We’re continuing our week of Think Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but after rounding up some beeyooodeefool blush dresses yesterday, this afternoon we are all about the flowers. Don’t get me wrong – I love bouquets in a variety of colours, and pink actually goes brilliantly with most of them, but I’ve loved looking for these pink-shades-only bunches. From huge, luscious peonies to smaller, more delicate blooms, each one has something special that makes me go ‘ooh’. And don’t forget to pop back tomorrow and Friday afternoons, when we’ll have even more inspiration of the blush variety.Read More
You’ve probably picked up by now that I (like most other wedding bloggers) am a HUGE fan of calligraphy, especially the modern hand lettering that has taken wedding design by storm the last couple of years. I especially love that calligraphy isn’t just for envelopes and place cards anymore – with lasercut and other processes, it’s become a decor feature too. Now, let’s be clear – if you want breathtakingly beautiful hand lettering, there is no substitute for the talented calligraphers who make this their business. The fees may seem hefty, but it’s labour and time intensive work, and I totally support these small business owners. However, the fact is that many couples just don’t have the budget for this lust-have, even if they want to. And in South Africa, there’s also only a very small number of people offering the kind of work you’ve seen on American wedding blogs. So what’s the solution? Well, as I say, it’s not quite the same, but a very pretty second best is to choose and use one of the gorgeous script fonts that are available online. There are a few premium fonts that lead the way in this area, but if you’re not willing or able to fork out for these, the good news is that you’re not stuck with whatever crappy script fonts you can find in MS Word these days. There are some absolutely lovely calligraphy fonts out there available absolutely free for personal use, and I’ve rounded up 15 of my favourites! If you’d like to download one of them, just follow the links below and hey presto – you’ll have a shiny new font to brand your wedding with.Read More
*UPDATED FOR 2021* I did a post on the language of flowers a few years ago, when Kate Middleton selected the blooms for her bouquet to represent various sentiments, and I thought it was about time to update it and introduce some of you to a beautiful tradition you might not be aware of. In fact, the language of flowers goes back about 200 years, and was especially popular in the Victorian era, when young ladies consulted one of the many flower dictionaries available at the time in constructing their ‘tussie-mussies’. These days the interest in ‘florigraphy’ has largely been lost, but I think it’s a super romantic vintage tradition to bring into your wedding (as this real bride did to gorgeous effect) and a really sweet, meaningful way to construct your bouquet. You can find meanings for dozens of blooms online, but today I’ve drawn together ten of our favourite wedding flowers together with their meanings, which come from The Knot Book of Wedding Flowers by Carley Rooney. And some gorgeous wedding flowers to get swoony over too, of course!
*Links in bold denote affiliate links. The cost to you remains the same, but SBB may receive a commission for any sales made.
Sometimes I just like to post pretty pictures of things I like, and I REALLY like sparkler send-offs. Maybe it’s because they look so magical and Hollywood ending-ey, or maybe it’s just because sparklers were the only fireworks that didn’t scare the living crabcakes out of me when I was a child (I HATED Guy Fawkes, still kind of do). Whatever, sparkler exits are awesome. It seems to be more of a thing among our friends in the US (and of course some venues won’t allow them for fire insurance reasons), but if you can do a sparkler exit, not only is it a great way to end the evening, it’s also a hell of a photo. Of course, your photographer may have gone home by then, so this is the one time I’m going to say be sure you have a friend who loves photography at the ready, because done right it really is too good a shot to miss. Safety obviously is also a concern – make sure you have a couple of sensible (and sober) friends or family members on fire marshall duty, fire extinguishers at the ready, and metal sand buckets for disposal of the hot sparklers afterwards. To make sure this works, you’ll also need more than the standard little sparklers – large ones are available online, and have about a four minute burn time. Which also means there’s no need to run down the line (often making it a better photo). Needs a little pre-planning, but as you’ll see in the pics on this post, totally worth it.Read More
I say this all the time, but HOW is time going so fast? I could swear I’ve done loads of these DIY roundups this year, but when I looked at the archives, it turned out not so much. Eish. Anyway, I’m excited to bring you this one, because geometrics have become such a key trend in weddings this year. (Psst, look out for tomorrow’s wedding for a gorgeous example.) And of course, it’s not just a trend in weddings, but in fashion and interiors too, which is a bonus because some of the clever DIYs that internet creatives have come up with are absolutely perfect for quirky wedding details. I’ve rounded up fifteen of my faves for you today.
