gaby | SouthBound Bride

Spring Engagement Shoot

28 March, 2013 by gaby

I can’t think of a more perfect shoot to share with you today, as we head into the Easter weekend. Easter has kind of sneaked up on me this year, but I’ve decided to take tomorrow off (for once) and try to switch off and relax a bit. Before I do, I’m so excited to share this spring styled engagement shoot from awesome photographer Louise Vorster with you. Best of all, the bride-to-be Nicole is a huge fan of SouthBound Bride – which obviously makes us a big fan of hers – especially since she pulled together such an adorable set-up to celebrate her upcoming marriage to fiance Andre. I am especially smitten by the little chicks – aren’t they the cutest? I know that Easter isn’t really spring in SA, but if it gives you an excuse to grab your loved one and set up a super sweet pastelly country style picnic, I say do it. And even better if you can get a photographer like Louise to capture it all perfectly.Read More

Striped Bridesmaid Dresses

27 March, 2013 by gaby

Image: Jonathan Canlas Photography/Thread Social via Brooklyn Bride

Hello lovelies – how are you enjoying your long weekend so far? Today I’m bringing you the latest in our new series on the top looks for bridesmaids in 2013, and this week we’re looking at a subset of prints – one of 2013’s biggest trends. Stripes are such an accessible print, particularly monochrome stripes, which are very much the look. They work well with a variety of looks – everything from a nautical wedding to a preppy one to those with a bit of a French influence, or just one that looks fresh and fashion forward. It’s no accident that the images I’m sharing today have already been pinned like crazy – every time a set of stripey bridesmaids hits the net we all fall madly in love with it. Just one word of advice – as a bride, you want your girls to feel comfy, and some stripey dresses can be super unflattering for a curvy bridesmaid. Opt for a narrower stripe, a stripey skirt with a block coloured top, or just make sure to let everyone try on your choice before you buy, as you never really know which are going to work until you get them on. Apart from that, stripes away! Here are some of my favourite looks, and some off-the-rack options to recreate them.

Click on any of the dress images below to shop. And for the most recent bridesmaid dress finds, check in with our Bridesmaid Boutique Pinterest Board.Read More

Real Wedding at Providence {Jolene & Travis}

27 March, 2013 by gaby

Putting this wedding together has been such fun – first I found myself humming Dolly Parton due to the bride’s name (sorry, Jolene, you must get this all the time) which led to a Dolly Parton spotify fest (even though I typed it as Dolly Partyon, which is now totally going to be my stripper name if I ever become a stripper). None of this has anything to do with why it’s a lovely wedding, but it is. I love the misty magical forest of donkeys pics captured by photographer Stuart Dods (so Shrek, in a good way) and the coral details – there’s good reason why this is a colour that brides have fallen in love with over the last year, as it really does just pop against white in such a pretty way. The bride looks like a beautiful princess with her elegant coral ladies in waiting. Travis and Jolene continued the fresh colour combo through to their sweet stationery and reception decor, and it’s the perfect contemporary combo. So thanks for sharing, Jolene (and also for giving me an excuse to indulge in a bit of the Dolly!).Read More

Traditional Afrikaans Farm Wedding by As Sweet As Images

26 March, 2013 by gaby

Hello lovelies, and how is your week going so far? I have such a fab wedding to share with you today – one that showcases real, honest-to-goodness homegrown South African farm style, complete with a potjie dinner. It makes me want to sit down with a cup of rooibos and a pile of rusks and pore over every delicious detail, from the pincushion protea bouquet (oh proteas, how I do love thee) to the springbok bouts, to the printed text detailing (especially love the ‘trou is nie perdekoop nie’ banner – for our overseas readers, the literal translation is ‘getting married isn’t like buying a horse’, i.e. it’s a step not to be taken lightly), to the Afrikaans wedding traditions, to the enamel mugs and plates and succulents to the special beers and dessert-in-jars favours… oh hell, I love it all. And I also love that the wedding party manage to look boere vintage but also contemporary at the same time – a tough one to pull off! The pics were taken by the awesome As Sweet As Images – they’re new to SBB, and a very happy discovery! So go on. Get out those rusks. Enjoy. Oh, and PS, this might be the funniest and sweetest proposal story we’ve ever featured – don’t miss it! *Shopping sources in this post use affiliate links. SBB may earn a commission if you make a purchase from our links.

The Editorial Wedding: Announcing the EdWed Scholarship

25 March, 2013 by gaby

By now you’ll probably know all about The Editorial Wedding (especially if you’re a photographer – at least I HOPE you’ll know all about it by now!). Behind the scenes, we’re planning up a storm to make our first workshop amazing, and I can’t wait! But Anneli and I also really believe in supporting small businesses, so we’re really excited about today’s announcement.

We’re giving away a scholarship to attend our EdWed workshop on 9 April at the beautiful Cannizaro House in Wimbledon. Lunch and refreshments, a full day of teaching, and the most gosh-darn-gorgeous styled shoot will all be included, as well as a take-home guide to blogs and mags – worth £325. It’s everything you need to know about shooting and submitting for publication, and to get you fired up and in the editorial mindset. It’s a brilliant opportunity for a photographer who has the technical expertise, but maybe not the cash to make it happen right now.

