Category: Red

Inspiration Board: Pomegranate & Brass

by gaby

Afternoon friends, I hope you’re enjoying a leisurely day off! With Easter being all about spring in the Northern Hemisphere, I can’t help but always be reminded that it’s also officially autumn in South Africa, so I thought it was about time for some pretty cold weather palette inspiration. As you’ve probably noticed by now, unusual metallics are on trend at the moment, including lovely, opulent brass. I thought it would be perfect with a deep pomegranate red, but to keep things multidimensional, I also added in a touch of soft peach. I really like how it all comes together – an updated take on traditional autumn hues.

Colours: Scarlet, peach & brass

Top row (l-r): Pomegranate escort cards {Duet Weddings/Lauren Ross}; brass candlesticks {Lani Elias/Ashley Nicole}; autumn bouquet {Kari Crowe Photography/Kate Foley Designs}; red bridesmaid dresses {Ruddock Photography/Bill Levkoff}
Row 2: Invitations {Lani Elias/Ashley Nicole}; pomegranate cocktails {Vela Images/On My Hand}; pomegranate cake {DianaMcGregor Photography/Timeless Love Events}; pomegranates {Debbie Lourens}
Row 3: Peach wedding dress {Sareh Nouri}; table setting {Catherine Marciniak/Style Perfect Weddings and Events}; roses in brass candleholder {Aralani Photography}

Inspiration Board: Pomegranate & Brass | SouthBound Bride

Inspiration Board: Huckleberry Blues

by gaby

Good morning my lovelies! Hope you had a brilliant weekend! Today’s board is all about a calm, serene, cool blue and a fizzy pop of vibrant red. I must say, I love this idea. Baby blue and bright red have been a popular combination for a while, but they’re usually associated with 50s diner style weddings, or Cath Kidston chintzes. I like the idea of it for a rustic farm or vineyard wedding, with beautiful blue tables and bushels of white flowers, and then every now and again, a powerful punch of red. After all, there’s something about red, isn’t there? A hint of red heels peeping out from under a lace dress, a bright red getaway car, or a scarlet bouquet in a bridesmaid’s arms. It’s sassy, and sassy is good. What do you think?

Colours: Baby blue, white and red

Top row (l-r): Barn setting {Andi Mans Photography & Design/Blush by Brandee Gaar}; bridesmaid with red bouquet {Elizabeth Messina/Elizabeth Messina}; blue and white meringues {Jennifer Hejna Photography}; wedding dress {Jose Villa}
Row 2: Raspberries; cutlery {Alea Lovely}; bouquet {Ashley Slater Photography/Spring Sweet}; red shoes {Elizabeth Messina}; blue flowers
Row 3: Bride & groom {Laura Murray Photography/Love This Day Events}; red getaway car {Jon Duenas Photography}; place setting {Millie Holloman Photography/Salt Harbor Designs}; blue invitation {Jose Villa /Linea Carta}

 

Inspiration Board: Blossom & Berry

by gaby

Happy Monday, folks – here’s to a super-productive week! Today we have a pretty, rustic red and white board, that would be just perfect for an autumn wedding. There’s a little touch of French bistro, and textures of wood, kraft, burlap and berry. So pretty! Red and white is a combo that I often see in real weddings, but it’s often used either in a more modern way or as a stark accent against a classic white wedding. But here it’s a gorgeous alternative to the pretty pastels or muted neutrals that you usually see for a rustic wedding. Lovely, isn’t it? Don’t be afraid to play with your ideas on colour a bit when planning your wedding – just because you have chosen a specific style doesn’t mean that you have to use the same palette as many others before you. Often just this little twist can make a look really fresh and interesting. My favourite touches here are the mannequin escort cards, the tin dessert menu, the gorgeous burlap runner with table number and the bridesmaids’ mismatched shoes. Which do you like best?

Colours: Red, white, green and mocha

Top row (l-r): Bride in blossoms {Tec Petaja/Joy Thigpen}; berry desserts {Danielle Capito}; wooden gate {Tec Petaja/Joy Thigpen}; table with burlap runner {Nikki Meyer Photography/Kraak}; bicycles
Row 2: Bridesmaids with red shoes {Emily Johnston Anderson}; mannequin escort cards {m three studio}; strawberry cocktail; outdoor ceremony {Caroline Tran Photographer/Kelly Oshiro Design}
Row 3: Table with red flower arrangement {Flowerwild/Jose Villa}; groom in braces {Zara Zoo Photography}; farm inspiration suite; bouquet with strawberry {Nikki Meyer Photography/Kraak}; book ring shot.

