I love it when I come across a couple that chooses to do their wedding differently. I love it even more when they don’t just do it to be cool or unique, but to reflect the things that mean something to them or share a part of their history with their friends and family. Rebecca and Jacques are one of those couples – they met at a music festival a couple of years ago, so for their wedding day decided to recreate that carefree summer vibe complete with a lakeside picnic and an awesome live band that had their guests dancing on the grass late into the night. In fact, I am totally jealous of anyone who got to go to this wedding, since it looks like so much FUN! Fortunately, the super lovely Monica Dart was there to capture the day through her photos, and she’s done an amazing job of bringing it to life. Enjoy!
Sometimes I just can’t believe the talent I come across in this industry. Last week’s bride was an amazing designer, and today’s is an incredible baker – her cakes are totally swoonworthy. More about that later this week, because today it’s all about her beautiful wedding (okay, it’s a little about her cake). Roxy and Craig were married in Constantia before moving on to a lush garden reception at her family home nearby. There’s something special about having a wedding at home, isn’t there? I love the idea of being reminded of that moment every time you visit, and being surrounded by your nearest and dearest in a familiar place.
Ok, I admit, I love all the weddings on this blog, and almost every day I fall in love with a new one. But the wedding I have to show you today is just… wow. As in, jump up and down and make little squealy noises-kinda amazing. As in, I’m still speechless at some of these details-kinda amazing. It is so beautiful, so creative, so personal and so joyful, that I have no doubt you will be truly inspired. You may remember Louise and Riaan from their bookshop-themed engagement shoot (in which case you’ll certainly remember their very talented photographer, Annemari Ruthven). Both are designers, and they took on their wedding like it was a high spec design project, from hand-staining the lanterns with tea to designing and making all the stationery and the exciting little goodies for the picnic baskets, to personalised parking vouchers (seriously!). Every little detail was considered to make the day special for their guests. And you’ll be able to see even more of those details on Thursday, when I’ll also be telling you how you can get a little bit of Louise magic for your own wedding (yay!). In the meantime, congrats to Louise and Riaan, who as well as being super talented are just two of the nicest people. Thank you both for sharing your incredible day!
Today’s guest post comes from the lovely Kate Diaz over at Wedding Concepts, one of Cape Town (and South Africa’s!) top event designers. She and the rest of the Wedding Concepts team go out of their way to create distinctive celebrations, and I always love featuring their work here on SBB. Today, Kate’s here to offer some top tips for hosting a beach ceremony or reception in the area – including where to get a Cape Town beach wedding permit – essential advice for anyone who’s planning a seaside celebration!
There’s so much to love about today’s wedding, which comes from photographer Joe Dreyer (whose work I have been dying to showcase!). The totally unique beachy ceremony location, for one (which just shows how a little creative thinking goes a long way). The proteas, of course. A couple so obviously in love. Ashley’s glorious dress. The infusion of different cultures into the day. But for me, the best thing is the way that the wedding is so very personal. It’s the perfect example of two people who are really celebrating their journey as individuals and as a couple, and sharing that with those who mean the most to them. To me, that’s what weddings are all about. Ashley and Malan – thank you for sharing your story with us, and congratulations again!
This wedding to me is just the epitomy of Romance. Soft colours, beautiful flowers, a stunning venue… sigh. But what really stands out is the incredible attention to detail. The little touches, like the chalkboard canape platters or the herb favours, or the bird’s nest ring holder, that give this such a pretty garden feel. Everything works so perfectly that it’s hard to believe it wasn’t all put together by a professional, but as always, the time and effort put into DIY by the couple and their families made it extra special. In fact, there were so many inspiring details that I couldn’t resist including all of them, and fortunately the lovely Jules Morgan has let me share lots of her wonderful photographs with you in this pretty post.
From Jeannine: Liam and I grew up on a farm together from the age of three, so we have known each other for 27 years. We both now have our own businesses in London. We love the outdoors and wanted to get married surrounded by mountains, as this is how we spent most of our childhood – camping and riding our bicycles in the mountains. We got engaged in Montepulciano in Italy and felt that Clouds Estate in Stellenbosch was like a little piece of Tuscany in Cape Town. The venue blew me away on the day – it was everything I could have dreamed of and more.
We wanted a relaxed wedding with an Al Fresco-French countryside feel. I love earthy /natural tones with touches of colour, so that was what we went for. I also really like a mix of textures which is why we went for mismatched bridesmaids’ dresses in charcoal and brightened them up with flowers.
