Evening, friends! You know, in the reader survey (which I’m still keeping open for a day or two – would LOVE it if you would fill it in!), one of the big things people said they’re like to see more of was DIY. So I’ll be making a plan on that front! But in the meantime, I have an awesome DIY roundup to share with you – and it’s all about the sparkle! Contrary to the saying that ‘all is not gold that glitters’, we’ve rounded up fifteen absolutely gorgeous tutorials for gold or glitter (or both) accents that will add that extra special something to your wedding style. Just, um, don’t use them all at once, obvs.
Category: Decor
Braai Weddings
Source: Yolande Marx on SBB
Hello friends! It’s a public holiday in SA so I’m taking some time off, but as it’s heritage day, aka National Braai Day (that’s BBQ for my overseas readers), I just had to bring you a special on how to create a braai wedding. “Really?”, you think. But it can be done, by combining the informality and the good humour (and the food, of course!) of our national pastime with some wedding prettiness. Here’s why you might want to have a SouthBound Braai… (ho ho)Read More
Farm to Table
Credits: see below
It’s Wednesday Trendsday, lovelies, and to follow up on the post a few weeks ago with fruit and vegetable bouquets (how much did we LOVE them?), today I’m focusing on ten tables, centrepieces and place settings that look like they came straight from a farmer’s market. This little wedding theme is a fun translation of the growing farm to table movement as well as part of the beautiful botanicals trend, and floral designers and savvy brides around the world have come up with the most beautiful ways of presenting unexpected additions to the table, including edible ones. Putting one of these tables together is a little like arranging a still life for a painter – it’s certainly no haphazard dumping of produce on a table, and neither should it look so organised that it reminds guests of a supermarket veggie aisle. Shape, texture and colour are all there to be played with, and I for one love the results!Read More
Three Looks for Travel-themed Weddings
Hello lovelies! Hope you’re having a fab afternoon. As you read this, I’ll almost be at the end of my month off, and heading to SA – can’t wait, as always! So, since travel is the order of the day for me, I thought it was time to touch on travel-themed weddings again. The great thing about this theme is that it really doesn’t have to be a single look or style – it can really be incorporated into any wedding style or venue. To prove my point, I’ve put together three lovely palettes using three of my favourite travel-themed invitation suites. The looks are very different, from vintage to contemporary elegance to bright, fun pops of colour. Which is your favourite?
New Ways with Proteas {Centrepieces}
Source: Adam Barnes/Petal via Wedding Chicks
A few weeks ago, we looked at some of the gorgeousness and variety that has been floating around the web in the form of protea bouquets, from pincushions to kings to Blushing Brides. Today I’m showcasing ten gorgeous centrepieces, also containing proteas, from weddings around the world. I love every one of them, and although proteas work beautifully on their own, I’m amazed how striking they can be with other flowers and interesting containers. So much lovely inspiration for South African brides! And remember, you can always find the latest protea looks on the SBB ♥ Proteas Pinterest board.Read More
Unique & Creative Wedding Table Name Ideas
I’m not going to lie to you: seating arrangements? Not fun. SO not fun. In fact, they will almost certainly suck, and leave you and the man in a hot sweat of how-on-earth-will-we-get-this-done anxiety. (Don’t worry, you’ll make it work.) But if there’s one part of seating arrangements that is suckage free, it’s deciding on your table names. Now, I have nothing against numbers – they’re simple, there are a zillion ways to make them look fab, and they’re easy to follow. The only disadvantage is that sometimes it can feel like there’s a hierarchy (cool people at table 1!), but that’s not such an issue. The reason I do like table names as an alternative is that they’re another opportunity to personalise your wedding details and tell your story. And you know how much I love that by now! Of course, place names are always good, but they’re quite common these days, and you may want something a bit different. So today I have some fun, unique, creative (and, more importantly, completely customisable) wedding table name ideas to share. *Links in bold denote affiliate links. The cost to you remains the same, but SBB may receive a commission for any sales made.
Fresh Ideas for Travel Themed Weddings
Credit: Julian Beattie
So I’ve been doing this blog thing for over three years now, and although some posts and ideas disappear into the archives, some keep getting hits again and again. But lately, instead of just feeling pleased (thanks for the love!) I’ve been feeling a tiny bit embarrassed. I started wondering if the posts had got a little outdated. I’m happy to say that having read them again, I still think they’d be useful, but it also got me thinking about all the new ideas that have popped up in that time (and still do so). These trends would have died out by now if that hadn’t happened. And while I am the last person to tell you not to use something you love (if it resonates with you, I don’t care how many times you’ve seen it on Pinterest, do it), I thought it was about time I revisited the SBB archive and brought you some updated inspiration. So here I am! Wedding trends 2.0.
