Introducing FREE Special Discount Coupon Program

UPDATE: SERVICE CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE DUE TO OVERWHELMING DEMAND - check again soon

Posted: 26 September 2009

Every month at Zimbridal we help over 1000 couples settle for a great Zimbabwe wedding venue. We find our work fulfilling and wedding facility providers have also found our blog a good platform to partner with.

We have established some fruitful relationships with some top notch Zimbabwe wedding venue providers. For all venue bookings done through us, couples will receive a discount on the wedding venue as high as 25% depending on the venue chosen.

We had our own wedding 4 years ago and we know what it means saving $250.00 on a $1000.00 wedding venue hire invoice.

Before you book a venue check with us via a quick email ( or phone 2916766 or 0912288617) and we will tell you if we have a discount coupon for that particular venue. If we have, we will simply email you that coupon code which you will quote on making a booking at the preferred venue ( we currently do not book on your behalf). The coupon code when presented at the selected venue will earn you an automatic discount.

The coupon code you will receive by email looks something like this: ZIMBRID08996

That will be enough to save you up to a $100, $200, $300 or even $500 on your venue cost.

You may email us now. In your email do the follow;

1. Tell us your selected venue
2. How many guests you are booking for
3. The date (or estimate date of wedding)
4. You current location
5. Type of wedding i.e Garden or indoor wedding

In response we will email back;

1. An acknowledgment email.
2. A discount coupon code if your venue is participating on our program
3. If not, we will attempt to negotiate for a discount for you
4. We will send you final outcome within 7 days.

We hope this little service will help plug a hole in your pocket somehow.


To Your Special Day!


p/s since this is a free service to you, please note that we don't call back. We only email. You are free to call us. the coupon code is for the venue hire only and excludes catering etc.

UPDATE: SERVICE CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE DUE TO OVERWHELMING DEMAND - check again soon

Zimbabwe Garden Weddings

A new kid on the block in wedding facilities has taken the Zimbabwe wedding lime light. Located in Chisipite (near Chisipite shops right by the round about) Zimbabwe Garden Weddings has two different ceremony areas to choose from.

It can take up to 1000 guests. We paid them a visit today and found the place clean and up to standard. There was some minor renovation work going on.

For your accommodation they have a lodge located in Highlands where some of your guests can put up if you so wish.

This is certainly a place to consider for your Zimbabwe wedding. When you contact them on +263 (4) 776 302 or 442 943 please mention Zimbridal. It might just help in your negotiations :)

You may email them here.


To Your Special Day!

---------

***User Review***

After posting the above entry on Zimbabwe garden Weddings we received a review email from a user on our mailing list.

To be fair, we asked Zimbabwe Garden Weddings for their response before publishing this user review and their response follows later at the bottom;


Hi Zimbridal,

I'd like to highlight a few things just for your information. I went to Zimbabwe Garden Weddings and the service I got was terrible. The lady that served me was either tired or uninterested. I was very keen on their venue, but after all this, I'm not sure.

Every room we wanted to view wasn't accessible.

We asked for a copy of the menu, obviously to decide if we would use their catering services or not and were told that they could not do that as people have in the past stolen their menu ideas, seriously. In addition we were told that because they feared their reputation being tarnished they would have to sample our menu if we used our own caterers, absolutely
ridiculous.

Up to this day I am still waiting for a catalog of their services as well as a detailed quotation.
I suggest you rethink including your name under their services unless you care to bring forth these sort of issues to help them improve their service.



-----------------

Zim Gardens responds;


Hi,

We reserve the right to reply authentic reviews you can write what you think is the best because that’s a lie there is no way we can tell a client that we do not have the keys to a room after all, all the rooms are always open unless we have a client and we do allow outside catering if you do not mind we can give you details of people who brought their outside caterer’s and hear what they say .

Kind Regards

Joy


To put things on record and explain our intentions we wrote them one final email

-----------------

One final email from us;

Dear Joy,

Thank you for the response. We avoid playing judge because we know there is room for error and omission on either side. We ourselves can not authenticate the validity of the response [review] neither can we dismiss it as false hence our request for your response.

We will have it on record that we do not support any one side. We are interested in best user experience in the venues that we post on the blog.

For fairness, we will publish your response as is.

Kind regards and good day.

Aurther

This might just be the wedding venue you have been looking for.

