What an exciting day in the Just Jack offices.  We relaunched our website today!!!  All the information is still there, but we’ve added, hopefully, a more user-friendly approach to the site, with a lot of beautiful photos.  I don’t know if there is really more to say, but we are BEHIND in updating our weddings on the blog, so big apologies for now, but watch this space for some breathtaking wedding photos to come.

 

For now I will leave you with a few pictures of the latest work.

 

 

 

 

To all the Brides, in Cape Town we love winter specials and here is one that will warm your heart. Elsje Designs are offering a free save the date design, from the catalogue below, if you have your invitations done through them. Have a look at their website for some fresh stationery ideas and contact them to set-up a consultation.

Have fun planning.

I realise that it’s a few days late, but we would still like to wish Gaby and The Cap Classique Blog a happy one year anniversary for the 3rd of May 2011.  Gaby was sweet enough to share one of the Just Jack weddings on her blogiversary addition.

Personally this was also one of my favourite weddings to date.  Melissa and Arnold is such a lovely Couple and their wedding was a perfect example of doing something you love, with someone special.  Their wedding was different and fun.  With a Carnival themed wedding, how could it not be.

Just a short post for now sharing the link to Gaby’s blog, and again say, thank you, Gaby.

We love your work.

While sitting in front of  a lovely warm fire, drinking a glass of perfect wine…The Frans K Smit, I was looking at Bonita working on our scrapbook and  thought that this would be a good time to do some sharing.  Today, almost exactly one month ago, I asked the BIG question and Bonita said YES!!!  I thought I would share this story with everyone who cares.

On Saturday 26 March 2011, I invited Bonita to a special dinner.  Unaware of anything, we went to Zorgvliet Wine Estate, on the Helshoogte Pass.  Arriving at Zorgvliet we were taken up to their Bergbraai area.  A bumpy trip up the mountain later; Joanie, Lana and Kirsti welcomed us to a beautifully set table, and (my favourite) a glass of the Graham Beck Bliss.  Bonita was in awe.  She had no idea what to expect and still didn’t know what was coming next.

Firstly, Joanie started us off with a fresh green salad.  Luckily she didn’t go with anything to heavy as the main course could feed a small family.  Sounds simple, but the dressing tantalised our taste buds.

Second course (Bonita’s favourite) was a fresh fillet of Cape Salmon, served with a perfect mushroom risotto.  All freshly prepared at the Bergbraai area by the wonderful chef-to-be Joanie, decor stylist and all over genius Lana and our friend and coordinator to be Kirsti, everything was perfect, but this was not the end.  As main course came out, a saxophonist started playing softly in the background.  Specially arranged by a good friend, our live entertainment played in the vineyards, while we enjoyed each other’s company and the sunset.

This was my cue.  I couldn’t wait any longer.  As the sun started to set, I passed Bonita her jacket as well as a black bag.  I said to her I thought she deserved a small gift and Bonita took the bag from me.  Opening this gift, she took the black box out and I could see a million thoughts running through her head.  Opening the cardboard box, an even smaller velvet box appeared.  With a big question mark on Bonita’s forehead, I took the box from her hand, got unto one knee, opened the box to reveal her ring, and asked Bonita to marry me.   With an even bigger question mark, she replied: “Yes. Are you serious? Yes, I will.”  Making me the luckiest man ever.

A quick dessert of crème brûlée later and then home.  What a great day.  It worked out perfectly.  The weather was great, the food perfect, the wine good, the service personalised and the friends VERY special.  Thank you to Aleit for helping with the planning and arrangements.  Hans for organising the saxophonist.  Jo-lize, Floral Affairs, for the flowers.  Kim Boezaart, for the most beautiful ring ever.  Elizabeth for the venue and the wine and Joanie, Lana, Kirsti and Stir Food for the great dinner.  We really appreciate all your help.  You guys are the best!!!

