Inspiration - SouthBound Bride

Frozen Fairytale Styled Shoot from the New Wedding Inspirations Magazine

13 January, 2015 by gaby

On a day like today, where every fan in the house is on full blast and I’m still wilting at my desk, it seems a million miles away to be featuring an editorial shoot with misty castles and frozen gems, but that’s another reason why I love it so much! Loosely inspired by Disney’s Frozen, it’s the tale of a princess who is trapped in a freezing castle, dreaming of escape and a world of colour and sunlight and laughter. But even though it’s so fantastical, at the heart of these gorgeous images is a set of super inspiring wedding details, from berry-laden table and cake, to the most GORGEOUS gowns by Gavin Rajah, that would make any bride feel like an absolute princess. We’re sharing this shoot from the pages of the current Wedding Inspirations magazine, and inside you’ll find all the info you need to reproduce this stunning wintery look from the lovely Celeste Potgieter of Celeste Styled Events, as well as loads more wonderful wedding inspiration, so do grab a copy today. In the meantime, let’s sit back and enjoy these beautiful images by Claire Harries and Kristi Agier.Read More

Get the Look: Sequin & Sparkle Bridesmaid Dresses

12 January, 2015 by gaby

We like to keep things fresh around here, and so today is the first step in something new for SBB. From now on we’ll be regularly featuring real bridesmaid dresses in our new ‘bridesmaid boutique’ features, so you can recreate the looks you love from your favourite bridal parties. We’ve curated a collection of current, gorgeous dresses from the US, UK and South Africa (most of which ship internationally too) at a range of price points. And here’s the really cool part, you can also find all of the dresses over on our brand new Bridesmaid Boutique Pinterest board, so be sure to follow the board and check in for updates and new gowns throughout the year. We’re starting today with one of your all-time favourite bridesmaid looks – sequins and sparkle! We’ve featured several gorgeous glittery bridal parties here on SBB and seen many more sequin bridesmaid dresses we loved all over the web – I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing them. The latest update to this look is full-on glamour: long, luxurious, shimmery bling, and bridal parties in mixed metallics. LOVE.
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Inspiration Board: Glam Safari

12 January, 2015 by gaby

Happy Monday, lovelies! It’s time for our weekly colour inspiration, and today we’re bringing you a board that would be perfect for a glam safari wedding, or one where the couple want to showcase their love of Africa. It started with the image top left for me – I just loved the idea of a gold zebra print paired with navy and elegant flowers like white orchids. For this look, you’ll want to stay subtle with the animal print details (although I’ve sneaked in some lion cakes and gold animal swizzle sticks (also a great idea for place settings), which allows the overall look to be sophisticated and not too themey. As an extra nod to safari style, I love the idea of leather luggage tag favours. Add in groomsmen and bridesmaids in smart navy, touches of glamorous gold including a cuff for the bride, and an ultra modern cake (not seen a navy one before – don’t you love it?), and you have the perfect combination for bushveld black tie.

Colours: Navy, gold, white

Top row (l-r): Invitation with zebra envelope {Blue Rose Photography/Simply by Tamara Nicole}; navy suit {Du Wayne Denton/House of Monatic}; navy cake {Cindy Gannon Photography/Georges Chakra}; gold animal swizzle sticks
Row 2: Lion cakes {Stephanie Wiley Photography/Bloom Designs Online}; zebra print invitation {Max Koliberdin Photography/Two Oranges/Katrin Krasnostanova}; gold shoes {Mango Studios/Melissa Andre Events}; leather luggage tag favours {HarLex}
Row 3: navy bridesmaid dresses {Miki and Sonja Photography/XOXO BRIDE}; orchid bouquet {Joey + Jessica Weddings/Tiger Lily Weddings}; place setting {The Nichols/Pearl Events}; bride with gold cuff

Top 10 Honeymoon Destinations for 2015 {Part 1}

9 January, 2015 by gaby

If you’re anything like me, you’re probably missing that holiday feeling right about now, which makes this the perfect time to do some honeymoon dreaming. So I’ve scoured the travel blogs and guides to bring you my pick of the ten hottest honeymoon destinations for 2015, and given myself a serious case of wanderlust in the process! A honeymoon is a chance to really get away from it all, to take in beautiful views and fascinating culture and history at a more relaxed pace to contrast with the hectic pace of wedding planning, with an extra dash of once-in-a-lifetime luxury. Each of these destinations fits the bill – but which is your favourite? (We’ll be counting down the second half of our top ten next Friday – don’t miss it!)

