July 10, 2021 / / Wedding features

Dominic and Yajna

They say that social media is a dangerous tool to find love, however that was not the case in the love story of Dominic and Yajna…

How they met:

Dominic was a friend on my Facebook for many years. We never had any actual chats or communication, over those years. I was amidst my journey of Miss Supranational 2018, when Dominic inboxed me with an opportunity. He knew I was actively involved with charity events and humanitarian work over the years. He of course saw this on my social media. His company together with Investec were running a winter charity drive. With Dominic living in Johannesburg, and myself in Durban, he approached me to run the winter drive in Durban on his behalf. Over the weeks we chatted about the event and also had got to know each other better.

We bonded particularly over our past experiences in bad relationships.

Yajna and Dominic at their mehndi.

Weeks later, when the scarves and beanies had arrived at my home, there was a very extravagant and creative gift for me inside the box. Dominic explained that it was a thank you gift in advance. I had gone to a rural community with my dad and distributed these scarves and beanies to the extremely grateful residents.  My sister laughed at seeing the gift and said that it was not a thank you gift but that Dominic had liked me. I was in denial and said that we were just friends.

One of my sponsors for the pageant had to drop out of sponsoring me, due to financial constraints. Dominic’s company then stepped into the position of becoming one of my sponsors. Since his company was an advertising company, his company voluntarily became involved in helping to promote the pageant with signage, red carpets, a photo booth, etc. At this point in time we were still just good friends. Before long, the pageant day had arrived. My pageant organizer had introduced me to Dominic and I instantly felt a connection and spark.

As clichéd as it sounds, I actually could feel an almost electric current between us. I had a shiver run through my body. Approximately two days after the pageant, Dominic had asked to date me. Five days later, he took a flight to Durban to take me out on an official date.

I had never been so nervous in my life before. I remember my sister saying that I was nervous because this time it was the right guy. Things simply just fell into place. That is when you know that it is meant to be and that destiny is at work.

My family without any thought or hesitation accepted Dominic, when I had told them that he had asked me out. He made me laugh so much on our first date and we got along like a house on fire. He bought me my favourite colour bouquet of flowers and some treats. He eased my nerves with conversation. When he held my hand for the first time, I once again felt that electricity between us. When he had visited my family at home, they simply loved him to bits and got along really well.  Every month for the next year, Dominic took a flight to Durban to visit me. My family began to love him more and more with each visit. Every night- without fail, since the first date, we video called each other and even used to sleep with the video call on. We could not wait for the next time we were together. We would always spend our time on video calls anticipating our next time together. One day my parents, Dominic and I visited the Oribi Gorge for the day.

On a hilltop with the most beautiful view, Dominic had pulled out a ring and asked me to marry him. I of course excitedly accepted the proposal

Planning the big day:

The word that would best describes my wedding is “FAIRYTALE.” It may sound clichéd as most couples speak of a fairytale wedding. But being known as a queen or princess my entire life due to my pageant career, it was only fitting for this queen/ princess to have her royal fairytale ending.

I ensured that I left no stone unturned in creating the ambiance of a fairytale wedding through my pre wedding functions, my décor, colour scheme, invite and little wow factors. My vision for my wedding was a royal, elegant fairytale wedding.

To create the ambience of an elegant, royal, fairytale wedding, I began the journey with my invitation. My invite was a gold glitter paper on a wooden scroll- like that of ancient royal invitations. At the edge of the dark wooden scroll was a maroon tassel hanging. The scroll was sealed with a rose gold wax seal with the initials “YD.” Attached to the corner of the wax seal was a black label with the name of the person whom was being invited, written in cursive gold foil writing. The 3 invitations- for the mendhi, hurdee and wedding, were written in a rhyme encapsulating the theme of this royal fairytale. The end of one invite leading to the beginning of the next invite, with the wedding invite starting with the lines “And they lived happily ever after, with celebrations and laughter…”

I looked at every possible venue option in Durban for my big day. I initially wanted a venue with a view. Perhaps a full glass venue overlooking the beach? However, my mendhi evening and hurdee evening ending up fulfilling the need of a venue with a view. My mendhi evening was held at the Mt. Edgecombe Weavers Nest. This was a wooden deck overlooking the entire Golf Course and Estate. It was really a beautiful sight.

My hurdee evening was held at Elarish Boutique Hotel. Elarish has a function venue. However the function venue did not give me the feel nor atmosphere that I was searching for. However, the hotel itself was absolutely stunning from outside to the set up inside.

I knew that I had to use this hotel for my Hurdee. I therefore decided to choose the restaurant on the top floor of Elarish. My reason for this choice was that the walls were glass and therefore had a view of the whole of Durban lit up at night. With 2 stunning pre- wedding event venues, the venue for the wedding was still left undecided.

