa, which was made by Deonne le Roux. A few days before Lloyd went to purchase Melissa’s ring, he discovered that it had been sold. As Deonne le Roux only makes limited pieces of jewellery, there was only one such ring available. Lloyd was stressed out and spoke to Melissa’s father, Gary Rom (of Gary Rom Hairdressing), and Gary spoke with Deonne. The upshot was that Deonne called back 5 minutes later and said that he would make a plan. Turns out that production in the factory was stopped and Melissa’s ring was made in 2 days – something that would ordinarily take 6 weeks.

Lloyd’s own ring was also very special: “Deonne and his team worked exceptionally hard to create this one-of-a-kind ring. And – the first time that Deonne le Roux has done something like this – on the inside of my ring was a ‘fingerprint’ of Mel’s ring finger. This ring was a complete surprise for me from Mel, and as far as we know is the only such ring made in South Africa. The standard tools in the design program for the ring which Deonne uses come from the USA.” They describe their wedding as “the best day ever”.

Melissa outlines some of the highlights: “Our pastor, Rory, spoke about marriage so beautifully – it really was heartfelt. My dad surprised us by having Loyiso Bala sing our entrance song as well as one or two others during the evening. That was a major highlight for us and our guests. Our first dance as well as my dance with my dad were so special, and our MC, my brother Calvin Rom, was outstanding. The life-size Jenga and ring toss as well as all the details of our wedding – cake, invites, name cards (birds) and décor – were amazing.” Since Lloyd is an SA Hockey player they left the chapel through a tunnel of hockey sticks (sanded down, and complemented by ivory ribbon with bows), a Madsen family tradition.

The cake was made by close family friends, the Supra family of Supra Cakes. Adds Melissa: “It was something we have never seen before and was so special to me, as I was the flower girl at Grant and Tessa Supra’s wedding.” They did a ‘marryoke’: their song of choice was Celebrate by Kool & The Gang, and the bridal party sang and danced to it throughout. “We can’t wait to see our video! I also sent out a video with certain dance moves to the song, so during the night we had our own wedding flash mob!” The feathers on the bride’s dress as well as the proteas at the main table and in her bouquet were in remembrance of her grandmother ‘Ganny’ Carol. The bridesmaids’ dresses were bought from YDE, but Melissa’s mother Sharlene did loads of beadwork on them, with beads bought in Turkey by her and Gary. All of the guests were asked to dress in black to complement the décor and wedding theme.

Melissa did stick to the tradition of wearing something old, new, borrowed and blue. ‘Old’ was her mom’s tennis bracelet from Deonne le Roux, which her father gave her for their 25th wedding anniversary. ‘New’ were her shoes, dress and garter, and ‘borrowed’ were diamond earrings from Deonne le Roux. ‘Blue’ was the hint of blue on her garter (made by her mom) as well as the blue sneakers she wore later on! Their advice to those of you planning your wedding is to stay true to yourselves: “Never compromise on anything for your special day, and have an absolute jam! I can honestly say we danced the night away. It really does go by in a flash, so enjoy every single second of every minute!”

They honeymooned in Kani, Maldives – Melissa finding out that they were going there just a few hours before flying.