Category: Bridal Fashion

BHLDN Spring 2016 Heart/Soul Collection

by gaby

It’s going to be a fashionable Friday, if today’s bridal feature is anything to go by! BHLDN have just released their Spring 2016 collection and lookbook, and my goodness, it is full of couture detailing and dreamy fabrics and sequinned lace. This is the largest collection launched by the brand to date, and the first in which they’ve collaborated with high profile label Marchesa, who have contributed five incredible gowns to the line-up. My absolute favourite is Estella, with her lace illusion boatneck, flouncy sleeves, and cowl back – easily the most beautiful boho-ey dress I’ve seen yet. Whether it’s more classic pieces like long lace or illusion neckline dresses, or fresh innovations like a jumpsuit or embroidered sequin crop top and tulle skirt combo, there’s something in this collection for every stylish bride to fall in love with. Even the lookbook has that wonderful couture feeling, and no wonder, since it was shot in none other than Delphine Manivet’s Paris showroom. Le sigh.

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From Catwalk to Aisle: 10 Key Wedding Dress Trends for 2016

by gaby

Hello friends! After a couple of crazy weeks including a last-minute rush trip to Joburg to sort out travel docs for a suuuuuper exciting trip I’m taking at the end of this month (details soon, I promise), I’m back on schedule and ready to serve up some seriously awesome daily inspiration. Let’s get this party started! Last October, there were a lot of reasons I wished I was at New York Bridal Fashion Week (Aisle Society launch party, yay!), and of course the beautiful dresses were top of the list. It’s always awesome to see how the Fall catwalk will affect bridal fashion in the coming year, and if these trends are anything to go by, you brideys are in for a treat. I think if there’s one look that was predominant, it’s what I think of as #modestnotmodest. Traditionally modest elements like sleeves and high necklines, but reinterpreted with lace and sheer panelling for a very sexy and very contemporary look. So let’s take a look at our top ten runway trends for 2016 – which will you be coveting for your own dream dress?

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Best of 2015: Wedding Dresses

by gaby

In some ways, this is one of my favourite posts of the year, but in another, it’s always one of the hardest to narrow down. I swear, ever year the dresses get prettier! 2015 has been no exception, and after last year’s explosion of colour, it has definitely been the year of lace, with gorgeous portrait backs and illusion necklines, long lace sleeves, nude lace underlays, and plenty of soft, sheer contrasting fabrics. SO romantic. Not that colour didn’t get a look in – I think my absolute favourite gown this year was gold and glam and gorgeous all over, and there was also some seriously pretty ombre going on, as well as soft blush, peach and champagne. What will 2016 bring? I can’t wait to find out.

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Monsoon Bridal Collection 2016

by gaby

Here at SBB you know we love beautiful bridal fashion, and that goes from the top of the range designer couture collections right on to the more affordable side of the spectrum – every bride deserves to look AMAZING, whatever her budget. In fact, many of the brides we’ve featured who caused the biggest stir of pinning and liking were rocking off-the-rack dresses, and that’s why I was so excited to hear that Monsoon had launched a new collection of bridalwear. Pretty is the word that comes to mind – truly pretty, in a grown up, European princess at an chic event in Monaco kind of way. Silhouettes are sleek (and there are some lovely options for brides wanting to go for a short hemline), and there’s plenty of lace and metallic embellishment – both classic and on-trend. Best of all – they’re all under £500. Let’s have a peek, shall we?Read More

Phase Eight Bridal Collection 2016

by gaby

Hooray it’s the weekend! Unless you’re American, in which case you’re already enjoying a long Thanksgiving weekend. In the spirit of that holiday, today I’m thankful for many things, and just one of them is the fact that I get to deal with prettiness all day long. So it seems only appropriate that I share some of that prettiness with you today! Phase Eight have just brought out their latest bridal offering, and you guys, it is so good! You won’t actually believe that this is a collection from a high street retailer – with intricate beading, soft illusion lace and delicate draping, you’d expect it to come at a much higher price point. Plus, the exquisite Hope dress (which still prompted plenty of oohs and aahs when I posted it on Instagram the other day) is back, which will make many a budget Daisy Buchanan’s dreams come true for another year. Yay! (PS while you’re over on the site, be sure to check out some of the amazing deals Phase Eight has for Black Friday weekend – bridal’s not included, but it’s the perfect time to pick up a deal on a party dress or something gorgeous for a bridesmaid!)Read More

