Real Farm Wedding {Mariaan & Johnnie}

They say when you know you know, and that must have been true for Johnny, who first fell for Mariaan when they were children! So cute. This pair of barefoot farm kids grew up to be free-spirited adults, and threw a laid back country wedding that had a touch of carnival celebration. I LOVE that they used what they had, and this turned into fruit on the tables instead of flowers (Johnnie is in the fruit business), barrows and crates full of fynbos, and what is without doubt my favourite bar of all time. I also love the boho flowergirls and the little pageboys in top hats! The relaxed vibe was perfectly captured by Carmen Visser, who’s been kind enough to share her beautiful pictures with us today. A farm wedding is actually super appropriate for me today, since I’ll be spending it styling a special inspiration shoot in a farm setting – hold thumbs for me that we get some unseasonably fine weather!Read More

Fit for a Queen

So… you’ve met the man of your dreams, you’ve dated, you’ve met each other’s parents, you’ve realised you want to spend a lifetime together, and the moment you’ve been waiting for since you were a little girl has finally arrived. Not THAT big moment (we’ll assume he’s already popped the question) – the moment you get to go into a wedding boutique and play dress up. The first time you really get to feel like a bride, when your mom will well up and your best friends will sigh, and you’ll all drink champagne and say yes to the dress. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from visiting both high end boutiques and (sometimes slightly dodgy) budget ones with friends, not all dress fitting experiences are made equal. And nothing makes you feel less bridal than getting stuffed into a shabby sample by a grumpy assistant in a tiny changing room with peeling wallpaper and a curtain hanging precariously off the rail.

Fortunately, that doesn’t have to happen to you. If you read the blog regularly, you’ll know that a brand new branch of Olivelli has now opened in Cape Town, and as well as drop dead beautiful dresses, Olivelli is all about personalised service. Owner Natasha Colson, who was inspired to open her own branch after a blissful experience as a bride at the flagship Gauteng Olivelli store, is passionate about making all her brides and their guests feel like royalty when they come in for their fittings. More than just another wedding chore, it’s an experience.Read More

Real Wedding at Fairhill Lodge {Gina & Ben}

If you caught my ‘Inspiration Board revisited’ post on Saturday, you’ll be as excited as I am to see Gina and Ben’s fabulous Moroccan-style wedding. I absolutely loved how Gina pulled everything together (and talk about handmade – this is what happens when a talented artist does DIY!) in a way that was a classy nod to all things North African, without being completely over-the-top or costume party. If you’re considering a theme for your wedding, you could really take a page out of her book. My absolute favourite detail is the tiles she used (and made!) as runners, with the same motif repeated on her invitations and cake. The white tiles look amazing under the silverware, and the pops of colour in the flowers and candles are just mesmerising. I also adore the colour scheme in general, and Gina’s striking mantilla veil (not to mention her dress – LOVE the texturing!). The venue (Fairhill Lodge) is quite classic, but with low tables, floating candles in the water feature and some hanging lanterns, it’s transformed into a Moroccan fantasyland. What a pleasure to feature it here today, and even more so since I’m sharing Bernard Bravenboer‘s bewitching photographs of Gina and Ben’s big day. Enjoy! Oh, and PS, if you have the same theme in mind, don’t forget to check out our feature on Moroccan-themed wedding details.Read More

Let Them Eat Wedding Cake #8: The Rehearsal Dinner

When Justin and I can’t decide which take away to order we tend to adopt the Lorelai Gilmore approach of ordering all the top contenders and enjoying any left over’s in the week that follows. Sometimes ordering more than one thing and combining them creates a unique and rather remarkable experience, the whole sometimes being even greater than the sum of its parts. Pasta on a pizza for example. Ambrosia. So when we realised that the venue we first fell in love with couldn’t fit all our wedding guests – I think we adopted a rather similar mentality. Completely discarding this perfect venue somehow seemed like a step in the wrong direction. Surely we could find a way for it to add something wonderful to the wedding experience, set the tone, the ambiance, stir up the excitement perhaps? The solution to our wonderings? The rehearsal dinner.

