Heya SouthBound brideys – how has your weekend been? Everything in Gabyland is AWESOME, because the sun is out and everyone in London has a smile on their face. Seriously, it just takes a few days of sunshine to feel the mood lift here, and we even pulled off our first braai of the year last night (English housemates: chicken and burgers; South African housemate: glorious steak – once a Saffa, always a Saffa! ;) ). Today I’m off to spend time with two of my favourite girls – there MAY be some wine involved. ;)
Author: gaby
Friendship Shoots
Since featuring Joanne Markland‘s Five Brides shoot, it’s become a bit of a sensation! These images have been pinned and tumblr-ed all over the internet, with so many ladies loving the concept of five cousins who dreamed up a shoot to celebrate not just their friendship but the fact that all of them had found true love. When the last of the five got married, all of them dressed up in their wedding dresses and rocked the frocks on a Cape beach – so much fun. I love this cross between a Trash The Dress shoot and a portrait one, and I’m sure we’ll be seeing similar ones soon!
In fact, friendship shoots are a bit of a trend at the moment, with beautiful professional photography being something that’s integrating itself into our everyday lives. Some ladies are dressing up for the camera as part of a hen party, while some choose to do it when they are reunited, or when one member of the group moves away. You could even organise a shoot as a way of thanking your bridesmaids (which doubles up as a very special memory for you) – invite them to breakfast or tea and surprise them with a photographer! They’ll love you even more if you splurge on a professional hair/makeup artist, to make sure they look their best.Read More
Honeymoon Inspiration: 10 Most Romantic Tables for Two
Time for some honeymoon inspiration! I don’t know about you guys, but I love looking at far off places and luxury destinations and imagining myself chilling out there in my next life as Mrs George Clooney. It’s been a while since I travelled, and I am definitely getting itchy feet! Of course, a honeymoon isn’t so much about exploring and adventure as it is about togetherness, and I can’t think of anything more romantic than a private table for two with one of the world’s best views, just taking in the scenery, enjoying delicious food and wine, and revelling in the company of your favourite person on earth. In amongst the wedding planning, it’s good to take a moment to be inspired by those moments of togetherness, not to mention the gorgeousness that the world has to offer, so I’ve rounded up ten of the ultimate romantic dinner spots, just for you! Feel free to print ’em out, circle your favourite and put it on the fridge to inspire your sweetie in his honeymoon planning… PS: Did you know that if you book your trip via Expedia and become an Expedia+ Rewards member, you’ll save 10% or more just by logging in? WIN.
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Real Wedding at Molenvliet {Christelli & Heinrich}
Another day, another BEAUTIFUL wedding! And while I’m always a fan of unique colour combos or fun themes, sometimes it’s good to remind ourselves that a classic white wedding will never go out of fashion. Today’s gorgeous nuptials, photographed to perfection (as always!) by Catherine Mac, are the ideal example. This wedding is elegant, it’s romantic – it’s the blank canvas on which a grand love story is written. Christelli and Heinrich make a stunning couple, and everything from her diamond solitaire engagement ring and ribbon tied bouquet to her sweeping lace gown whispers classic beauty. But there are also fun touches – the tables named after wines (so appropriate at Molenvliet, one of our premier vineyard venues) or the ice cream dessert, for example. So for all you classic brides (and lovers of romance everywhere), this one’s for you.Read More
Coloured Glassware
Image source: We Love Pictures/Wedding Concepts via Style Me Pretty
Hello lovelies! Sorry today’s post is a bit late – I had the most random technical failure in the history of SBB, no kidding. My laptop charger died, which very quickly meant a dead laptop. Gah. Thank goodness for the SBB technical department (aka my incredibly helpful housemate Olly) who had a spare. ANYWAY, it’s Wednesday Trendsday (how is it the first time I’ve called it that?) and we’re taking a little break from our bridesmaid dress series to look at one of my very favourite decor trends. Coloured glass, you guys. It’s such a simple thing, but it seriously makes a table, which is no wonder that every stylist I know uses this whenever they can (in fact, I think I myself have done it somehow on all of my shoots!). I first fell in love with it at this wedding, and since then I have always noticed the subtle but very cohesive look it gives a table, and the way that it brings a colour palette to life in such an elegant way, not to mention the visual interest it adds. Now, I know what you’re thinking – fine for a shoot, too expensive for a 100 people right? Well, actually, no. For one thing, you can hire coloured glasses, sometimes for not much more than those you’d be hiring anyway. (Of course, if you’re having an intimate wedding, I’d go ahead and buy a set of glasses, which will always be a treasured addition to your diningware.) Or try buying a particular colour of glass at charity shops and car boot sales – you wouldn’t believe what treasure’s you’ll unearth, and if you have a vintage or boho vibe, then they don’t need to match. Another way to recreate the look is to use the glasses as vases instead of drinking glasses – that way you need fewer per table, and you could even buy cheap clear glasses at second hand shops and colour them with glass paint or dip them in gold paint (colour at the base of the glass only works just as well). Today’s pics focus on coloured wine glasses, but you can find many, many inspirational pics on Pinterest for coloured glassware in general.Read More
