Category: Trends & Ideas

DIY Edible Autumn Wedding Favours

by gaby

When I started putting together a roundup of autumn wedding DIYs, I discovered that lots of the ideas out there were for DIY edible wedding favours with a bit of an autumn twist. Since edible favours are a big favourite of mine (after all, guests are always less likely to leave something delicious behind at the end of the night), I thought it warranted a dedicated post! There are so many fun ideas here – the only bad part was trying to control my tummy rumbling and my sweet tooth crying out while I was sorting through them! Some of the links have packaging suggestions or even printables included, but you can always adapt the idea to suit your own colour scheme and look. Consider glass canning and jam jars, glass bottles, kraft boxes and paper bags, among your options, and pretty up with ribbon, twine and calligraphy.
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15 Cosy & Chic Autumn Wedding Details & Ideas

by gaby

Image credit: Jenna Joseph Photography/Kelsey Rae Designs on SouthBound Bride

I’ll tell you a secret. When I started wedding blogging, it wasn’t the dreamy dresses or the rising trends or even the beautiful photography that first drew me in – it was the details. Those surprising little elements that I would come across and think “wow, that’s a cool idea,” and sort of file away in my memory in case I ever needed to use it. Five years and many, many real weddings on my own and others’ blogs, and there are way too many of those details for me to ever try and store in my brain. And that’s why I love doing these little roundups, because it gives me a chance to go back and remember some of those cool ideas, and share them with you all. This month, as you know, we’re all about autumn weddings, and there’s an absolute WEALTH of stuff you can do – fruits, vegetables and flowers that are iconic of the harvest season, cosy warm weather activities, autumn palettes, traditional change-of-season food. Adding a few of these elements and autumn wedding decorations into your own fall wedding is a great way to warm your guests, body and soul!Read More

Flowers in Season: Autumn

by gaby

Hello lovelies! You don’t normally see me on a Sunday, but with load shedding and internet issues this week, I didn’t get to bring you this little bit of floral loveliness, and I couldn’t wait any longer to share it with you. In South Africa we’re lucky that we don’t have such clear-cut seasons, so some blooms are available for longer in the year, but even so, I always think it’s a lovely thing to consider seasonal flowers when planning your wedding. Not only do they look amazing and natural, but they’re also often a little friendlier on the budget (and the environment). A while back we rounded up some winter flowers, and today, in line with our theme for the month of May, we’re showcasing a few beauties you might not yet have considered for your autumn wedding – along with some pretty bouquet and stationery inspiration, of course! Let’s go!Read More

20 Naked Cakes for an Autumn Wedding

by gaby

One of the things I love most about wedding world in the internet age is that when a gorgeous new trend comes along, all the amazing creative hands and minds across the globe take it as a challenge to create their own spin, and sometimes I look around and just think wow, this is amazing. That’s how I feel every time a beautiful naked cake pops up on Pinterest that I haven’t seen before, and gives me that little thrill of OMG. So when we chose Autumn as our theme for May, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to round up some of those sweet confections, which just happen to be perfect for a rustic, seasonal theme. Let’s go! (PS See our previous roundup of naked cakes here.)Read More

20 Ways to Incorporate Autumn Leaves into Your Wedding

by gaby

Just a couple of days into our autumn theme month, and I’m already absolutely loving these change of season details (which is just as well, because usually the end of summer just makes me sad!). One thing I love to do in wedding design is to add a little motif to the overall look – not a theme as such, just a little something that reflects the overall style and makes for memorable details. There are lots of autumn motifs, but the most obvious is fallen leaves, and since these are a great budget option (as well as a really beautiful one), I thought that’s where I would focus today. I found lots of pretty ideas for incorporating the leaves into your big day – some more obvious (but beautifully rendered) and others creative and unexpected. Pick the ones you love for your autumn celebration!Read More

Floral Print Bridesmaid Dresses from Plum Pretty Sugar (PPS Couture)

by gaby

floral-print-pastel-bridesmaid-dresses (1)

Well, this morning we were all about autumn, but this afternoon we’re taking a step back into spring and summer for a second, because I have the most beautiful collection of bridesmaid dresses to share with you from Plum Pretty Sugar‘s new PPS Couture line. I mean, I’ve seen and been crushing on floral print dresses for some time, but these really take the cake. You may already have spotted them on a couple of the US wedding blogs, but with gowns this gorgeous (and dreamy pics by the legendary Jose Villa), I just had to share them with my lovely South African brides too. The four gowns in the collection are made from silk and chiffon, and are full of pretty little details to complement the ethereal floral prints (which just happen to mix and match to perfection). With boys names (cute!) but a distinctly feminine aesthetic, I have a hard time picking my fave. And just in case you think they’re out of local reach, you’ll be happy to know that PPS ships worldwide.Read More

DIY Sparkle Birdcage Veil

by gaby

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

30 Super Chic Short Wedding Dresses

by gaby

30 Super Chic Short Wedding Dresses

*UPDATED FOR 2020* With micro weddings and minimonies 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.

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Embellished Bridesmaid Dresses

by gaby

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

10 Unique Wedding Invitation Packages

by gaby

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!

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