Category: Inspiration

Inspiration Board: Carnevale

by gaby

Good morning friends? How were your weekends? I had a really good one, doing more January planning and organising as well as catching up with Louise from b.loved and chatting about our big blog and business plans for 2013 – all very exciting! You’ll also get to kuier with her a bit later this week. But for now, it’s time for our Monday inspiration board. I wanted to start the year with something bold and new, and after telling you that copper was one of the year’s hot colours, I just had to get stuck in. I’ve decided to combine it with both teal and navy, and it’s rich, opulent and exciting – maybe even slightly mysterious. It reminded me a little of Venice (hence the name). I’d just love to see this one come to life!

Colours: Navy, teal and copper

Top row (l-r): Copper and teal dress; glitter giftwrap {Grey Likes Weddings/T&H Photography}; copper shoes {Desiree Dawn Events/Shea Christine}; sparkly top {Fiona Kelly/b.loved Weddings}; keys {Your Las Vegas Wedding Concierge/Chelsea Nicole}
Row 2: Sweets; teal stationery suite {Sean Flanigan/Lilia DeGregory}; copper cake {Missy Photography/Merci New York}; ribbons {Grey Likes Weddings/T&H Photography}; gorgeous redhead bride
Row 3: Opulent bride {Fiona Kelly/b.loved Weddings}; navy bridesmaids; table settings; Venice.

 

Downloadable Worksheet: Venue Planning

by gaby

Source: Ine & Riaan’s Wedding at Clouds Estate (Photography: Lauren Kriedemann)

Hello friends! Aren’t you glad the first Friday of 2013 is almost done? I know I am, but this weekend I’ll be working away to bring you fantastic content for the coming week, and make some changes and tweaks behind the scenes. We’ll be returning to our normal blog schedule on Monday, so expect the usual set of inspiration boards, real weddings, couple shoots, styled shoots, etc. Can’t wait! First though, I have some practical help for those of you just starting on your planning journey.Read More

Pantone’s Colour of the Year 2013: Emerald

by gaby

Well, I didn’t see this one coming. After two years of warm colours – honeysuckle pink and tangerine tango orange specifically – Pantone’s just named Emerald as its colour of the year. It’s dramatic, it’s rich, it’s formal, it’s a little bit old school… and it has totally grown on me. Seriously, when I thought about it, it totally made sense. In the last year I’ve seen a couple of emerald wedding dresses, and every time it has caught my attention. Then I featured this engagement shoot, with the most gorgeous green Gucci dress. And this graphic Gucci and gold inspiration board:

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Wedding Trends for 2013

by gaby

2013 baby! I don’t know about you, but I am amped. I’ve spent the last few days thinking about what worked and didn’t in 2012 and dreaming and planning for the year to come. It was amazing to realise how much was achieved last year, and I have some big plans, so watch this space! Of course, thinking about the future always gets me thinking about wedding trends for the new year, and I’m ready to make my (now annual) predictions. A lot of what I spotted for 2012 came about, so let’s see if I can do the same again. :) Here we go…

 Erin Hearts Court via Style Me Pretty 

1. Prints
A couple of months ago, I was asked by BrideTide to pick my top wedding trend for 2013 and since prints was my choice, it seems only right to put it at the top of my list here too. This is going to be big – we’ll see it on invitations and stationery, bridesmaids dresses, linens. Set against a white backdrop, it’s a fresh and vibrant look, and one which will really make your wedding look unique. And bonus, you can go for any kind of print that suits you, from soft florals and watercolour styles to bold stripes and graphics, to vintagey toile. If tablecloths or runners are too much, stick to napkins, and remember not to go too overboard – and complementary rather than matchy matchy is key. Let’s just say you do not want to put your bridesmaids in the same material as the tablecloths. That’s just wrong. You can see my full roundup, and lots of ideas and advice over here.Read More

South African Wedding Style #4: Cape Dutch

by gaby

Hello lovelies – here’s the penultimate in our South African wedding style guides, where I’m breaking down four distinctly local looks for different styles of weddings. Today’s is one that really delights me – Dutch-inspired design has been news in the international wedding community this year, and of course we have a special link to it in SA, not to mention some very beautiful Cape Dutch venues. Adding a Delft motif and some vintage elements creates something that can be rustic homestead or (my favourite) elegant wine farm, like this wedding below.