With every venue there was always something that did not match my expectations. Most of the time it was either the menu or the pricing. Sometimes the rules and regulations were very unaccommodating or the personality of the staff was not to my liking. My family is known for hosting beautiful weddings. Myself, being the last daughter of the 3 sisters, as well as being a public figure, I felt the pressure and need to end the weddings in the Debideen family with a bang.

This was the grand finale. I turned my thoughts to a garden wedding.  After viewing and researching the potential garden wedding venues in Durban, I took an interest in Breaside in Ballito. I had heard a lot of mixed reviews about Breaside. But I decided to view the venue for myself, instead of listening to the experience of others. When I stepped out of my car, I was in awe. I was breath taken by the gravel pathway with pine trees on either side that lead to the venue itself.

The garden was so well manicured, clean and vibrant. There was something magical in the atmosphere.

There was ample parking as well. Bingo! The reception venue, being a permanent, white tent like structure, allowed for the sides to be opened giving you a feel as though you were still sitting in a garden, but under a shelter that could be draped with stunning décor. I loved the fresh and unique feel that this reception venue brought. It was very unusual.

 A huge deciding factor to me was the menu options which were available. I immediately saw an image of what I wanted my wedding day to look like and knew that this was the perfect venue for me with a perfect menu. Everything was so classy and elegant, modern, fresh, vibrant and unique. It was simply gorgeous. The search was finally over and we had found our paradise and dream wedding venue.

Due to COVID 19, our wedding had to be live streamed so that guests who could not attend from overseas, or guests who were too ill or afraid attend the wedding, could watch our wedding from the comfort of their homes.

Since we are amidst a deadly global pandemic, and our wedding was during this pandemic… people have risked their lives to be a part of our wedding celebrations and witness our new beginning.

It was only fitting for the wedding favour to be a customised bottle of sanitiser.

It had a label that matched that of our welcome board’s floral design. The text of the label read “Dominic weds Yajna 04/04/2021.” This would keep the guest safe during the wedding and give them a special remembrance to take home. It was also something that is used on a daily basis nowadays. It was the perfect idea of a gift.

Trousseau and beyond:

To complete the royal fairytale atmosphere, the bride and groom have to of course look like royalty themselves. With the décor and food on point, all the venue needed was its Prince and Princess. All of our accessories and clothing were directly imported from India and designed by a local designer.

For my mendhi night, with the Rajasthani themed evening, I wanted to look like an elegant, yet simple Indian princess. My thoughts were to look like that of Princess Jasmine from Aladdin. I had a bottle green coloured lehenga with gold heavy crystal beadwork throughout the garment. I had locally bought my own little trimmings and strings of diamante and crystals to enhance the already stunning garment and fulfil the design that I wanted.

Dominic and his family were invited to my mendhi evening.  Directly imported from India, he wore a sherwani. The coat was a champaign gold colour covered in a darker gold embroidery work, with a bottle green coloured pants and scarf to match me. Together we looked like a prince and princess.

For my Hurdee evening, since I had such bold, romantic décor, similar to that of Beauty and the Beast, and since everything looked so royal and elegant.

I wanted to look subtle and classy. For a Hurdee evening, you have to traditionally wear a yellow garment. Most brides tend to wear a simple yellow saree.

Since this is a cleansing ceremony, the outfit worn by the bride has to traditionally be given away after the ceremony. Once again, the outfit and jewelry were directly imported from India.

I had bought my own extra trimmings and strings of beads, and had my local designer create a work of art. It was a wow factor in itself for a bride to wear such a glamourous outfit for a hurdee evening.

For my hair style, I wanted a soft side bun with my accessories enhancing the hair do. My make- up I wanted to be soft, natural and a glowing look. My outfit, hair, make up and accessories made me look so classy and elegant, and being carried down the aisle in a doli by my entourage was so fitting for this royal look both in the venue and on my person.

For the Big Day, I wanted Dominic and I to look like typical Indian Royalty- like a King and Queen from Rajasthan. Although the décor was very Western, subtle and fairytale like, I wanted Dominic and I to be bold and stand out.

I had decided to traditionally wear red. Whilst most brides wear maroon, I decided to wear cherry red. I knew that the brightness of the red will contrast with my lush green garden venue, and in turn make me stand out.

My unusual cherry red lehenga was covered in heavy, thick gold beadwork.

