Category: Trends & Ideas

Confessions of a DIY Bride #2: The Invitations

by gaby

The invitations….that first tentative step into the deep-end of wedding planning, often happens before you know exactly what your (fully fabulous) Big Day vision looks like. Which, of course, makes picking the ‘right’ invitation even trickier!

SAVE THE DATES SAVED THE DAY!
We had the added stress of getting our invites out ASAP, as many of our guests needed to book flights, and organise annual leave. This is where the American tradition of a ‘Save the Date’ came in handy. With our date and venue set, and and inspired by the fact that most of our guests would be travelling from London to SA, we decided to base our Save the Dates on that London Underground staple – the Oyster card.

We tweaked the design (with apologies to TFL) and printed them straight onto magnetic paper (no really, it is a real thing – look here) at home on our shke-donky old inkjet printer, and mailed them out with the Christmas cards. This not only gave our cross-continental guests no excuse not to come, but also gave us breathing space to send out the invites closer to the day, once we had some idea of styles and themes.Read More

Wedding Wreaths

by gaby

Sources: Meg Perotti /The Stylish Soiree via Style Me Pretty (left); Paula O’Hara Photography/Laurens Norton via Southern Weddings (right) 

It’s the ciiiiiiircle of liiiiife…. Okay okay, maybe that’s a bit dramatic (and also? the last time you’ll hear me singing a song a) by Elton John and b) from a musical), but there’s no denying that a circle is an appropriate symbol at a wedding. It represents connectedness, eternity, the wedding rings. And when it’s made out of flowers – well, it’s just so gosh darn purdy. I’ve been noticing wreaths all over weddings for a while now, and every time I do they catch my attention, so today I thought we’d just bask a little in the eye candy.Read More

A Beautiful Illusion {Portrait Back Wedding Dresses}

by gaby

K-Patz in happier days. Tut tut, Kristin. No more sparkly boyfriend for you.

Blame it on Kristin Stewart. (I mean, she’s getting blamed for everything else right now, why not.) I thought the biggest style statement of that there Twilight wedding would be the hanging blooms, but it turns out that Bella’s gorgeous illusion back gown was the big winner. With lace being huge right now, I am seeing beautiful lace backs popping up everywhere, and goodness if they don’t always catch my breath. Now I’ll admit, there’s a bit of envy here because no way no how am I ever going to be wearing one of these in any form (let’s just say the look gets a little ruined by a bra strap, and I get a little ruined without a bra), but for you ladies who can pull this look off, they make an incredibly stylish and romantic statement. (For the rest of us, of course, there are still illusion necklines which are also a big trend, but that’s another post). There’s something about the mixture of covered and sheer, of lace and skin, that makes them simultaneously demure and sexy. Just one note of caution – if you have your heart set on wearing your hair down (or even half down, or in a ponytail), give this dress style a miss. No point in covering up Mona Lisa’s smile!

To get you inspired, I thought I would introduce you to some of the key designers who have been working this look recently, and then show you my local favourite.Read More

Mismatched Bridesmaid Accessories 3 {Jewellery, Hairpieces, Stockings, Cardigans}

by gaby

Source: Michelle Lindsay Photography

Hello friends – hope you’re having a great day! Today I’m bringing you the third and final installment of my roundups on mismatched bridesmaid accessories (see here for bouquets, and here for shoes) – even I can’t believe there are so many ways to let your ladies express themselves! Today I have even more amazing ideas, literally from top to toe! Just a word of caution – all of these trends work best when you use one or combine two at the most (including the dresses themselves), so don’t go overboard. For example, you could put your girls in the same black dresses with different coloured shoes and bouquets to match them, or mismatched dresses in the same colour with different statement necklaces. It’s all about making a style statement, not looking like they’re going to a fancy dress party! The good news is that you can be really creative, depending on the time of year, the style of your wedding or even your personal style. If you love wearing scarves and your wedding is in autumn, give each of your ladies a beautiful and unique scarf to wear. Or if, like me, you’re a fan of chunky cocktail rings, gift each of your girls with a different ring for a special touch to add to their look that will always make them think of you. I think this trend will just continue to grow – I can’t wait to see what maids will be rocking next season!Read More

Inspiration Board: Neon Brights

by gaby

Today’s board is one I never in a million years would have thought I’d be doing. Neon. You know when neon was last cool? About 1991. In 1991, I had just started high school, and my dear mom hadn’t yet taught me that those of us cursed with curly hair could sort it out with a hairdryer (straighteners wouldn’t even be invented for another half a decade – God, I’m old); so on a good day, I looked a bit like Baby in Dirty Dancing and on a bad day, like Sideshow Bob. Which is appropriate, because I was also doing the Bartman, dressing in little minis we referred to as ‘Roxette dresses’, listening to Technotronic and perving over Richard Snell. Who was a cricketer. Happily, I can tell you I haven’t done any of those things since 1992 (sorry, Richard, wherever you are). And yet, here I am, reviving neon. Well, okay, I am not the one who’s revived it. Blame Fashion, because neon is definitely back. And I’ve surprised myself by liking some of the neon inspiration that’s been popping up in Wedding World recently, so I thought I would challenge myself to see if I could imagine it into a wedding. Result? I’m a convert. I think the key (as always) is a bit of moderation – neons look amazing when they stand out against a very white white, and bold mod graphic elements like black and white stripes or gold. It takes them from 80s throwback to Kate Spadey chic, and actually makes for a very stylish palette. The other thing I liked was the use of all the four acids – green, orange, pink and yellow – somehow bringing all four of them into the mix works better for me than just one or two. Put your bridesmaids in bold stripes with bright shoes and nail polish, invest in great stationery and unexpected, colourful flowers, use some bold graphic elements on your tables and then… leave everything else clean, bright and white. Perfect for a fun, city-chic wedding, and ideal with a short 1960s-style dress. So, what do you think? Would you ever consider neon for your wedding?

