Ya-Yas whisk bride away to magical surprise hen-party
[caption id="attachment_37706" align="alignright" width="405"] THE YAYA SISTERHOOD: Sue Hoffmann, left, and Janine Attinger, right, with Sue Gaskin ahead of her wedding day. Picture: BERNADETTE MEISTRE[/caption]
LIFE begins at 40 for some, but perhaps a couple of decades later for "pensioner bride" Sue Gaskin, whose friends kidnapped her a week before her wedding for a surprise hen-party marked with pink feather boas, glittering tiaras and litres of champagne.
After all, Port Elizabeth friends Janine Attinger and Sue Hoffman were not about to let their "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" mate Sue – a grandmother of three who was widowed nearly two years ago – slip off quietly for her second wedding.
The bride-to-be said she was "kidnapped" and "force fed champagne and all the other goodies that No 5 Townhouse in Brighton Drive has to offer".
Sue said Sue (Hoffman), Janine and her daughters-in-law Helen and Nadine Gaskin went all out to give her a memorable party: "I was adorned with flashing glasses, bright pink feather boa and of course a pink garter and pampered with fabulous gifts.
"Am I not such a lucky lady to have friends to do this to me – even a pensioner bride needs to be spoiled – and it's not everyday I get to go home in a boa with champagne and balloons."
Sue and fiance Vernon Niemack were married "in a very small ceremony" last weekend , with only their children and grandchildren in attendance.
"It's quite a different slant on a wedding when you are an older bride," she said last week, with many friends filling the roles of bridesmaid. "The whole thing has been organised in less than a fortnight with the help of my two Ya-Yas Janine and Sue."
Wedding planner in chief Janine, for example, took Sue to The Herald Boardwalk Bridal Fair last month while Sue Hoffman organised the flowers and another friend, Bernadette Meistre was roped in to take photographs.
The Ya-Yas are the living embodiment of the poster words "don't let anyone ever dull your sparkle" as the sister will at the drop of a hat dress to a theme, putting on the glitz and glamour. They may even be responsible for an over-40 tiara boom today.
Sue and Vernon originally had planned to marry in September but their minister's dates saw them shift their date forward. However, they have kept the spring timing for their "honeymoon" and reception.
"We will honeymoon in Zambia in September and then have the reception when we get back" says Sue, to the relief of her fun-loving friends who won't miss out. - Gillian McAinsh
