Beauty in Colour Tropical Wedding Inspiration

OK SERIOUSLY, HOW IS IT OCTOBER? I’m sulking a bit, I have to admit (especially as I have a birthday looming at the end of the year) but fortunately, if I wanted cheering up there is literally no better way than with this month’s theme. Because in October we are ALL about the colour. Summer Brights, to be specific. It’s like jumping out of the cool muted hues of the fine art features of the last month straight into a neon rainbow, and I love it. I also can’t think of a better way to kick it off than with today’s feature, which comes from the wonderful Hello Love Photography and Dominique’s talented team of vendors (have to make special mention of Oopsie Daisy Flowers for these flowers!). This is actually a two-parter (look out for more inspiration tomorrow) but today we have a riot of tropical colours, bold makeup, bright blooms, and general incredibleness. In fact, if you were ever on the fence about whether too much colour could be a good thing, this will change your mind! So let’s embrace this new season and dive in, shall we? Yay!

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Botanical NYE Wedding at Maroupi by Sasha Campbell

Y’all probably already know how much I’m in love with greenery and botanical style weddings in general. But being a Durban girl now, that love is even stronger when you combine more subtle greenery (your ferns and eucalyptus for example) with bold tropical foliage. I mean, seriously. So when I caught a glimpse of Lucy and Mike’s New Year’s Eve wedding decked out in all kinds of botanical beauty from the amazing floral chandeliers to mini topiaries to lush palm leaves, I was in LOVE. Mind you, that wasn’t even the first thing I fell in love with when I saw Sasha Campbell‘s lovely pics – that honour goes to the incredible Hanrie Lues gown worn by the bride with its whimsical illusion lace back and flowing skirt. This celebration perfectly marries (ha!) subtle sophistication with botanical boldness, and it was held on New Year’s Eve, so it had that extra dash of magic. Settle in and check it all out!

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7 Reasons to Have a Destination Beach Wedding (and Exciting News!)

Friends, hello! I know I have been a bit scarce on SBB in March, but it has been a crazy, crazy (seriously, crazy) month and I’m also in the middle of travelling at the moment. I promise that as soon as I’m back in SA we’ll be returning to normal. But in the meantime, I get to share some of the tropical love (appropriate, since I’m heading to Cuba today!), as well as some exciting news! Aisle Society is thrilled to announce we have partnered with Abaco Beach Resort to offer you Aisle Society Weddings. These carefully curated weddings were specially designed for Abaco (a fabulous little gem in the Bahamas) by some of the world’s top wedding editors, and offer an authentically Bahamian vibe and some of the most gorgeous tropical design details. I’m going to be sharing a peek at what Aisle Society Weddings have to offer, alongside my top 7 reasons why a destination beach wedding is basically the best thing ever.

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North Coast Tropical Chic Wedding at Burndale by Oh Happy Day

Durban North Coast Tropical Chic Wedding | Credit: Oh Happy Day & Dane Peterson

Sometimes I see a wedding and I immediately not only fall in love with everything about it, but with the couple as well. This is one of those. Maybe because I love Durban so, along with everything tropical, maybe because Dominique and Josh managed to not only pull off a totally unique, totally stylish, totally them (AND proudly South African) theme, and maybe because they chose to work with one of my favourite wedding pros ever, Joelene of Oh Happy Day. Whatever it is, I have a great big crush on this wedding and the couple who dreamed it up, and I have been absolutely dying to show it to you ever since I first spotted  it on Jo’s Instagram feed. Basically, if you turned all the best things about the North Coast into a wedding, this would be it. Tropical print bridesmaid separates… strelizia bouquets… plenty of light and white and rustic texture. And the tropical greenery wall is everything. So get your pinning fingers at the ready coastal brides, because this is a special one!

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Inspiration Board: Rum Punch

Hello lovely ones, time for some colour inspiration. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been loving this ‘tropical’ month on SBB – it’s always such fun to be able to play with bright colours and lush textures and there are so many ways to play this kind of a theme. There’s the more subtle colour schemes, absolutely, but I couldn’t let the month end without creating something with more of a punch of colour, and there’s no better inspiration than one of my favourite tropical cocktails, a rum punch. I love the mix of colours in this board, ranging from a deep coral to peach to soft citrusy orange, with a bit of gold for good measure. It reminds me of ripe mangos, and beach sunsets, and everything that is good and summery.

Colours: Coral, peach, pale apricot, gold

Top row (l-r): Rum punch (Asia de Cuba) | bouquet (Kristina Curtis Photography/Calie Rose) | tropical table (KT Merry/David Fittin)
Row 2: Hibiscus invitation (Mospens Studio) | watercolour cocktails sign (Lindsay Madden Photography/Momentus Special Events & More/Julie Song Ink) | centrepiece (Kristina Curtis Photography/Calie Rose)
Row 3: Watercolour table number (KATELYN JAMES PHOTOGRAPHY/THE WEEKEND TYPE) | bride in coral dress (Isa Photography) | Mango Rouched Lace Maxi Dress | ring with blooms (Cyn Kain Photography/Amber Housley/Holly Heider Chapple Flowers, LTD.)