I had two scarves made. One to drape across the body and one with hanging beads around the edges, to place on my head. My jewelry was extremely big and bold adding to the royal look. My make- up was bold and glowing to ensure that every smile on my face was captured beautifully, on the day. My hair had a high bun to ensure that my veil was placed perfectly, showcasing my jewelry on my head as well. My extra trimmings and beads added to the extreme elegance of this outfit- making it unique. My look really took my guests breath away.

I looked better than I or anyone had ever imagined. I was described as a Bollywood Barbie Doll. 

Especially, since I always modelled bridal wear, I was afraid that I would look like I normally do, when modelling. But, this time I looked completely different and transformed. I felt like Cinderella going to my royal ball.

Dominic wore a fully beaded gold sherwani, with red pants. His scarf was red velvet with gold embroidery work. His turban was red and gold with a white feather and hanging gold strings of beads.

Dominic had a red and white necklace and held a gold sword to add to the Rajasthani King look. He was described by most as a king on the day.

Our garlands were completely unique. Whilst most couples choose a string of carnations or roses as a garland, our garlands were made on a wired structure. Since our outfits were red, we wanted a lot of green leaves on the garland to contrast our clothing and stand out. Our garlands were green leaves with pink and peach roses in between. It was an extremely unusual and breath-taking garland, which really enhanced the beauty of our overall look.

Together we really did look like Indian royalty. Side by side, we complimented each other so well.

Special memories:

During the wedding ceremony that our accomplished priest pointed out that in ancient times, God Ram and Goddess Sita met in a beautiful garden similar to that of our wedding venue and fell deeply in love. Our wedding chair was a swing. Our priest had pointed out that God Krishna and Goddess Radha who were lovers played together for hours on a swing in a garden.

These comparisons of our wedding venue and décor to our holy Gods ancient history of romance made the wedding all the more special and sentimental.

Wedding highlights:
  • Walking down the aisle and seeing Dominic, knowing that our wedding was finally happening. It is a feeling that one cannot describe.
  • Being garland, as this was the first official ritual of the wedding
  • Having the vermillion (sindoor) adorned on my forehead, as this signifies a married woman in the Hindu culture.
  • Exchanging rings, as this was the end of the wedding ceremony and we were officially married. It was such an exciting and happy moment.
  • The confetti burst, which was an exciting, wow factor and such a magical experience.
  • The horse and carriage ride to leave the venue, concluding our fairytale and our happily ever after. This again was a wow factor and such a magical experience.
Advice for brides and grooms to be:

My advice to all future brides and grooms to be, is that this is a once in a lifetime memory. Create your wedding to exactly what YOU want it to be. Look and dress exactly how YOU want to look. It is YOUR day and no one else’s.

One day, when you look back at your photographs and videos, you need to be able to smile with happiness that everything was to YOUR liking. You need to smile back at the memories that you have created, and say “Wow I did this myself.”

Invite whomever it is that you wish to invite, and on the contrary, do not invite someone who you feel is insignificant in your life. Try to have just the nearest and dearest present, as this makes the function all the more sentimental.

Leave no stone unturned. Pay attention to the smallest and most insignificant detail because in the end, every little detail matters. Keep in constant contact with your service providers and always refresh their memory, so that there are no surprises on your big day. Try to ensure that either the bride or the groom is the one liaising with the service providers, so that the service providers are not receiving mixed messages. 

Always have a bridal book that has every little detail written down.

You must write down a list of service providers and their contact numbers, roles and responsibilities, your wedding program, your menu and times of serving meals, your décor, costings and proof of payments, etc. Give this book to a trusted and close family member so that they can ensure that everything runs smoothly on the day.

Remember that every function has flaws, but your guest will never know exactly what you had planned or exactly what you had in mind. So never let anything spoil your mood or get you down. It is too late to stress. Just smile and let it go. Enjoy every moment because all the years of planning is gone within a blink of an eye, and all you are left with are memories. So make the most of and enjoy every second of your special day.

Service providers:

Mendhi Service Providers:

  • Hair, make up and dressing: Rushay Valjee
  • Outfit Designer: Warren Morck from MorQ
  • Venue and food: Mt Edgecombe Weavers Nest
  • Venue set up and decor: Dad, Ivan and Vinay Maharaj from M2g Promotions and Puja services
  • Photography: Dawn Oosthuis from Beyond Measure Productions
  • Mehndi: Narusha Govender from Bridal Mendhi by Narusha
  • Centre Pieces and Rajasthani statue: Harish Maharaj from Maharaja Caterers
  • Welcome boards, food labels and sanitisers: Dominic Pillay from Blue Motion

Hurdee Service Providers:

Wedding Service Providers:

More from Dominic and Yajna’s wedding gallery:

CategoriesWedding features

Nishara Written by:

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