Hello lovelies! Time for some beautiful inspiration for this early summer afternoon (how is it DECEMBER already?). Today we’re showing off the talents of two friends of the blog (photographer Cheryl McEwan and co-ordinator Theresa of Creation Events), together with a team of talented people who put together this spring/summer inspiration for you. With bright florals, pretty boho bridal styling and the cutest retinue of little people, it feels like an Easter parade. So fun! Choose this palette and your guests won’t be able to hold back their sunny smiles!Read More
Hello lovelies! To start off your Friday, I asked Cheryl McEwan, a fab Cape Town photographer (and SouthBound Bride too!) to share some of her insider secrets – what you need to know to get started, how to get the most out of your pics and what to do with them after the wedding. She’s sharing her top tips from engagement to happy ever after with you this morning – thanks so much Cheryl!
Hi all you lovely SouthBound Bride readers! I am so honoured to have been asked by Gaby to share a bit of advice and perspective from a wedding photographer’s point of view with you all. Your wedding photos are one of the most important aspects of your special day and of course the lasting memories left after your wedding. You want to be able to get the very most out of your photos and your photographer so I hope the following will help you with this.Read More
Hello lovelies! Today we’re not featuring a wedding, but instead a shoot that was styled by little ol’ me, and that I am still so in love with even though it was put together over a year ago. In that time, it’s had a huge spread in SA wedding magazine, Wedding Inspirations, and been featured on two of my all-time favourite blogs, Magnolia Rouge and b.loved. I consciously don’t style a lot of shoots, and it’s been an honour to have those I have done featured so widely. So you may have seen Toile & Rose in one of these places before. But I thought it was high time I showcased the shoot here on SBB, along with my top tips for recreating the look for your own wedding.Read More
It’s such a pleasure to me to be able to share the stories of so many brides and grooms here on SBB. But it’s even more of a pleasure when I get to share the love story of someone I know, and that’s what I get to do today! Natalie is a fellow Minervianer (which for the non-Stellenbosch crowd means we were in the same res at uni). She’s the loveliest person, and very beautiful, and I always knew some dashing man would sweep her off her feet. It turned out to be one of those stories where Nats fell in love with her best friend (love those, right?!) – I finally got a chance to spend some time with the couple here in London recently and they are ADORABLE. What I love most about their wedding day is that you can see the sheer joy radiating from both of their faces, and in fact this is the first thing Cheryl McEwan, their fab photographer, said to me afterwards, that the love on their big day was so tangible. This is what it’s all about, people! Well, that and a lovely in lavender intimate French-style reception at La Petite Dauphine and a bride in a romantic Suzanne Neville dress… but mostly the love. ;) Don’t miss Nats’ goosebumpworthy description of how they met and got together!Read More
Hello dear friends – sorry you missed out on your real wedding fix yesterday! I have a little holiday planned for next week, so I’m on double duty making sure everything’s ready to keep things pretty around here. Anyway, today’s wedding from Cheryl McEwan – as full of little details as it is – is definitely one to keep you entertained. Leandrie and Raubie were married at the magnificent Webersburg, with pops of green against a neutral palette, and lots of fun touches. My favourite is definitely the milkshakes with stripy green straws – adorableness! I also really love that Cheryl’s made sure not just to photograph these details as they stood on the day, but to get the bridal party interacting with them – it’s a nice editorial way of bringing those little touches to the forefront and making sure your pictures tell the story not only of your day, but of all the effort you put into the details, which I know is important to a lot of you! So here we go… enjoy!Read More
Hello lovelies! Time for an engagement shoot, and today’s comes from the always delightful Cheryl McEwan. And you guys, it’s a goodie. I think over the years I’ve been doing this, my favourite couple shoots are those where the couple are doing something a little different – but more specifically, where they’re doing something they love, or visiting a place that has meaning for them. Which might be what makes today’s shoot so cool. Then again, it might be the aeroplane. Either way, flying is something this couple love to do, and up in the air narrowly missed being the site for their engagement… I’ll let groom-to-be Neno tell you his and Megan’s story:Read More
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.
