Emerald, Copper & Burgundy Wedding Inspiration

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Happy December, lovelies! After a few days away working on another project, I’m back, and I have some gorgeous inspiration to share with you this month before we start dipping back into our annual ‘best of’ series. We’re kicking the advent countdown off today with a styled shoot that I have been looking forward to sharing with you for a while, but the colours were so Christmassy that I just had to wait until today. First off, the palette is amazing – rich emerald and burgundy have that beautiful mixture of warmth and depth, but it’s when copper is added to the mix that some modern magic really happens! Add in some beautiful bridesmaid gowns from SBB Directory member Jacoba Clothing. And don’t even get me started on the florals, because OMG they are amazing! Whether you’re planning a Christmas wedding, a holiday table, or just a wedding that makes great use of beautiful colours and flowers (at any time of year, but especially in winter, when jewel tones are particularly appropriate), then this is your palette! Thanks so much to photographer Nadia Basson and her team for bringing us this loveliness today.

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Inspiration Board: Greenhouse & Garnet

Time for some inspiration! As you may have heard last week, our theme for July is ‘Greenhouse’, so I’m letting myself be inspired by everything beautiful and botanical. I just LOVE the idea of a wedding in a greenhouse setting, and of course you’d want to include lots of lush greenery in that sort of setting, but there’s no reason why that shouldn’t mean a big pop of colour too. I love green and red together – they don’t need to look like Christmas either. Garnet is a gorgeous shade of red – just a berry breath away from this year’s colour of note, Marsala, and a super flattering shade for bridesmaids and flowers too. Doncha just love it?

Colours: Garnet red, emerald & white

Top row (l-r): Invitation suite {Visual Cravings/Laura & Co. Events/Rachel A. Clingen Wedding & Event Design/Paper & Poste}; bouquet {Lime Green Photography/Statice Couture}; greenhouse setting {Lane Dittoe/Greystone Mansion/Flower Wild}
Row 2: Table decor {Lani Elias/Ashley Nicole}; greenery & chandeliers {KT Merry}; red bridesmaid dresses {Azuree Wiitala/Elizabeth And James}
Row 3: Bride with flower crown {Floral Earth/Alise Taggart/Paula O’Hara} ; botanical gardens ceremony {The Wedding Artists Collective}; candles & ferns {Ryan Ray Photo/Signora e Mare/Sprout Flowers}

 

Greenery & Glitter Wedding at Lourensford by Hayley Takes Photos {Nicole & Nicolas}

Oh I am in heaven with this wedding! Beautiful greenery, crystal chandeliers, a feeling of bringing the outside inside (awesome florals by Flowers in the Foyer!), and best of all, a generous sprinkling of glitter and glam. Nicole and Nicolas’ wedding is just breathtaking. The combination of creamy white, rich emerald and sparkly gold (with just a touch of dusty pink with the bridesmaids – love this elegantly mismatched touch) – is perfect for the sophisticated but outdoor-loving couple, and I love that they included family and friends in so many ways to make sure that the wedding was an opportunity to bring them all together. This is also the first time we’re featuring a wedding by Hayley Takes Photos – so happy to share her beautiful pictures with you today!Read More

Inspiration Board: Lavender, Peach & Emerald

Goodness but I love this colour combo! Seriously, isn’t it beautiful and fresh? The deep cool of emerald green (adding a touch of formality), softly feminine purple and lavender, and sweet peach, along with cool white. Purple-loving brides take note, because this would be absolutely gorgeous for a range of weddings. As always, I love colours brought out through natural elements, so include lots of emerald foliage in your decor – you could even have green garlands only on your tables. Dress your girls in flowing lavender gowns, and serve peachy bellinis with lavender decorations. Then just add a few more whimsical touches – a floral arch or chandelier for your ceremony, illustrated stationery, a lacy cake. Perfect!

