Tag: stationery

Q&A with Seven Swans

by gaby

Guys, I’m so happy to introduce today’s third post, and a supplier who I not only like tremendously (and whose work I trust so much that I asked her to create our very own SBB logo), but one who I also admire. I get a LOT of people starting out in this industry asking me how they go about getting their name out there, and I always tell them about Anelle of Seven Swans, one of SBB’s very first collaborators. When I first heard from Anelle, she and her fiance were just moving down to the Cape and she was starting her fledgling stationery brand. She liked what I was doing, and she made contact. Directly, personally (none of these ‘dear blogger’ emails I get every day), with enthusiasm for my work and an eagerness to help wherever she could. It made me want to help her. Then she told me she was planning her wedding, and we dreamed up Real Life Bride. And I wasn’t the only new blog Anelle approached, as she also went to my lovely friends at the Pretty Blog and became one of their first DIY contributors. She is always friendly, professional and full of ideas and enthusiasm, and that came across in everything she did – talk about personal branding! The result? Seven Swans became one of the most in-demand wedding suppliers in SA, Anelle took on an employee and now shares studio space with the equally awesome welovepictures. She’s an industry success story, and I’m SO PROUD of her! And in all of that, I don’t think Anelle has done much direct advertising – everything came from social media and word of mouth. So basically I can’t think of anyone more inspiring to interview today, especially as we celebrate Sparkle & Blush, another winning SBB + Seven Swans collaboration. Welcome Anelle! :)

Hi Anelle! Thanks so much for chatting to SBB today! How did you get started in the wedding business?
While studying Information Design at the University of Pretoria, I always knew I wasn’t going to end up in corporate design or advertising, but with a nudge from my pragmatic father, my first job was in a wonderful through-the-line agency where we did everything from logo design to strategy and advertising campaigns. I learned heaps and heaps from my amazing employers but the creative world of weddings and events inspired my thoughts. When my husband-to-be got a job in the winelands, we moved down to my home town, I got myself an iMac and took the plunge. At that stage there was a tiny gap in the market for fresh, modern (young at heart) stationery. Lucky for me a few important role players loved what I loved in terms of design and gave me all the exposure I needed to actually make this home-office job a fully fledged business.Read More

Guest Post: Indieberries Save the Dates

by gaby

Oh we do love a DIY bride. And we especially love her when she’s our friend Che and she just happens to run a supercool South African blog called Indieberries, with cartoons and stuff. See, Che reminds me of my friend Marcelle. In Std 2, she pitched up at our school, and everything she touched turned to perfection. Her handwriting was awesome. She could draw. Her projects looked like professional scrapbooks. When she covered her compass tin with pictures it looked SO COOL (seriously, in the late ’80s that was a thing). She was like Regina George with the cutout t-shirt, but whenever I tried that stuff, it just looked ridiculous. So when Che got engaged, I knew that her guests would be treated to lots of creative, handmade, scrapbooky details that only she could put together, and I bought her wine and made her promise to send them to me. So here they are! Che’s Save the Dates are beyond cute – they’re based around the idea of ‘pencilling the date in’. I especially love that she wanted their guests to have something physical to open and use, like a present. Can you imagine getting one of these? You’d automatically be amping for the wedding, right? Anyway, you can read the thought behind these invites on Che’s awesome blog, or read on below for all the best Indieberries DIY tips. Oh, and pssst, if you’d like to read her and Warren’s story, see their adorable engagement shoot here.

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A Bride Abroad #4: The Stationery

by gaby

They say the Devil’s in the details. I love love love the details. If one looks carefully, it is precisely the little things that make a wedding unique. We all have a version of the usual formula: a dress, a ceremony, a reception and then dancing till the lights go out. A wedding wouldn’t really be a wedding without these things. But it’s the little bits of prettiness captured in the DIYs and personal touches that make people go WOW!

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DIY ‘Wolfpack’ Wedding Programs

by gaby

A few weeks ago, I introduced you to reader Claudine, who showed us how to put together a whisky bar, as she did for her wedding. Today Claudine is back with a second post sharing one of her DIY projects – what she charmingly calls a ‘wolfpack’ program. Anyone who’s ever been stuck in a church waiting waiting waiting for the bride to arrive will know that it’s about ten minutes of smiling excitedly, looking around and waving at old friends, five minutes of shuffling and glancing at the door, and then sheer boredom until the big arrival. Which, depending on how punctual you are, could be anything from five minutes to an hour (and yes, I have been there, and in a freezing church nogal). I’m  not encouraging bride’s prerogative-style lateness, but if you want to make sure your guests are entertained, this program is a great way to handle that, plus it doubles as a fan in case of hot weather. It includes the wolfpack – introductions to the wedding party – and a fun wordsearch. And it’s been a huge hit among other brides already. So here we go! Thanks Claudine! (PS All images are by Laura Versveld, and you can also see the whole of Richard and Claudine’s wedding on Lovilee.)Read More

