Oh to be in Italy, now that summer is here! Well, we cannot all go off to Italy at the drop of a hat, but staying at Devon Valley Castle just outside Stellenbosch in the Devon Valley comes a close second! This is a full-on stone castle, set in magnificent Italianate gardens, with symmetrical avenues of massive cypress trees surrounding a stone fountain, all overlooking hazy fields, valleys and distant mountains. It could not be more romantic!
https://www.safarinow.com/go/TheCottageatDevonCastleStellenbosch
Here, we played the wedding of Deirdre Conway and Michael, a unique Cape wedding in the Winelands. The ceremony was held deep in a forest glade. The bride entered down a long, treed avenue. Instead of the usual Wedding March, Deirdre Conway chose “Scent of a Woman” for her entry item, an excellent choice for an unconventional bride. Deirdre was radiant, accompanied down the avenue by her children.
After the moving ceremony, the Hungarian Trio led the guests back, playing all the way back through the forest and up the hill between the majestic cypresses. At the Castle, champagne flowed, well deserved! Many couples like to utilise our mobility in this way, leading the guests from one part of the venue to another while strolling.
On the terrace, we continued with our gypsy serenades, alternating baroque pieces like the well-beloved Pachelbel Kanon and light classics such as Bizet’s Carmen, with items for the jazz lovers, such as Besame Mucho and Girl from Ipanema. Summer Samba is beautiful, especially on a glorious summer’s day, and of course, we played many Italian items to complement the theme and setting. Deirdre had requested especially a lot of French Cafe` music, such as Under Paris Skies, C’est ci Bon, La vie en Rose etc, and lots of Hungarian gypsy music, always a great favourite with the audience and with the musicians too. Cape Town felt very far away, we were all in another, more beautiful world!
It is always such a great pleasure to be part of such a special day and to help create an atmosphere of beauty and love.
