Category: Hen Parties & Showers

Bridal Showers & Hen Nights: Who Pays?

by gaby

Happy Friday, lovelies! This post comes out of an email I received from a mother of the bride asking for a bit of etiquette advice in planning her daughter’s shower. Having come across some sticky situations with regard to the financial side of bridal showers and hen parties over the years, I thought it would be a good one to discuss. Because, let’s be honest, none of us like to talk about money, but it can cause all kinds of unpleasantness.

In talking etiquette, I find it really helpful to go back to the principles on which the rules are based. The key ones here are:

  • Hosting: The rule is that if you host an event, you pay for it.
  • Gifts: Generally, guests attending an event where they are expected to give a gift should not have to pay for themselves as well.
  • Consideration: In situations where guests are expected to pay, the organiser should always take their budget into account. Aim towards the lower end of the scale, not the highest. Let people know costs upfront, and allow them the opportunity to withdraw. When the costs are shared, you need to be democratic.

Hen Parties/Bachelorette Nights:
In general these days, costs for hen parties are broken up per head. Guests contribute the cost of their activities, their dinners, their drinks and, if it’s a weekend, accommodation and travel costs. It isn’t a hosted activity (although it may be organised by the bridal party) so this is generally acceptable. Gifts shouldn’t be expected. If there are decorations and goodie bags, the bridal party will usually cover these.Read More

How to Throw a Day at the Races Bridal Shower

by gaby

Day at the Races Themed Bridal Shower

It’s been a while since I did a bridal shower post, but with Ascot in the UK and the Durban July in South Africa last month, I started dreaming up a horse racing themed party that would give us girls a chance to dress up. Which we love, obviously. Plus, like all my favourite hen party themes, this one’s versatile enough that it can be done in a sedate way, or with a little more alcohol involved for a hen/bachelorette. For inspiration, I turned to our American cousins, who have been throwing Kentucky Derby-themed parties for a good while now, and boy did they have a lot of prettiness to share! So here’s how I would go about throwing a fabulous Ladies Day bridal shower that will get your bride to the marriage finish line in style! *Links in bold denote affiliate links. The cost to you remains the same, but SBB may receive a commission for any sales made.

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Real Life Bride #11: The Bridal Showers

by gaby

I am one lucky girl. That’s all I can really say about the amount of love and spoiling that went into the pre-wedding events planned by my wonderful friends and family during my visit to South Africa. Apart from planning one heck of a bachelorettes, my bridesmaids planned not one, but two beautiful love-filled kitchen teas of note. It doesn’t get much better than that.

It all started when, on a Friday night, my sister picked me up from a dinner party with some random person laying in the back of the car. I immediately figured it must be one of her friends who had a bit too much to drink, when suddenly out jumped my dearest friend Inge, with a big smile on her face. She had flown down from Pretoria to surprise me (and to attend the weekend’s activities I would later learn about).

Okay, I was a little suspicious what with someone flying down for a random weekend, but my sister (who I now know is a very good liar), played everything so cool and had me convinced that we were simply going wine tasting the next day, to be followed by a boozy winefarm lunch in Franschhoek. So off we went for a “bridesmaid bonding day”.

I was so busy chatting (and chatting… and chatting…) to my friend, whom I hadn’t seen in months, that I didn’t really pick up on what was going on around me. We walked into the Green House at Babylonstoren and I looked up to find a table full of some of the most special ladies in the world and my MOM! She, as it turned out, also secretly flew down for the weekend. I had to fight hard to keep emotions intact and not become completely overwhelmed by the enormity of such a big moment.Read More

Friendship Shoots

by gaby

Since featuring Joanne Markland‘s Five Brides shoot, it’s become a bit of a sensation! These images have been pinned and tumblr-ed all over the internet, with so many ladies loving the concept of five cousins who dreamed up a shoot to celebrate not just their friendship but the fact that all of them had found true love. When the last of the five got married, all of them dressed up in their wedding dresses and rocked the frocks on a Cape beach – so much fun. I love this cross between a Trash The Dress shoot and a portrait one, and I’m sure we’ll be seeing similar ones soon!

In fact, friendship shoots are a bit of a trend at the moment, with beautiful professional photography being something that’s integrating itself into our everyday lives. Some ladies are dressing up for the camera as part of a hen party, while some choose to do it when they are reunited, or when one member of the group moves away. You could even organise a shoot as a way of thanking your bridesmaids (which doubles up as a very special memory for you) – invite them to breakfast or tea and surprise them with a photographer! They’ll love you even more if you splurge on a professional hair/makeup artist, to make sure they look their best.Read More

Real Bridal Shower: Downton Abbey

by gaby

Good morning, friends! Did you enjoy our Sparkle & Blush fest yesterday? Today we’re back to real life inspiration courtesy of one of our real life brides, the lovely Candice. You’ll remember Candice was our Marie Antoinette bride, and so far we’ve followed her through her whole planning process right up to her Versailles-themed rehearsal dinner (loved that!). Today we’re getting a peek at another pre-wedding event, the bridal shower, and one of the most adorable themes I’ve yet seen! Candice is a huge fan of Downton Abbey (aren’t we all?) – in fact, in her first email to me she joked that she avoided the sun in an attempt to acquire skin as pale as Lady Mary’s – so it was the perfect theme for her bridesmaids to pick, and much fun (I feel I should be saying ‘japes’ here) ensued! There are so many lovely ideas here – and I love that the gifts were so personal and creative. All images are from Louis John van Rooyen of {Moment}ography.Read More