SO. Here’s how it works. If you would like to enter, just head over to the Editorial Wedding facebook page and leave us a comment telling us about your business, and how winning the scholarship will help and inspire you. We’ll announce a winner early next week.

And if you want to make sure of your place, drop us a mail at [email protected] to book as places are still available.

Indieberries Invitations Sneak Peek

25 March, 2013 by gaby

Today you can catch me guest posting over on Indieberries, one of my favey South African blogs, written by one of my favey South African bloggers. Yay for Che and Warren, who are getting married in just two weeks time! I’m sharing a word of advice and some of my adventures in bridesmaiding (hint: it includes at least one awkward entrance and a wedding cake disaster). And to celebrate, I have a little sneak peek of Che’s gorgeous handmade invitations – each like an individual package of awesomeness. She’ll be giving you the lowdown on these soon, so be sure to keep checking into Indieberries for the final product, and you can also get some seriously fantastic DIY advice from her Save the Dates post on SBB here. But for now, let’s just enjoy a hint of what her guests found in their letterboxes. Can I just say: how much are we looking forward to seeing her wedding??? Read More

Inspiration Board: Elgin Spring

25 March, 2013 by gaby

I have an extra special inspiration board today, as it’s for my beautiful cousin Caitlin, who’s currently planning her wedding. Caty grew up on an apple, pear and now wine farm in Elgin – one of the most beautiful places ever – and that’s where she and her fiance will be having their late spring wedding this year. It’s going to be gorgeous, and I love Caty’s idea of using a soft, dreamy palette of whites, creams, grey and pale blush pink with lush blooms and some rustic textures that pay tribute to the farm with wine barrels and apple crates. I think when you go for this sort of look, the best thing is to keep it simple but do the basics well – gorgeous flowers are the biggest building block, along with soft hair, flowy bridesmaids’ dresses (in grey, white or blush will work). I’d mix up the bouquets to include a variety of blooms including silver brunia, but also blushing bride proteas (a big floral crush of mine at the moment!). Use rustic shutters (to hold escort cards?), calligraphed signs and printed calligraphy napkin menus, and apple cocktails for after the ceremony (also love these painted white apples as place or escort cards, or just for fun). I’ve also included a little nod to Caty’s rowing talents with an oar guest book (although another sweet idea is to use paddles as signposts). It all adds up to a classic but contemporary look that is super romantic.

Colours: White, cream, blush and grey

Top row (l-r): Bouquet with blushing brides {Florali}; printed calligraphy napkin {Rylee Hitchner Photography/Jessica Sloane Event Styling & Design}; oar guest book {Alea Lovely}; bride and groom {Marta Locklear Photography/Diamond Events}
Row 2: Bridesmaids {Polly Alexandre Photography}; crate with olive leaf details and table number {Punam Bean Photography}; bride and flowergirl {Hristina Piltz}
Row 3: Ceremony with wine barrel entrance {Jose Villa}; wine barrel and shutter escort cards {Laura Gordon Photography/Tyler Flood}; ceremony sign {Jose Villa/Laurie Arons Special Events}; flowers and silver vase {Gia Canali Photography/Delicate Details}.

Inspiration Board: Botanical Brights

23 March, 2013 by gaby

Happy Saturday, lovelies! Here’s our last inspiration board for the week, and while the rest have been reader requests, this one’s just for me :) One of my biggest sources of inspiration is the amazing online magazine Magnolia Rouge, and in the last issue, one of my favourites was a gorgeous bouquet recipe photographed by Annabella Charles. I absolutely loved the mix of cool green, soft pinks and purples and a pop of bright fuschia, as well as the botanical feel of the bouquet and the feature. Botanicals are a big design trend in weddings this year (more on that soon) but while most botanical looks feature muted colours, I was inspired to create a board that incorporated both the delicate botanical look and that beautiful dash of bright colour. I love it – hope you do too!

Colours: Green, purple and fuschia

Top (l-r): Flowers and calligraphed envelopes {Annabella Charles/Haute Horticulture/Kristin Wolter}; bridesmaids {Sarah Hasstedt/Pink Champagne Events}; dress {Eric Kelley Photography/Beehive Events}
Row 2: Pie table {Kellan Studios}; leaf place cards {Annabella Charles/Haute Horticulture/Kristin Wolter}
Row 3: Table setting {Odalys Mendez Photography/Virtu Floral and Event Design/The Funky Shack/Southern Flair}; bouquet {Alea Lovely Photo/The Bridal Tree}; Figs in bowl {Annabella Charles/Haute Horticulture/Kristin Wolter}

Modern Pastels Styled Shoot

22 March, 2013 by gaby

I have such lovely inspiration to share with you all this afternoon! When photographer Veronique Mills got in touch to share this lovely styled shoot she put together with Just Jack at Landtscap, I jumped at the chance to share their take on modern pastels (set beautifully against the clean blank canvas that is Landtscap). I loved the candy colours (how cute are those milkshakes?) and the opaque painted vases, and I especially loved that Veronique explained the table had been DIYed for less than R500 – you can see a full breakdown of her costs at the end. That’s the great thing about a good styled shoot – you can take one or two elements are really make them your own, like DIY vases, or using napkins for pops of colour, or even the pretty pastel nails the models are sporting! And the cherry on top? That CAKE. I think it might be my favourite Nelle Cakes creation yet!Read More