Author: gaby

Jannie Baltzer 2014

by gaby

Woohoo, Friday! Have y’all had a good week? I am in Kruger as we speak, having a girl’s weekend with my mom, one of her besties, and one of mine (who also happen to be mother and daughter). So guaranteed I am having an awesome time, but after you see this set of stunning pics and bridal accessories, so will you be even before the weekend starts. Hands up any South African brides who have heard of Jannie Baltzer ? I am hoping that’s a lot of you, but if not, allow me to introduce you to her. This range of INSANEly beautiful headpieces and accessories has been setting Wedding World alight for the last few years, every delicate, memorable, gorgeous-making piece. So I thought it was high time that I brought a bit of this loveliness right here to SBB. Enjoy, and have a lovely weekend – I’ll see you back on an extended schedule next week. Assuming the Wifi is working and I don’t have to be on my mobile internet because THAT IS ANOTHER STORY. I don’t want to talk about it. The internet in South Africa makes me MAD. Anyway, yay! Pretty hairpieces! Happy face! ;) Have a brilliant weekend friends – I’ll be back with my roundup on Sunday!Read More

Goa Waterfall Couple Shoot

by gaby

I am soooooooop-ah excited about this couple shoot, because you guys, it is not only breathtaking, but it has such an awesome story attached. I’m a huge fan of photographer Claire Morgan (a South African now based in Europe, although she travels, and I would dearly love to feature a South African wedding she shoots, hint hint). I guess an artist is never off duty, because she happened to be wandering around Goa, India (as you do) and came across this gorgeous couple at a picturesque waterfall. Anna and Ilya were on a visit from Russia (where Anna is actually a photographer herself) and after striking up a conversation, Claire offered to do an impromtu couple shoot for them. This is the kind of shoot you can’t style – completely spontaneous and natural and real, but it looks like it could be out of the fashion pages of a top magazine. Claire’s pics have such a sense of place, and Anna and Ilya have such an amazing chemistry – how lovely to hear from Claire that they are since engaged :) This might be one of my all-time favourites – enjoy! And thanks so much for sharing Claire!Read More

Ten Tables: Rustic {Part 2}

by gaby

Welcome back to Part 2 of our rustic tables feature, lovelies! I had such a brilliant response to this new series last week from both readers and other bloggers, so we’ll definitely be continuing with it! Do you have any specific table styles to request? Let me know in the comments! Of course, rustic is a big favourite – it works in quite a few contexts and as you saw last week, can go from real down-home farm styling to elegant and a bit glam, depending on how you combine different elements. This time I’ve lined up the second half of my top ten favourite rustic tablescapes, and again broken them down into their elements to help you with your own wedding design. If you missed Part 1, you can catch it here.

Table #6: Sweet & Low Country

FLOWERS: Mixed white blooms

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Real Wedding at Palmiet Valley Estate {Amie & Christoph}

by gaby

Happy Tuesday SouthBound brides – hope your week has got off to a splendid start! Mine certainly has, being in Joburg for a flying visit and seeing a couple of friends before I head to Kruger on Thursday. Can. Not. Wait. I am such a bush baby. Anyway, to make your week even more splendid, I have another beautiful winelands wedding from the fab Jani B. I absolutely adore the bright citrus palette that Amie and Cristoph used, their understated rustic styling, and my goodness, Amie’s dress! Not to mention a macaron tower decorated with succulents to match the stunning bouquet – how gorgeous is that? Grab yourself a mid-morning cuppa, and settle in for a big fat dose of lovely.Read More

Inspiration Board: Neutrally Beautiful

by gaby

Hello lovelies! How was your weekend? Just to let you know, this week I am off to Joburg and Kruger with reduced email and internet access, so while you’ll still be getting fresh inspiration every day, there will be a reduced number of posts compared to normal. We’ll be back to doubles next week! Of course, there’s still plenty to inspire you, starting off with this board which I am absolutely loving! Mixed neutrals are such a pretty look, especially when you add in the softest puce. A lot of brides would associate this palette with a vintage look, but I personally love the romantic elegance of this board, a sort of Elizabeth Messina softness. Which is your favourite detail?

Colours: Mixed neutrals, puce, black and white

Top row (l-r): Bride and groom {Chelsea Mitchell Photo/Oak and the Owl/Twine Events}; bridesmaids {Birds of a Feather/Amorology}; invitation {Steve Steinhardt Photography/Beth Helmstetter Events}; champagne with blackberries {Jennifer Lindberg}
Row 2: Bouquet; shoes; pashminas {Carrie Rodman Photography/Raina Dawn Events}; bridesmaid dresses; key escort cards on door {Zelo Photography/Couture Events}
Row 3: Statue {Elizabeth Messina}; printed ring pillow {Laura Murray Photography}; table setting {KT Merry/Aisle Candy}; cake.