Real Bridal Shower: Rustic Coral

by gaby

Happy Friday, friends! Later today we’ll be getting to know one of my favourite wedding peeps, but first, I’m super excited to share a lovely bridal shower sent in by photographer (and bridesmaid supreme) Alana Meyer. And here’s a really fun fact – part of the inspiration came from one of our very own boards! I just love that (and seeing how it evolved), and it shows that you don’t have to be planning a wedding to get ideas from SBB. I also love the way that Alana and co. really used the space they had – turning an outdoor area into the ultimate girly tea party location. It shows that throwing a party at home can be every bit as pretty as booking a fancy restaurant (and is a lot less hassle for set-up, as I know from personal experience!). But what I love most are the framed statements from the groom of what he loves most about his bride-to-be, which is pretty much my favourite shower idea in ages, and so easy to do! But enough from me – over to Alana to tell you all about it, from inspiration to reality. Links in bold denote affiliate links. SBB may receive a commission for any sales made.

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Marie Antoinette Rehearsal Dinner

by gaby

So. I’ve written this introduction six times, and I keep going back and deleting the whole thing. Because, basically, I seem to have run out of words to tell you how thrilled I am with this feature. It’s a first – we’ve never done rehearsal dinners before – but it’s also completely unique AND it comes from one of our very own Real Life Brides. That’s right – Candice is a married woman, and she’s back to share a couple of pre-wedding events before we do the big reveal of the Big Day. For those of you who have followed along, Candice is our Marie Antoinette bride – she and fiancé Justin were in love with and inspired by everything to do with Versailles. They even found the perfect venue, Casa Labia in Cape Town, but unfortunately had to change plans when they realised it was too small for their party. Now, most people would just give it up, maybe go back for an anniversary, but not these two. Instead, they decided to kick off their wedding celebrations with a rehearsal dinner at the venue (read the whole story here). And they dressed up for it in custom made period costume. And they did a couple shoot beforehand. AND Candice wore an exquisite lace dress she bought from Etsy. AND they got Catherine Mac (whose photos make me covet every one of her weddings) to be there with her camera. You guys, it’s pretty much a wedding blogger’s dream, and this isn’t even the wedding! So sit back and enjoy every inspirational image – with more to come from Candice very soon. (Oh and psssst, you can see more of Catherine’s lovely pics over on her blog.)Read More

Real Hen Party: The Hag Party

by gaby

I love hearing from my readers. I know sometimes it might seem intimidating to mail a blogger (I feel the same way sometimes) but it’s really rewarding for us to hear about your wedding, your planning, etc. And besides, I spend all day working at home on my own with two cats, so a bit of life from the outside world can brighten up my morning. That was certainly the case when I opened up a mail from Caitlin and Matthew, a pair of recently-marrieds who couldn’t wait to share the story of their ‘hag party’ (hen/stag). Caitlin and Matthew’s love for their friends (who clearly adore them, considering the effort they put in to planning this shindig) and their enthusiasm for Cape Town really shone through, which I have extracted below and punctuated with snaps taken on the day. I loved that so much thought was put into the activities and that planners Muriel, Brendan and Philip went beyond the typical in organising the day – hopefully this will serve as a great inspiration to bridesmaids and best men, as well as a love letter to friendship and South Africa.

Dear Gaby
Please please bear with us. This may be the longest email you’ve ever received, but we really just feel like the world needs to know about what our amazing friends did for us before we got married! We are writing to you about the most spectacular Hen/Stag Day in the history of the universe. Take the stunning sunny brilliance of the Cape Peninsula, and against that backdrop put a day full of spunky, comfort-zone crushing, fun-loving, nature-exalting, pure love-filled adventures with friends in celebration of a marriage to take place on the other side of the world without most of the party people at hand. The sheer exuberance and bliss of the day was overwhelming; and we don’t know anyone as lucky as we are to have friends such as ours who made it all happen.Read More

Hen Party Theme: Tropical Fever

by gaby

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

Hen Party Theme: London Calling

by gaby

Sources: Not on the High Street (left); via RU Craft Blog (right) 

London, baby! Now this one might not seem like an obvious choice for a bridal shower or hen party theme, but as I made the point this morning, London has been a big part of many young South Africans’ lives. So if your bestie used to live/currently lives here, or met her husband-to-be here, or is honeymooning here, or is an anglophile, or even is just someone called Kate or Elizabeth, this makes a really fun (and very easy to decorate) theme. With the royal wedding last year, and the jubilee and olympics just gone, you can find literally dozens of ideas and free printables, and the scope for food and entertainment is huge. It’s also a theme that works well whether you’re doing the sedate day shower, or if you want to make it a little more spicy, and I’ve given suggestions for both below. So all aboard, because next stop, London!Read More