How to Choose Your Wedding Style & Colours

How to Choose Your Wedding Style & Colours | SouthBound Bride

As I mentioned earlier this week, January is the time when lots of new brides join the SBB family, and so we like to tailor our advice content to help you out in those early days of planning, which let’s face it, can be overwhelming. Especially when the first question after “how did he ask?” and “have you set a date?” is “what colours have you chosen?” Or if you’ve ever been on Pinterest, where the sheer volume of styles and colours is terrifying. And sure, some of you will already have your colours figured out. But even if you’ve been in love with Blush & Bashful since high school (actually, ESPECIALLY if you’ve been in love with your palette since high school), there is a process that can help you figure out a basic design template for your wedding – one that is totally you, and that you’ll be able to build on instead of panicking about and (worst case scenario) throwing out and changing a couple of months down the line. So close down Pinterest for a minute, put aside your preconceptions, and follow these five steps to choose your perfect wedding style.

Read More

Wedding Planning: Where to Start

Where to Start with Wedding Planning | SouthBound Bride

You’re engaged! CONGRATULATIONS! This is such a crazy, exciting time in your life, and an experience that you’ll never forget. But once the ring selfies have been taken and the parents (and the friends, and the distant cousins once removed) have been called, once the Facebook statuses have been changed and the champagne bottles emptied, there’s an inevitable moment of panic. OMGwehavetoplanawedding! Ack! How on earth, you think, do we do this? And more importantly, where do you start? Well brideys (and groomeys), we have you covered. Do not pass go, do not collect $200 until you have read this checklist for the newly engaged – ten things to get you firmly on track with your wedding planning journey. And also… BREATHE…

Read More

Welcome to SouthBound Bride!

New logo1

Welcome!

I love Januaries. A new year, a new engagement season and best of all – new friends joining the SBB community. I’m so thrilled to welcome all the new brides and grooms to SouthBound Bride today, many of whom will have gotten engaged over Christmas and New Year. CONGRATULATIONS! You’re about to embark on the most exciting journey, and I’m so excited to go on it with you. I’m Gaby, editor of SBB, and I’m here to be your virtual bestie and honorary bridesmaid as you navigate the following months of wedding planning, offering inspiration, advice, and the occasional bad joke. Because while it can be stressful, this whole wedding thing should always be fun!

So… How do you make the most of your SouthBound experience?

First off, you’ll want to sign up to our newsletter. That way, you’ll never miss out on our gorgeous real weddings, styled shoots and trend roundups – and don’t worry, there’s no daily spamming of your inbox :). In fact, we’re about to relaunch the newsletter and it really is something special, so you don’t want to miss it! SIGN UP HERE

Next, you’ll want to follow us on social.

  • Instagram is our favourite thing – we’re growing fast and we have some serious pretty lined up this year!
  • Our Pinterest boards are full of beautiful images both from the blog and from other sources, and an awesome tool for planning your wedding.
  • Facebook is a great way to keep up to date with all our latest posts. (Top tip! If you like or comment on posts from time to time, you’ll be more likely to see our daily FB posts in your newsfeed!)
  • Tweet tweet… Twitter is another great way to follow SBB. Everything we publish gets tweeted there as well.
  • And don’t forget to check us out on Aisle Society – which is another AWESOME source of inspiration for you to follow the best blogs in the business (find out how to plan your wedding with Aisle Society here)

PLANNING! EEK! WHERE DO I START?
We get it. Planning a wedding can be overwhelming, but we’ve got you covered! Here’s a step by step guide with links to ALL our fab advice posts – be sure to bookmark this as you’ll want to come back!

First steps

Practical planning

Bridesmaids

Grooms & Groomsmen

Fashion & Beauty

Flowers

Cakes & Catering

Showers, hens & bachelorettes

Other

BUT WHERE DO I FIND THESE AWESOME VENDORS?
Introducing our brides to the incredible South African wedding pros is our passion and privilege. You can find our favourites in the SBB Directory, and the SBB Venue Collection, and be sure to check out the supplier list at the end of all our real weddings and styled shoots for more talented folks.

Any questions? Drop us a mail. We look forward to helping you plan your big day!

Congrats again – enjoy this very special time!

 

Save

20 Best Ceremony Setups of 2017

Ceremony style has been a real focus in weddings this year, from gorgeous arches to stunning scenery, drapes to chandeliers, and everything in between. I’m so thrilled that ceremonies are finally getting the attention they deserve – after all, they should be the focal point of the day, and while extravagant decor must always take second place to the vows being exchanged, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to set the scene for full-blown romance! From boho to luxe, these were the ceremony setups we loved most this year.