Now the planning begins…

You know, the mail below makes a wedding worth it for us.  I don’t think Brides always realize how much an email like this means and it makes the months of planning, days away from home, and (in this case) fishing a car out of the water worth it.  Thank you, Sylvia and Helmuth, we truly appreciate it.

“Jaco and the Just Jack Team (OUR DREAM-MAKERS)!

Where do we even begin to express how magical our wedding was, thanks to you all!  Thank you so, so, so much for our amazing wedding on the 19th of March 2011!

Jaco you truly are every girl’s dream, a must have on your wedding day! You set us at ease from the very first moment we met up to our last good-bye.

Thank you for making the day and the build up to it as stress free as possible, always calming me down and ready with a solution or a plan when the stress got to me or when something didn’t work out. Thank you for literally being available 24/7 (always with a smile and a glass of champagne),ready to help where you can, ALWAYS GOING OUT OF YOUR WAY!

You turned into friends in the days we spent together before the wedding. You and Leana really went ABOVE and BEYOND to ensure our wedding was exactly what we wanted and that the day was perfect.  Jaco you even got the weather to play along!!!

We gave you floods, the bush, mud and rivers and you gave us a picture perfect day! The event was all you promised it would be, thank you for all your patience, grace, good judgement and incredible planning! You exceeded all of our expectations. The day was everything we have ever dreamed of and a whole lot more…

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WEDDING EVER!!!

Always thankful

Helmuth & Sylvia”

Today Just Jack arrived in the historical town of Stanford, in the Western Cape.  We are setting up for Melissa and Arnold’s Vintage Carnival themed wedding that is taking place at Beloftebos on the 26th of February 2011.

For our stay, while preparing for the wedding we came across this wonderful, very sweet house called Morton Cottage, in the town of Stanford.  It is a beautiful two bedroom cottage with one en suite and one loose standing bathroom, a fully furnished living room, dining room and self catering kitchen.  We though we just have to share this and hope someone gets the oppurtunity to visit Morton Cottage at some stage during their stay in the Stanford or Hermanus area.

I’ll update wedding photos later.  JJ

While looking at engagement rings over the weekend, I realized how little I know about rings, and how scary it is for most guys to try and figure out what to buy.

If it is not scary enough for a man to try and buy his Fiancé an engagement ring, he also needs to try and keep track of what to look out for when buying a ring.  It is not only buying what looks nice, but also keeping a few things in mind, and I am going to try and guide you in the right direction.

Where to start…

Most commonly referred to as the four Cs, there are certain things that you must look at when buying a diamond ring, namely Cut, Clarity, Color and Carat.

Cut

The cut refer to the faceting proportions on the surface of a diamond.  A diamond cutter must place each of the stone’s facets and angles, which act as light dispersing mirrors, in exact geometric relation to one another.  More than any other factor, the precision of these facets determines the brilliance of the diamond.

On a classical round, brilliant cut diamond, for instance, fifty-seven facets must be precisely aligned.  A good diamond cutter ensures that diamonds are precisely proportioned to reflect light and maximize brilliance.  A lot of diamonds are cut to maximize weight, resulting in a loss of brilliance and fire.  Adding or subtracting facets does not equal greater brilliance.

Clarity

Virtually all diamonds have imperfections called inclusions or blemishes.  A diamond is said to be “flawless” if no inclusions or superficial blemishes can be seen under a standard 10-power magnification.  Truly flawless diamonds are extremely rare and priced accordingly.

Colour

The more colourless the diamond, the greater its rarity and value.  A single increase in colour grade can boost a diamond’s value by thousands of dollars, depending on the stone’s size.

Although many diamonds may appear colourless to the untrained eye, the majority contain very slight traces of yellow, brown and grey.

It should be noted that diamonds also occur by rare accidents of nature in shades and intensities of yellow, pink, blue, green and red.

Carat

A “carat” is the gemologist’s standard measure of a diamond’s weight and does not denote size.