Daalarna Couture Flower Collection

by gaby

You guys, I think I have a problem. Call it FOMO, or fear of commitment, or just plain wedding dress addiction, but at the moment I feel like I have a new favourite bridal designer every week. But how can I help myself, when the most GORGEOUS gowns keep crossing my desk? And if ever a collection were worthy of obsession it’s today’s, from Hungarian designer Daalarna. The lookbook – set against a wall of bright blooms – is spot on (as is the name of the Flower Collection), because each of the dresses captures the beauty of a garden in a different way. For some, it’s through prints (oh, those prints! My fave being the one that combines ombre with floral), for some it’s through blooms of lace applique, and for others it’s with petal-soft layers of tulle. Chief designer, Anita Benes, was inspired by French impressionist Monet, and his harmonious combintion of natural elements of sky, sun, water and flowers. Like I say, GORGEOUS!Read More

Pronovias 2016 Collection

by gaby

I can’t be absolutely sure, but I’m pretty certain that I’ve been swept of Planet Earth and taken to some kind of heaven for lace lovers. At least, that’s how it feels looking at the latest collection of Pronovias gowns. I mean, seriously. There’s a silhouette here for every bride, a silk or a satin or a lace (oh, those laces!) for every taste. Each one is just as romantic and chic as you’d expect from the brand, but they all have that little something extra – a metallic embellishment perhaps, a flash of skin, a blush of pink. They’re beautiful, but this is only one small part of the collection, so be sure to check out the rest of it on their site or in-store. And then you can be in heaven too! ;)Read More

Maggie Sottero Fall 2015 Collection

by gaby

Bridal fashion time again! I realised recently that we’d never actually featured one of Maggie Sottero‘s collections, which is a bit mad, because not only do we love Maggie’s gowns, but it’s one of the collections available in South Africa. Turns out there’s never been a more perfect time to start though, since the Fall 2015 lineup is just ridiculously pretty. Seriously, there are so many showstoppers here – and so many that I think will really suit SA brides’ style. It’s all about detailing and femininity – the decoration on these dresses is just gorgeous. I think my favourite thing is the move towards gilded lace style embellishment using crystals and beads – it reminds me of wrought ironwork on the balconies of Paris, or the leaded glass of Notre Dame Cathedral. Combined with dreamy tulle? Heaven.Read More

Bo & Luca Cassiopeia Collection

by gaby

In the five plus years I’ve been doing this, there’s two things that have happened in bridal fashion that I’m positively thrilled about (and no, one of them isn’t illusion lace, although yay for that too). It’s the fact that, as well as South African designers going from strength to strength both at home and abroad, there are so many international labels that are no longer out of reach for SA brides – and there are more designers I love available here all the time. One of those labels is Bo & Luca, who have been making great big waves in Australia and the US, and more recently, in Cape Town, since they opened their store at the start of 2015.  Their dreamy, bohemian creations are unlike anything else in our market, and now with the release of their Cassiopeia collection, they’ve taken things to a new level of gorgeous, and there are even more dresses and details for local brides to fall in love with. The lookbook pairs the soft fabrics with dramatic urban ruins, a kind of contemporary gothic that I’d love to see inspire someone’s real wedding! But for now, let’s enjoy these lovely images by Jessica Aleece.Read More

20 Gorgeous Two-piece Wedding Dresses

by gaby

Two-piece Wedding Dresses

*UPDATED FOR 2021* I remember the days when I wore crop tops. Now I’m not saying I’m old or anything (I am) but it was the ’90s. I worked all summer on my six pack (ha!) and I rocked the crop out of those babies for a couple of months. Now if I wore one, I’d scare the children. But for bolder (and fitter) brides than me, crop top and two piece wedding dresses are EVERYWHERE. And I have to say, I love them. Not just the crops, but the bridal separates with filmy skirts and ballerina tops or intricate lace numbers – I find myself pinning them all the time. So I thought it was high time that we did a collective SouthBound dress swoon over two-piece wedding dresses. Ready…? Swoon.

*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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