Real Wedding at Hawksmoor House {Alet & Jacques}

Oh my word, you guys, I am knackered. I’m sitting here on my couch yawning away, even after a good night’s sleep after our Editorial Wedding workshop. That’s what you get for pulling together a workshop in a month, right? But it was so fantastic – such a pleasure to spend the day talking weddings and blogs and magazines with a group of lovely people and talented photographers, not to mention the most gaaawjus styled shoot set up by Louise of b.loved. It’s pretty terrifying to try something brand new, but it couldn’t have gone better. Anyway, so I am getting back into the swing of the blog schedule with the most beautiful wedding, captured to perfection by Vivid Blue Photography. Wow, this bride must be one of the most stunning I have ever featured, and Hawksmoor is such an amazingly striking venue – with her dashing groom and classy, colourful decor it all looks like something out of Vogue or Vanity Fair. Not to mention Alet’s protea bouquet, which I am totally dying over! I’m pretty sure my brain’s still not working well enough to give you a better description, so I’ll let the pictures speak louder than words!Read More

Real Wedding at the Lord Charles Hotel {Carla & Luis}

Hello lovelies, how is your week going? Mine has been INSANE, but good at the same time. And today’s my last full day in SA – this hour tomorrow I’ll be on my return flight. Weird. It seems like only yesterday that I was on my way here. I hate the way time flies, but my mom claims that it just speeds up the older you get. Boo. Anyway, living in one place and having your heart in another is something today’s couple knows only too well, since after they got together, Carla decided to fulfil her dream of teaching in Dubai. She told me how supportive Luis was, and how they travelled back and forth to see one another. I just love hearing stories like this – couples who, even though it can be a challenge – help one another to achieve their dreams. It reminds me of a line I really like in Fairytale of New York (an unlikely inspiration, I know) where she accuses him of taking her dreams from her. “I kept them with me, babe” he replies, “I put them with my own”… And to me, that’s what it’s all about. Putting your partner’s dreams on the same mental list that you have, and giving them equal weight, so that they become a journey you take together. For Carla and Luis, that journey culminated in a beautiful wedding at the Lord Charles Hotel. And here it is! I’m thrilled to welcome photographer Gavin Casey to the blog with these pics – his images are always so arresting and beautiful! And keep an eye out at the end for some very wise words from Carla, some of the best a bride has dished out, in my opinion!Read More

Real Wedding at Vrede en Lust {Sohini & Kieran}

There’s a quote I’ve always liked, from one of South Africa’s fathers, Desmond Tutu. “We are made” he says, “for complimentarity. I have gifts you do not; and you have gifts that I do not. So we need each other to become fully human.” I think that’s something that could be true of all good relationships, but it’s never more obvious than when you see a wedding that blends two very different cultures, whether that’s a bride and groom from two different countries, faiths, whatever. It reminds us of the beauty that is all marriages – two complete individuals forging their lives together to create something new. And so it is with today’s bride and groom. South African Sohini not only chose to marry her Scottish groom in a colourful, joyful and superchic Indian-Caledonian fusion wedding at Vrede en Lust, but this girl can rock a sari! I adore her citrus colour choices, and the way that bright flowers were incorporated with birdcages throughout the decor. It’s just so gosh darn purdy. As always, I’m delighted to feature photographer Annemari Ruthven, who totally captured the joy on everyone’s faces, and all the movement and magic of this family-filled celebration.Read More

Real Wedding at Klein Genot {Nicole & Konrad}

Today’s bride is kind of a friend of a friend. I ran into her a couple of months ago the morning after her hen do, looking WAY too radiant and serene and non-hungover for someone who’d been drinking vodka at the Ice Bar the night before, and she told me she was getting married in a couple of weeks. Once I heard about the details, I was super excited to see how it all turned out, and even more excited when I found out that her photographer was Brenda Wardall from Hearts in a Shutter, whose fantastic photographs I had featured before. But when I finally did see the pics from Nicole and Kon’s big day, it was just above and beyond any expectations. Soft colours, beautiful Winter light, lemon groves… and the biggest, happiest smiles from the bride and groom. Settle in and enjoy!

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Real Wedding at La Petite Dauphine {Lojanka & Jaco}

Wowsers. Just when you think you’ve seen every new idea in the vintage stable, a wedding comes along that combines familiar elements in a whole new way, and makes you fall in love with this look all over again. This wedding is 100% style and gorgeousness. Bride Lojanka is an interior designer (and clearly a girl with an incredible eye for detail) and she and husband Jaco, together with their superstar co-ordinators Wedding Concepts, really hit this one for a six. I have a long, long list of things that made me go “ooh!”, but right at the top is the ceremony arch covered with vintage vessels and suitcases (love!), the antique sewing machines holding menus in place, the bride and bridesmaids’ outfits, and OMG the fairy lights strung over the tables! Quite simply, I love this wedding. Thank you so much to Lojanka, Jaco and the Wedding Concepts team for sharing it here, and to Ian Mitchinson, who took the simply stunning photos.

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