If you read our popular post in January on How to Write Your Guest List, you may be A-for-away on the whole guest list front. But for those of you planning a small wedding (and here’s why you might want to), maybe you need an extra bit of help. After all, while we love the intimacy and lower budget of a bijoux bash, nobody loves having to cut friends and family out of a very special day. So today we’re bringing you our seven top tips for making the snip, as well as some extra tips for how to break the awkward news.Read More
I could tell it was a good day when not only did a fab city elopement editorial land in my inbox, but the lovely Rebecca of Runaway Romance offered to share some of her crafty expertise in the form of a DIY from the shoot (which we featured this morning – didn’t you love it?). As you know by now, I’m besotted with all things bling, so when I laid eyes on the sparkly birdcage veil she custom made for model Setsoali, I knew you all would want to know how to recreate this stylish and subtly glamorous look for yourselves! To be honest, I’m trying to figure out where I could possibly get away with wearing a sparkly birdcage veil myself, just so I can make one. Supermarket run? Dog park? Rugby? I’ll figure it out. Meantime, let’s get to grips with the how to. Thanks so much for sharing, Rebecca!Read More
Holy cannoli, do I have something special to share with you guys today! As you know, it is our month of small weddings, and this fine morning we have a super creative elopement inspiration from a brilliant team. It combines a few of our favourite things – a wedding for two, urban chic, and a city skyline. But what tickled me was the little details – a naked red velvet cake, a table runner made of 5 cent pieces (seriously, I LOVE THIS), and a sparkly birdcage veil (which huzzah, we’ll be sharing a DIY tutorial for later on today). It’s so fun and unique and South African – basically everything we like to celebrate here on the blog. Thank you so much to the awesome Rebecca of Runaway Romance and her team for sharing!Read More
With micro weddings on the rise in a big way right now, I couldn’t help but jump at the opportunity to showcase short wedding dresses. I know they’re not everyone’s cup of tea, but if you think about it, some of our greatest fashion heroes over the years have opted for chic and short for their weddings over long and lovely. Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Kiera Knightly, Natalie Portman, Carrie Bradshaw… With that kind of inspiration, it’s actually surprising that more brides don’t opt for the cropped cut. Of course, there’s also a ton of variety under the short dress banner – from mini to tea-length to hi-lo, and so on. All of them have a sassy elegance that’s beautiful at any wedding, but has become especially synonymous with stylish elopements and small weddings (or even as reception dresses for the bride for whom one pretty dress just won’t do). So it’s high time I rounded up my favourites, no? Maybe I can even convert some of you fashion-conscious brideys to the short dress brigade ;) *Links in bold denote affiliate links. The cost to you remains the same, but SBB may receive a commission for any sales made.
Happy Monday, lovelies! When I was putting together last week’s post on the Etsy Wedding Fair, I just fell in love with the gorgeous Liberty print shoes by Hetty Rose, and I thought how amazing they would be for a botanical wedding, which got me all inspired to create a new botanical inspiration board. I really love the unusual colour scheme I’ve ended up with – the soft vintagey peach and off whites, with tiny punches of orange, red, coral and blue. In larger colour blocks, they’d be overpowering, but here they have a lovely, mismatched but pulled together feeling. I’m especially loving the flowers in the image top right and the flower wrapped oversize balloon, and the cutlery escort cards – those little details that catch the eye and spark the imagination. Fun!
Colours: Peach, ivory, emerald, coral, magenta, orange, purple & blue
Let’s just take a closer look at those gorgeous shoes, shall we?
They’re created using Liberty botanical print fabric in five different styles, and are made bespoke for you, so you can adapt each style with a heel of your choice and other design features. You’ll find the full range in the Hetty Rose Etsy store.
One of my favourite types of SBB post is our bridesmaid fashion posts, because it gives me a chance to indulge in the latest fashion and lust over some gorgeous gowns and gown trends. And if there’s one current gown trend that really makes me get my ‘ooh’ on, it’s long, embellished dresses – those beaded and sequined beauties that immediately raise the style stakes when you see them on a bridal party. Even better, a mismatched bridal party, so there’s multiple dresses to fall in love with. If you’ve been loving this trend, you’ve probably noticed that there are a couple of specific dresses that have become synonymous with this look, and that those dresses happen to have been designed by one label, Adrianna Papell. Available in both the US and UK (and of course, shipping to SA from either), I’ve seen these gowns on everything from whole bridal parties, to maids of honour, to brides themselves (they’re perfect for an elopement or reception dress, or for a really chic engagement shoot look). Basically, we love Adrianna. So I thought it was high time that we did a post specifically dedicated to her dresses, and to this absolutely gorgeous bridesmaid look. As always, just click on any of the product images below to shop (or for UK shopping links click here).Read More
When I put out a call for elopements and intimate weddings among our favourite SBB wedding pros, I was absolutely thrilled to receive this stylish gem by Green Goddess flower studio, with beautiful images by Debbie Lourens – one of those submissions I just think of as a ‘hell yes’. With a sort of 1950s Italian Vogue feel, it tells the story of a pair of starry-eyed lovers and a surprise elopement. Totally adorable, and incredibly romantic! I just love everything about it, from the bride’s gorgeous Gavin Rajah dress and coat to the flower-embellished umbrella, and the cake display that’s almost too pretty to eat. And even though it’s an editorial, I love the intimate, fun feeling that the team managed to create – the same feeling I imagine that a real couple would experience if they pulled off this wedding coup. This, friends, is why elopements are awesome.Read More
So as you all know, April is our month for intimate weddings, and one of the things we love about a small guest list is that you can allocate a bit more of your budget to extravagant details. Hands up, I’m a bit of a stationery fiend, and there’s also nothing I love more than sending and receiving little parcels, so when I see creative, elaborate invitations (especially those that require more than the usual envelope to send) I get really excited (yep, I’m dorky like that). The thing is, I know that those sorts of invitations don’t scale up well to 120 guests on a normal budget. So as I say, this is one of those details that’s absolutely perfect for a small, intimate, beautifully styled affair. Here are 10 of my all-time favourite wedding invitation packages, made by some of the most talented and creative designers in the industry!
A little while ago I wrote a post on styling your engagement session, but after seeing today’s shoot, I reckon all I needed to say was: fill your house with balloons, and bring a puppy. Because OMG this is the cutest e-sesh I have ever seen, and I won’t lie, it’s partly down to the extreme adorableness that is Rouxnette and Johan’s bulldog. Just look at THAT FACE. No seriously, look at that it. I want to kiss that face off. But apart from the sweetest pup, what I really love about this engagement shoot is the way that the couple decided to make it as relaxed as possible, inviting photographer Stefan Louw into their home and their everyday lives, and just adding that touch of gorgeous whimsy with the balloons. It’s perfect. (PS And if you’re loving Rouxnette’s style as much as I am, be sure to check out her Gauteng wedding co-ordination business, Bona-Fide Events.)Read More
If you’d asked me a couple of years ago, I would have told you probably that the watercolour trend that had just started then would be so over by now, but as I’m learning, trends in wedding world have a longer life and more staying power than I used to give them credit for. Especially since everything watercolour has gone from strength to strength – so much so that it has me wishing I could paint, and that’s saying something, since I have the artistic ability of a flea. Fortunately, I can satisfy myself with beautiful painterly palettes like this one, and gently washed out and handpainted details, from stationery to fabric to flowers. Best of all, if you like colour, you can really enjoy a multicoloured scheme, but with a very soft, romantic feel to it, which is basically perfect for a wedding. So ja. I’m #teamwatercolour all the way.
Colours: Fuschia, mauve, blush, purple, medium blue, navy & coral