Today we’re looking at travel themed weddings – I find it quite funny that I called it a ‘mini-trend’ in my original post (still one of our Top 20 most read articles!) when clearly it’s a theme that has run and run – just recently a planner told me it’s by far her most requested theme. Some of that has to do with the vintage decor movement, but with so many couples either meeting abroad, coming from different places, or just enjoying travelling together, I can see why it’s so popular. And just like everyone’s journeys are personal experiences, you can make your travel themed wedding personal too. In the original post, I covered all the basic motifs: maps, luggage, airmail, postcards, etc. and there’s still lots there for you to start with, but here I’m going to be looking at recent ideas or looks or fresh twists that made me stop and take notice. Like those bridesmaids with vintage vanity cases above – love that! Although to be fair, they didn’t actually carry them down the aisle – maybe a bit much, I don’t know.Read More
Coloured Glassware
Image source: We Love Pictures/Wedding Concepts via Style Me Pretty
Hello lovelies! Sorry today’s post is a bit late – I had the most random technical failure in the history of SBB, no kidding. My laptop charger died, which very quickly meant a dead laptop. Gah. Thank goodness for the SBB technical department (aka my incredibly helpful housemate Olly) who had a spare. ANYWAY, it’s Wednesday Trendsday (how is it the first time I’ve called it that?) and we’re taking a little break from our bridesmaid dress series to look at one of my very favourite decor trends. Coloured glass, you guys. It’s such a simple thing, but it seriously makes a table, which is no wonder that every stylist I know uses this whenever they can (in fact, I think I myself have done it somehow on all of my shoots!). I first fell in love with it at this wedding, and since then I have always noticed the subtle but very cohesive look it gives a table, and the way that it brings a colour palette to life in such an elegant way, not to mention the visual interest it adds. Now, I know what you’re thinking – fine for a shoot, too expensive for a 100 people right? Well, actually, no. For one thing, you can hire coloured glasses, sometimes for not much more than those you’d be hiring anyway. (Of course, if you’re having an intimate wedding, I’d go ahead and buy a set of glasses, which will always be a treasured addition to your diningware.) Or try buying a particular colour of glass at charity shops and car boot sales – you wouldn’t believe what treasure’s you’ll unearth, and if you have a vintage or boho vibe, then they don’t need to match. Another way to recreate the look is to use the glasses as vases instead of drinking glasses – that way you need fewer per table, and you could even buy cheap clear glasses at second hand shops and colour them with glass paint or dip them in gold paint (colour at the base of the glass only works just as well). Today’s pics focus on coloured wine glasses, but you can find many, many inspirational pics on Pinterest for coloured glassware in general.Read More
Custom Wedding Dancefloors
Image: welovepictures/Kraak via 100 Layer Cake
Some trends are more obvious – they tie in to more general trends in fashion, interiors, etc. Others just seem to happen, and this is one of them. For the last while, I’ve been noticing more and more (particularly South African) brides and grooms taking their wedding decor and personalisation one step further by creating statement dancefloors, and you guys, I love it! I mean, it’s indulgent – there really is no NEED for this at your wedding – but it’s just so cool! And depending on how bold you go, it can make a real statement that defines the decor of the whole reception space. Like the couple above, who painted the Kleinevalleij floor with mint stripes to go along with their gorgeous graphic decor. Together with the giant wall sign, it makes an amazing statement. Read More
Words as Wedding Decor
Cari Photography/The Aleit Group on SBB (left); Paige Lowe Photography/Sitting In A Tree via Green Wedding Shoes (centre); Tammy Horton Photography via Style Me Pretty (right)
Something that always amazes me about Pinterest – it being a visual medium – is that one of the most popular things people pin is quotes. Beautifully designed renderings of quotes, yes, but words. Pictures of words. It’s a little odd, right? But then, I get it. After all, I am, if nothing else, a words person. So here’s a quote for you, from Elie Wiesel: Words can sometimes, in moments of grace, attain the quality of deeds. I like that quote. Because it reminds me that even though actions are important, sometimes words can be every bit as good. Like how, if I’m sick, I just have to call my mom and hear her say “I’m so sorry you’re sick, my darling” to feel better – those words are like a hug. Or how words can be a slap in the face, or a handshake, or a pat on the back. Sometimes they wrap around you like a blanket, or sweep you up like a conga line. And sometimes, when the action is as big as giving your whole heart to someone, you need words to share that with the people you love. So they can feel it with you. Which is all a totally poetic way of saying that today’s post is about words. As decor. It’s one of my top 10 trend predictions for 2013, and I officially love it!Read More