According to their website;

"Windmill Country Manors is one of the best most romantic wedding reception venues.It includes complete descriptions, amenities, and much more on the most beautiful site. Your wedding reception should reflect and complement the formality of your ceremony. The selection of your wedding reception site will depend on its availability, price, proximity to the ceremony site, and the number of people it will accommodate.Whether you are planning a large extravagant wedding reception, a small intimate celebration or a corporate function, we have beautiful facilities and well trained staff for the occasion! Let us remove any anxiety or worry from your wedding day so that you may relax and delight in your special moment.With award-winning displays and presentations and an innovative team of service-oriented professionals, Catering has satisfied the special event needs of both the Social and Corporate for over 3 years!"

To Your Special Day!

Harare Wedding Venue: Harare Safari Lodge

above- main entrance to the Lodge's restaurant

Harare Safari Lodge is a frequently used Zimbabwe wedding venue by numerous couples. We took a trip to the Lodge some 30 or so kilometres from Harare CBD along the Harare Bulawayo road. When we got there, being a holiday, the place was completely quite with no visible patronage except what seemed like the lodge's staff taking advantage of the holiday to hold a staff workshop. We sat down with Meverson Chuma, assistant lodge manager, to talk about what the lodge can do for ZimBridal blog users planning to wed.

above - a view through the woods into a favourate spot for tent set-up overlooking Lake Chivero

rverson explained that when you hire the lodge for your wedding currently they charge you Z$3billion [USD40.00] giving you exclusive rights to the lodge on your special day. In other words all other patrons will not access the lodge on your day. You would have secured the whole lodge to yourselves. The lodge will supply all your catering needs in buffet stlye with the current price per person standing at Z$400m [USD5.oo]. This amount excludes drinks which you are free to outsource unlike catering. When you chose to outsource your drinks, the lodge will charge what they call the cocage fee calculated using the number of guests at your wedding. This is simply an amount they use to penalise you for the business their own bar would have lost due to your outsourcing. One more thing on drinks; they will not be able to chill your drinks for you so you will need to make own arrangements for that.

above - the boat that can take up to 14 people. the boat will be avaliable around September '08; it's currently awaiting safety license. Couples use it for photos.

The lodge also does not provide tents, chairs, cutlery and crookery. These you will have to arrange on your own. Their usual hiring company is Rooneys. Merverson advised that Rooneys has got a cheaper hiring option called Budget. It's more like a subsidiary hiring company which was set-up to counter generally exorbitant normal Rooneys hiring rates. So should you at any point get in touch with Rooneys ask them about their Budget facility.

above- complementary rooms for your bridal team

If you are worried about electricty cuts, the good news is that Harare Safari Lodge has got a heavy duty generator to handle your PA system at no extra cost to you. The Lodge will also provide you with two complementary rooms [ pictured above] for your bridal team to use for changing etc. Concerning photos, some couples have previously had photos taken on the lake (Chivero). There are many places that should produce good snaps for you.

The down side to Harare Safari is that it some distance from Harare CDB and in these days of expensive fuel its a factor worthwhile taking into account. In addition, even though much of the road to the Lodge is tarred, there happen to be a 3km final stretch thats totally gravel. This stretch can be rough and requires healthy vehicles.

Our verdict for Harare Safari Lodge - 7.0 out of 10

Should you want more info;

Mobile: +263-(0)11-444325 (Meverson)

+263-(0)4-691114/690660

+263-(0)4-746302/746037

Head Office: 206 Samora Machel Avenue, Harare

Do you have any experience with Harare Safari Lodge? Post in Comments below.

To Your Special Day!

Harare Wedding Venue: Rainbow Towers Hotel

Rainbow Towers [formally Sheraton] is not an obvious great wedding venue. In fact it is one of the excellent wedding venues in Harare. Some couples avoid it because they feel its close to town and there is a lot of traffic. What we discovered is that once you have gone into the confines of the pool area, a special outdoor wedding venue, you and your guests are excluded from the hussle and bussle of the city centre.

