A wedding is a large project run by two people who have never run one, in a country where the power, the weather and the guest list all need their own plans. This section is the practical half of the Journal. It starts with what to do in the first month after getting engaged, then the budget, the guest list, the planner question and the order in which things are booked. It gives the South African timeline its own article because the December shutdown, the January hangover and the March to May season shape everything.
The ceremony articles treat faith and culture as separate things from catering, and neither as a checklist. Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hindu, traditional African, civil, interfaith, multicultural, secular and same-sex weddings each get their own piece, and each says plainly that customs vary by family, community, denomination and level of observance. Where an article needs review by a practitioner before it can stand as more than general guidance, it is held for that review and says so.
The jewellery articles are the ones only a jeweller would write: wedding bands that sit against the engagement ring, a men's band that survives a working hand, earrings that work with the dress rather than against it, jewellery for the mother of the bride, gifts for the wedding party, heirlooms worn on the day, and the piece commissioned years later.
