Beeld Bride of the Year Winner – Teniela Papadakis
Celebrating the Beeld Bride of the Year 2021
Winner – Teniela Papadakis
The Beeld Bride of the Year 2021 competition winners were announced, and we wanted to get to know the top three brides a bit better, as well as draw some inspiration from their weddings. Teniela Papadakis, the 2021 winner, is a senior Somatologist and Founder of a skincare clinic in Menlopark, Pretoria. Read more about her journey here.
TELL US MORE ABOUT YOURSELF?
“I am half Greek (from my mother’s side) and half South African (from my father’s side). I am married to my tall, dark, and handsome Greek boy, Christopher, and we have three dogs that we absolutely love.
I studied at the prestigious Isa Carstens Academy in Pretoria, where I got my diploma in Somatology and my advanced diploma in Dermal Aesthetics. My work does not feel like work to me, as I am passionate about what I do.”
WHY DID YOU ENTER THE BEELD COMPETITION?
“It was just another goal I set out for myself to achieve, and what an amazing experience it was! Winning Beeld Bruid van die Jaar was a feeling that I could never explain or forget. Hearing my name called out that night felt so unreal. When going for the interview earlier that day I went in with a very open-minded approach, and I just was myself.
I still feel so honoured and blessed by winning the title. The Beeld team and all the sponsors have absolutely outdone themselves. It was so beautiful and well-organised. The evening was filled with lots of fun, entertainment, and amazing gifts.”
HOW DID YOU MEET YOUR HUSBAND?
“I met Christopher in 2007 through his brother and my sister. We were only 15 years old when we met (this year we will be together for 15 years). We went to Hartbeespoort dam to jet ski and spend the day together.”
HOW DID HE PROPOSE?
“Christopher proposed to me on the 28th of November 2020. On my birthday (16 November 2020) he arranged with my best friend to give me a voucher to spend the day with elephants at an Elephant Sanctuary. We went there to have a picnic and one of the elephants carried a basket that I thought had our picnic blanket and snacks in it. The elephant gave me the basket as we reached our destination, and in the basket was a shoe box. Christopher painted ‘Will you marry me my Lovie’ on a white pair of Superga tekkies, and as I turned around, he was on his knees. It took him 12 years – 155 months – 4712 days – 113 088 hours – 6785 280 minutes – and 407 116800 seconds to ask me the big question that I waited my whole life for!”
WHAT WAS THE BEST PART OF YOUR WEDDING PLANNING?
“The best part was planning our Big Fat Greek wedding. Finding our dream wedding venue and the food tasting were also big bonuses as well.”
AND THE WORST?
“The worst was Covid and the stressful predicament of whether our big day would still go ahead, or if we would have had to postpone it. Thank goodness we could have our special day that we waited so long for.”
WHO HELPED YOU PLAN YOUR WEDDING?
“I planned everything myself. I absolutely love planning events, and especially our wedding day. I love to design things and see how it comes together at the end of the day.”
WHO WAS YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER AND HOW DID YOU CHOOSE HIM/ HER?
“Barclay Studios was our wedding photographer. It took us a while to find the perfect photographer as we wanted a very clean and elegant style that did not contain too much editing.”
TELL US ABOUT YOUR WEDDING DRESS?
“Oh wow, I still look at my wedding dress every day. I just cannot get enough of it, as it was exactly what I wanted and dreamt of. I wanted something completely different from any other wedding dress. I went to Anel Botha and told her that I wanted something that no other bride has ever had before. I wanted a dress that consisted of only white pearls, and we worked on my wedding dress for months. It was a beautiful, dramatic dress full of white pearls, with one open shoulder and one long sleeve. The pearls were sewn on by hand and it has a medium-length trail. It weighed 10 kilograms in total.”
WHAT WAS YOUR THEME AND COLOUR SCHEME AND WHY DID YOU CHOOSE IT?
“We had a Big Fat Greek wedding. Our ceremony took place in the Greek Orthodox Church in Pretoria. I wanted to have a very formal, but still elegant and comfortable atmosphere for our guests. All our guests wore black, and our entire wedding was white. There were traditional wedding dances, and we all broke Greek plates of course, which means joy.”
DID ANYTHING FUNNY HAPPEN ON YOUR WEDDING DAY?
“We hired Schalk Bezuidenhout as the MC for the evening, but we kept him a secret from our guests. Everyone loved him and were laughing throughout the night.”
DID YOUR DAY GO ACCORDING TO PLAN? HOW SO?
“It was the coldest weekend in August, so we had to move our canapés from the outside to an inside area.”
WHERE WAS YOUR VENUE AND WHY DID YOU CHOOSE IT?
“Our reception was in Heidelberg at Beaurain. We decided on this specific venue because we both wanted a venue with lots of glass that is industrial, yet still very modern.”
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR BRIDES PLANNING THEIR WEDDINGS?
“Don’t just go with the first thing you see but do thorough research instead. Also, just enjoy every single second of your planning, because on the day everything really goes by so fast.”
WHAT ADVICE/ TIPS DO YOU HAVE FOR BRIDES ON THEIR WEDDING DAY?
“If there is one thing that I wish I could have done on my wedding day, it would be to just stand for ten minutes and look at everything that I planned. My advice would be for brides to remember to just take a breather and enjoy the fruits of their hard work.”
If you recently got married, or are still planning to get married this year, do not miss out on the opportunity to enter the Beeld Bride of the Year competition. Who knows, you may just be the next winner!
Written by Gina Vorster
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