Wedding Flowers: Hydrangeas

by gaby

Image: J. Crew

It’s been a while since I did a focus on just one flower type, but I think that a shout out for hydrangeas is long overdue. Along with the trends for lush but affordable flowers as well as watercolour/ombre, hydrangeas have become way more popular in the last couple of years, and I couldn’t be happier about it. There’s something about them that just epitomises summer for me. They also come in a beautiful range of colours (even within the same bloom – hence the watercolour effect). There’s just one caveat: these are seasonal flowers, and they’re usually at their peak for 2-3 weeks, changing colour as they go. So if you’re buying them yourself (or even sometimes if you’re using a florist), you may need to be a little bit flexible on the exact shade you’re using. That said, they’re worth it for their price point and ability to fill up a bouquet with a small number of blooms. Use them on their own, or together with other flowers – both ways are truly lovely. Here are some of my absolute favourite hydrangea bouquets and arrangements.Read More

Q&A with Essie Letterpress

by gaby

Happy Friday, my lovelies! And time for me to introduce you to another fabulous South African service provider. Essie Letterpress is one of SBB’s sponsors, which I’m thrilled about because I love their work so much – not just the beautiful letterpress printing they offer, but the designs they produce as well. It makes me want to reach into my screen and stroke the invitations (is that a publishing thing? an obsession with paper?) just so I can feel those delicious indentations and smell the ink. My love affair with letterpress aside, Vanessa and Ben of Essie Letterpress are just the nicest people to work with, so I asked them to share some behind-the-scenes info and advice with my readers.

Hi Vanessa – thanks so much for taking the time to answer a few questions about your business! How did you get into letterpress?
I was living in San Francisco twelve years ago, whilst studying interior design, when I first came across letterpress, as one of my housemates was doing a part-time course. I immediately fell in love with it! I went on to work as an Interior Designer, but when I moved to a farm from Cape Town two and half years ago and wanted to do something creative, I instantly thought about starting a letterpress printing company. There was also a gap in the South African market for letterpress, so it seemed like the perfect venture.

As well as straightforward letterpress printing, what other services or products do you offer?
We offer a design service, and on the printing side we have just started doing hot foiling as well.

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Confessions of a DIY Bride #2: The Invitations

by gaby

The invitations….that first tentative step into the deep-end of wedding planning, often happens before you know exactly what your (fully fabulous) Big Day vision looks like. Which, of course, makes picking the ‘right’ invitation even trickier!

SAVE THE DATES SAVED THE DAY!
We had the added stress of getting our invites out ASAP, as many of our guests needed to book flights, and organise annual leave. This is where the American tradition of a ‘Save the Date’ came in handy. With our date and venue set, and and inspired by the fact that most of our guests would be travelling from London to SA, we decided to base our Save the Dates on that London Underground staple – the Oyster card.

We tweaked the design (with apologies to TFL) and printed them straight onto magnetic paper (no really, it is a real thing – look here) at home on our shke-donky old inkjet printer, and mailed them out with the Christmas cards. This not only gave our cross-continental guests no excuse not to come, but also gave us breathing space to send out the invites closer to the day, once we had some idea of styles and themes.Read More

Love Story Wedding Invitations

by gaby

**UPDATE** Find our roundup of 20 Adorable Love Story Wedding Invitations from Etsy here

Here’s a little trend I am weak at the knees for. Maybe it’s because I’m a sucker for romance, and maybe it’s just because I like to have something to read on my fridge, but I love the idea of sharing your love story with your guests as part of your invitation. It’s a great reminder of how it all began and what you’re getting together to celebrate, but more than that, from a design perspective, it’s the perfect marriage between sentiment and beautiful typography. Form and function. Goosebumps. As far as I know, it all started with this one – a totally original invitation dreamed up by New York designer Matt Dorfman for his own wedding.

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Guest Blogger: IndieBerries

by gaby

You guys, I am so excited about this guest post! One of my personal daily must-reads is indieBerries – a completely fresh and original (and award-winning!) blog just bursting with fun and creativity, written by the awesome Che.  She documents her life in a series of hilarious cartoons, and she also just happens to be a craft goddess with a penchant for pretty stationery. I’m so  honoured that she’s agreed to guest post for me today. Thank you so much Che! (I’ll give Durbs a big hello from you today!)

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Hi, I’m Che from the blog indieBerries. I’m South African currently teaching English in South Korea and I write a personal/inspirational/design/cartoon-infused blog.

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