All images above by Jean-Pierre Uys

Key components: CAPE DUTCH SETTING + NAVY AND CREAM BASE PALETTE + DELFT MOTIF + VINTAGE ELEMENTSRead More

Top 10 Details 2012

by gaby

Afternoon my lovelies – can you believe it’s Friday? I seriously don’t know whether I’m coming or going, with one day starting to melt into the other this time of year. But soon the holidays will be over, and I’ll be another year older. Bah. ANYWAY, on a much more cheerful note, I have a lovely set of 2012 favourites to share with you today to round out our series. Often it’s the special little touches that really capture my attention, and these were my ten favourites, although it could easily have been a Top 20 or a Top 50, or a Top 100… Take inspiration! But remember, these details are SO much more awesome when there’s meaning behind them, so try to adapt where possible to suit your lives and personalities.

This might be one of my favourite details ever. Vicki and Justin loved the ‘This is your life’ manifesto that has been doing the rounds for the last couple of years, but instead of using it as it was, they co-rewrote it so that it made set of rules for a happy life reflecting them as individuals and as a couple. It made the perfect back-of-menu for their surprise Kalk Bay wedding. (Pics: Lar Leslie)

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Favourite Style Moments 2012

by gaby

Afternoon, lovelies! As you read this, I’ll be off having a bit of a pre-birthday lunch and visit to the V&A Museum (my best) with one of my favourite friends, who is out from New York. Can’t wait! And here’s a little treat for you, in the form of my roundup of the most stylish moments from SBB’s real weddings this year. As much as I love a classic bride in a floor length white gown, I also love that so many brides now make the look their own. I also love that you all have embraced some of the trends that have been coming through over the last year – lace, coloured dresses, sashes. Some of you have done something COMPLETELY different, and each look really adds to the wedding it is part of. As with the decor, it was SO hard to narrow this down, but these are the fashion moments that really made me go ‘ooh!’ in 2012.

Temperley, baby! There’s a reason why just the name gives me a little thrill. Temperley London dresses are those I notice on catwalks, sigh over as a collections and double take when I see on a real bride. They’re feminine, unusual, and just a little bit spectacular. This dress, chosen by beautiful boho bride Anna for her beachy literary-themed wedding by Andrea Carlyle, might just be my favourite:

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South African Wedding Style #3: Cape Town Beach Chic

by gaby

Hello friends! Time for another of my favourite weddings from 2012, with what I think is a distinctly South African style. I say South African, but in fact in this case it’s all Cape Town. A combination of slick city chic and laid back beach with a touch of quirky colonial and vintage style. Quite a mix! But then, it’s the same mix that makes the city charming. It’s epitomised by the decor at the gorgeous Grand in Granger Bay, where today’s swish couple held their wedding.

All images above by dna photographers

Key Components: BEACH + MODERN PINK & BLUE PALETTE + QUIRKY ONE-OFF PIECES + MIXED RETRO/BISTRO/INDUSTRIAL STYLERead More

Favourite Reception Decor 2012

by gaby

Hello friends! This week I am sharing my favourites from 2012 on SouthBound Bride – and believe me, it has been HARD to pick! But there were some posts that really stuck in my mind – over the next few days I’ll be sharing my favourite reception decor, favourite style moments and Top 10 details. They’re sure to give you lots of inspiration, and don’t forget to click through to see the full weddings in the archives!

First off, this magical autumn wedding from Vivid Blue combined soft flowers and berries, fairytale stationery and wooden woodland cutouts to spectacular effect – combined with a few fairylights of course!

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South African Wedding Style #2: Game Lodge Glam

by gaby

Hello lovelies! I hope you all had an awesome day yesterday, whether you celebrate Christmas or not. Today is the day my family traditionally has a brunch and gives all our friends ugly (in the kitsch sense) gifts, but fortunately the gifts I have for you today are anything but ugly! ;) It’s time for part 2 of our ‘South African Wedding Style’ series, where I’m looking at five classic, truly South African wedding styles, through the lens of five great real life weddings from 2012. Today we’re heading to the bushveld for what was definitely one of my favourite weddings of the year!

All images above by Fiona Clair

Key Components: RUSTIC SETTING + BRONZE METALLICS + LUXE TEXTURES + SOFT LIGHTING + HIGH FASHION STYLINGRead More