 

Inspiration Board: Nautical Rustic

by gaby

Good morning, lovelies! It’s a new day, a new week: what will you accomplish? I’m feeling super fired up myself, as this week we’re launching a little project that’s been developing off-camera for quite some time, and I can’t wait to share it with you! So look out for an announcement (especially my lovely photographer friends and followers!). Anyway, let’s move on to today’s wedding inspiration, which is a request from reader Natassja. She’s chosen nautical rustic as her theme, and I absolutely fell in love with the concept! Natassja is getting married at Swartvlei beach, and she’s using a classic nautical palette of blue, red and off white. The great thing about nautical style is that there are lots of rustic textures, and texture is what rustic styling is all about. Think lots of rope, net and real boating ephemera. I love the idea of the rope table numbers especially, and the rope wrapped vases (both easy and effective DIY projects). Use the same big textures as statement pieces at the ceremony, or knot a rope curtain at your makeshift altar. Keep stationery crisp, or incorporate the gorgeous watercolour motif that’s so popular at the moment. I especially like the semaphore motif, which has the couple’s monogram spelled out with flags! And just because we’re going nautical doesn’t mean I couldn’t include this year’s rustic wedding must-have: the naked cake! How gorgeous (and delicious!) is this red velvet creation? I absolutely love this look – hope you do too, Natassja!

Colours: Navy, cherry red, off-white, taupe

Top row (l-r): Rope heart {Rachel Peters Photography/Kiss The Bride}; red velvet naked cake {Michelle March/Unearthed Vintage}; cake toppers {Jaco le Roux}; rope table number {}; origami boat {Purple Tree Wedding Photography/Affairy Event}
Row 2: Invitation {Swiss Cottage Designs/Love* Jenna Calligraphy}; ceremony area {Erin hearts Court/Five Star Weddings and Events}; rope vases {Bayside Bride}; bridesmaid with yay sign {Captured Photography by Jenny/My Event Boutique }
Row 3: Ship’s netting decoration {Fox Fotography/Dairing Events}; red anemone bouquet {Michelle March/Unearthed Vintage}; semaphore invitation {}; bride and groom with ship wheel {Troy and Aimee Grover}.

 

Inspiration Board: My Funny Valentine

by gaby

Hello friends! And a happy Valentine’s Day to you all – hope you have a wonderful, romantic day, whatever you choose to do. And don’t forget to take a moment to remember all the other people you love, since nobody says V Day has to be only about romantic love. (For me, I’m sending out a big hug to my mom and especially dad, who has sent me a card every Valentine’s Day of my life – love you guys! xx) Anyway, we have quite a bit of V Day goodness coming to you today, and I thought I would kick it off with this little inspiration board (last time I did this, a lovely bride actually based her wedding on it!). It had to be red and white, but instead of the classic red, I thought I would go for a colour combo that’s part of the current Pantone stable – poppy red together with linen. The bright red and off-white neutral work so beautifully together, and when you add a little glow from gold, it really comes together. So here it is, folks, my little valentine to you all…

Colours: Poppy red, linen, gold

Clockwise (from top left): Cocktails {Martha Stewart}; bride with red lips {Tasha Seccombe}; Valentine menu {Cynthia Warren}; glitter dress {Monique Lhullier}; gold heart shoes {welovepictures}; poppy bouquet {Sutherland Kovach}; nude bridesmaid dresses {Elizabeth Messina}; heart macarons.

 

Inspiration Board: Dolce Vita

by gaby

Good morning friends! Today we have something a little different for our inspiration board. It’s no news to you that I’m a fan of Cape Town photographer Cheryl McEwan‘s work as we’ve been working together for some time, but I’m delighted to feature her as one of our Days of December sponsors. Since an image is worth a thousand words, I’ve trawled through Cheryl’s archive (the happiest of tasks, with her dreamy style and attention to detail) to come up with a brand new SBB inspiration board. Cheryl’s a keen traveller (in fact, her husband Sven proposed to her in the middle of their world travel adventure!) so although she is based in South Africa for much of the year, I wanted to pay tribute to that love of travel in my choice of theme. And I personally find nothing more inspiring than a little trip to Italy. I took the palette for this board from Cheryl’s pic from the Cinque Terre, the muted mishmash of Mediterranean colour, sun bleached walls and intricate detailing that immediately sets a warm, summery tone for a wedding. Use heavy urns and candelabras, with platters of fruit instead of flowers on the tables, and of course plenty of wine! This makes me think of long Sunday afternoons and long tables, family, friends, laughter. All those things that make an Italian feast, a sweet life, and a beautiful wedding. Head over to Cheryl’s blog to see more of her gorgeous photography, including weddings, couple shoots and some personal travel gems.