Colours: Lavender, purple, peach, white & emerald green

Top row (l-r): Bride {Brett Heidebrecht}; bouquet {Justen Clay Photography}; peach lace cake {Michael & Anna Costa/Joy de Vivre Wedding Design & Coordination/Sweet & Saucy Shop}
Row 2: Bridesmaids {Reverie Supply/For Her and For Him}; tablescape {Rylee Hitchner/Cloth of Gold/Ginny Au/Amy Osaba}; peach cocktails {Simply Bloom Photography, LLC/La Fleur Weddings}
Row 3: Foliage arch {Mint Photography/Pink Parasol Designs and Coordinating/Bristol Lane Florals}; posey bouquet {E. Ribant photography}; menu {Joy Michelle Photography/Anchor Point Press}; bride in juliet cap veil

 

Simple Elegance Nature’s Valley Wedding by Jenni Elizabeth {Michele and John}

You know, it can be a challenge to find new words and new ways to describe the weddings we feature on SBB. I feel like I say “gorgeous” a lot these days. Well, I’m about to say it again, because today’s wedding is GORGEOUS. Absolutely, get-your-swoon-on, magazine-worthy gorgeous. Michele and John chose to go with a simple colour scheme of white, blush and gold, which was complemented throughout by the deep emerald of foliage from their hanging swags and table garlands, and spectacular floral ceremony arch. Everything about it fits together like the pieces of a beautiful couple, partly thanks to the absolutely breathtaking pictures by Jenni Elizabeth. We’ve been looking forward to featuring Jenni’s work for a while, and I hope you’ll be seeing many more of her lovely images on SBB in future. But for today, let’s sit back and breathe in the simple elegance of Michele & John’s Garden Route wedding, and the sheer romance.Read More

Inspiration Board: Emerald & Blush

Happy Monday, friends! Did you catch my little blogiversary post over the weekend? Well since our blog birthday got me thinking all things commemorative, I’ve decided to do a running series of inspiration boards inspired by birthstones, starting today. Although I almost canned that idea when I saw that the stone for May was emerald, since last year was ALL about this colour. But actually, it gave me a chance to revisit this gorgeous shade. That’s the thing about us bloggers – it’s not that once a colour has had its trend moment that we no longer like it, just that sometimes it’s a case of overkill. For us, because we see a hundred weddings a week, but not for you – and I personally still think emerald has a lot to offer a modern bride and groom, so it was a good time to look at it with fresh eyes. I started thinking about combinations, and I realised that somehow I’d not done emerald and blush before. Whaaaat? I couldn’t believe it, because the soft, romantic blush pink is PERFECT against the crisp, dark, emerald green. It’s the perfect alternative to blush and grey, or a more sophisticated version of blush and mint. What do you think?

Colours: Blush, emerald, white

Top row (l-r): Bride {Lizelle Lotter}; bouquet {Jemma Keech/Portobello Rose}; bridesmaids bouquets
Row 2: Staircase wreath {Jen Fariello Photography/Easton Events}; centrepiece {Leo Patrone}; bride with perfume {Ryan Ray/Stephanie Miles}; table setting with green glassware {Lauren Kriedeman/Green Goddess flower studio}
Row 3: Ceremony arch {Clary Pfeiffer Photography/Bride’s Vision}; ring {Erin Kate}; tables {Jose Villa}; bride with veil {Rachwal Photography}.

 

Inspiration Board: Forest Fantasy

Happy Monday lovelies! It’s another week of inspiration on SouthBound Bride, and wedding planning for you all – how is it going? Are you finding everything you need here? Be sure to let me know if you have any questions or requests for features or ideas. We’re starting the week off, as we always do, with an inspiration board and this one comes straight from the enchanted forest – a theme that is very of-the-moment. We’re lucky in South Africa that we have lots of gorgeous foresty venues, and in today’s board I’ve taken a pretty straightforward (emphasis on the pretty) to the theme, with a palette of emerald and just a hint of soft blush and gold. I love the idea of woodland animals being part of the look, especially spraypainted gold (such a nifty little DIY), and handpainted in the invitation (handpainted designs being another big trend for 2014). It’s very rustic and romantic, but it also somehow has an air of formality and ‘specialness’, doesn’t it? Just perfect for a couple who loves nature.

Colours: Emerald, blush, gold

Top row (l-r): Bride & groom {Rebecca Hansen}; invitation {Lori Wemple}; table decor {Meg Van Kampen Studios/White Dress Events}
Row 2: Bouquet {Joe+Kathrina}; bride with floral garland {Brittany Mahood/Lace and Lavender}; forest table {Meghan Kay Sadler/Carly Rae Weddings}; dress in forest {Ampersand Photography}
Row 3: Bridesmaids {Alfred Lor}; cake with deer cake toppers {Mi Amore Foto}; ring in glass box {W & E Photographie/Kelly Dellinger Events}.

