I often have brides asking me how to style an engagement shoot (look out for a post on this soon), and I really love featuring couples who have got it right. It seems like a fussy thing, but it often just brings the pictures together and provides a visual focus apart from your location, so I’d always really recommend it. Today’s couple, Brigid and Quintin have gone for a striking touch of red, and it runs like a ribbon through their relaxed pics by Dan Calderwood, bringing a lovely sense of continuity. Dan’s new to the Cape photography scene, and I just love the sense of fun he brought to his pictures of this sweet couple, in one of the most photogenic spots in the Cape, Kalk Bay. Enjoy!Read More
I’ve tried to write this intro a bunch of times, to describe an amazing couple who embody the joy and wisdom of ‘seize the day’ and whose ceremony was so heartwarming that their photographer, Charlene Schreuder, admitted it brought a tear to her eye. But the truth is, Charlene’s incredible pictures tell the story better than I can – and they moved me to happy tears too. This is one wedding you should read every word of, and soak in. It teaches something. Because it’s pretty, but it’s also the reason weddings were invented: a celebration of the strength and wonder of love.Read More
Make way! Huzzah! It’s time to introduce you to the second of our current season of real life brides – don’t worry, we haven’t lost Candice just yet, but while she’s off adding finishing touches to her planning, it’s time to meet RLB #2, Liana. Like many of our readers, Liana has had the challenge of planning her Cape wedding from abroad – not the easiest of tasks! We’ll be hearing all about her ideas and inspirations, and how she’s overcome the distance challenge over the coming weeks, but for now, let’s make her feel welcome and hear all about how she and fiancé Chris met.
Some of the inspiration board requests I get take a little while for me to generate ideas for, but others I can wrap my head around immediately, and today’s request from the lovely Keri was one of those. Keri told me that she was planning a summer wedding with a palette of sage green, beige, cream and red, and a French country style, and that she wasn’t a fan of anything fancy, shiny or glossy. The first thing that came into my head was ticking fabric, and straight away I could picture her tables (long, of course!) – it also immediately made me think of the gorgeous country florals from Marguerite & Tom’s wedding that I featured some time ago. Keri wanted to keep her flowers white and green, and I think this is a perfect idea, especially using wild, natural arrangements placed in an assortment of bottles and vases (as if someone had just fetched them out of their kitchen cupboard). For that quirky touch of red, there’s nothing as pretty as a punnet of fresh cherries, or just loose cherries draped around the bottom of the vases as they were in this wedding (LOVE it). Use wooden boards under place settings or down the centre of the table, or cover plain boards in burlap to add height to arrangements and a central line in place of a runner. Ticking fabric tablecloths would be ideal, but plain white tables also work perfectly with ticking cloth napkins, tied loosely with twine, perhaps, or accented with a pretty calligraphed menu (you could also play with chalkboard accents for a more bistro feel). Put your groomsmen in braces and give them (and perhaps all the men) adorable straw hats, with madeleine biscuits for the ladies. Speaking of the ladies, I’ve put them in chic white dresses here (love those backs!), but of course sage or neutrals would work too. Hope you like your board, Keri – can’t wait to see your wedding!
Staying with our theme of bridesmaids today, I have some more lovely eye candy from the fabulous SBB photographer sponsors, who have opened their albums to share a gorgeous collection of bridesmaids – both ready-for-their-closeup and behind-the-scenes. I always think it’s a pity when I don’t see any pics of a bride and her girls – not only do their dresses bring a lot of colour and cohesion to the images (and after all the hours you spend picking them, why wouldn’t you want them to be seen?) but because the time spent between a girl and her best friends on the morning of her wedding is so precious and such a celebration of their friendship. When I was a BM for one of my besties, Nikki, a few years back, she decoupaged a gorgeous black and white of her with us two bridesmaids on a wooden box afterwards and filled it with prints from the wedding – still one of the nicest gifts I have ever received and one I treasure, along with a framed version of that pic. It reminds me not only of how special it was to be her witness that day, sharing bridesmaid duties, laughs and memories with the third of our trio, Tracy, but also of all the other special moments in our friendship. Today’s post is a tribute to that wonderful feeling, and also to all the jobs both big and small that BMs do to make sure that their bride has the day of her dreams.
