DIY night market wedding a banquet of colour and fun

[caption id="attachment_36321" align="alignright" width="405"] AISLE STYLE: Angela Hawkey made the quirky paper buttonhole for her groom Michael Quinn[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_36320" align="alignright" width="250"] FESTIVE FEEL: Homemade bunting, fairylights and lanterns gave a market feel to the single long banquet table at Angela Hawkey and Michael Quinn's March wedding Pictures: GREG LISS of Slash Poets[/caption]

FROM making their own bunting to baking personalised biscuits for each guest as a place setting, Angela Hawkey and Michael Quinn's wedding day was not only a DIY project but a "do-it-together" group effort.

The couple, who met when she moved from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town to study, married on March 15 at a small stone church in Kenilworth and had their reception at a friend, Rose Jooste's farmhouse in Mowbray.

"It was very much a reflection of us, as individuals and as a couple," Port Elizabeth-born Angela said.

"We didn't want to spend a huge amount of money and wanted to keep it personal and pay attention to details.

"We were keen to do as much as we could ourselves so we made the decor, including runners, bunting, paper lanterns, buttonholes and so on.

"We also picked up second-hand bottles and vases at a market. We borrowed other decor items like candle holders and candles from a generous friend."

The couple rented "the basics" like tables, chairs, cutlery and crockery.

"Our moms and aunts went to the Adderley Street flower market the day before and picked out flowers and made the arrangements and bouquets with hessian and ribbon," Angela said.

"My sister, Kim Hawkey and I baked personalised biscuits for each guest as name place settings that doubled as wedding favours. My bridesmaid, Anne Kairuz and I baked our wedding cake too.

"Another friend is a pastor and performed our ceremony, which was very special. It really was a group effort, our friends and family were so supportive and helped so much, we definitely wouldn't have pulled it off without all of them."

Although the couple never stuck to a specific theme, their idea was to reflect the atmosphere of a night market.

"We created one long banquet table under the veranda in the back garden of the house, and hung up bunting, fairylights and lanterns.

"We liked the idea of everyone being at one table for sharing and talking. We used the side of the house as an outdoor bar and dance floor."

The catering also was a little out of the ordinary, as presented by El Burro, a Cape Town-based Mexican restaurant.

"They have a sweet little branded food truck that was parked in the front garden to serve starters, which added to the market feel. We love Mexican food, El Burro in particular, so it seemed like a natural choice – not your standard wedding food!

"Our photographer set up a photo booth too, which was a fun way to get more casual pictures of our guests."

Angela is a copywriter at Yuppiechef and Michael is a SAPS forensic analyst.

Angela went to Erica Girls Primary and then Victoria Park High and moved to Cape Town where she met Michael, who is from Kimberley.

Michael proposed to Angela while on a hiking trip in the Tsitsikamma area. - Octayvia Nance