The Pool Side can accommodate up to 300 people and Rainbow Towers does not charge for the use of this venue [and all its venues for weddings]. The pool side can be used for an evening wedding or afternoon wedding. The hotel well kept gardens are free for you to use for your photo-shoot [ Rainbow towers does not allow outside weddings to do photo-shoots even at a fee]. The hotel will provide you with 3 menus and you will be required to select one. Currently each meal is between Z$400-500milion [USD25] per person. Drinks are charged separately and the final price is quoted 1 week before your wedding due to inflation.

above - the Pool Side

Rainbow Towers will supply you with tables, chairs, catlery, white table cloths, plates, glasses but you will be required to bring your own decor expert and materials. In addition the hotel has a heavy duty generator on stand-by that will keep your PA system and lighting running.

Greater, the functions coordinator at Rainbow Towers took her time to share with us a wedding they hosted last weekend at the Pool Side. The decor was so nice they had floating candles in the pool. This is a nice idea that you mightwant to discuss with your decor expert in the event that you go with Rainbow Towers.

Rainbow Towers has the following complementary items if you should go with them;

1. Selection of mouth watering hot and cold buffet of your choice
2. Complementary function room
3. Complementary honeymoon suite
4. Complementary ice carving of your choice
5. Variety of fruit in season on the dessert buffet
6. TV room for kids
7. Presence of senior manager to ensure smooth running of wedding
8. Red Carpet on the M1 foyer.

Our verdict for Rainbow Towers - 9.0 out of 10

Is Rainbow Towers for you?

+263-(0)4-772633

Mobile:+263-(0)11-726419 (speak to Greater)

Email Greater

To Your Special Day!

Harare Garden Wedding Venue: Chapman Golf Club

above - main entrance to the admin block from the car park

Chapman Golf Club is one of Harare's leading clubs when it comes to golfing. It has since become one of Harare's leading garden wedding venues that many couples have proundly found satisfying indeed. Aganist this backdrop, we decided to give this renowed club a visit to establish what they really have to offer to our ZimBridal Blog users. Arriving at the club you are greated by order from the security right at the gate right through to parking and reception.

above- a view at the pond. ideal for a great photo shoot

After a chat with Fadzie the lady responsible for weddings/functions we quickly learnt that people started booking for now as early as January 2008 to the extent that the first avaliable date when we arrived is 27 September 2008 with absolutely no gurantee at all that by the time you finish reading this post it will still be avaliable. She also explained that couples have to bring their own hiring i.e tents, chairs, decor etc as the club does not specialise in that. You also need to know right away that the club only provides for evening garden weddings i.e 5pm onwards and can handle an unlimited number of people even more than 500 people. The club does not allow any outside catering so they will be glad to handle your bar and catering without any problems.

above- part of the garden. ideal for your photos

Due to incesant power cuts in Harare, Fadzie emphasised that it is the club's policy that patrons [wedding ones] are required to bring along 20ltrs of liquid petrol in case there is a power cut to power the clubs's generator. If you are fortunate not to have any power cut during your wedding, then you can take your fuel back with you. In fact the club somewhat subsidises patrons when it comes to fuel. She explained that your 20ltrs is enough for 2hours of generator electricity. In all certanity weddings take up to 5 hours until about 9pm or even up to 11pm in the night. Currently Chapman Golf Club charges a deposit of Z$5Billion [USD30] down-payment to secure your booking which must be topped up to meet the going rate on the day of your wedding.

As a foot note; since weddings start at 5pm, you will have to start with a photo shoot on arrival before the sun goes down.

Our verdict for Chapman Golf Club - 8.5 out of 10

You may contact Fadzie as follows;

Tel:+263-(0)4-747487/747328/746258/746594

Tel:+263-(0)4-2931353

Email Fadzie

To Your Special Day!

Harare Wedding Venue: Royal Harare Golf Club

Royal Harare Golf Club is an upcoming wedding venue that many couples are increasingly finding suitable for weddings of a maximum 250 people. It's located along 5th Street extension in Harare within the State House vicinity. We had a chance for a long chat with Geeta White the current Executive Chef of SERVCOR who are the in-house caterers at the club; they are also responsible for managing weddings at the venue. Unfortunately, despite its excellent gardens and well kept grass used by golfers no garden weddings are allowed. Even more; no photos in the garden! If you host your wedding there you will have to go to the Botanic Gardens for photo shoots or elsewhere suitable as the club executive resolved not to allow garden weddings and photo shoots.

