Author: gaby

Rock ‘n Romance Hen Night: The DIY

by gaby

In terms of DIY, I wouldn’t exactly call myself an expert. I take on craft projects on a need-to basis – when I need to make something, I figure out how to do it. And I could pretend that I am one of those super awesome creative people who came up with all the completely original projects for Heidi’s hen night all on my own, but I didn’t. I did exactly what most of you do. I found things I needed and liked on this here internet, and I adapted them. I learned by doing, and I made things up where necessary. It was time consuming, and fun, and crazy, and I’m pretty sure my housemate (who happens to be a beefy rugby player) mustn’t have loved the den of pink and girliness that our dining room table became (cheers, Mark!), but it was 100% worth it to see everything come together on the day. So I thought I would share my DIY inspirations and links, so that you can see how to follow and adapt them to create something YOU love. The best thing is that many of these can be used for other parties, or weddings – whatever takes your fancy.

The Invitations

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Real Wedding at Mofam River Lodge {Marilet & Herman}

by gaby

I first came across Warren Williams when we featured Monique & Kaz’s engagement shoot, and I’m thrilled to be able to feature our first of his weddings today. If you haven’t checked out Warren’s blog yet, you definitely should, since not only are the pictures gorgeous, but the way he writes up each wedding always gives me a chuckle! When he described Herman and Marilet’s celebration, it was clear that the two of them had the kind of relaxed attitude that most brides and grooms (and service providers!) can only dream of, and you can see from all the images that this allowed them to really enjoy every second of the day. And when the couple are having fun, everyone’s having fun!

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London Hen Night

by gaby

Happy Tuesday, folks! Instead of a wedding, today we have a real hen party, organised by yours truly for my lovely friend Heidi. It’s actually kind of nervewracking showing off something I’ve designed myself, especially since the printer and I had a little last minute disagreement (machines! pff!) and the fonts are a little, shall we say, pedestrian as a result. Fortunately, I’m pretty sure that Cheryl McEwan could make anything look good with her beautiful photographs. She seriously went above and beyond for us, and I cannot sing her praises loudly enough. (I’m only sorry she’s leaving London, but our loss is Cape Town’s gain!)

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Q&A with Elizabeth Stockenström

by gaby

The bad news is that the second real wedding I planned to share with you this week has been postponed. The great news is that I have something equally awesome lined up for you today. Because let’s be honest, if you’re not oohing and aahing over wedding details, you want to be gawking at pretty pretty dresses, and that is exactly what we have here. BEYOND pretty dresses. Elizabeth Stockenström has become one of the top bridal designers in South Africa, and not only is everything she designs completely gorgeous, but she is much beloved of every one of her brides, some of whom have already featured in our real weddings. Elizabeth was sweet enough to find time in the middle of wedding season to answer a few questions from us.

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Parisian Stripes

by gaby

Oh, I do like a trend! It’s no secret that stripes have been all over the catwalks recently, and they’ve been showing up in subtle wedding details and especially in stationery for a while. But recently I’ve noticed a lot of bold black and white stripes showing up on tables, including in yesterday’s gorgeous featured wedding, and I couldn’t help but wonder, are stripes the new damask? It’s true that they have the same magic of allowing pops of colour to really stand out against a black and white print. And they have the added bonus of a bit of Parisian ooh la la. Aaaand they perfectly walk that narrow line between bold and sophisticated. In fact, I can’t think of a single reason not to love them!

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Real Wedding at Morgenhof {Alicia & Winston}

by gaby

We’re back to real weddings this week, and today’s is a blinder – although of course we wouldn’t expect anything less from the Wedding Concepts team! They had an unusual challenge this time – to turn the historic cellar venue of Morgenhof into a contemporary, formal space using lush, modern colours. They also had to mix two cultures (Alicia from the US and Winston from Liberia) and create a space where all the couple’s guests could feel at home. I think they more than pulled it off, as evidenced by the huge smiles on Winston and Alicia’s faces! I’m also absolutely thrilled that I finally get to feature the work of photography team Zarazoo, who I’ve been a fan of for aaaaages. Their style always makes me homesick, since they capture the big sky we are lucky enough to have in Africa (as well as the fun and personalities of the people they shoot). In fact, so much about this particular wedding reminds me why I love my home continent – it just seems to radiate with the glow of the warm earth, the light of the sun and the love of family and friends. I hope you love it as much as I do.

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London Love Couple Shoot

by gaby

Oh you guys. I am SO in love with these photographs, and it’s the perfect way to end a week of wonderful couple shoots. It’s one of those where once you’ve seen the images, you can’t get them out of your head, starting with the first one, which I completely fell for when I saw it on Cheryl McEwan’s blog. Not only are Lylie and Will completely gorgeous and wrapped up in one another, but it makes the place I live now look so magical. Not always easy in a bustling city that has been photographed a thousand different ways! I think it really makes a difference that the locations are all places that mean something to the couple, so even though they’re iconic and very public spots they all feel incredibly personal. (Oh, and the dog… what can I say – Lylie and Will, if your ADORABLE pup goes missing, it was totally me who came and stole her!)

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Engagement shoot from New Zealand

by gaby

I don’t usually feature photographers from outside the UK, since I focus on weddings from in and around the Cape Town area. But when it comes to engagement shoots, there’s no reason why the same limit applies. And so I’m thrilled to be able to show off some talent from abroad – in this case from emerging Kiwi photographer Lavara O’ Hanlon. Lavara contacted me with her pics of this super cute couple against the Auckland skyline, and I just couldn’t resist. They are so adorable together, and there’s so much energy in these pics, I love them! Engagement shoots are a relatively new trend in NZ as they are in South Africa, and as much as I love super styled sessions, this one shows that the most important ingredient is the buzz between the couple themselves.Read More

Real Wedding at Constantia Uitsig {Anne & Simon}

by gaby

I always know it’s going to be a good day when a wedding arrives in my inbox from The Aleit Group, since the events they design are all phenomenal! I’m especially excited about today’s though, because it’s the first one of their smaller weddings I’ve featured. A huge part of the Cape Town wedding market is made up of couples from overseas having intimate celebrations in our most beautiful of cities, but just because there are fewer guests doesn’t mean the prettiness quotient has to be any lower. In fact, the opposite is often true, and ‘pretty’ is definitely the word that should be used to describe Anne and Simon’s wedding. It has pretty in abundance. Pretty venue. Pretty flowers. Pretty pictures (thanks to the always awesome Joe Dreyer). And a wedding dress that is the definition of pretty. Love that Anne chose to wear something beautiful and unusual – for me it’s the detail that brings everything else together. And I LOVE that the in-case-of-rain Plan B turned out to be even more spectacular than Plan A might have been. Proof yet again that rain on your wedding day doesn’t have to spoil a thing.Read More

Sheet Music Wedding Details

by gaby

Hot on the heels of the book trend comes another piece of paper awesomeness that you can DIY. Sheet music makes the most gorgeous, subtle accent for just about any kind of wedding – it works perfectly with vintage, adds whimsy to formal and can be used cheekily for a modern celebration if you pick your song sheets wisely. And what better way to celebrate your shared love of music? In fact, who can live without it, I ask in all honesty? (And yes, I totally just quoted ABBA).

My favourites? The boutonniere and the pinwheels, which are small enough to be cupcake toppers and omigod the cutest things EVER. I want them. So here they are, along with some other delicious eye candy that’ll have you hitting the high notes. (Sorry.)

Which are your favourites?

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