Forest Tea Party Engagement Shoot by YeahYeah Photography

8 January, 2015 by gaby

My favourite type of engagement shoots are those that say something about the couple, and especially those where they get to just hang out together, doing what they love. That’s a perfect description of today’s shoot, since lovebirds Glen and Kelly share a love for teacups, so for their eshoot with Helena of YeahYeah Photography, they decided to have a tea party in a dusky forest, sharing a cake and reading some of their favourite books. Adorable! Kelly also happens to be a wedding planner, and she’s blogging about planning her own wedding over on her site, so be sure to check it out!Read More

From Catwalk to Aisle: 10 Key Wedding Dress Trends for 2015

7 January, 2015 by candice

Hello lovely readers – Candice here! With all the top designers hitting the runway late last year at New York Bridal Week showing off a variety of new trends, we really have been spoilt for choice. If you’re like me, you get a bit overwhelmed by all the magnificent options. So we’ve picked our top ten, stand-out runway and bridal fashion trends for 2015 – see which style you most identify with and how these trends can be interpreted into your dream wedding dress.

Introducing… Anna Georgina

6 January, 2015 by gaby

Afternoon gorgeous ones! As I mentioned yesterday, we’re upgrading fashion on SBB this year – think of it as a series regular here now rather than a guest star. And I’m never happier than when I’m showcasing South African designers, because we have some serious talent on these shores! A name that won’t be a stranger to any of you is Kobus Dippenaar, and today we’re shining the spotlight on Kobus’ bridal label, Anna Georgina, for the first time. These dresses are… well, WOW. Beautifully crafted, with the same beautiful detailing that Kobus’ red carpet gowns are known for, and undeniably feminine. We’re smitten. And the best part is that we were able to steal Kobus away from his studio for an exclusive interview, to go along with the latest Anna Georgina collection.Read More

Wedding Trends for 2015

6 January, 2015 by gaby

It’s that time of year again! I love these annual trend roundups, writing them always fills me with excitement for the year ahead. Of course, trends aren’t the most important thing in planning your wedding – they’re not even close to the most important thing – but as with fashion and interiors, it’s good to know the sort of looks that will be big (and more easily available!) in the year ahead. The other thing to bear in mind is that unlike fashion, wedding trends tend to have a little more longevity, so there’ll still be plenty of the trends I identified last year (and the year before) in 2015. Many of them have simply evolved. But for today, we’re focusing on the new and the beautiful. Here are my Top 10 predictions.

Inspiration Board: Marsala Blush

5 January, 2015 by gaby

Hello again friends! This time of year, I usually do a whole special on the Pantone colour of the year, but this year, I’m saying no. And why? Because I think that this year’s colour, Marsala, is quite frankly, a bit shite. Now don’t get me wrong, because I don’t have a problem with Marsala itself – it’s actually a pretty awesome interior accent and I’ve even seen some fashion bits and pieces that I liked coming through. It’s entirely possible it will grow on me even more. But as a primary wedding colour… it’s brown. I don’t care how many times the internet says it’s red-influenced or muted claret or berry, it’s BROWN. And you guys, don’t have a brown wedding. Because in 20 years time, you don’t want to be looking at your wedding pictures with your children asking why your bridesmaids are in dresses the colour of poop, saying (for the hundredth time): “It’s NOT brown, it’s Marsala” while they roll their eyes and think “people in 2015 were SO DUMB”. Now here’s the good news. Claret and berry shades are actually pretty hot right now. So if you don’t get too intense about the colour matching charts and veer over towards burgundy or ruby, you have yourself a winner. And I suspect that’s where most of the ‘Marsala’ wedding inspiration that’s about to be all over wedding blogs will go. And that’s sort of where I’ve gone today, combined with blush, in the one and only Marsala inspiration board you will see on SouthBound Bride.

Colours: Pantone Marsala (ish), blush pink, gold & ivory

Top row (l-r): Bride with bouquet {Eric Kelley Photography}; shoes; bouquet with ribbons {Lucy Munoz Photography/Divine Blooms & Designs}
Row 2: Centrepiece {Lani Elias Fine Art Photography/Ashley Nicole}; tassel garland {Your Cloud Parade}; gold place setting {The Nichols/Clink Events}; ribbon with ring {Lani Elias Fine Art Photography/Ashley Nicole}
Row 3: Candles in gold bottles {Sonya Khegay Photography/Latte Décor}; serving spoons {Lani Elias Fine Art Photography/Ashley Nicole}; bridesmaids {Tealily Photography/White Runway }

Best of 2014: Moments

2 January, 2015 by gaby

HAPPY NEW YEAR, lovelies! I hope whatever you did over new year, you had a good one, and that 2015 brings you all kinds of wonderful – both imagined and un-dreamt of. At the heart of what we do here on SBB – beyond all the decorations and the dresses and the flowers – is the actual heart of a wedding, those moments of pure joy and emotion and fun that live long in the memory and are especially beautiful additions to the photo album. So to celebrate the new year, we’ve gathered 20 of our favourite moments from 2014. I dare you not to get a little choked up! We’re also giving a special shout out to the amazing photographers who captured these meaningful moments, because it’s by their talent that we get to share in them at all.