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Inspiration Board: Coral & Glam

Tangerine may have been Pantone’s 2013 colour of the year, but if there’s a breakout shade for weddings this season, it’s coral. And boy, am I ever glad! Coral is such a warm shade, and so versatile – I can’t believe how many colours it works with beautifully! It’s also lovely reader Carrie’s favourite colour, so of course she’s chosen it for her summer wedding. And Carrie must be a girl after my own heart, because she also loves a bit of sparkle, and wants to put her bridesmaids in mismatched glittery dresses – how pretty is that? There are some lovely coral or blush and sequin dresses available at the moment, but for this board I’ve gone for one of my absolute favourite bridesmaid combos of recent times – these copper skirt and top sequin and lace mismatches are just amazing and they look so good with the coral and white bouquets! Add in beautiful copper heart Vivienne Westwood shoes, and some good as gold accents and you have the perfect amount of metallic. A good tip with coral is to use it in a sort of ombre way, with everything from a pale blush to the most powerful orange version of the colour, just the way that it is in this adorable stationery suite. Add a few special touches – homemade lemonade, a ruffly chair back, sparkly mason jars, and you have everything you need for coral and glam wedding wonderful. Hope you like your board, Carrie!

Colours: Coral, blush, white, copper & gold

Top row (l-r): Bridesmaids {P: Jarvie Digital Photography}; table layout {S: Envision Wedding Studio; P: AC Ellis Inc.}; pink lemonade {P: White Loft Studio}; blush ruffle chair back {S: Envision Wedding Studio; P: AC Ellis Inc.}
Row 2: Coral & gold stationery suite {P: Jean-Pierre Gary and Kiera Ormut-Fleishman}; coral macaroons; Vivienne Westwood shoes; fireplace ceremony {P: Justin Demutiis Photography; S: Olivier Events}
Row 3: Sparkle mason jars; lace sheath dress with keyhole back {P: Paul Johnson}; cake {Elizabeth Messina}; single bloom centrepiece {Martha Stewart}.

 

Inspiration Board Revisited {Modern Moroccan}

Happy weekend! I have a special little bonus feature for you today, and just a tiny taster of a stunning wedding I’ll be featuring next week. Gina is the first bride I’ll be featuring who requested one of my inspiration boards, and I wanted to show you a bit of how her original ideas developed before you catch the final result. When Gina first emailed me, she was feeling like she had all these ideas but couldn’t quite picture it coming together, and wanted the design of her wedding to look cohesive. First of all, I should say that this is such a common feeling amongst brides – in fact, I hear this from almost everyone who requests a board – so if you have reached that stage then be reassured that it’s completely normal! In fact, creating a board at this stage in the process (or revising one you already have) is a great idea, because it lets you see the bigger picture (and sometimes spot from a distance when one element isn’t working with the others). Anyway, back to Gina, who had her heart set on a Moroccan theme for her and fiance Ben’s big day, but wanted to make sure it didn’t turn out looking like a tacky theme party.

Gina had a couple of colour schemes in mind, and when I created her board, I chose the one that was clean white and green, with a little touch of deep purple (using a white base with little touches of colour moved away from the Arabian Nights party vibe). Gina had access to Moroccan decor items, and I suggested scattering these around, with hanging lanterns as a key piece. For the tables, I suggested either a print tablecloth or a white one with tiles used as a runner. I also suggested low tables and a bedouin-style breakout area, and directed Gina to a few links, including this gorgeous Sunday Suppers take on Moroccan dining. Here’s the inspiration board I made for Gina:

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Hen Party Theme: Tropical Fever

Sources: Surfer Girls; Beverley Hills Hotel Wallpaper

We’re havin’ a heatwave… a tropical heatwave… (Ha, I wish. I can hear rain on my skylight as I write this.) This is a theme I’ve been dying to do for ages (probably because of just how much I love a kitschy retro surf design) but I knew the moment had come when Amanda of 100 Layer Cake showcased her vintage tiki shower recently. It was AWESOME. This is such a perfect shower theme – ideal for beach bums, coast lovers, surfer girls, vintage fans, kitsch creatives… the list goes on. The best part is that surf retro sort of merges seamlessly with a Hawaiian luau or a tiki bar vibe, and these are the kinds of themes that really get guests going. So fun. In fact, I’m liking this mishmash of a theme so much that I think it’s going to be showing up in my birthday celebrations this year… Anyway, put on some Beach Boys, because we’re going on a surfin’ safari. Here’s how to throw a fabulous tropical/vintage surf bash.Read More

