It’s Wednesday Trendsday, lovelies, and to follow up on the post a few weeks ago with fruit and vegetable bouquets (how much did we LOVE them?), today I’m focusing on ten tables, centrepieces and place settings that look like they came straight from a farmer’s market. This little wedding theme is a fun translation of the growing farm to table movement as well as part of the beautiful botanicals trend, and floral designers and savvy brides around the world have come up with the most beautiful ways of presenting unexpected additions to the table, including edible ones. Putting one of these tables together is a little like arranging a still life for a painter – it’s certainly no haphazard dumping of produce on a table, and neither should it look so organised that it reminds guests of a supermarket veggie aisle. Shape, texture and colour are all there to be played with, and I for one love the results!Read More
Well goodness gracious great balls of fire, do we have a bit of retro fun to share with you this afternoon! I love it when a couple is playful with their e-shoot, and even better if they find an awesome location to inspire. For Zerina and Hano, that location was On a Roll, a gourmet hotdog restaurant in Cape Town with a 1950s diner vibe. The couple decided to dress up accordingly, sharing some happy moments while photographer Carmen Visser snapped away, resulting in a set of colourful, fun pics that I’m so happy to share with you today. And, since it’s their wedding this coming weekend, to wish them a wonderful celebration! (Oh, and PS – On a Roll do food vans, which I think would make an AWESOME wedding snack!) Read More
There’s a thought that’s been brewing for a while now, and I’m just going to say it. It’s about bridesmaid dresses. Not, probably, what you’d consider one of the more important expenses for your wedding. Maybe not even something you think deserves a lot of thought. But I’ve got to tell you ladies, as someone who looks at dozens of weddings every day, it’s something that (when done well) stands out every time. Just think about how many bridesmaid pictures you’ve repinned on Pinterest. The bridesmaids – in colour and style – can encapsulate or complement the wedding look or colour scheme, and your favourite girls make for an amazing set of pictures for the album. You don’t have to spend a fortune, especially with the mismatched trends of today, but do take some time to get this look right (and tell the hubs that yes, it IS important you spend another hour on ASOS). Take today’s wedding, for example. You have a beautiful, radiant bride. Pretty as a picture florals, some lovely stationery, a stunning garden venue. It would already be a fabulous wedding. But completing the picture is a bevvy of bridesmaids in the loveliest neutral lace dresses and mix and match hairstyles. They look awesome, and that, in my book, is money and time well spent. So don’t be shy about treating your besties to a gown that they’ll feel amazing in (and that will complement your own look) – just make sure that, like Celeste Prince of Aglow Photography, today’s brilliant photographer, yours gets plenty of pictures of all of you having fun together!Read More
Afternoon, friends – time for another colour story to follow up on one of your favourite inspiration boards. This colour combo was a real winner when I put it together back in February. There’s something soft and pretty but also quite zingy about the way mint and peach work together. In fact, I liked the combination so much myself that I used it for our EdWed logo. Here’s the original board:
What’s more, mint and peach are the absolute perfect colour combo for a spring wedding, making them extra lovely at this time of year in South Africa. Add loads of white details – layers of tulle, crisp linens, bundles of soft white blooms, for even more beautiful country style, or keep things sleek and modern for a city celebration. There are so many possibilities.
Good morning my lovelies! Hope you had a brilliant weekend! Today’s board is all about a calm, serene, cool blue and a fizzy pop of vibrant red. I must say, I love this idea. Baby blue and bright red have been a popular combination for a while, but they’re usually associated with 50s diner style weddings, or Cath Kidston chintzes. I like the idea of it for a rustic farm or vineyard wedding, with beautiful blue tables and bushels of white flowers, and then every now and again, a powerful punch of red. After all, there’s something about red, isn’t there? A hint of red heels peeping out from under a lace dress, a bright red getaway car, or a scarlet bouquet in a bridesmaid’s arms. It’s sassy, and sassy is good. What do you think?
No ways you guys. It was bad enough that it was September, like, YESTERDAY, but now it’s already halfway through? Oh, I give up. I may as well start on the Christmas carols. Anyway, before I start going on about time rushing by, it’s worth taking a moment to look back at the week that was and all the beautiful inspiration that was to be found there! Here’s my roundup…
I’m just going to take a minute this Sunday morning to share something I’m super SUPER excited about. I try not to be all boasty about stuff (after all, I grew up in Port Elizabeth) but sometimes I think you have to celebrate good things and milestones. And for me, this is an SBB milestone. We’re in Fairlady Bride, you guys.