Good morning, friends! It’s been a long and crazy week for me, including an amazing shoot with such a great team mid-week that I am dying to share with you (in the words of Barney Stinson… wait for it…) so I’m pretty glad it’s Friday. And what a fun Friday we have lined up for you, as it’s our unofficial Bridesmaid Day! We’re kicking things off with some comprehensive, down-to-earth advice from friend of the blog Theresa Lazarevic of Creation Events.. I love that Theresa not only has a great eye for decor that really benefits her brides and grooms, but she’s also a source of wedding wisdom and practical ideas. I like to think I’ve always been quite a switched-on bridesmaid, but I know many friends who have felt a bit lost in knowing their place in the planning and what they can do to help and support. Well, here’s everything they need to know. Be sure to make use of the sharing buttons at the end of the post to share these with your own bridesmaids and MOH! And don’t forget to pop back later for more bridesmaid inspiration from our sponsors.Read More
Just a little while earlier we featured Claire and Andrew’s elegant bush wedding, and I’m so excited to share their video with you now as well. I think it gives you a great sense of the incredible bushveld scenery (goosebumps!), love and fun of the day – and just what an awesome time all of us guests had! Such a special celebration. There’s even a very quick cameo from me, so see if you can spot it!
Today’s wedding is special to me in so many ways. First of all, the bride and groom happen to be dear friends – Claire is another of my Minerva girls, from our time at varsity. She’s one of the most strikingly beautiful women I know, and she also happens to be lovely and whip smart – someone whose opinion I really value. She and Andrew returned to SA from their home in Singapore for their Pilanesberg wedding (I was also lucky enough to attend), which was seriously so much fun. I think one of the things that really struck me was how well it flowed – from the ceremony looking out over the breathtaking African bush (so much in the wild, in fact, that we had rangers patrolling the perimeter with guns throughout) and the sundowners which followed (such a wow moment), to the canapés on the lawn, to dinner and speeches and then a long session on the dancefloor, everyone was moved on quickly and unobtrusively, and it really contributed to the success of the day I thought. Another thing was the entertainment – they had a choir for the ceremony, bagpipers and a drummer throughout (including the dancefloor!) and a sax player for the reception. The pipe and drum were from Transvaal Scottish, which was my grandpa’s regiment in WW2, and since I inherited my love of the wild from him too, it was particularly special for me. So all in all, one of my all-time-favourite weddings! Andrea Carlyle was there to take the gorgeous pics (and to listen to my friends and I talk nonsense in the jeep while we chased a lion sighting on the way to the reception!). And stay tuned, because in a very short while I’ll be sharing Claire and Andrew’s video (with a very brief spot-the-Gaby cameo appearance from me!).Read More
Straight off, I am just going to say, I LOVE this couple’s proudly South African styling. Sazi’s shweshwe ruffled dress especially is just the bomb, and they’re perfectly co-ordinated which (Brangelina and the Beckhams taking it too far aside) makes for the most amazing pictures. Of course, it always helps when you have a fantastic photographer, and today I’m so happy to share the work of Yolande Snyders. You may remember Yolande as one half of the Desert Rose Project team, and I’ve got to know Yolande a bit via email as one of our sponsors over the last couple of months. She’s such a honey, and I so admire her enthusiasm not just for her photography but for her community. Awesome. Anyway, Sazi and Khulile, today’s super stylish couple, decided to have their engagement pics taken wandering around Simon’s Town (one of my fave Cape spots), including in the toy museum, which is such a fun touch. It’s the perfect portrait of a perfect Cape afternoon. Read on for more of their love story…Read More
A wedding whisky (or whisky and cigar) bar is a really lovely addition to the reception. It’s a way to space out the bar queue, have a bit of a breakout area with comfy chairs, and guests love it. Plus, a wedding whisky bar is something that usually makes the groom’s eyes light up in the planning. So I was delighted when SBB reader Claudine got in touch after her own recent wedding to share how she and her groom, Richard, created a whisky/whiskey bar for their wedding – and how you can too! Here are her top tips. Take it away, Claudine!
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