It is important to note that size alone is almost meaningless unless you consider cut, clarity and colour.  A large stone holds little value if it lacks brilliance, purity and high-grade colour.  However, size does increase the value of a good quality diamond for the simple reason that large stones are rarer than small ones.

The “things we like” section must be my favourite to write, as most of these places we get to visit and experience first hand. Let me share our one night at Grootbos with you.

On Sunday afternoon, myself and Bonita arrived at Grootbos Nature Reserve, just 13km past the small town of Stanford, close to Hermanus.  I was introduced to the idea of Grootbos while browsing for a place for us to have a QUICK three day breakaway and found Grootbos Nature Reserve.

Grootbos Nature Reserve, with its two 5-star lodges and luxury accommodation, is spectacularly situated on the fynbos and forest clad hills overlooking the whale-watching haven of Walker Bay. Grootbos has carved a unique niche in the upmarket eco-lodge sector by specializing in the Cape region of South Africa’s world-renowned flora and marine biodiversity. This multi-award winning 1750 ha reserve is home to more than 740 different species of plants, offers warm hospitality, excellent cuisine, fine South African wines and is a nature lover’s paradise.

The Cape fynbos is renowned as a flora biodiversity hotspot and for more than a decade Grootbos has promoted its beauty, interpreted its intricate stories, researched some of its many secrets and developed a suit of projects focused on conserving this exceptional natural region. Central to the ethos of Grootbos is that the guests discover the regions natural wonders and directly contribute to its conservation and upliftment of our local communities.

We started our day with a quick check-in and then had time to look through the list of activities that were on offer.  We chose to go for a walk in the local caves, followed by a glass of Villiera Brut, while watching the whales swim just a few meters from our lookout deck.

Back at Grootbos, we were escorted to our fabulous house, in true five star spirit.  From the beautiful lounge, to the massive bedroom with a bathroom big enough for a small family, everything exceeded our expectations.  The views from the room, bathroom, lounge and deck were amazing. You could see all the way from Uilenkraalsmond to the other side of Hermanus.  It was breath-taking.

By now we were hungry, so dinner was next.  We sat down to a full six course meal, with wines from the local valley as well as the Stellenbosch area.  With too many courses to even name them all, we ended the evening with a relaxing game of Scrabble (I lost) and returned to the comfort of our own little part of Grootbos.

This morning, we enjoyed a delicious Continental breakfast, followed by a full warm English breakfast chosen from the menu.  Afterwards we went for an hour long horseback ride and were now getting ready for another great meal freshly prepared by the Chefs.

All and all a brilliant experience and I hope everyone will be able to go to Grootbos at some stage for a relaxing weekend.  I might just want to come back…soon!!

Seeing that we are getting new enquiries in for the historical Lanzerac Hotel & Spa, in the Jonkersvalley, Stellenbosch, I have decided to go have a look to remind myself of what they have to offer.

This beautiful Estate is older than 300 years and has been trading as a luxury hotel since 1958.   Since then it’s had numerous owners and is currently owned by the well-known Wiese-family.   With large luxury rooms, spacious bathrooms and of course an onsite spa, this hotel with it’s old-school charm is the place to visit, whether you’re coming to Cape Town for your wedding and you just want to have a weekend away to recuperate.

Listed amongst the most prestigious luxury hotels in the world, The Lanzerac Hotel & Spa, a member of Gatsby International Hotels & Resorts, extends a warm local and international welcome to guests, inviting them to experience the finest hospitality and heritage the Cape has to offer.

One of the region’s most distinguished examples of Cape Dutch architecture endures on a 300-year old country estate, preserving the elegant atmosphere of a gracious age.

Accommodation is exclusively limited to 48 spacious rooms, including 5 Junior Suites, the luxurious Royal Pool Suite with it’s own private swimming pool and the Presidential Suite. Most rooms and suites open out onto private patios overlooking lush vineyards, landscaped gardens and the majestic Helderberg Mountains.