Gauguin Inspired Tropical Wedding Inspiration

I’m doing a little happy dance right now, which is actually making it difficult to type, but I can’t help it because oh my WORD but this shoot is AMAZING. I’m so jazzed I get to share it with you guys, because I have been in proper love with it, ever since I spotted it in the December issue of our fave SA wedding magazine, Wedding Inspirations. So when we picked February as Tropical Month, I just had to ask if they’d mind us sharing it here as well. Inspired by Paul Gauguin’s Tahiti paintings, it’s more than just a tropical wedding inspired shoot (although it’s all of that, with a gorgeous tropical table, two insanely lovely tropical cakes, hanging florals, amazing hair and makeup and some oh-so-gorgeous stationery). It’s an editorial in the true sense of the word, like stepping into another world – you can almost imagine Gauguin will emerge grumpily from his cabin and get painting. So you’ll forgive me if I went a bit nuts on the pics, but I seriously couldn’t narrow this down any further. The amazing colours, the attention to detail, and the incredible photography – that’s what wedding bloggers’ dreams are made of. Huge congrats to a brilliant team for pulling this off, led by Ninirichi Style Studio, Tickled Pink Weddings and Events & Gingerale Photography, with some of the gorgeous dresses from our friends at Gelique.

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Tropical Brights Wedding Inspiration

Afternoon, lovelies! We’re continuing our month of tropical inspiration today with a gorgeous shoot by US-based team (led by photographer Krista A. Jones and stylist Bustle Events), incorporating bright colours and cool cocktails – basically everything a tropical celebration should be. I just loved the incorporation of bougainvillea (as you might have noticed, it’s a favourite of mine!), the sunny popsicles, and the neon colours contrasting with black and white graphic stationery. A breakout area strewn with pretty pillows is the perfect place for guests to chill, and let’s not forget the gorgeous bride with her natural hair and wild sprays of tropical blooms. Whether you’re getting married on Hawaiian shores or planning something local, there’s plenty here to inspire the modern bride.

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Inspiration Board: Tropical Bougainvillea

We have some more tropical prettiness coming your way this afternoon in the form of today’s inspiration board, highlighting one of my favourite tropical flowers, the bougainvillea. Although it’s not a traditional wedding bloom, I’ve been seeing it pop up more and more in weddings over the years, maybe wrapped around a ceremony arch or tucked into a bouquet, pink tendrils hanging down smelling of summer. For today’s board, bougainvillea is the central focus, its bright pink complemented by a serene shade of grey-blue. And doesn’t it look pretty?

Colours: Fuschia, pink, blue-grey

Top row (l-r): Bougainvillea bouquet (Jeremy Chou/Yellow Bird Events/Peony & Plum) | tropical ceremony area (Jana Morgan) | beaded wedding gown (Anna Campbell/35mm Wedding Photography)
Row 2: Hanging bougainvillea (Merari & Ena/Julia Rohde Designs) | wooden sign board (Brandon Kidd Photography/Heather Hoesch With LVL Weddings And Events/KAKalligraphy) | bougainvillea cake (Anna Delores Photography/Love, Inc. Weddings/MJB Cakes)
Row 3: Bougainvillea wedding invitation (Paper & Type) | ice lollies | ankle posey (Hazel Buckley Photography/Pop of Color Events/Flower Talk)

Tropical Wedding Cakes

Hello lovelies! Continuing with our tropical theme for the month (and celebrating the fact that I’m actually IN the tropics right now… yes, I’m boasting, sorrynotsorry) we’re looking at tropical themed cakes for your beach or tropsy wedding. These are seriously awesome – and even if you’re not going all out on the theme, they’re a great way to bring a bit of summer to your wedding, especially if you opt for flavours like coconut, fruit, etc. Some are colourful, some are more on the elegant and sophisticated side, but they’re all lovely.

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Inspiration Board: Bahama Black Tie

Well guys, as you read this, I’ll be arriving in the Bahamas for a SUPER exciting press trip and corporate retreat hosted by Aisle Society and Sandals Royal Bahamian. I’ve always yearned to visit the Caribbean and I can’t quite believe I get to do it this week, and with some of my favourite bloggers and fellow girlbosses too. Dream. Come. True. Needless to say, you’ll be hearing all about it, but do follow along on Insta for some fun behind the scenes. The timing is also pretty perfect blogwise, because today we’re kicking off our latest month of themed content – SBB is going tropical! I have such lovely content lined up for you beach and tropical brides, but I had to start it all off with a beautiful inspiration board. I just love the look of tropical botanics, gold and Kate Spade-style dots and monochrome prints – a sophisticated twist on this fun theme. And of course, the cheeky pineapple is the perfect motif to complement that.

Colours: Green, gold, black and white

Top row (l-r): Bride & groom (Kellie Kano/Paulette Davis Of Amour Affairs) | gold pineapple | groom (Anna Delores Photography/Joelle Charming ) | swiss dot wedding dress (Justin Hankins Photography/Isha Foss Events)
Row 2: Pineapple invitation (Lolo Lincoln) | pineapple wax seal (KT Merry Photography) | chairs (Frame 36 Photography)
Row 3: Bridesmaids (Kellie Kano/Paulette Davis Of Amour Affairs) | table setting (Christina Brosnan/Pearl & Godiva) | Bahamas house with palms (Kellie Kano/Paulette Davis Of Amour Affairs)