Contact Cheryl McEwan:
 Email: [email protected]
Website: www.cherylmcewan.co.za
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cherylmcewanphotography
Twitter: @CherylMcEwan_

SBB ♥ Cheryl McEwan Photography, a featured member of our Directory

 

Inspiration Board: Autumn Rustic

by gaby

Hello friends! Time for a brand new inspiration board, and this time we’re veering from the traditional summer wedding to a rich autumn look. Reader, Claire, has a cozy cold weather wedding in mind for her June celebration at Toadbury Hall, where she and her fiance are planning a forest ceremony followed by a marquee reception, in a bedouin tent filled with fairy lights and heaters. They’re looking for a rustic style in red, orange, yellow, bronze and gold, and want to enhance their natural surroundings rather than distract from them. I’m a big fan of this idea, so with the palette settled I went on the hunt for easy ideas that incorporated materials that would naturally be found in the forest surroundings. Pine cones are certainly one, and they have a multitude of possible uses, from escort cards to place holders, or just sprayed gold and placed on a plate or even in vases on the table – so pretty. I’ve even seen adorable pine cone bouquets – a fun alternative to flowers! Wood is another texture to use of course, and cut wooden circles can be used everywhere from under plates to table numbers or cake stands. Or what about stones? I loved these metallic painted ones, and the surfaces would reflect candlelight beautifully. Flowers should be rich, but I’d probably focus more on candles and natural materials on tables to make the whole place as warm and intimate as possible – a real winter oasis. And don’t you just love the fairy light bottles? So pretty. Bridesmaids could be in a mismatched array of your colours, but they could also have a neutral like a mushroom colour, with bright flowers popping against them. Another aspect of a chilly wedding that is super fun is the menu – make the most of it with warming soups, a hot chocolate bar, maybe mulled wine or cider stations, toffee apples, etc. And finally, how much do you love these invites? The wording as well as the design. Just perfect. Hope you like your board, Claire!

Colours: Red, orange, yellow, bronze, gold

Top row (l-r): Invitation {P: Stone Crandall Photography}; bouquet; pinecones in vase {P: SB Childs Photography; C: A Touch of Elegance}; bottles with fairy lights; rustic cake {P: Rebecca Hollis Photography; D: Romancing the Stone}
Row 2: Toffee apples; table number {P: Gideon Photography; D: Forevermore Events}; pine cone place cards; hot chocolate {P: Camilla Photography; D: Branches Floral}
Row 3: Bridesmaids {P: Michelle Turner; C: Maine Seasons Events}; bark votives; painted stones

Autumn Rustic Inspiration Board | SouthBound Bride

Inspiration Board: French Country Farmhouse

by gaby

Some of the inspiration board requests I get take a little while for me to generate ideas for, but others I can wrap my head around immediately, and today’s request from the lovely Keri was one of those. Keri told me that she was planning a summer wedding with a palette of sage green, beige, cream and red, and a French country style, and that she wasn’t a fan of anything fancy, shiny or glossy. The first thing that came into my head was ticking fabric, and straight away I could picture her tables (long, of course!) – it also immediately made me think of the gorgeous country florals from Marguerite & Tom’s wedding that I featured some time ago. Keri wanted to keep her flowers white and green, and I think this is a perfect idea, especially using wild, natural arrangements placed in an assortment of bottles and vases (as if someone had just fetched them out of their kitchen cupboard). For that quirky touch of red, there’s nothing as pretty as a punnet of fresh cherries, or just loose cherries draped around the bottom of the vases as they were in this wedding (LOVE it). Use wooden boards under place settings or down the centre of the table, or cover plain boards in burlap to add height to arrangements and a central line in place of a runner. Ticking fabric tablecloths would be ideal, but plain white tables also work perfectly with ticking cloth napkins, tied loosely with twine, perhaps, or accented with a pretty calligraphed menu (you could also play with chalkboard accents for a more bistro feel). Put your groomsmen in braces and give them (and perhaps all the men) adorable straw hats, with madeleine biscuits for the ladies. Speaking of the ladies, I’ve put them in chic white dresses here (love those backs!), but of course sage or neutrals would work too. Hope you like your board, Keri – can’t wait to see your wedding!