 

Real Wedding at The White House {Jo & Corey}

by gaby

Morning, lovelies! I thought it was about time we had a beach wedding here on SBB – as much as I love the countryside, I do love me a good ol’ toes-in-the-sand beach ceremony and reception so much. And I LOVE today’s beautiful, personal celebration, which brings together everything we love about the West Coast, including an absolutely stunning beach house venue. I fell in love with The White House (SO my dream house!) when I came across it a few months back (have to stay there at some point!) and I immediately wondered how it could be used for a wedding, bearing in mind that it’s a house of course, and not an actual venue. I had assumed that meant tiny intimate weddings only, but our creative couple today utilised not just one but three separate locations and created a sort of open air market to really capture the Yzerfontein vibe. Such a brilliant idea, don’t you think? Jani B‘s pics capture every lovely moment in glorious detail and colour – I especially love the couple pics up in the master bedroom with that glorious view of the sea. It’s the perfect way to send us off into the weekend dreaming of summer! Oh, and PS, these two have the most amazing story of how they met and Corey’s proposal, so don’t miss it!Read More

DIY Wedding Postmark

by gaby

A few weeks ago, I highlighted some gorgeous travel-themed invitation suites, and today I thought I would follow that up with a little DIY that might help brides and grooms who want to create a similar look but maybe aren’t Photoshop whizzes. I feel you guys, because when I started this blog three years ago, sshhh! but I only knew how to use Paint. Seeryus. Those of you who have been with me for a while will know how tragic that first banner was. Anyway, the point is, sometimes we all need a bit of step-by-step guidance. One element I really liked in a number of the suites that were featured was the inclusion of customised postmarks, with the bride and groom’s names and wedding date and location. Whether you incorporate it into an invitation design, or have it turned into an actual rubber stamp (love that idea!) this Photoshop tutorial will show you how to create one these sweet little jetset wedding details for yourselves.Read More

Victorian Splendour

by gaby

Victorian Style Lace Wedding Dresses | SouthBound Bride

*UPDATED FOR 2018* If you thought that the wedding we shared yesterday was the end of the sigh-worthy lace dresses we’d be enjoying this week, then good news – it was just the start. :) When I ran the SouthBound Bride Reader Survey recently, one of the questions I asked was what readers would like to see more of, and I had a special request for Victorian lace wedding dresses. We’ve already looked at beautiful lace portrait backs, but it got me thinking about the trend that goes hand in hand with that one – high lace necks and lace sleeves, which are a gorgeously elegant modern interpretation of vintage style. In fact, sleeves are still trending in general (total win for autumn and winter brides!), and of course if you love this style but don’t want it for the whole event you can always wear a lace overlay for the ceremony. It’s a modest look, but one that is so deliciously feminine that you can see why brides keep going back to it – this is only the latest of several Victorian revivals in bridal fashion, after all! *Links in bold denote affiliate links. The cost to you remains the same, but SBB may receive a commission for any sales made.

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La Belle Maroc

by gaby

Oh hello, beautiful! I have such a lovely styled shoot to share with you all this morning, inspired by the colours and romance of Morocco. I’m a big fan of Moroccan-style decor (see our full feature on Moroccan wedding style here) – it’s such a great theme for bringing colour and texture to your wedding design but in a sophisticated, cosmopolitan way and Moroccan decor is also relatively easy to get hold of. So of course I was thrilled when the team from TopVendor Wedding Awards got in touch to share this gorgeous boho styled shoot. TWA was created to recognise the talented service providers in the growing South African wedding industry, and today’s shoot features some of our favourites, including awesome photographer Vivid Blue and decor and planning specialists Flamboijant. I’m more than a little obsessed with the bougainvillaea bouquet – how pretty is that? – as well as the other beautiful flowers including pincushion proteas and the pancake wedding cake. And how stunning are the models’ boho styles created by the awesome Corlé Barnard? There’s so much creativity in this industry and in this country – thanks so much for promoting it and for sharing this today, TWA ladies!Read More

Ten Tables: Rustic {Part 1}

by gaby

We’re doing something new this afternoon, and it is all about tablescapes. As much as I love designing the overall look and feel of a wedding via inspiration board, one of the key questions whenever I’ve helped a friend plan her wedding has been “okay, but what exactly do we put on the tables?” You can see fantastic details and ideas in styled shoots and real weddings, but one of the things that I know brides always want to see in the pictures is how it all looks together, how you combine things, what that combination looks like. This new series sets out to help – not just by inspiring you with some of the most beautiful tables I have found, but in breaking these tablescapes down into their elements so you can start getting an idea of what those elements are and how they work together. Take one of these designs as it is and treat the breakdown as a shopping list, mix and match different bits of a few tables, or adapt to make them your own. You’ll be surprised as you go how many inexpensive elements you can include, or DIYs that can be done (I’ve given advice on both wherever possible). We’re kicking things off with the first five of my ten favourite rustic tables for all you brides dreaming of a farm or a barn or a forest wedding.

UPDATE: You can find Part 2 here.

Table #1: Country Colourful

FLOWERS: Chrysanthemums, dahlias, delphiniums, roses

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