Tips & Advice - SouthBound Bride

Wedding Planning: Where to Start

7 January, 2019 by gaby

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…

How to Write Your Wedding Guest List in 10 Simple Steps

29 January, 2018 by gaby

Image: Jules Morgan on SBB

The title of this article was originally ’10 Easy Steps’, but I decided that was way inaccurate. Let’s be honest, choosing who can and can’t attend your wedding is never easy, right? It’s possibly the task you’re dreading most. And it’s true, there are a million little bits of information and wedding guest list etiquette to consider, and feelings that might get hurt, and complications that could (and probably will) develop. Nobody likes to be left out of stuff. But the good news is that if you follow a logical process to making your wedding guest list, step by step, and the ‘rules’ (which you make yourselves) are clear to your family, etc. then you’re far less likely to offend. And then you can get on with the fun stuff. So here it is, my ten step method for how to make a wedding guest list. Let’s go!

How to Choose Your Wedding Style & Colours

4 January, 2018 by gaby

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.

Welcome to SouthBound Bride!

2 January, 2018 by gaby

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!

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3 Gorgeous Summer Bridal Looks from the Catwalk with Sketch & M

19 October, 2017 by gaby

Wedding season is upon us again, and while almost all of you summer brides will have your dresses, décor and details down, one thing you may still be undecided on is your hair and makeup aka “your LOOK”. And we get it: you want to look fresh and fabulous and on-trend, but also timeless and classic and most importantly, still like yourself. It’s enough to give a bride sleepless nights (bags under the eyes? NOT cute). So we’ve asked one of our favourite local hair and makeup geniuses to pop by today and share her expertise – super excited to introduce the very lovely Marisa of Sketch & M! Marisa loves creating natural bridal makeup looks – flawless, glowing complexion, earthy eyeshadow shades, bold lashes and neutral lips – but she also appreciates brides that are a little more experimental. Today she’s showing how some of those high fashion catwalk looks can be beautifully interpreted for modern brides, and sharing some images of her at work, captured by Leanne Love Photography. Take it away, Marisa!

How to Choose a Safari Wedding Venue with Absolute Perfection

12 October, 2017 by gaby

Anyone who knows me will tell you with no hesitation that the South African bushveld is my happy place, the one where I feel most alive. That sense of bushveld magic is something I share with many of you. Maybe that’s why safari weddings have always had such a place in my heart – there really is no more romantic place I can imagine promising your lives to one another! And just because you’re out in the middle of nature, doesn’t mean an ‘Out of Africa’ style wedding has to be low on style – oh no. In fact, it’s just the opposite! Just ask Candace Allan of Absolute Perfection. This high end, fine art wedding consultancy based in Johannesburg specialises in event styling, coordination and floral design, with a special focus on luxury South African safari destination weddings, and has created some absolutely stunning celebrations in the most beautiful locations. In fact, there’s just one problem with safari weddings, and that’s trying to figure out which heartstoppingly lovely venue to choose! We’re spoilt for choice, but with this being such an important choice, you definitely want to find the right one. Luckily for us, Candace is here to share her sage advice, along with dreamy images by Julia Winkler Photography)!

How To Pick the Perfect First Dance Song

14 June, 2017 by gaby

Pop question: what’s ‘your song’? I’ll give you a minute, but chances are that you either know the answer to that one without thinking about it (nailed it!) or you have no idea and you read the title of this post thinking “yes, how DO we pick our first dance song?” If you’re one of the second group (or if you’re one of the first, but ‘your song’ is something wildly inappropriate for a first dance, it happens!) then worry not, because there is a perfect song out there for you, even if the closest you come to Fred and Ginger is standing and swaying. And today we’re teaming up with Ryan Engelbrecht of specialised DJ service Silkmusic to show you how!

7 Reasons to Have a Destination Beach Wedding (and Exciting News!)

27 March, 2017 by gaby

Friends, hello! I know I have been a bit scarce on SBB in March, but it has been a crazy, crazy (seriously, crazy) month and I’m also in the middle of travelling at the moment. I promise that as soon as I’m back in SA we’ll be returning to normal. But in the meantime, I get to share some of the tropical love (appropriate, since I’m heading to Cuba today!), as well as some exciting news! Aisle Society is thrilled to announce we have partnered with Abaco Beach Resort to offer you Aisle Society Weddings. These carefully curated weddings were specially designed for Abaco (a fabulous little gem in the Bahamas) by some of the world’s top wedding editors, and offer an authentically Bahamian vibe and some of the most gorgeous tropical design details. I’m going to be sharing a peek at what Aisle Society Weddings have to offer, alongside my top 7 reasons why a destination beach wedding is basically the best thing ever.

Top Tips for Planning a Beach Wedding

14 March, 2017 by gaby

Image: Deborah-Ann Photography/Wildeflower on SouthBound Bride

Hello friends! It’s been a crazy couple of weeks, so my apologies for being so scarce on SBB. I’ve been working on a Kickstarter campaign for Aisle Society that is just seven days away from deadline and wow – what an experience! I’d love it if you all would check it out and consider supporting us (even $1 is very much appreciated!). But meanwhile, I’ve been dying to bring you the beachy inspiration I have lined up, especially since I’m heading for the Caribbean tomorrow for the Aisle Society retreat! So beach is very much on my mind ;) Beach weddings, I have to tell you, are a huge favourite of mine – although I’ve yet to actually attend one in person, *sad face*. I just adore the whole feet in the sand, relaxed but elegant vibe. But while planning a beach wedding IS fun, it does have challenges that other weddings do not. There’s a lot to think about to ensure everything goes off smoothly, so here are SBB’s top tips for the perfect beach wedding.

Category: Tips & Advice