I’ve been hearing lots of rumours in the SA wedding industry that this summer is going to be the summer of yellow weddings, and I for one couldn’t be happier to see this happy shade go mainstream. It reminds me of a friend at university who had a bright yellow dress, and every time she wore it, said she noticed how everyone smiled at her – literally, it’s a colour that makes you smile. Which is the best mood to put your guests in, right? Absolutely. So I’ve pulled together 25 of my absolute favourite yellow bouquets – so much sunshiney goodness! And of course, even if you’re not planning a full on yellow colour scheme, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t have a pop of bright in your bouquet, especially when it looks as gorgeous as these do.Read More
*UPDATED FOR 2021* As you know by now, I love nothing like I love a little sparkle, and recently I have been absolutely loving the little gold foil and gold leaf wedding details that I’ve seen popping up, especially those that have an imperfect textured look. So soft and pretty! Gold foil is, quite simply, a thin sheet of gold, while gold leaf is even thinner. They can be used in printing (see our roundup of gold foil invitations here) or applied to objects for a gilded, luxurious finish. This is also quite a versatile technique, and can be incorporated anywhere from gold foil cakes and table décor to a bold gold leaf bridal makeup look, or even a wedding dress of veil with handpainted gold leaf detailing. Swoonage! Here are some of my favourite gold leaf wedding details to inspire you.
*Links in bold denote affiliate links. The cost to you remains the same, but SBB may receive a commission for any sales made.
One of my favourite times of year in the wedding industry is now, because after New York fashion week and ahead of the bridal shows, all the new collections start coming out (one day I WILL make it to New York to take up my invitations there!). And it’s also when Pantone announces their Spring palette for the following Spring – while the autumn colours are gorgeous, the Spring ones are always just a little bit more wedding-worthy, and it’s lovely to see and dream how things will be looking next year. So today I’m sharing the ten new shades, as well as mini-palettes to give you some ideas on how to combine them. In the coming weeks, I’ll be creating some brand new full inspiration boards in these colours – can’t wait to play and have some fun!Read More
For this week’s roundup, we’re turning to what is positively one of the prettiest trends in weddings at the moment: floral arches. And with so many South African wedding ceremonies happening outdoors, this is a perfect way to make an impact right from the get go. I am kind of obsessed with flowers myself, and the idea of walking up an aisle towards such a lush, incredible centrepiece (imagine the gorgeous fragrance as you say your vows!) just blows me away. Amazing. And I have a feeling you all are going to feel the same way too. Oh, and PS – as much as I love the flower-only arches, I am also kinda dying over the ones with curtains (or even a door). I mean, seriously. So romantic.Read More
Happy Friday, lovelies! With the equinox coming up, we have such a lovely little spring printable for you today from the talented Vicky at Mocholoco. As well as being an awesome stationer, Vicky is also one of our real SouthBound Brides (her gorgeous DIY beach wedding was one of my favourites of 2013), and is also about to relaunch her website, so to celebrate, she created this gorgeous watercolour-style poster – the perfect addition to your desk (or desktop). I’m not sure if brides and grooms always realise the huge amount of thought and process and creativity and hard work that goes into producing bespoke stationery pieces, and I’m personally pretty fascinated by how it’s done. So instead of just presenting the finished product, I asked Vicky to give you all a little glimpse behind the scenes into her process. Blood, sweat and glitter! Thank you SO much, Vicky – be sure to click through to her site to see more of her lovely work.
