Some days, my job as a wedding blogger just doesn’t feel like work, and I have to say that this morning, as I put these gorgeous pictures of sparkly and shiny cakes together, the only difficulty was in narrowing down the selection. You’ll know by now that I’m a total magpie, and in love with everything that glimmers, but I think that love went to a new level when foiled wedding cakes came on the scene. I saw one for the first time in person last year in Durban, and it really does make an impression. I also love the way that it can be used as a texture, mixed in with ruffles, patterns, flowers, etc. As always, the line between glitzy and gaudy is a fine one, but here are 20 wedding cakes that I think walk the line perfectly. They’re almost too pretty to cut into, but the contrast between cake and metallic makes them look, if possible, even more delicious!Read More
After a gorgeous outdoor wedding this morning, I thought it was high time for a rustic DIY roundup this afternoon – and nothing says rustic like burlap! Or hessian, as most South Africans call it. This sacking fabric not only adds texture and a bit of a rough feel (perfectly contrasted with lace, or even a bit of sparkle) but it’s also super affordable, which is a win for budget brides. Pick it up in your local haberdashery, or order online by the metre. Most brides use it for table runners, but there are actually many more fun uses for the fabric, and it’s a chance for some creative DIYs. Pick your favourite from these fifteen brilliant ideas and get crafting!
*UPDATED FOR 2021* 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 your bae 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.
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Mismatched bridesmaid dresses: aren’t they fabulous? This trend just grows and grows, and I especially love the look of mismatched neutral bridesmaid dresses, because you can often incorporate some of the other pretty bridesmaid dress trends into it too, like prints or sequins. For example, if you’re mismatching within the mushroom to nude pink neutrals range, you could include, one pattern in neutral colours, one lace overlay dress, and then a pop of glitter against a neutral skirt perhaps? The secret of successful mismatched bridesmaids is texture – think ruffles, soft chiffon and contrasting fabrics. Model Molly Sims pretty much perfected this look for her wedding, but I found lots of less famous brides who pulled it off beautifully too. And I had to include the image on the left below – I wonder if any has been pinned quite as much as this one? I always thought it was from a catalogue, but in fact it was an early adopter of the mismatched neutrals look, a bride who made it look easy breezy and drop dead gorgeous. Just one last note to mention here – most of the weddings below have used white or pale flowers and probably have an overall white or neutral colour scheme. Which is great. But don’t forget that this look works beautifully for bolder wedding colour choices too, and bright blooms really pop against a plain background, so don’t write it off as too vanilla if you’re a statement bride! *Links in bold denote affiliate links. The cost to you remains the same, but SBB may receive a commission for any sales made.
*UPDATED FOR 2020* The boho bridal look is one of the most romantic – perfect for free spirited souls and rustic nature-loving gals alike. And when it comes to bohemian bridal hairstyles, you really have your pick. Pretty, soft updos, long flowing beachy waves, half up half down styles with interesting twists and plaits, and beautiful braids and ponytails. All fit the boho bridal hairstyle brief, so it’s really down to what fits your personal style, hair length, and texture. Plus, there’s always the option of adding in pretty floral crowns or bohemian bridal accessories like hair vines and crowns, for extra impact. Here are some of my favourite styles.
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Hello lovelies! As you’ll remember from last week, I am currently taking a fresh look at some of SBB’s most popular trend roundups, and this I know is going to be hands down my favourite. Seriously, putting this post together I have a goofy smile on my face, like I’ve ODed on sugar. Except that this is a protea rush. Totally a real thing. After all, why else would so many South African brides choose to use our national flower in their wedding bouquets? Because they’re AWESOME, that’s why. And it’s not even just a South African thing anymore – proteas have taken the wedding world by storm. I have mixed feelings about this, because sometimes when I see gorgeous proteas at an American wedding, for example, I feel like I’m seeing one of my friends in the photos from someone else’s party. But I am trying to be cool, because after all, there is plenty of protea-inspired love and goodness to go around. Plus, even though I hate to admit it, some of those overseas floral designers are applying their fresh eyes and coming up with some astonishingly gorgeous arrangements. Especially when it comes to bouquets. Rustic textures, bright pops of colour, interesting shapes and structures… there’s a lot of ooh factor going on here. I’ve been collecting it on the SBB ♥ Proteas Pinterest board for a while, and today I thought it was high time for a roundup. Here are 25 striking protea-filled bouquets. Get ready for that rush.Read More
Afternoon, friends! Since January, we’ve been looking at all the key trends for bridesmaid dresses in 2013 – who knew there could be so many? We’ve looked at prints (floral, stripes), styles (Gatsby, skirts) and textures (lace, sequins). Now we’re turning to colours themselves – after all, this is the classic look that many brides will always choose. Next week we’ll look at neutrals (in themselves a trend) but today we’re turning attention to five key colours that have been making a big impression in wedding parties across the world: emerald (Pantone’s colour of the year), mint, coral, peach and navy. For each, I’ve highlighted a few shop finds – somee a steal and others a bit more of a splurge. I love them all!Read More
Something fun for you, this Friday afternoon! One of everyone’s favourite weddings so far this year, Leigh and Andrew’s colourful handmade celebration in KZN had so many brilliant DIYs and a real playful feel that not only included younger guests in the fun but delighted the older ones too, I’ll bet! The fortune tellers/quack quacks/cootie catchers were one of my favourites, especially because the couple got friends involved beforehand with folding the favours and with writing fun actions and dares on the inside. Bride Leigh said that it made for a great surprise for her, as well as the guests! There are lots of tutorials and templates for these available online, and in fact you can download Leigh & Andrew’s exact template here. For something different, I’ve created a variation with the fun ‘eat, drink & be married’ slogan. Print it out on plain, coloured or brown paper, and you can also spice it up with some pretty washi tape detailing to match your theme. Download the template here.Read More
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
We’re heading towards the end of our series on the top bridesmaid looks for 2013, and I must say, I have loved pulling them together! I honestly don’t know how you all are choosing which one to go with, because I love them all. And today’s is no exception – as you may have figured out by now, I’m a huge fan of ombre, the French term for graduated colour – see more of this wedding look here. It also happens to work perfectly with the watercolour trend that’s making everything so pretty right now. There are lots of ways to bring ombre into your wedding, but one of my favourites is through bridesmaid dresses – it’s the perfect evolution of the mismatched look. But what IS the difference between ombre and mismatched bridesmaids? Well, the key is really in the colours, of course. With mismatched, you could pick a colour (green, for example) and let your girls buy whatever dresses they liked, as long as they’re blue. With ombre, you’ll need to be a bit more OCD about it, picking an exact shade along the same colour spectrum for each bridesmaid, starting at an intense colour and ending at a light one, spaced out according to the number of BMs you have. Sound complicated? Well, it can be – one way to make it a bit easier is to have dresses made (the same or in different styles) so you have a bit more control. Take paint samples with you when you go shopping for material or dresses – each will usually show you an ombre colour family, so they’re the perfect reference. But even if you go high street, it’s not as difficult as you might imagine, and to show you, I’ve put together three ombre looks from current high street finds. My favourite is the peach ombre look – it just works so perfectly!