Colours: Sage green, beige, cream & red

Top row (l-r): Table decor with cherries {P: Jose Villa; C: Duet Weddings}; ticking napkin {S: Jessica Sloane; P: Jessica Lorren}; bridesmaids {P: Bryan N. Miller Photography; C: Couture Events}
Row 2: Florals on burlap-covered board {C: Wedding Concepts; P: Adel Ferreira}; ticking pillows {Dreamy Whites}; flowers in vintage glass {C: Wedding Concepts; P: Adel Ferreira}
Row 3: Long tables {P: Rebecca Wedding Photography; C: Chic Weddings in Italy}; wildflower bouquet; first dance {P: Andrea Dozier}; madeleines

French Country Farmhouse Inspiration Board

 

Inspiration Board: All Fore Love

by gaby

It’s Inspiration Board Monday! And today it’s a reader request. I just love it when you ladies give me a creative challenge, so when I heard from bride Tanja about her vintage golf-themed wedding I couldn’t WAIT to get started! The wedding is set for autumn, so Tanja’s chosen a palette of red, green and dusky pink (which I think is perfect for this theme and time of year). Tanja’s fiance is crazy for golf and they both love old things, so they merged these loves together to create their theme of old world golf, and they’re hosting it at a golf resort as well. Tanja also wanted to include elements like lace and proteas, which grow wild in the area. I started off by looking at lots of golf-themed weddings, and wow, some of them are a liiiittle cheesy. So as with all themes, subtlety is key. My first recommendation is that Tanja and her fiance hire a great designer, because stationery would really tie everything together here. Ask them to use argyle in your colours as a motif throughout, and combine it with vintage golfing imagery or clip art (similar to the birthday invitation below) to create a sort of ‘brand’ for all the paper goods- this is a great way of making an unusual theme work cohesively. You can reflect the argyll in the gents’ attire (how cute are groomsmen in sweater vests?) or just their socks if you’d prefer them to wear suits. You can even give them tee boutonnieres! For the bridesmaids, you can’t go wrong with green dresses, but you could use red or pink instead (or even have each of them in a different colour). For the bride, I love this vintagey lace dress with a birdcage veil (red lipstick is a must!) and statement protea bouquet. Tanja can subtley extend the golfing theme using trays of wheatgrass with little golfing flags for escort cards, and either number her tables like golf holes, or name them after famous courses. But my favourite detail is the use of vintage trophies (golfing or otherwise) as vases throughout the table decor. This is a classy nod to the sport, without resorting to jars full of golfballs or similar! Tanja – I hope you like the board and good luck with your planning journey. I can’t WAIT to see how it turns out!

Colours: Red, green and dusky pink

Top row (l-r): Vintage golf engagement photos {P: Tara Parker Photography}, lace wedding dress {Wanda Borges}, silver vase {Eva Lindh}, tee boutonniere {Ardent Story Photography}; sage green bridesmaids’ dresses {Bernard Bravenboer}
Row 2: Grass flag escort cards; vintage golfing image; red flowers in silver vase {P: Allison C. Photography}; trophy vases {S&P: Brancoprata}; vintage golf invitation {bnute on Etsy}
Row 3: Open long marquee {David Beahm}; groomsmen in argyle sweater vests; protea bouquet {F: Palm Springs Florist/Katie Osgood Photography}; birdcage veil and red lipstick {P: Eden Photography}

 

Inspiration Board: Berries & Stripes

by gaby

I’m just going to go ahead and say it: I LOVE today’s inspiration board. It started with the image top left, and has grown into a board I want to put on my party best and climb inside of. Because how can you not love the marriage of city sophistication and wine farm charm? Classic elements like swirly calligraphy invitations, white roses, chandeliers and a gleaming getaway car mix perfectly with softer country touches – hypericum berries, a wedding signpost, dining under the vines. Serve guests a choice of champagne or this swish gold take on mason jar cocktails during pre-dinner drinks, and wow everyone with a beautiful, sophisticated cake (from local caketress Roxanne Floquet). I love the way that the grey pinstripes bring everything together, and the palette of grey, black, white and gold with little pops of berry red smacks of sophistication. Of course, a swish bride deserves a swish dress, and I’m totally obsessed with this one! Like I say: I love all of it. Hope you do too!

Colours: Grey, black, white, gold and red

Top row (l-r): Red hypericum boutonniere (Andy Duback); wedding car with gifts (Jose Villa); wine bottle table numbers (Missy Cochran); grey striped ribbon bouquet wraps (Cari Photography)
Row 2: Calligraphy letterpress invitations; gold shoes (Jose Villa); wedding signpost (So Happi Together/Gabriel Ryan); gold mason jar with stripey straw; champagne with berries
Row 3: Bride & groom (Yvette Roman); rose bouquet with red hypericum berries (Stephanie Hunter Photography); cake with ribbon and crown details (Roxanne Floquet); vineyard chandelier tables (Jose Villa).