With large luxury rooms, spacious bathrooms and of course an onsite spa, this hotel with it’s old-school charm is the place to visit, whether you’re coming to Cape Town for your wedding or you just want to have a weekend away to recuperate.  We love The Lanzerac Hotel & Spa and think you would love it too.

The Spier Hotel 10^th Birthday Celebration was held on 27 November 2010. This stylish event marked 10 years since the Hotel was built on the estate. The guest list consisted of family members, previous hotel GM’s and friends of the hotel for the past 10years. The theme…..Past, Present &Future keeping within the values of Spier……. Pride, Confront, Unite, Protect, Aspire.

Guests arrived from 19:00, dressed beautifully as the dress code stated on the invite. They were escorted from their vehicles by porters in golf carts. At the door they were welcomed by members of the Enthoven family, a lively Jazz Duo and waitress in specially printed “CELEBRATION” shirts.

They sipped on Spier MCC, Pimms and Lemonade and non alcoholic strawberry daiquiri cocktails. Stewart the hotel head chef and Lollie, head chef of 8 restaurant tickled their taste buds with an array of canapés presented in a variety of creative ways including Lucky Fish tins, corrugated iron platters and dry ice.

Guests were gathered in the hotel Foyer by a performance choreographed by the renowned Jay Pather. From there the performers enticed the guests to follow them on a tour through the streets of the hotel stopping at points to witness more stunning displays of dance and performance by Jay and his troop. Adrian Enthoven welcomed and thanked guests in short but very special speech in the centre lane of the hotel. A children’s choir and an opera singer led guests back to the hotel lawn were the Celebration began.

On arrival back at the hotel gents were treated to a shoe polish and ladies warm refresher towels. Spier Creative block and Private Collection wines were available throughout the evening. The layout created a relaxed atmosphere with loads of lounge areas available for everyone to relax on both underneath a Bedouin tent and the stars. Five food stations were set up with a huge variety of different dishes to choose from. Each station represented one the 5 Spier Values.

WE HAVE PRIDE IN OUR CAPE AFRICAN HERITAGE Malay Pasture Chicken station

WE CONFRONT OUR SOCIAL JUSTICE Free Range Lamb  station

WE UNITE THROUGH OUR DIVERSITY Spier Grass Fed Beef station

WE PROTECT OUR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT The “Green” Fish Braai

WE ASPIRE TO EXCELLENCE Never-ending quest Salad Bar

At 22:00 the waiters exited the kitchen in single file carrying platters of dessert which was placed on the cake massive cake stand, it had a base of 2mx2m. Once the last platter was placed on the cake stand the Band, Sima  and The Lucky Charms, who are exceptional, sung Happy Birthday and guest enjoyed a variety of mini dessert and delicious coffees from the Coffeeright coffee bar. Guests then partied the night away to Sima and The Lucky Charms and DJ Darren’s all time favourite hits!

This was a fantastic event enjoyed not only by the guests but by all the staff involved

Many thanks to the following service providers, without whom no event would ever be possible:

Hiring: Top Table – www.toptable.co.za

Decor: Flowers in the Foyer – www.flowersinthefoyer.co.za

Lighting: Something Different Concepts and Shows – www.something-different.co.za

Sound: Sound Generation – www.soundgeneration.co.za

Sound and Lighting for the performances: Eastern Acoustics eslynb@spier.co.za

Food: Spier Hotel and 8 Restaurant www.spier.co.za

Photographer: Cari Eksteen-  www.cari.co.za

Band: Sima and The Lucky Charms  pip@cybersmart.co.za

DJ: Darren Rose – Darren@mcloughlinclark.co.za

Bar and Staff: Shake and Serve, Spier Hotel www.shakeandserve.co.za, www.spier.co.za

Coffee Bar: Coffeeright www.coffeeright.co.za

Bedouin Tent: Tentation – www.tentation.co.za