Chanique Rabe ties the knot in Namib Desert

Namibia’s Miss Supranational 2021 Chanique Rabe and South African Kyle Honeyborne tied the knot in the Namib Desert on 23 September.

The couple met at Swakopmund seven years ago.

“While thinking we will probably never see each other again, as Kyle is from Pretoria, by chance we found each other again in Cape Town a year later while I was studying and he was there for work. We decided to tie the knot in Swakopmund because it is our favourite place on earth.

“It was important for me to have spent this special day in the country I am from. As many guests were not from Namibia, Kyle and I decided to make a weekend of it, so that everyone could have the opportunity to truly explore and enjoy our beautiful coast,” she says.

Deidré and Co were the event planners in charge of the venue and designers of the wedding party outfits, while Anel Botha was the designer of the wedding dress and mothers-of the bride and groom outfits, and JC Click were the photographers.

The wedding was attended by about 110 people.

“All guests stayed in the beautiful Bay View Hotel Resort in Dolphin Beach. On 21 September, all guests came together at a local watering hole, Bar Zonder Naam, in the middle of the historic Swakopmund, for pizza and wine tasting. On 22 September, everyone spent their afternoon at the lovely Bay View Hotel’s beach for a braai and some fun beach games and activities. Over the two days, the guests had the opportunity to explore the coast through quad bikes, camel rides, fishing and boat rides,” Rabe says.

She describes her big day as everything and more than she could have wanted or dreamed of. The wedding planner created and built a spectacular wooden and glass box in the middle of the dunes in which Rabe floated in a white and sand coloured dress.

The theme of the wedding was Safari Chic, which led to beautiful natural colours with lots of wooden and green elements, she says.

The Honeybornes decided on natural colours as inspiration for the wedding.

“Kyle’s sand coloured suit was made of linen with a touch of safari and cargo wear as inspiration. The three groomsmens’ linen suits and four bridesmaids fun tulle dresses were a burnt rusty colour, inspired by the Namibian sunset over the dunes. All these garments were made by Deidré and Co,” Rabe says.

As a surprise for Kyle, Rabe decided to design and make his ring, which he saw for the first time on the day. The design is inspired by the Honeyborne family crest and made in a matt brushed gold setting made by Carlo Hayes.

“The ceremony was a beautiful simplistic layout surrounded by nothing but dunes and a blue sky. After the ceremony, guests were led by a violinist around the next dune, where they were pleasantly surprised by a beautiful glass and wooden reception venue in the middle of pure Namibian golden dunes.

“In this magical venue, guests were entertained by Namibia’s Lize Ehlers as the DJ, South Africa’s Willem Botha as the MC, while feasting on incredibly beautiful and tasteful food by the one and only David Thomas,” she says.

Rabe says being a married women feels completely different.

The couple has been together for five years, and Rabe says it is so special to know that it will be forever now.

“So many people told me it would feel the same as before, but for us it truly does feel different. We feel like this has always been part of God’s plan for us. We have been through many ups and downs, long distance and many obstacles. And now, what a blessing that we can finally say we are one,” Rabe says.