The club has a fairly huge room that accommodates 250 people at most spilling into the veranda overlooking the nice well kept golf course. Venue hire costs USD70.00 and is paid directly to the club. As we write the earliest avaliable date for a wedding booking [ which can only be on saturdays] is 13 September 2008. The club has 170 chairs and a limited number of tables meaning that you have to bring your own from outside if you have more than 170 guests. Also the club is sensitive to loud noises such that partying is only allowed after 4pm on your wedding day. Loud announcements as found at many weddings is not really appreciated due to the strict noise control regime the club employs.

No outside catering is permitted at Royal Harare Sports Club. SERVCOR is in charge of catering and can provide an excellent service at USD15-20 per person which should be paid in Z$. On menus, the caterers prefer that the couple informs them of what they prefer and they will work out how much it will cost. Decor and PA systems are up to the wedding couple to organise. The club offers no decor services.

Our verdict for Royal Harare Sport Club - 7.5 out of 10

Get in touch with them as follows;

Tel:+263-(0)4-702927/9 or 790965/7

Mobile (Geeta):+263-(0)912-213307

Email Geeta

To Your Special Day!

Harare Wedding Venue: Wildgeese

Wildgeese recently upped their rates in USD terms. Avaliable here for download is their info packs in word. Please note that the links are valid for 5 days from today.

Download Package 1

Download Package 2

Please use these details to contact Wildgeese

+263-(0)4-2917977-9

+263-(0)4-2930379

Email Info

Email Events

Email Conferences

To Your Special Day!

Harare Wedding Venue: Premier Belgravia Sports Club

Premier Belgravia Sports Club is owned and operated by Premier Bank. Its located in Belgravia Harare. The sports club is also frequently used for weddings; especially out-door weddings. It's got a small hall which we estimate takes up to about 150 people at most. Most couples who wed here utilise the grounds by setting up tents in the soccer/rugby field adjucent to the buildings [pictured].

above- the building housing the 150pax venue; also in view is a fixed brick braai stand

above- a view from the hall out to the field where people usually set-up tent.

above- the fields from a different angle. further out is second street shops where you have OK supermarket and stabic bank etc.

Premier Sports Club has its own catering team that runs a restaurant on site for club members. However, you are welcome to bring along your own catering team. The venue charge is Z$7.5billion [USD130.00] until April 2008 when another review comes.

our verdict for Premier Sports Club - 6.5 out of 10

You may contact them as folows;

+263-(0)912-273495

+263-(0)4-733596

+263-(0)4252704 (line unrealiable at times)

Got anything to share with this community about Premier Sports Club? Post in Comments.

Harare Wedding Venue: Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Sports & Social Club

The RBZ runs and mantains excellent facilities around the country. One of them is it's sports club in Malbereign/Haig Park in Harare. This sports club has been used so many times previously for weddings. Unfortunately we have just learnt that for the rest of 2008 the club will not be avaliable for hire as the main auditorium is currently going through some rennovations. This also applies to the fields for out-door weddings.

To Your Special Day!

Harare Garden Wedding Venue: Paradise Gardens

We paid Paradise Gardens in Hatfield Harare a visit. Along with it we took some photos to give you an insight into these popular gardens. We say popular because the place is fully booked most of the weekends until about September 2008 with two weddings every weekend. Our impression is that the property itself housing the gardens has been kept fairly up to standard despite the general economic deterioration in Zimbabwe.

Paradise Gardens is essentially made up of two garden wedding venues (with option for tent set-up) both of which can be used for the ceremony, photos and reception. Of the two gardens, there is one for Z$50billion [USD1000.00] which has excellent facilities including a pool side [pictured above] ceremony space and another one for Z$45billion [USD900.00] also with great facilities. Our recommendation is the first one for Z$50billion. The gardens can accommodate up to 500 people each which makes perfect for a Zimbabwean wedding.

Paradise Gardens offers only the gardens for your wedding (and other obvious facilities like ablutions etc). This excludes tents, chairs and catering which you need to organise for yourself. The downside to Paradise Gardens currently is that they have not had electricity for the last 2 months. So all the weddings that have been taking place there have been relying on own generators (an additional cost for you in terms of fuel). This lack of electricity also affects other water features like fountains which use electricity. When running, these features makes the place much much nicer. Cross your fingers, should you settle for them, that on your day electricity will be in abundance.