Ah, Kalk Bay. How I do love you. Except for the parking. True story: last time I went to Kalk Bay was a couple of months ago to meet my cousins for lunch. Beautiful hot day, summer Sunday afternoon… some kind of military show in Simonstown… traffic chaos. Kippie here decides to park right in the harbour, and let me tell you, after eleven years in London my parking skills are a**. Somehow I managed it, but came back to find an SUV wedged in next to me. What followed was ten minutes of stalling the car, twenty-point turning and an eventual offer from a complete stranger to drive my car out of the spot for me, which I politely declined before stalling the car yet again and finally getting on my way with the parking guard shaking his head after me. So. Humiliating. Meh, whatever, I still love Kalk Bay. And today I’m especially missing it as I’m featuring this sunny e-shoot by SBB friend and sponsor Cheryl McEwan. You saw her wedding last week, and today she’s showing you her moxy behind the lens. The result is a sweet and intimate engagement session for couple Riana and Shaun that captures the colour of this special part of the world. I especially love Riana’s styling – that dress is PERFECT for Kalk Bay! It’s definitely worth taking some time to think about the location of your shoot and dress to complement it (or the other way around) – I promise that the results will be worth it! Thanks for sharing, Cheryl!
Oh, and psssst! Come back later for another gorgey porgey wedding. Huzzah!Read More
SOOOO excited to share today’s (bumper!) post with you – it feels like it has been in the pipeline since forever! Of course, that’s because today we’re sharing the wedding of Cheryl McEwan, our friend and colleague, SBB sponsor, and of course, Real Life Bride. Together we’ve followed Cheryl on her planning journey, from inspiration to reality. And wow. That reality is so much more gorgeous than I could even have imagined. Not just because it’s photographed by the legend that is Nastassja Harvey (although it helps). As a photographer, Cheryl has an amazing eye for detail, and putting that together with her wedding experience, she created a masterclass in shabby chic/country vintage styling that must have been a pleasure to shoot and attend. She’s also collaborated with her friends in the industry – Doodles Laser in particular – to add sweet new twists to the ideas that inspired her (read her Real Life Bride archive to see how these evolved). The result is an incredible wedding, blessed with rainbows (literally) and laughter – here’s wishing Cheryl and Sven many blessings in the next chapter of their lives together.Read More
I’m continuing our series of Q&A today with an interview with the photographer of yesterday’s lovely wedding, Cheryl McEwan. I know from experience that Cheryl’s an absolute sweetheart as well as a fantastic photographer (she took all the pics at the hen party I organised last year) and I’m so excited that she’s joined the other amazing photographers lighting up the industry in Cape Town. I’m also SUPER excited to announce that she’ll soon be starting her own series of guest blogs here on Cap Classique, as our newest real life bride! So look out for that in the next few months. In the meantime, here’s a chance to get to know Cheryl just a little better.
Hi Cheryl – thanks for answering my questions today! How did you get started as a photographer? Hi Gaby, I’m so excited to be interviewed on Cap Classique! Thank you :) My love of photography started whilst I was living in the UK, and was lucky enough to travel extensively around Europe. Along with my passion for travel I wanted to be able to capture the essence of these amazing places as well as the cultures of the people that I was seeing and meeting. Ultimately I turned my focus to weddings and was lucky enough to second shoot on a number of UK weddings, which led to me going solo and shooting my first wedding in London.
How would you define your style?
I have a reportage type of style – I aim to ‘capture the moment’ as the day unfolds and most importantly I aim to tell a story through my photos.
Which part of a wedding do you like shooting the most? My favorite part of the wedding has to be the couple shoot, where it’s me and my camera capturing the special love between the newlyweds, and generally just having loads of fun with the two of them – capturing their reactions amongst lots of laughing! I like to form a good relationship with my clients, getting them to relax and enjoy the shoot.
Do you have any favourite photographers or major influences? South Africa has an abundance of fabulous photographers, however there are a few whose work I really admire and whose work constantly inspires me, namely a few of these photographers would be Nastassja Harvey, Nikki Meyer, Wesley Vorster & Lizelle Lotter. These guys have been so supportive and fantastic I can’t thank them enough!
