My 30th Birthday Celebration

I turned 30 on the 30th of September #CrownYear. A week later, I’m still on a high from all the love I received. Especially on my birthday lunch. The plan was to go to Bali for my crown year but I saw it better fit to spend it with my loved ones; people who’ve held my hand through the first half of the year. People who’ve been there for through the good and tough times. And I don’t regret my decision because my birthday month (and birthday lunch) was magical. It was everything I imagined it to be.

The vibe, the people, the music, the food was must perfect. Here’s what went down.

Pre-Lunch

The stress of organizing a party is one I don’t wish on anyone. I admire people who do this for a living because wow it’s a lot. Getting invitations out, looking for and securing a venue, deco, food and the dress. Initially, all of the above cost three times more than I anticipate, the most costly was the deco which would’ve been over R8 000. After the stress and careful consideration, I opted for a classy restaurant. A place with great food, great ambiance and great views. Plaka, Eastgate.

Hair and Make Up

The morning of the lunch was meant to be a beauty and pamper session for me. Two people were meant to do my hair and make-up while I relax and feel like a queen. Plot twist; the hairstylist didn’t pitch, he was apparently sick. The other hair lady insisted that I relax my hair and I walked away from that red flag. The make-up artist also went MIA. At that point I knew something great was about to happen. The University of YouTube was the next best option, I watched afew video’s but remixed a lot according to what I could do. After I watched a few video’s, I felt confident enough to do it myself. But it didn’t come easily, I almost gave up three times before we finally got the desired look. After 3 hours, we were good to go but 30 minutes late.

The Dress

As per usual, I had the genius idea to make my own dress the night before. Yep! The designers chronicles of thinking of our own outfits the night before. I couldn’t risk being asked; “who made that dress” and the answer be anything but: “I did”. I imagined something short, flirty, and yellow.

And we got exactly that!

The Lunch

The welcome drinks was glasses of champopo with strawberry as garnish (boujee much). We later we had our own drinks and champagne to toast.

We had a three course meal. The flat bread from the starters was a the star of the day. It made it’s way to the main as well. I was shocked (and inspired) to find out one of my friends is vegan now, so the menu I set out was changed slightly to accommodate her. On the menu; we had baby chicken or calamari with rice and vegetables and salads or hake and fish. The majority went for calamari. The vegetarian options was pasta with creamy tomato sauce or a made up vegetarian meal from vege meze options.

My cake was heavenly, my sister hooked me up with an amazing chocolate sponge cake with a mountain of strawberries, sprinkled with choclate. Just looking at it made my heart smile. How we would cut it was another story but looking at it was amazing and it tasted great. We smashed that cake and left two little slices and as the conversations continued well into the night, we had the cupcakes. The sugar rush was worth it.

The Guests

When my sister and I finally got there, we found four of my friends chatting along like they’d known each other for years. And the conversations didn’t stop throughout the day and night. When the other friends got there, they got their welcome drinks and blended in with whoever they were sitting next to. It was beautiful to watch these encounters; my friends were becoming friends.

The highlight of the night was when everyone around the table spoke about me; how and when we met. It was lovely to see myself through their eyes and of course I cried throughout the speeches.  That moment was magical. Almost at the end of the night, I spoke about my friends and shared a few funny (and serious) moments. I cried through that too.

At the end of the night, (around 22:30; the party was supposed to end at 7pm), we closed off the night with prayer. The most powerful I’ve experienced from my peers. My birthday lunch was nothing short of magical. It ushered me beautifully into my 30’s.