Their payment terms for the above mentioned figures; a 50% deposit and the balance a month before your special day. Payment can be done via RTGS/ bank transfer or cash. The good thing; if you pay today, your wedding in September or next week will not be affected by any price changes. By the way the gardens are available to you and your guests for the whole day on your special day. Also available is a huge secure car park that can handle your guests and other extras.

Our final verdict for Paradise Gardens: 8.0 out of 10

Are they for you?
+263-(0)4-2922300
Mobile: +263-(0)912-707620

P/S We have secured a booking for 13 September 2008 for anyone who wants it as a freebie. Email us now (offer valid until one month before)

Harare Garden Wedding Venue: Borrowdale Brooke

We paid Borrowdale Brooke Golf and Country Club a visit recently and we are happy to say this is one of the excellent garden wedding venues in Zimbabwe. The venue is an up-market one and is used by people from all walks of life and from all cultures and races. Their current venue hire fee is Z$6billion [USD150.00] an amount that does not change once settled in Zimbabwe dollar even if you plan to wed in December. Their three course buffet meal currently costs Z$200million [USD5.00] per person. The Brooke provides cutlery for a fee for use during meals etc. No outside catering is allowed but you are allowed to bring in supplementary food if you so wish that is prepared off the venue.

Due to security reasons, once you have booked and paid for the venue you will be required in due course to supply the Brooke with your guest list for security reasons. The Brooke is set-up in a compound format with a central entrance which has high level of security. For you and your guests to enter into the compound [which also houses the rich and famous in Zimbabwe] on wedding day the security there requires a full individual list of names of you and your guests [no Mr & Mrs but individual names only e.g. James Muti, Dorothy Muti etc]

The Brooke also got excellent locations for your photo shoot; really excellent! These consist of the golf courses and other special locations. By the way, they have the golf carts available for hire to carry the bridal team [these you can also get for free at their own discretion]. This is an excellent idea. Romantic too! Now the team at the Brooke often invites you and other couples with upcoming weddings once you have settled for them to other earlier weddings so that you can discuss how best you want your own wedding. They will hold some sort of debriefing session with you after a particular wedding to make the best of your own wedding when it comes.

We have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Borrowdale Brooke. If you should wish to go with them;

Jealous Chivanga
Functions & Banqueting Manager
banqueting@borrowdalebrookegolf.co.zw
Mobile: +263-(0)0912-238 577
Tel: +263-4-861317/861270/861110

Harare Garden Wedding Venue: Amanzi Restaurant

If you are after a wedding of a 100 to 120 people in a garden setting, then Amanzi Restaurant located in Highlands, Harare is a nice location for that outstanding Zimbabwe Wedding. The Restaurant is surrounded by excellent grean grass and currently charges Z$8billion [USD200] for venue hire and Z$800million [USD20] per meal served [3 course meal]. The restaurant also as bar that can serve your guests some drinks on a preset bar limit. No outside catering is allowed. You may bring in other services like Roony's for your tent etc.

You may contact Amanzi as follows;

158 Enterprise Road, Highlands, Harare

Tel: (263-4) 497768 (from 10am)

Mobile/Cell: 263-91 336224

Email: juliaandandrew@amanzi.co.zw

web: http://www.amanzi.co.zw/

To Your Special Day!

Harare Wedding Venues: Alexandra Sports Club

Alexclub as it is well known in Harare is a fairly good harare wedding venue that many couples have used in the past. It's located along Prince Edward road making it easily accessible to town. Alexclub has one huge hall which can accommodate up to 200 guests seated cinema format and up to 150 guests seated around tables accommodating 8-10 people. What we find however is that most people with 200plus guests [as in many cases] usually choose to use the open air grounds in order to accommodate more people. There are essentially two main grounds with usually well kept green grass that are avaliable for wedding functions [ the fields are also used for cricket].

A chat with the event manager at the venue revealed that currently [march 2008] the club charges Z$2.8billion [USD70.00] for the venue [hall or grounds] and this amount excludes the tent, tables, chairs etc that you are expected to hire on your own. You may also contract the club for your catering but the event manager was frank with us that this root might be a bit expensive. What most couples do is engage their own caterers. In this case the club charges you a 10% surcharge for each service you contract out instead of them. For instance, for each bottle of soft drink or plate served by your own caterers there is a 10% surcharge of their own price at the club multiplied by the number guests at your wedding. They say its a charge for the "aftermarth" clean-up! They say even after this surcharge, their rates always come out cheaper; so don't write them off as yet.

