Woohoo, we’re back! Time for some afternoon e-session inspiration from Ruan Redelinghuys, who’s new to Cap Classique (welcome, Ruan!). He took this adorable engagement shoot of Athena and Andries on the beach in Stilbaai – the very place where the groom from this morning’s wedding proposed! Ah, Cape Town. Romance is everywhere.Read More
You probably won’t even be aware of this, but there’s been a lot of debate recently in the wedding blogging community. We are, according to some commentators, way too obsessed with details, only blogging about weddings that cost thousands of dollars and are overrun with mason jars, and forgetting what weddings are really about. I’m not even engaging with that here, but if ever there were an example of a wedding that holds love at its very core, where the details and décor are crafted with care, where the day is full of happiness and laughter and the simple things in life, then this is it. Lizeth and Danie went back to basics, and planned a day full of the people and things that made them happy. A tent on a Hermanus beach. A beautiful handmade wedding dress. Bunting. Picnic baskets full of homemade food. And you know what? It’s still ridiculously pretty. So kick off your shoes, and enjoy the gorgeous pictures from Annemari Ruthven that so brilliantly capture the light and joy of this special day.Read More
Hello lovelies! Looking out of my office window (into my GARDEN! How cool is that?) all I can see is a beautiful mess of autumn leaves all over the lawn, but today’s wedding just smacks of freshness and sunshine and the summer sun. I haven’t had many breakfast weddings on Cap Classique yet (although it’s actually a trend I’m looking at right now for a friend), but if I had to dream one up, I couldn’t make it more perfect than this one. Louise and Clive planned their big day at Rickety Bridge all the way from Australia in just five months, which is quite an achievement in my book! They kept it simple, but all the elements of Extreme Pretty are there: bright white linens in a white marquee, fresh lemons and lavender, pretty country flowers, a ruffly dress (adore this one, by the way). It makes me want to stand up and burst into a rousing rendition of Morning has Broken. (I won’t, lucky for you.) Instead, I’ll let you sit back and enjoy the loveliness, courtesy of one of my favourite photographers, Ms Monica Dart.Read More
Afternoon, lovelies! So, as you know, I have a total crush on being Southern. It’s all about the drawl, y’all. So you can just imagine how much I lurve this wedding, which is not only full of sweet Texan touches, but combines them with the elegance of an English garden party and the best of my beautiful home country as well. It’s just the loveliest way to do multi-cultural, ever, and full of steal-able ideas. Not to mention, fun. They had a barn dance! With hats! And sheriff badges! Could it be more adorable? Not to mention the whole long table-outdoor eating thing (Denim table runners? I die). Responsible for all this handmade prettiness is clever Southern belle Cynthia and her South African husband Chris, as well as Cynthia’s sister, who just happens to be talented photographer Julie Wilhite. I’m so excited to be able to share Julie’s gorgeous pics of a very special family celebration on this, my first day as a self-employed person (free at last, free at last) – and lucky for us, although she’s based in the US, she’s always keen to visit her sister and shoot in SA, so give her a shout if you’d like to ask about availability! I had a ball putting these pics together, and I know you’d love looking at them.Read More
I’M BACK!! Hello lovely friends, I’m delighted to return to you this fine morning. This last morning of my old life, where I’ll make my last journey to Oxford on the train. (Boy, can I ever not wait to see the back of that train.) From tomorrow, I’ll be starting a new chapter, and Paddington will be just a bear and not the station I spend half my life waiting in. I’m terrified, I’m excited, I’m nervous, I’m relieved. But most of all, I’m ready. And I can’t WAIT for the next part of the journey. In the next few weeks I’ll be starting to introduce some new features to you, I’ll be making some big announcements, and ultimately, I’ll be introducing you to the new website. This morning, as I look back on a great five years of my career, I honestly feel that the best is yet to come.
For today, we have some fabulous inspiration, in the form of a board inspired by one of my FAVOURITE movie scenes. (Well, sort of.) I mean, the black and white Ascot Gavotte scene in My Fair Lady is beautiful, not just because it has Audrey Hepburn being Audrey Hepburn in it, but because all the dresses and set were designed by the incredible Cecil Beaton. (Unfortunately, I hate musicals, so as long as it’s on mute, we’re all okay.) Add the lightest pearly pink, and you have a design that is thoroughly modern and absolutely perfect for an elegant (possibly vineyard) wedding. Don’t you just love it? Smashing. Positively dashing.