Tim Burton Inspired Engagement Shoot
Afternoon, lovelies! Time for a couple shoot, and this one is from Cape Town photographer Katherine Newman, who has just moved back to SA from London (sometimes I wonder if anyone’s left here!). Bride and groom-to-be, Cherise and Nick, have such a fun, funky style and the setting (a nature reserve in Swellendam that unfortunately had recently experienced fire damage) brings to mind the magical landscape of a Tim Burton film. It really shows off the couple’s style and personalities – and as we all know, that’s the very best kind of e-shoot!Read More
Real Wedding at Little Stream {Lynsay & Graham}
As a blogger, there have been a few times unfortunately where I’ve had to face the question of whether to blog in the face of unhappy events, whether home or abroad. This isn’t a news blog, but it can seem trivial to talk about weddings when there’s a major earthquake, or when my American readers are dealing with a national tragedy like what happened yesterday in Boston. I’m a runner, and my heart goes out to everyone who was injured or was there, and their friends and families. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned as a runner, it’s to carry on, even when things feel bad, when your legs are pounding and a part of your brain is telling you you’d be crazy not to stop. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned as someone who has also experienced loss of my own and through others, it’s that one of the very reasons that we have to hold tight to those shining moments of joy like the celebration of two people falling in love and promising a lifetime to one another, is because life isn’t always cupcakes and toile. So I’m blogging today. And frankly, there couldn’t be a wedding that is more full of life and love and promise and light than this one. Lynsay and Graham opted for a picnic wedding at the picturesque Little Stream in Constantia, and everything from the luminous bride and her boho bridesmaids to the high tea-style tables laden with food, the hanging teacups and acres of bunting, to the ice cream cart bringing smiles of delight to adults and kids alike is a gentle celebration of family and friends, nature and romance. Charlene Schreuder is a genius at capturing this sort of wedding, and she’s done so in her usual gorgeous style.Read More
Colour Story: Spring Pastels
Hello lovelies, how has your Monday been so far? A couple of months ago, to highlight our new Summer Rain invitation line in collaboration with The Invitation Gallery, I put together some colour boards. It was such a popular post, that I thought I would do it again today for another colour combo that had you all pinning and repinning when it appeared in our Spring Pastels inspiration board a few months back: aqua, lavender and pink. Here’s the original board…
Full credits here.
I personally think the combination is perfect for someone who wants something girly but sophisticated – it makes me think of Laduree and rose gardens and pretty crockery, and the three colours balance each other out beautifully. So here we go… be inspired!
Inspiration Board: Copper & Ostrich Egg
Monday means inspiration board time, and today I’ve decided to do one of my own. I wanted to create a look that was truly South African, but at the same time contemporary, elegant and understated. Neutrals were the way to go, and I love the ostrich shell offwhite combined with black and sage, with copper metallics as a trendy little twist. Another current trend that works well here is the fashion for prints, here using the gorgeous Skinny LaMinx range with their gorgeous pincushion proteas (an ideal complement to the white king proteas in the bouquet and table arrangement pictured here). Add neutral bridesmaids dresses, copper foil stamped stationery and some other shiny copper touches, and you have the perfect fusion of classic black and white, down-to-earth South African-ness and fresh 2013 style. So usable – what do you think?
Colours: Black, ecru, sage and copper
Top row (l-r): Bouquet {I Heart Weddings/flower talk}; copper shoes {Anthropologie}; protea under bell jar {Just Jack/Cari Eksteen}; table setting {Skinny laMinx}; marquee setting {Kym Ventola Photography/Some Like It Classic}
Row 2: Neutral bridesmaids {Kym Ventola Photography/Some Like It Classic}; succulent in copper vase {Kym Ventola Photography/Some Like It Classic}; pincushion protea wall art; copper foil stamped invitation {Jolie Jolie}
Row 3: Bride & groom {rylee hitchner/abany bauer}; print napkin {Skinny laMinx}; copper wrapped boutonniere {Wedding Artists Collective/Gloria Wong Design}; hanging copper tins {Dave Lapham/Laura Helm at Ashton Events}; cake on copper cake stand {A Fabulous Fete on Etsy}.
SouthBound Sundays {14 April 2013}
Hello friends! I haven’t had time to do one of these in a while, but now that The Editorial Wedding is over, things have calmed down a little and it’s been good to catch up with what’s going on in wedding world. I also gave myself the day off, and spent a sunny London Sunday walking along the Thames (along with the rest of the city, apparently!) and checking out the Lichtenstein exhibit at the Tate Modern. You guys, Roy Lichtenstein is like my FAVE. I actually can’t tell you how excited I was to go to this exhibit, and it was awesome to have one of those London moments where you remember how lucky you are to be in one of the world’s great cities and able to see some amazing things. Here’s hoping the next time I visit some of Uncle Roy’s paintings they are back at MOMA – it has been way too long since I’ve been in New York!
Anyway, here’s my favourites from the week that was…