Now, if I tell you that I’ve been reading Fairlady Bride since FOREVER, you might think I’m just saying that. I’m not. And I can prove it.
Look at that. I still have issues from before it even WAS Fairlady Bride, when it was still just an annual issue of the main magazine that focused on weddings. When halternecks and giant bows were IN, and Claudia Schiffer and Anne Vine-Morris were the cover girls. Okes, that hairstyle on the left is the very same one I wore to my matric dance – as in, took this issue to the hairdresser and asked him to copy it. (Yep, I’m old. But in 1995 that hairstyle was awesome.) Before wedding magazines were even a thing, let alone blogs. And let me tell you, the wedding issue was a highlight of my year. I was never a girl who fantasized about my own wedding day (thank goodness, or I’d be a little disappointed right now) but I’ve always been fascinated by all the planning and details and loveliness that surround weddings. It took the internet to figure out that I was by far not the only one. And I never would have imagined then that I’d be doing what I do now, that the industry would explode as it has done, and that I would get to spend every day inspired by all of those details and loveliness.
It makes me happy to look back at that little girl, so in love with magazines, and know that today I’m part of this next generation of women’s lifestyle journalism. I’ve worked hard to make SouthBound Bride a place of quality content – the sort of blog that, if I was a bride, I would love to read. I’m always worrying about how to make it more, make it better. So when the lovely Liesl, editor of FLB (and whose gorgeous own wedding you can actually see in this issue), approached me to do this year’s Blogger’s Wishlist, I couldn’t even pretend to be cool and nonchalant. I was thrilled. I am thrilled. And I had so much fun putting together my list of the trends that are inspiring me right now, that I hope will inspire you too.
Happy Friday, lovelies! This post comes out of an email I received from a mother of the bride asking for a bit of etiquette advice in planning her daughter’s shower. Having come across some sticky situations with regard to the financial side of bridal showers and hen parties over the years, I thought it would be a good one to discuss. Because, let’s be honest, none of us like to talk about money, but it can cause all kinds of unpleasantness.
In talking etiquette, I find it really helpful to go back to the principles on which the rules are based. The key ones here are:
Hosting: The rule is that if you host an event, you pay for it.
Gifts: Generally, guests attending an event where they are expected to give a gift should not have to pay for themselves as well.
Consideration: In situations where guests are expected to pay, the organiser should always take their budget into account. Aim towards the lower end of the scale, not the highest. Let people know costs upfront, and allow them the opportunity to withdraw. When the costs are shared, you need to be democratic.
Hen Parties/Bachelorette Nights:
In general these days, costs for hen parties are broken up per head. Guests contribute the cost of their activities, their dinners, their drinks and, if it’s a weekend, accommodation and travel costs. It isn’t a hosted activity (although it may be organised by the bridal party) so this is generally acceptable. Gifts shouldn’t be expected. If there are decorations and goodie bags, the bridal party will usually cover these.Read More
What’s the expression: we plan and God laughs? Well, it’s been that kind of a day. The wedding I had for you had to be put on ice at the last minute, for one. But that is no worries, because it just means that I get to share this piece of loveliness with you all a bit sooner. I don’t know how many of you are Downton Abbey fans (and I can’t believe how behind SA is…) but I definitely am, and I’m totally amped for Series 3. And as much as I’m a Gatsby girl, I also love the alternative wedding style from the same era that Downton offers. While Gatsby is all about loud, wild, flapper style (even if you don’t go all out Baz Luhrmann), Downton is much more refined, more elegant, but just as opulent in its own way. So I was absolutely thrilled when South Africa’s own Nuptial Network got in touch with their latest styled shoot project, which was inspired by Lady Mary et al. And it is gorgeous – you vintage loving brides are going to ADORE it. But what I especially love is how many little touches could be incorporated into any kind of wedding – the subtle sweetness of an ombre cake, the pretty chair ties, the ceremony area (LOVE), the pretty styling of the bride and bridesmaids. The table draped in lace. With lace and silver and lasercut, and pretty pretty flowers, all you need is Carson to lead you in to dinner. Ready, my lords and ladies?
Time for some more inspiration! And I must admit, I am excited to see the reaction to this one. In the last while I’ve been noticing a drift toward the pairing of pale green and blue, and even though Dazzling Blue is the lead colour for this collection, the combination of Placid Blue and Hemlock is my tip for the perfect contemporary wedding look and one I think we’ll be seeing quite a bit of in 2014. It’s such a cool, fresh combination – so chilled and so elegant, and I love how it combines with elegant country details effortlessly, including lots of organic greens and blues. Like diving into a cool pool of water at the bottom of a shady garden. Don’t you love it?
