Goeters Party Furniture & Wedding Décor Hire Cape Town

Meet the Western Cape hiring company on the other side of normal

It’s easy enough to find a party furniture and wedding décor hiring company in the Western Cape that does the proverbial Chinese lantern and naked bulb. But what if you’re on the hunt for more than just an inventory of the same old items that every bride, birthday party and big corporate function south of the Equator has made trendy? 

That’s where Goeters comes in. Started by veteran celebrations planner Anelma le Roux to “truly provide something special”, the Cape Town-based company is on a mission to actually forge new paths in the events industry.

“We want to be different, to set trends,” explains Anelma. “I don’t like normal, and Goeters is anything but normal.”

Her and her team have been involved in transforming mundane get-togethers into memorable occasions since 2011, and since starting out, they’ve taken the business from a couple of chairs and couches to what it is today: a leading decorations and furniture partner spurred on by a passion for beauty and a commitment to creating customized set-ups for clients.

Responsible for everything from big cutting-edge affairs like the Spier Secret Festival and the Eat Out Restaurant Awards to smaller intimate occasions like weddings and 21sts, Goeters has created somewhat of a reputation for tackling unique – even crazy - requests. 

“We don’t have any limits!” enthuses Anelma. “We love new challenges, doing things differently and thinking out of the box when it comes to lights, furniture and decor set-ups.”

More specifically, the business does everything from conceptualization to implementation, including building outdoor structures and rigging lighting.

And though the hiring company doesn’t deal with smalls (think cutlery and flowers), Goeters does pretty much everything else, from flooring and seating to vintage decorations and quirky trimmings (think Persian carpets, pastel dance floors and even a grand piano).

We caught up with Anelma to find out how else Goeters can translate the wildest ideas into uber fresh realities.

CapeTownMagazine.com: You pride yourself on going beyond the call of duty. Can you give us an example of a time when a client made a crazy request and you met it?

Anelma: As we pride ourselves on making the impossible possible, we are always open to saying yes to anything crazy and anything that pushes our team’s creative limits – which is why we once said yes to literally transforming a blank canvas venue into a fairytale forest venue. We covered the whole roof with branches and naked bulbs, giving the space a totally different feel. This, however, was anything BUT easy. Firstly the enormous amount of branches had to be transported to the venue on a massive truck, and the first attempt to cover the roof failed as the structure wasn’t strong enough to hold the branches. After putting our heads together we changed the structure, which held the branches, and after a 12-hour day the venue looked stunning with a treetop roof and naked bulbs.

CapeTownMagazine.com: Vintage furniture and décor hire is all the rage right now. How does Goeters add its own unique yesteryear flair to an event?

Anelma: Since I can remember my life was filled with vintage and antique furniture as my mother has always had a big love for these kinds of pieces. It was from her that I inherited my love for beautiful things, and therefore at Goeters we are always on the lookout for beautiful vintage furniture that we handpick and refurbish. All of our vintage pieces are unique and hand-selected and therefore unlike anything else in the industry.

CapeTownMagazine.com: You’ve admitted you’re besotted with lighting. Why the obsession?

Anelma: For me lighting is the most important element and biggest feature for any event. It sets the mood for the occasion. With lights you can create a racy, electric or romantic ambience or rather conjure up a soft or quirky and fun atmosphere. You have so many options: colour, the bulb size, structure or quirky elements – like a lampshade light. We really urge our clients to spend money on lighting rather than smaller pieces of décor as this creates a much bigger impact.

CapeTownMagazine.com: Say you’re working with a bridezilla more demanding and less compassionate than Marie Antoinette. How you would you bring her version of a fancy Versailles wedding to life with your décor and furniture?

Anelma: When we think Versailles wedding the first things that comes to mind are BIG, ORNATE, GOLDEN décor. We would absolutely use our crystal chandeliers, set at various heights, and our antique golden furniture. But this is the norm…this is what any décor specialist would do; we on the other hand will add mirrors to reflect the light, suspend lighting structures with big flower arrangements from the ceiling and do a high-gloss golden dance floor with massive vintage marquee letters spelling the new family name. We’d also throw in golden tiffanies and Louis ghost chairs with golden monograms on the chair back. Not to mention, we would do fairy light ceilings - not your normal zigzag structure though; instead we would make a blanket of lights covering the ceiling, creating an opulent yet romantic feeling. And then obviously…just Marie Antoinette…we will use the most spectacular cake stand…ever!

CapeTownMagazine.com: Birthday milestones are a big to-do in the Mother City. How do you make someone’s special day that much more memorable?

Anelma: We work very closely with all our clients to create unique and personalized set-ups, and for birthdays we really try and create a feel that resembles the individual being celebrated.

CapeTownMagazine.com: Cape Town has more sunny days than most of the world and many events take place outside. How would you deal with an outdoor corporate function where set-ups for sun and shade are equal necessities? 

Anelma: Well we have the most exquisite range of outdoor street cabanas, gazebos and St Yves shading, and these can be rigged to be any size and form.

CapeTownMagazine.com: The Mother City is home to somewhat of a creative cult. If you had free rein to design a theme that would impress the local artist types, what would you conceptualize? 

Anelma: With Cape Town being the Design Capital of the world, there was movement within the event business to introduce new and different décor elements for clients. This sparked the idea of our raw range, which consists of tables, couches, bars, chairs and more made out of recycled wood. This is not your distressed photo frame and door look, but a very elegant and sustainable range. This has been so popular that we have now extended our range to include elements that have a combination of raw wood and Perspex, for example our floating raw tables. It’s also important to mention that Goeters was the company that truly put the naked bulb on to the eventing map.

So with all of the above in mind, if we had free reign it would have to be sustainable, functional and have high aesthetic value. 

CapeTownMagazine.com:  What would be your dream event/function/party/wedding to work on?

Anelma:A birthday party for Tim Walker (because we can’t even imagine what he would like us to create), a wedding for prince Harry (because we would love to hang some teacup lights) and well…any event for Lady Gaga, because it will be crazy and outrageous.  

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On the hunt for a place to celebrate your marriage? Have a gander at our overview of wedding venues in the Cape Winelands. 

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