A dress fit for a princess, glorious weather and a setting so romantic it would melt the most cynical of hearts. But as anyone who knows anything about Barker Haines and Kimberly Lewis will tell you, this is no ordinary wedding.
There’s no love lost between the groom and the unhappy bride standing under the floral archway. After all, she’s still hung up on another man and he’s a ruthless tycoon.
Fans of Isidingo know there are only two reasons for Barker to marry the racy redhead: he’s jealous of her affair with Len (played by Chris Beasley) and wants control over her and their son.
And YOU is here to catch all the action at one of the most talked-about TV weddings of the year. We’re at the lush wedding and conference venue Oakfield Farm at Muldersdrift, near Joburg, which doubles as the soap’s Bokamoso Game Farm.
To get the look of the high-society wedding the production team hired SA Wedding Décor to create the ceremony and the reception. The result is “plenty of attention to detail, minimal colour but an abundance of diamanté detail against a wash of white and silver”, as owner Amanda van Dalen puts it.
But it’s the bride’s dress that is most breathtaking. The shimmering tulle and satin masterpiece worth R22 000 was imported from Greece. It has a 25-metre train and a corset decorated with Swarovski crystals. “I knew immediately it was perfect for the look we were going for on the day - Kimberly as an ice princess!” she says.
This is Robert Whitehead’s second Isidingo wedding - his first was to the infamous Cherel de Villiers (Michelle Botes) - and the actor has strong feelings about his character’s latest trip down the aisle.
“The whole thing is a pain in the ass,” he says with a smirk. But, he admits, the shoot itself was great fun and a nice change of pace from filming at the SABC studio in Auckland Park.
Soon it’s time for the not-so-happy couple to say their vows, which they do under a huge archway decorated with ivy, 500 gerberas, 1 800 roses and 700 chrysanthemums. The effect is magnificent but Robert and Marisa are too busy cracking jokes to notice.
Now the question on Isidingo viewers’ minds is how long this power-hungry couple will last, especially as Kimberly is still hung up on Len - and Cherel is back at Horizon Deep.
Read the full article in the YOU of 19 August 2010