Read More

20 Best Wedding Dresses of 2017

Gorgeous gowns are one of the things I have come to love most about my job and year after year I’m stunned by the sheer beauty of our brides and their choices in bridal fashion, whether classic or daring. Each one comes with its own story, of how it came to be THE dress, and like finding a partner, finding the perfect dress can be a struggle. But every one of our brides tells us when you know, you know! The evidence is clear for all to see, and in between all the exciting talents emerging in the SA bridal fashion scene right now, it is SO hard to pick! But pick we did, with special reference to the dresses that YOU loved on social media in 2017. Each one of these is as special and unique as the woman who wears it, a reflection of the many hours of care that goes into creating a bridal masterpiece. That’s the hard work and talent of the designers we’re honouring here. But slaying it IN your dress? Well ladies, that’s all you.

Read More

20 Best Bridesmaid Lineups of 2017

Yay, bridesmaids! As y’all have probably picked up by now, BM fashion is one of my fave parts of wedding design- even after doing this job for so long, I always do a big OOOOOH! at any perfectly styled bridesmaid party! And just when I thought I’d seen it all, this year’s bevvy of bridesquad beauties came in and made everything fresh and pretty and awesome once more. From mismatched lineups to ladies rocking the same gown, every one of these 20 examples is sure to inspire! And not just for bridesmaids, for the love of fashion too! Which makes it extra handy that we’ve included lots of shopping options. (Post includes affilate links – SBB may receive a commission on any sales.)

Read More

20 Best Wedding Cakes of 2017

Today we’re counting down our favourite cakes and I have to say, this is one wedding detail that I always love! Not just because cakes are yum (and I’ll bet every one of these was delicious beyond!) but because they often encapsulate the style or spirit of a wedding in one gorgeous element. No pressure or anything :) Fortunately, the talented cake designers of South Africa and beyond are well up to the task, and this year we’ve featured some absolute beauties! So here we’re counting down our faves from both real weddings and styled shoots, and whether your style is simple semi-naked or full on metallic glamour, you’ll find something to inspire here!

Read More

20 Best Wedding Bouquets of 2017

Hooray! It’s that time of year again! And I don’t mean Christmas (although yay Christmas!), I mean time for us to do our countdown of all our favourite details and pretties from the year that’s almost done. It’s something I look forward to, revisiting all the beautiful real weddings and styled shoots, although trust me, narrowing down a Top 20 in every category is hard! This year was no exception. Nevertheless, we’re kicking off with a roundup of the most breathtaking bouquets. These are the florals that made a big impression on us, and then made you go crazy on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram. And while they come in all shapes, sizes and colours, I’d definitely say that rich jewel tones made a big splash in 2016 (watch out for more of them next year!). I also loved seeing our native flowers – proteas, strelizias, fynbos, etc. – making a bouquet splash in new and exciting ways this year, and hope to see much more of that creativity going into the new year! So here we go – in no particular order, our top 20 bouquets!

Read More

Gift Guide: Honeymooners

Christmas Gifts for Honeymooners & Travel Lovers

Time for another holiday gift guide, and this is a special twist on gifts for couples and newlyweds. With so many couples now waiting a few months before taking a proper honeymoon, you have an extra chance to put together the perfect gift to get them excited about their trip, or just to make things more convenient when they get there. And guess what? There are lots of adorable his ‘n hers, holiday-worthy finds out there – and at a Christmas-friendly price point. Which means that these gifts double as the perfect little splurge for yourself, if you’re a honeymooner-to-be! Links in bold denote affiliate links. SBB may receive a commission for any sales made.

Read More

20 Christmas Cards for Newlyweds

Christmas Cards for Newlyweds

Image: Riekert Cloete on SouthBound Bride

For those of you who’ve just tied the knot, the festive season is a really fun time to check in with family and friends and thank them for their love and support – maybe share a few wedding photographs or double up with a thank you card in the envelope. Or maybe you’ve yet to marry, but as an engaged couple, you’re dying to take some holiday snaps and send your first card together. Sure it’s cheesy, but so fun! Well, as it turns out, the makers at Etsy have come up with some seriously adorable ways to say “Merry Christmas from US” – and I’ve rounded up 20 of my favourites! Links in bold denote affiliate links. SBB may receive a commission for any sales made.

Read More