On the 22nd of July 2011 my Brackenfell branch had our certificate evening and fashion show for our first class. What an affair! It was a no-holding-back, glitz-and-glam evening... Held in a factory! Jip, you read right, a factory. It took some hard work from my team (hubby, dad, friends, myself and of course the girls' tables) to turn it from drab to fab in a day, but miracles do happen!
Of course we had some hiccups: Trying to find a caterer to fit our budget was impossible, so my husband Herman's rep at his business, Lucinda, offered to help with the food by making lasagne and salad. My dad made butternut 
soup for the first time in his life, while Lucinda's daughter Chanel made her famous Malva pudding for desert. None of our sound stuff wanted to work together, so we phoned Mandy from HQ who helped us out with sound AND lights. Two of the girls (sisters) had to pull out at the last minute, leaving me scrambling to find 2 models to replace them and having to cut on costs due 
to less ticket sales. Then, as I was soaking in the bath (my thinking space) the Thursday before the show, it hit me: the Bellas of the future! My own 2 little girls, Chené (7) and Mia-Mari (3) could stand in for them. Obviously the clothes wouldn't fit, but mommy made a plan, while my friends bought tickets to help me out!
On Friday night the girls arrived around 5 pm to set up their tables and be taken through their steps again by model master Kevin, before being beautified by our team. My friend Lana played hostess and saw to the guests, while I still got dressed upstairs. After the welcome to all, we were ready to begin! The girls entertained their own guests at their tables while the starter was served. After the starter, they went to get dressed in their fashion show best, while I chatted to the guests about our sponsors and the girls themselves. All during our evening the girls were judged by phantom judges on some of the things they were taught, as we had some wonderful sponsored prizes for them. And then the show began. We had a range from Chanel Sauerman from Revival Style as the girls’ first outfits, then cocktail dresses, then the most beautiful evening gowns – both sponsored by The Princess Project. The girls wore masks for the evening gowns, taking them off after making their first turn on the runway – symbolizing that they are not the same person they were before the classes. The masks were repeated in our décor on the tables as well.
Once the show was done, we had our main meal and then the prize giving. After thanking all my special helpers, we announced the winners in each category. The girls had WOWed the 
guests and quite a few sisters / cousins / friends were VERY jealous and made sure to take a pamphlet! Pudding was served and people chatted away for a while afterwards. It seemed as if people had fun, as it ended off an hour later than I had anticipated – despite everything running (roughly) on time! I was so proud of my girls and it took all I had not to cry. We were also very honored to have Mandy and Marilet from head office there to share in the evening.
The evening was a resounding success, thanks to everyone’s hard work. We were truly blessed by so many people and I would like to mention them now:
- Mike from Fox & Brink in Epping, for organizing us a donation of fresh veggies towards our food costs.
- Graham Ross for the use of his sound equipment after ours failed.
- My husband Herman, for his help, support and doing our sound at the show.
- My dad Henry, being everywhere I needed him.
- My friend and ex-marketer Lana Smit, for all her help.
- Trudie Kotze, for lending us her heating plate for the food and her gas heater for the cold factory.
- Lucinda Moses, for stepping in and making our fabulous food.
- Suzaan Saayman (my sister) and Amelia Kotze for doing our ladies' fabulous hair.
- Tanja Williams and Louisa Marais for the professional make-up they did on our girls.
- Chanel Sauerman from Revival Style for supplying us with part of her fashion range for our show.
- The Princess Project, who sponsored the ladies' cocktail and evening gowns. They are a non-profit organization who supply underprivileged ladies with gowns and accessories for their functions, at no cost.
- Janine and Wikkie van Rooyen from the mR 5 stores for sponsoring so much of our décor of the evening, as well as the table arrangements on my tables, made by Janine herself.
Our prize sponsors were:
Connie Prinsloo from Connique Jewellery, who sponsored this beautiful set for our best hostess winner, Ané. As Connie says 
herself, her work is ’A Personal Statement of Elegance and Charm’. Please visit her facebook page to see more of her work - It truly is a work of art!
http://www.facebook.com/ConniqueJewellery
Wikkie and Janine van Rooyen from the mR 5 Stores, who sponsored the prize for the best table winner Louise – a gift voucher to shop at their stores! From personal experience, I know that she will have too much to choose from… See their FB page here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/MR-5-store/117131251671049
From Natacha Wadsworth of Natacha Wadsworth Photograpy, who sponsored a free photography session for our model winner, Heather. Knowing Natacha since our school days, I’m sure she will make our girl look pure BELLA! Can’t wait to see those pics… See her website here:
http://www.natachawadsworth.co.za/
Please check out our photos of the evening on the Bella Donna Group Page on Facebook – there are some really nice pictures there. Once again, a warm thank you to everyone involved. To my girls – you were gorgeous, really Bella-esque… I will miss you!