If you should consider going with them, you may get hold of them here;

+263-(0)4-791126

+263-(0)23-242455

alexclub@zol.co.zw

p/s- Speak to Mr Mutunzi

To Your Special Day!

Harare Wedding and Photo Venue: Tynwald Gardens

A lot of couples use Tynwald Gardens for their photo shoot as well as the wedding ceremony and reception. The venue is ideal for saving time i.e ceremony, photos and reception in one place. Over the Easter Holidays we paid them a visit and brought the following shots;

above- set-up for a wedding scheduled for next day

above- photo shoot location within the Gardens

If Tynwald Gardens is for you, they charge Z$500million [USD13] to use the Gardens for photos. They have 3 different gardens within the Gardens that can accommodate 3 garden weddings at the same time of up to 500 people.

You may contact them as follows;

+263-(0)4-2925364 or +263-(0)23 220 167

1 Tynwald Avenue, Tynwald, Harare, Zmbabwe

[ Pool area overlooking main entrance of the hotel to the gardens used for weddings]

Harare Garden Wedding Venue: Cresta Oasis Hotel

Cresta Oasis Hotel is one of Harare’s leading wedding venues. It is located along Samora Machel Avenue [Mutare road] on your way to Msasa Park [within the vicinity of Econet Office Park in Msasa] in Harare. This Zimbabwe wedding venue has essentially three gardens with different capacities that can accommodate your garden wedding;

1. Shanyai Gardens – 1000 guests maximum
2. Nyati Gardens – 500 guests maximum
3. Pool Area – 500 guests maximum.

In order to secure your venue booking a non-refundable fee of Z$2.5billion [ USD60] must be paid for the preferred garden.

Concerning the menu, the hotel has a buffet selection which you are free to tailor make based on a ready made catalogue/menu. For drinks Cresta provides a full bar facility for weddings which can be controlled by a pre-set credit limit with the bar person. Please note that Cresta does not allow any outside catering. They prefer to do it all for you including the bar. Full waiter service is available throughout the function at no extra cost.

Interesting to note is a present to the bride & groom on their special day from Cresta which includes a complimentary suite room which includes breakfast, a fruit basket and bath salts. The hotel also offers discount on accommodation for any of your invited guests who elect to stay at the hotel.

Cresta also hires tables, chairs, linen and tent on your behalf with no extra charge except for the cost of hiring the various items.

Cresta Oasis Hotel is an excellent wedding venue if you are after a wedding with less headaches but supported by your wallet. This venue is good enough in eliminating all the hussles of looking for hiring services etc.

The following are the terms and conditions for Cresta wedding bookings;

1] Wedding booking will only be confirmed after the receipt of the Z$2.5 billion [USD60.00] non-refundable portion of the venue hire. [this figure is reviewed monthly but remains more or less the same in USD]

2] Full payment of the total bill should be done two weeks before the date of the wedding.

3] Cresta recommends that they hire tents, tables etc on your behalf, from Rooney’s or Dreams Hiring Company

4] In the event that you have hired your equipment from Hiring companies, you will be required to pich up & line the tents 3 days before the wedding. However, if the tents fail to meet Cresta standards you will be asked to pull them down. Cresta insists that it’s got standards to safe guard so wishy washy things will not be accepted.

5] Tent collection is to be done 1 day after the wedding. Failure to adhere to this rule attracts a storage fee of Z$500million [USD20] per day.

6]Cancellation of the event should be 2 months or more.

7]Any cancellation 4 weeks from the date of the wedding will attract a cancellation fee of 50% of the total bill.

If Cresta is for you please contact them as follows;

+263-(0)4-487154/ 704217/8/9or email: reservations@cresta.co.zw

To Your Special Day!

Are You After a Garden Wedding?

We recently had a request concerning garden wedding venues. If you are amongst those after a romantic garden wedding we have Msasa Camping Site to suggest. The site is over to the Lake Chivero-North Bank and is ideal for weddings and parties amongst other things. The venue is on 18 acres of a nature reserve and is fully electrified.