Inspiration Board: Summer Breeze

If there’s one colour palette that seems to be winning out for the next South African season (judging by your emails, anyway), it’s a combination of soft pink and pastel green. And who can blame you ladies for picking it? It’s classically romantic, feminine and fresh – everything that a sunny spring or summer wedding aims to be. Lovely reader Riette, who’s getting married at the gorgeous De Uijlnes, has been waiting patiently for her SBB board, and here it is: a rustic and romantic summer farm wedding. Riette asked for some DIY touches and at first glance this may not seem particularly DIY since I haven’t gone for a handmade/craft look (see here for an example of this in the same colours) – however, many of the elements I’ve included can actually be easily DIYed. For example, those frosted fruits make an amazing feature, but can be created in your own kitchen (tutorial here) and birch bark vases and stands are another easy DIY. Buy plain brown card and a white gel pen for lovely place cards (or buy a simple calligraphy font online and print on brown paper if you’re not confident about your handwriting). Coloured pink glass makes a big impact (if you can’t afford to hire coloured wine glasses for every guest, you’ll still get a lot of mileage out of coloured glass candlesticks or vases) and so do delicate delights like pretty pink cupcakes and pink lemonade. But my favourite element is the blush pink wedding dress – many beautiful blush options are on the market now, and it makes a real impact without being matchy matchy with your decor. This elegantly rustic combo will look classic for years to come. Hope you like your board, Riette!

Other pink and green SBB inspiration boards: Polka Promise | Pastel Protea | Sparkle & Blush | Spade in Heaven | Honeysuckle Garden | Bicycles & Tulips

Colours: Pastel pink, green and neutrals

Top row (l-r): Blush wedding dress {P: Elizabeth Messina}; brown paper name tags {P: The Collective Photographers; C: Ariel Yve Design}; cake {P: Brandon Chesbro; C: Southall Eden}; frosted fruit decorations {P: Rensche Mari}; pink lemonade
Row 2: Green and pink bridesmaid dresses {P: Kelly Hornberger Photography; C: Gina Whittington}; invitation {Invitation Gallery}; boutonnieres {P: Laura Murray Photography}; pink cupcakes {C: Sugarbloom Cupcakes}
Row 3: Bride with fishtail braid {P: Michelle Lemley}; birch bark candle stands {P: Limelife Photography; C: Mint Weddings}; bouquet {P: Wayne Yuan; F: Mille Fiori}; table setting with coloured glass {P: Brandon Chesbro; C: Southall Eden}; bride and groom {P: White Ivory}.

 

Real Wedding at Fynbos Golf & Country Estate {Sharné & Ryan}

Good morning, lovelies! Today, we’re transported to the forests of Tsitsikamma for a really lovely, heartfelt wedding. I wish I could have shared Sharné and Ryan’s whole questionnaire, because there were SO many details and special moments and thought put into everything, and the way they write about each other and their day is just so beautiful. It’s clear that it was not just the party of a lifetime (no surprise, with Sharné in PR!) but a day that they’d poured their heart and soul into. Everything, from their vows to Ryan’s amazing speech, to the videos they prepared for the reception, was meaningful, and that created an atmosphere of love for all their guests. Sharné summed it up best when I asked her favourite thing about the day: “I loved the way I felt in my heart… I was genuinely happy and felt so much love! I was so calm and confident with the man I have chosen. I was so ready for this! And this is what made me get goosebumps the entire day!” Ah! These two are just so adorable, and I’m so excited to share their gorgeous pics, courtesy of PE photographer Niki M.Read More

Ballet Buns

Sources: Elizabeth Messina via Wedding Chicks (left); Jonas Peterson via Once Wed (right)

So there I was a few months back working a styled shoot with Sev Hubert of The Hepburn Collection (who happens to be a hair god) and I was having a minor OMG-I-didn’t-know-I-was-going-to-be-on-the-video-but-my-hair-is-just-stuck-back-in-my-go-to-bun freak out moment. And he just sort of looked at me appraisingly and said: “It is fine. A bun is always chic.” And you know what, the man knows what he’s talking about. A bun IS always chic, and never more so than at the moment, where the ballet bun/top knot/high bun has become the hottest style of the season. From sleek to a little messy, piled on top of the head or a little lower, it’s been an unexpected and welcome addition to the bridal hair repertoire, and has featured in some of my favourite wedding looks this year. I thought it was about time I collected some inspiration for you, so that’s what we’re doing today!Read More