Crown the gown: 10 perfect wedding dresses in Our Perfect Wedding S10

We want in your face lace. Serve us a feast of delicious white meringues, and all those candy floss layers of tulle. Dazzle us with all the pearls, all the glitter, all the gems and beads and bows. Give us all the glory of bright African cloth and isicholo crowns (and then give us a tissue, cos we’re going to cry like a proud mom). Our Perfect Wedding (OPW) is our fantasy time and while we’re here for the love story, we pause for the fashion. We admire. We take notes. We dream…

Yes, with a new episode of Our Perfect Wedding Season 11 coming to Showmax every Friday we’re dress obsessed.

Fortunately, Showmax has all the past seasons of OPW to enjoy, including Season 10, with 52 episodes. Fans take note, because episodes 11 to 20 are the show’s all-time Top 10s, including top groom suits (episode 13), top love stories (episode 11), top bridal parties (episode 18) and, of course, top 10 dresses (episode 12). And from episode 21 to episode 36 we have the beautiful Gift Of Love episodes, which are dedicated to vow renewals for couples whose love has stood the test of time.

Here are just 10 of our favourite Season 10 dresses (skipping episode 12, because that would be cheating) on these angels and queens…

Episode 3: Anitha

This just shows how you can use accessories to take an elegantly simple gown and boost it to the moon. For day two of her ceremony, Anitha wears a white beaded collar (traditional vibes with a white wedding twist and it’s exquisite), lace gloves, silver flowers scattered through her hair like stars, and a long, trailing glittering veil. Silver is a perfect accent for her dark, cool skin tone and it makes her look like an elf princess. Anita wanted something cutting edge so in her words: “That I alone am the first person to wear this.”

Episode 5: Ivy

It was love at first sight for fiery Ivy, who was driving around when she spotted her Victor Raledao dress in the window and did a U-turn to get to it! She felt drawn to the gorgeous golden gown with its dark and light panes, beading and sequins and magnificent structured shoulder piece leading into an organza cape. Gold for a white wedding on the water? Yes please.

Episode 8: Stella

This is a bit of a sad one, as we find out at the start of the episode that Stella passed shortly after her wedding. But with this dress we’re all about the regal beaded shoulder and chest piece and Stella says proudly “I know I’m a queen today”. It’s a unique pattern, which is what drew Stella to it, and it has all that bling that she adored.

Episode 9: Nonhlanhla [28:14-28:35]

OMW (Oh, My Wedding!) It turns out that blush pink is the perfect colour for Nonhlanhla and when you see that scandalous full-on snog between her and her new husband Thepelo, you’ll know why. We’re sure the aunties were covering the little kids’ eyes! Her peachy-pink dress has a two-in-one surprise (watch and see). Nonhlanhla was as exacting about her colour choice as she was about the delicate feathers and sequins on her bodice.

Episode 37: Thandi

Thandi had a nail-biting time when her seamstress had to dash off on an emergency at the last minute. So, the dresses were a surprise to us. But we love this dress for the perfect placement of the lace details on her long sleeves (which you can really see at around minute 31), the way the size of the lace detailing matches the proportions of the dress, and when she walks in for the ceremony, look at how exquisitely it’s been tailored to Thandi’s body. Front and back, there’s no rolling or pinching. No wonder that seamstress is busy!

Episode 39: Mowava

So, sue us, we’re all about the lace. But with this one we really paid close attention to how perfectly the lace pieces at the chest and shoulders have been cut out, and how well the lace lays at Mowava’s bust and shoulders against that illusion backing, which is an absolutely perfect skin tone match. That’s skill! A delighted Mowava calls out her designer Annelize in Paarl for making a dress that’s perfectly suited to her body type. Watch it move and see those exquisite back button details as she walks down the aisle from 26:17.

Episode 40: Dikeledi

We feel about the same way about someone choosing a bride’s dress for her as we would about someone else choosing her husband for her. But we suspect that Dikeledi is telling the truth when she claims that her husband Lesego’s choice (it was a surprise to her, which is just … wow) is better than her own design, which she was working on (watch her say it around 24:21). It’s really a lovely combination of different dark blue shweshwe fabrics and a deep blue tulle skirt, designed to accommodate her baby bump discreetly and (more importantly) comfortably, while still being flattering and elegant.

Episode 42: Noni

We’re so taken with Noni’s perfect afro puffs and how playful they look with the floating yellow feathers clipped at the base. And luckily her dress is every bit as joyful. Noni, who’s Soweto born, chose to give her husband Lucien a taste of home when they selected this bold Atoghu fabric and designed her dress together. Lucien is from Cameroon and most of his family could not travel for this (first) wedding, so it was deeply important to them that Noni’s ballgown be made from Atoghu. There were a lot of last-minute applique fixes needed, but this charming gown is worth all the nail biting.

Episode 46: Beverly

The perfectly skin-matched nude illusion rather than white gauze really makes the lace stand out as the star of the show in the ballgown inspired dress. Just look at the lattice on the outer side of Beverly’s upper arms. This is an inspiration to every bride who might be crying about that lockdown weight gain. Watch from 26:42 as Beverly explains that she had to have a whole new dress made… and then look how beautiful she is in it. “It even exceeded the beauty of the dress that I initially had,” says Beverly.

Episode 52: Nobuhle

This one is all about the fit, which is perfection. Nobuhle was worried that she wouldn’t find a gown to suit her body, but designer and seamstress Bonani Molefe of Boni’s Place in Durban clearly knows what she’s doing when it comes to dressing a full figure, including making sure that the gown allows for the proper foundation garments, with pretty, wider shoulder straps and a neckline that sits at exactly the most flattering place on Nobuhle’s chest. “My dress fits me very well,” says a proud Nobuhle, who loves its floral details, loads of bling, and that full skirted Cinderella style.

Happy viewing, now go choose your perfect OPW dress!