 

Key Colours for Bridesmaid Dresses

Source: onelove photography via Inspired By This

Afternoon, friends! Since January, we’ve been looking at all the key trends for bridesmaid dresses in 2013 – who knew there could be so many? We’ve looked at prints (floral, stripes), styles (Gatsby, skirts) and textures (lace, sequins). Now we’re turning to colours themselves – after all, this is the classic look that many brides will always choose. Next week we’ll look at neutrals (in themselves a trend) but today we’re turning attention to five key colours that have been making a big impression in wedding parties across the world: emerald (Pantone’s colour of the year), mint, coral, peach and navy. For each, I’ve highlighted a few shop finds – somee a steal and others a bit more of a splurge. I love them all!Read More

Inspiration Board: Bon Voyage

Well, I promised you folks a week of inspiration, and that’s exactly what we’re delivering! After this morning’s colourful wedding, this afternoon we’re concentrating on just the one colour – the only colour this year dahling, Pantone’s 2013 colour of the year, emerald green. Reader Heather wrote to ask for an emerald board for her spring wedding in New Orleans. As it’s a destination, Heather and her fiance plan to incorporate maps and a travel motif, but they want to keep things simple and elegant. So I’ve kept travel details to a minimum, with a map guest book and other subtle touches – a little globe, postcard-style escort card tags, antique map boutonnieres for the guys and super sweet vintagey favour bags. Combined with lace and the deep emerald shade, it creates the sort of vintage feel Heather wanted, and has a nod to travel without feeling themey. Flowers are kept simple white with prominent foliage, as are the boutonnieres, and the bridesmaids wear emerald dresses with emerald shoes for the bride. For the tables, a lace runner is perfectly pretty, with a variety of small arrangements in different vases. It works, doesn’t it? Yay for emerald. Hope you like your board, Heather!

PS Photographers, if you really want to be inspired, come back in an hour when I’ll be giving you a sneak peek of what’s to come on our EdWed shoot! It’s GOOD. :)

Colours: Emerald and ivory

Top row (l-r): Mini globe on books {Blush Bridal Consultation Group/Lauren Brooks Photography}; thistle boutonnieres {Jose Villa/JL Designs}; green shoes {Dally Street Images}; map guest book {Snap Weddings}; bouquet {Anne Robert Photography/Petals & Hedges}
Row 2: Postcard escort tags {Tracie Howe Photography/Blush Celebrations}; bridesmaid dresses; cufflinks {Not on the High Street}; groomsmen {Shannen Natasha Photography}
Row 3: Bride in lace wedding dress {Tracie Howe Photography/Blush Celebrations}; favour bags with vintage aeroplane {Sarah Layne Photography/Your Perfect Bridesmaid}; table setting {Sarah Layne Photography/Your Perfect Bridesmaid}; couple with map {Celeste Duran}.

 

Coloured Wedding Dresses

Image: Michèle M. Waite via Elizabeth Anne Designs

A few weeks back, I gave my predictions for wedding trends in 2013, and today I’m exploring one of my favourite. Coloured wedding dresses have become a huge style crush for me, and it seems like just about every designer feels the same way. And why not? White dresses weren’t even a part of wedding tradition until Queen Victoria married in one in 1840, and they weren’t the norm until after the Second World War. Many brides simply wore their best dress, whatever the colour. So you shouldn’t feel obliged to wear a white gown, any more than you’re obliged to wear a veil. And as wedding dresses themselves move toward evening gown shapes and embellishments (and sometimes even actual evening gowns worn as wedding dresses), the field is wide open for you to wear something that really makes your heart sing. I think what I like most is that, unlike the coloured wedding dresses of the ’90s (which were mostly red and black and wrong all over), most of these combine soft whispers of colour with elegant flowing fabrics, resulting in all the romance of a white ballgown, but with a bit of extra zip. But it’s all very well to read this, and to see the dresses on the catwalk. What do coloured dresses really look like on real brides? Here’s a rainbow of loveliness to show you!Read More