Don’t forget to come back later to see more yummy inspiration from our real life bride, Cheryl.
Colours: Black & white, blush pink
Top row (l-r): Parisian stripes ceremony arch (Simple Splendor Photography); blush pink bridesmaids’ dresses (Anastasia Photography); oysters (Flory Photo); ceremony chairs (Adam Barnes Photo)
Row 2: Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady; blush pink, black and white invitation suite (sugar paper); crowd from Ascot scene in My Fair Lady
Row 3: Black & white macaroon tower; shoes (Studio Impressions); wedding dress with stripe sash
So, nailpolish. Do you love it? I love it. And I don’t know if it’s a fashion thing or a me thing, but I’ve become way more experimental as I’ve got older (totally rocked ombre nails at a wedding this summer, which was fun). Thing is, I always thought weddings were a strictly French manicured zone. Lately though, little pops of colour and funkiness are turning up across the wedding blogisphere, and it’s starting to become clear that brides are getting bolder with their digits. Read More
If you read a lot of (or even a few) wedding blogs, there are certain words you’ll hear us use again and again (and I don’t mean “breathtaking” or “amazeballs”). Certain things we generally agree on, as a tribe. And one of these is ‘details’. We’re kinda obsessed with them, and I want to tell you why. Because on paper, weddings are pretty much the same. White dress, aisle, rings, kiss, confetti, party. Just like on paper, every love story is the same. Boy meets girl (or boy, or girl meets girl, whatever), spark, kiss, courtship, proposal. But you know and I know that every love story is unique, like a fingerprint, or a flake of snow. And if your wedding is the celebration of that uniqueness, the details tell the story. They’re the little things that your guests remember, and for an outsider looking in, they’re what inspires them to tell their own story. So you can guess why I fell in LOVE with today’s wedding at Chamonix the moment I saw it. It is detail-palooza. Seriously, it’s the grand daddy of detailed weddings. Heartfelt, personal, handmade details. I adore it, and I know you all are going to go gaga over it too. Also, I should say that the pictures were shot by the super talented Adene Photography, and that the bride, Libby, is one of the sweetest I’ve ever dealt with. There are so many highlights, but I’ll let the bride tell you in her own words…Read More
Credit: Lisa Dolan Photography via Style Me Pretty
Ah, tulips for weddings. Hearty heart heart heart them. I mean, what’s not to love? They’re beautiful and elegant, they come in every colour imaginable, most are unscented, and they’re affordable. And for me, they really mark the start to spring, when I see them appearing on flower shop pavement displays all over London. Unlucky for me, those days are gone here on Mud Island, but with spring very definitely in the air in South Africa, I thought it was a good time to cheer myself up with a focus on one of my all-time favourite flowers. Here are some of my favourite recent wedding flower inspirations, from tulip bouquets to tulip centerpieces. *This post contains affiliate links. The cost to you remains the same, but SBB may receive a commission for any sales made.
Hello, blog friends! Ok, cards on the table, I am a little nervous about this post. Not just because I am veering away from the pretty to share something more personal, and to discuss social media (don’t worry, I actually get back to weddings by the end of it!) but because I’m also posting images from my recent shoot with the fantastic Monica Dart. Monica was in London this summer, and Louise from Bijoux Bride and I asked her to let us play model. (You can see some of Louise’s shoot here.)Read More
Well bake me a cake and call me Martha. If this isn’t one of the sweetest weddings! Sweet like sugar. Sweet like candy! ;) Candy and Nic chose one of the breeziest venues in the Cape (the light, bright, white-washed Kleinevalleij) and the loveliest of colour schemes (grey and pink, which I still heart bigtime), and created a little piece of heaven for their family and friends. There were pretty shoes, and ribbons, and a fairytale dress, and roses, and sugar and spice and all things nice. And proteas, you guys. I never get sick of looking at them, and I adore the table arrangements and bouquets in this wedding. I also LOVE the little fabric hearts on each chair, and the way that the wooden fan favours have been integrated into the place settings. Not to mention the lovely stationery, designed by the bride herself. And here’s the kicker – absolutely BEAUTIFUL photographs by Jani B. It is, quite simply, the kind of wedding that little girls dream about. Oh, and Nic – seriously awesome proposal skills, dude. You should give seminars.Read More