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This Bride Wore Custom Brandon Maxwell for Her Picturesque South African Wedding

Kristen Nichols Wed, 19 Jul 2023 Who What Wear

Welcome to Who What Wear Weddings, the destination for style-minded weddings. Expect insightful tips straight from the newlyweds, shoppable elements, and plenty of must-save imagery as we share the nuptials of our favorite fashion people getting married.

"We kept locking eyes from across the party," explains Lauren Burke as she thinks back on the summer afternoon in June 2019 when she met her now husband Barry Dry on the rooftop of his newly opened New York City speakeasy, The Sentry. Burke, the founder of Cafe Society—an NYC-based brand specializing in handcrafted hats—recalls that Dry was wearing a brown felt hat when they first met, which immediately caught her eye. "Maybe it was the hat, or maybe it was his Australian accent, but I knew he was something special," shares Burke. Shortly after, they went on their first date and quickly knew they were in it for the long run.

Six months into their relationship, COVID hit. "Barry was forced to shut down all of his restaurants, which led him to moving in with my family in California for the foreseeable future. As our relationship was new and he had only met my family once or twice, living together under one roof with my parents, two sisters, and five animals was hilarious, to say the least," says Burke. "The silver lining was that we all got to know each other, and Barry fit in with my family so seamlessly—I think everyone loved his 4 p.m. cocktails and cooking."

It was nearly a year later in December of 2021 when the couple celebrated New Year's in Napa, California, at a house on a vineyard that Dry proposed. Though Burke wasn't expecting it at the time, once she spotted bouquets of roses and flower petals sprinkled across the backyard, she knew what was about to happen. "Barry leaned over to tell me 'a secret' (a little thing he does when he says I love you) and said, 'I want to marry you,'" shares Burke. "A few moments later, our friends popped out, and we celebrated for the next few days. It was the most special week of my life!"

Once engaged, Burke and Dry immediately knew they wanted to plan their wedding in South Africa. "My family is from South Africa, specifically Durban and Johannesburg, so I have always dreamed of getting married in South Africa," Burke shares. Dry, too, has a connection with the country, as he lived in South Africa and played rugby there when he was younger. After a trip to Cape Town to meet their wedding planner, they began planning for their March 2023 festivities. The picturesque wedding, bringing together the fashion designer and hospitality entrepreneur, was nothing short of showstopping down to every detail. Scroll on to see how the wedding weekend unfolded, including words from the bride on planning a destination wedding, navigating last-minute weather changes, and all of the details behind designing two custom bridal looks.