Enquiries/Rates/Bookings

10 Rossal Road (very close to Kamfinsa shops)

Greendale

or

Tel:+263-4-495980

Mobile: +263-(0)11-402510/(0)912-743454./(0)23-307584

Pandari Lodge is Expensive

In February we gave a brief review of Pandhari Lodge [pictured] located in Harare which is an excellent venue really. One of the users of the Zimbridal Blog based abroad sent us an email with their experience after contacting Pandhari and we thought it would be great to share with everybody.

"...pandari cost $US3500 deposit that includes venue hire, food for 300 people that we are goin to invite@ $US25 per head!! which is $US7.500 before we even buy beer which at their [price] is $US10 per head depending on who is drinking so we cant afford that ...we leave it to those who can but i must say the venue is beautiful and offers magnificent service...wild geese is almost the same but their food is more expensive @ $US40 and $US45 per head they have 2 options for menus hence different prices."

"the royal harare sports club was a good offer which at the current price was 200million zim dollar [USD5.00] per head which is reasonable i think i actually called the number you put on your blog which made it all easier. we [are] still looking around but we [are] definately not paying anything in forex! we might as well have the wedding were we are than pay in forex!! good day ...keep blogging"

To Your Special Day!

Wildgeese might just be for you...

Wildgeese is really a good Zimbabwe wedding venue option if you are still look to settle on an exellent wedding venue. Wild Geese Lodge is just a 15 minutes drive from central Harare along Alpes Road. It's graced with stunning views of Msasa trees, Savanna Grasslands and the Iron Mask Range of Hills making it an ideal location for that outstanding wedding.

The picture above shows a garden wedding at Wildgeese. Check out more pictures here

You may call them for rates on +263 - 860466/860274. After the ceremony, the staff usually have welcome drinks as you have your photographs taken. The is a nice wide pavillion adjucent to the garden and wedding reception venue which can be used to host a braai or bridal party.

Check this album out of guys who had beautiful wedding there captured in pictures.

To Your Special Day!

What we would look for in a wedding venue

At the centre of wedding planning is the venue. In fact much time is lost by couples going to and fro failing to decide on a venue. This is understandable simply because a venue is more than just a place you want to have your guests gathered. It's place that you will identify with for a greater part of your lives. You will always say 'our wedding which we had at so and so in that so and so year'.

So when we personally consider wedding venues, there are few key factors we carefully take into account in the context of the type of wedding we have in mind. However, many things are common for all venues but some are determined by the type of wedding you would like to have. The following is a list we think will help you settle for venue that suits your needs;

1. Accessibilty - is your venue accessible? The answer to this question can both be in the negative or in the positive. If your wedding is for the invited few, then a venue out of town like Mbizi Game Park or Borrowdale Brooke or Pandhari Lodge is ideal. In this case, you are expecting your guests to be driving or at least having access to private transportation. If your wedding involves busing-in the whole village, then a venue like Old Mutual Sports Club in Emerald Hill will do just fine. Public transport can get your guests there with little inconvinience.

2. Garden - are you into well kept gardens? Venues with gardens (we mean well kept gardens) are ideal if you plan to have both your ceremony (including photos) and your reception at the same place. This will serve you much needed time to get your ceremony done and photos taken at the same venue with reception. So a venue with a beautiful or at least well kept garden like the Rainbow Towers (formerly Sheraton hotel) would do provided you don't mind the human traffic!

3. Bathrooms - Please ensure that you take a personal physical inspection of the bathrooms or ablutions. Most guests who talk about your wedding afterwards amongst the top of their agenda is your cake, the food, the bridal team and the bathrooms. If there is anything you should ensure is that your venue is got reasonably well kept bathrooms. As a foot note, ensure that the cubucles have toilet rolls!

4. Friendly staff - Unfortunately, the attitude of the staff at your venue is usually summed up together with your wedding perfomance. Chat with the venue staff and check them out in as far as their attitude is concerned. Also make it known to management at the venue that you are counting in their staff as part and parcel of your wedding planning team so that you get their best cooperation. Further just being generally friendly and appreciative of their service during the planning days will reap you sweet rewards on the wedding day. So try by all means not to alianate venue staff. You need them, at least for that day. Letting them know in advance that there will be a thank you bowl going around will sure motivate them in these difficult times! You may further consider instructing your MC to give them a special appreciative mention at the begining on the programme.

So there you have it, we think these few tips will make a great difference on your wedding day!

To Your Special Day!