Darling Clouds kindly offered to be the ‘Designated Dave’ and drove myself as well as actress turned business woman Kelly Parkhurst and TV producer boyf Grant all the way out to Val de Vie estate in Franschoek.

We were all lucky enough to be in the super exclusive VIP area (thanks Vivid Luxury!) and got to schmingle with celebs while a veritable river of Veuve flowed from the bar.

Guests were entertained by local band Good Luck (I LOVE that ‘Takin’ it Easy’ song, it’s got such a rad 80’s vibe…) and a fashion show featuring Jenni Button and Viyella was held on the grass. Celeb-wise, the bash was a regte smorgasboard of ‘who’s who’ on the social scene and guests included Top Billing’s Jo-Ann Strauss…

…soccer stud Ryan Botha who’s finally found a partner prettier than he is, local model Gina Goldsmith…

…and actress Natalie Becker who’s back indefinitely from New York.

Elana Afrika was also out and about…

…as well as surfer girl Roxy Louw and her sister Shahnee:

Oh! And Ryk Neethling was there too…

Thankfully, Karisa’s adorbsville boyfriend, actor Bjorn Steinbach, didn’t notice as he was too busy ensuring his accessories were all colour co-ordinated and matchy matchy with his drink…

As for the actual polo, I did see some horsies being lined up at some stage…

 …but can’t tell you how it went down or who won as I then distracted by the utter awesomeness that was the Elizabeth Arden Pamper Lounge. Guests could enjoy a free mini make over or indulge in an Eight Hour Cream hand massage. The best bit, however, was the fact that they were giving away very generous-sized samples of Arden SPF 50 sunscreen (amazing stuff!), Ceramide Lash Extending treatment mascara and their eponymous Eight Hour Cream.

I also got to give myself an Arden Green Tea EDT shower…

Dominiek and Kerry from The Little Hattery was also there to provide the ultimate horsey event accessory…

You like?

I was rather taken with this one:

Eventually, towards the end of the day, all that Veuve started to kick in and things got a little fuzzy as illustrated by everyone’s diminished photographic skills…

Ah, that’s better…

But ja… in regards to my escalating drunkeness… I do feel it’s important to defend myself a bit by pointing out that our super-attentive waiting staff had switched from refilling our dainty little champagne flutes to handing out giant bowls o’ rose’:

Thankfully, there were lots of yummy canapes going around to help line our tummies and we got to dance them off in the Equus Lounge where the after party took place. 

After a little fun on the dancefloor, we decided to call it a day and head on home (safely – thanks to Clouds!) but not before putting in a cameo at McDonalds. After all, we had a lot of Veuve to soak up…

Again, a big thank you to Vivid Luxury for inviting us and ensuring this worldclass sporting event also exists as one of the crown jewel’s of Cape Town’s social calendar (not to mention a prime stalking ground for one Meneer Ryk Neething…) So ja… dankie, dankie… we had an absolute blast!

Love, love

Leigh