Colours: Neon orange, yellow, green & pink and white

Top row (l-r): Place setting {S: A Styled Fete; P: Carly Jones; Printables: Anders Ruff}; neon letterpress invitation {Ladyfingers Letterpress}; popcorn bags {S: A Styled Fete; P: Carly Jones; Printables: Anders Ruff}
Row 2: Macaroons {S: A Styled Fete; P: Carly Jones}; funfetti cake {found via b.loved}; bride & groom with LOVE sign {Sweet Tea Photography}
Row 3: Gold balloons {S: Somewhere Splendid; P: Canary Grey Photography}; badges {Wedding in a Teacup}; neon bouquet {S: Pretty Little Details; P: Sarah Postma Photography}

Inspiration Board: Neon Brights | SouthBound Bride

Olive Leaf Wedding Ideas

by gaby

Olive Leaf Wedding Décor

*UPDATED FOR 2021* Now here’s a little trend I’ve been wanting to bring you for ages: Olive leaf decor! I can’t think of a more perfect time to do so than during the Olympics! (Back in Ancient Greece, an olive wreath was given to the winner of each event.) Olive leaves make an amazing accent for your wedding decor, especially if you’d like to introduce a Mediterranean theme. There’s something rustic but also quite clean about them, and the silvery green colour works brilliantly against most decor, but especially a crisp white. From olive branch wedding invitations to other olive wedding decor, this really could work for a number of different wedding styles – an outdoor afternoon lunch, a beach wedding, a rustic farm wedding, an elegant wine farm affair. And, of course, a Mediterranean destination wedding. Beautiful. Here are some olive leaf wedding ideas for you to consider.

*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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Confessions of a DIY Bride

by gaby

:) I’ve been waiting for this day for a while, and I’m so excited to share this post with you! *waves ‘Yay’ flag*
A while back, I was contacted by a former bride living in London, who had planned and executed an awesome DIY wedding in South Africa. Sam wanted to share her insights into planning from abroad, as well as her DIY skills, and as soon as I had a look at her gorgeous wedding I knew not only that we would get on, but that she would be a brilliant contributor to SBB. And so the scheming began. The ultimate result is that I am delighted to tell you that Sam will be joining us here on SBB as our official DIY contributor! Welcome, Sam! She’ll start with DIYs from her own gorgeous wedding, and here’s the really fun part – we’ll be featuring her wedding next week! You guys, it’s such a good one, and the pics were taken by one of my faves, Jacki Bruniquel (a few sneaky peeks on this post, but you’ll have to wait until Tuesday for the rest!). In the meantime, here’s Sam to introduce herself and give some amazing general DIY wedding advice – show her some love in the comments!

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I have a confession to make: My name is Sam, and I was a DIY bride.

From the dress, to the cake, to the flowers, and every stitch and stamp of the reception decor, we sourced, made, crafted and arranged most of it ourselves… from 10 000 miles away.Read More

Mismatched Bridesmaid Accessories Part 2 {Shoes}

by gaby

Source: Emily Johnston Anderson via Ruffled

Hello friends! Isn’t this week just the best? So thrilling to see another South African gold in the pool last night, and an absolutely brilliant one at that. Go the Chad. Just one post today, as I’m heading off to Wimbledon to watch some Olympic tennis. So exciting! I don’t know exactly what we’ll get to see live, but I know Andy Murray’s playing in the afternoon, so I’m sure the atmosphere will be amazing! But right back in Weddingville, we’re getting excited about shoes. For a change. Okay, yes, we’re always excited about shoes here, but in this case it’s shoes that reflect the mismatched bridesmaid trend we’ve been seeing in the last couple of seasons. A couple of weeks ago we spoke about one type of lovely mismatched accessory (flowers) and today it’s all about letting your BMs’ feet do the talking. Get ready to say “shoe-wa-wa!” Read More

Behind the Menu: Willemijn & Jan-Willem

by gaby

Good afternoon, lovelies – hope today has been treating you well? I’m stoked to be bringing you another in our ‘Behind the Menu’ series, where we celebrate weddings where food is at the centre of proceedings. Being a bit of a foodie myself, I love looking at how a great menu is customised for each couple, although by the end of working with these pics I am dying to eat the food! Never more than today, in fact, because this lucky Dutch bride and groom had several incredible courses including a fresh crayfish entree. One of my all-time favourites! It really makes me miss home, and especially remember my last meal before going off to university, when we spent the day at Betty’s Bay with my cousins and feasted on crayfish they’d brought in fresh from the sea that morning. Wow. Food flashback! Anyway, I love that the executive chef at Stir Food, Gustaav Boshoff, included it here, alongside a menu that really shows off the best of South African cuisine. Oh, and PS, how much do I love the hanging floral decor? Just gorgeous. Perfect execution from The Aleit Group, as always!

Catering: Stir Food | Venue: Burgundy Bourgogne | Event Design & Co-ordination: The Aleit Group | Photography: Cari PhotographyRead More