I think that flowers can transform your day and reflect your personality – so much love and thought went into ours. My aunt did the bouquets and we had a mix of succulents (desert roses), lisianthus, roses and lavender. To create the herb favours, my father-in-law had a small greenhouse built specially in his back garden in Kalk Bay. We supplied our own ‘flowerballs’ from Heath Nash to hang over the pool, which were very striking. Having the herbs and rose bushes on the terrace meant that we didn’t end of up with lots of leftover flowers as the guests went home with a present and a lasting memory of our special day. We also didn’t print a lot for our wedding, but used chalkboards for decor and the menu. For dessert, we had three different types of cake on vintage stands – they were incredible!
I did a lot of things myself and had so much fun doing it. I read a lot of wedding blogs and it was amazing to see it all come together on the day. I think it’s important to have your own personal stamp on your wedding. I also think it’s important to involve family where you can… makes it more personal. My stepdad made all the blackboards for the snacks (these were really easy to do using blackboard paint on ply wood). I made the ‘table name’ board myself, using a vintage frame. Liam drew the herb which we had on our wedding invitation/table layouts and thank you cards. It was nice to carry this theme throughout the wedding.
Congratulations, Jeannine and Liam, and thank you for sharing your lovely wedding with us!
For even more beautiful pictures, head over to Jules Morgan’s blog.
Kevin and Kirsty’s wedding was referred to me by a friend, and as soon as I saw it I knew it was something special. It manages to be chic and sophisticated but soft and personal all at once. Every time I looked at Lauren Kriedemann’s swoon-worthy images I found another clever detail to fall in love with – the collection of silver containers, the little trees covered with fairy lights, the champagne and Guinness welcome drinks – I could go on and on! A black and white colour scheme could have been quite harsh, but with a little dash of plum and a variety of flowers and textures, this was 100% romance. And you couldn’t find a couple that look more in love – and like they’re having more fun together! Congratulations Kirsty and Kevin, and thank you for sharing your day with us!
I have such a treat for you today! I spotted Ankia and Philip’s wedding on Joanne Markland’s website, and immediately begged her to let me share it with you (thanks Jo!). I fell head over heels for all the charming and original details of this wedding – the walk to church, the feather confetti, all the hearts, the nametags (LOVE that everything was in Ankia’s pretty handwriting – talk about the personal touch!), the bunting, the beyond adorable cake (not to mention a gorgeous couple). When I read Ankia’s description, all those details really came to life, and I was touched by how her friends and family were so involved in creating them. Philip is a lawyer and Ankia is the brand manager for Robertson Winery, and they met on Spring Day (1 September) in their first year at university. She tells me they are quite the opposite when it comes to their personalities, but it’s clear they are still just as crazy about one another as on that first day. Congratulations to both of you, and thank you for sharing your wedding with us!
Lenore and Adrian met fresh out of high school when he was the DJ at her sister’s 21st birthday. Eleven years later, surrounded by those closest to them, they tied the knot in a wedding that was as heartfelt and personal as it was elegant and fun. I just love how involved the couple was in each detail, and how their family and friends lent their talents to make the day wonderful, including Stellenbosch-based fashion photographer Theunis Stofberg, who captured the images below.
When Denis moved into a shared house in Earlsfield, London, little did he know that one of his new housemates would turn out to be his future wife! Denis and Leigh were married on a beautiful sunny day at Tokara near Stellenbosch. Despite the challenges of planning a wedding from the UK, they were the most chilled and happy bride and groom on the day, and it really shows in the gorgeous photos by the talented Simone Alexander below.
With me being from Joburg and Den from Cape Town, I jumped at the chance to have my wedding in the Cape but had to rely on our parents and websites for help planning. The feel I wanted to go for was elegant and minimalist. The very first magazine I looked through had an article on a pink, black and white wedding using orchids and I absolutely fell in love with it! Simple yet very striking. I emailed a scan to my mom and she got to it. Our moms have become firm friends so would often discuss ideas over the phone – they were both absolutely awesome. For a venue, nothing in our price range really stood out until we found Tokara – from the pics on the website I knew it was where I wanted to get married. It had the most amazing view! And I loved the fact it was a restaurant and not a hall that would be decorated. My folks were visiting Cape Town at the time, so they made a plan to meet Den’s parents there – for the first time! Luckily it all went well, and we had ourselves a venue.
We are both extremely close to our families, so wanted them very much a part of everything. Den had both his brothers as groomsmen, and I had three of my closest and oldest friends as bridesmaids. My cousin is a pastor so it was great to have him marry us – the ceremony was short and sweet with a great message. The hymn singing was dismal to say the least, but it got a good laugh in the best man’s speech! We had a jazz band performing the ceremony music as well as entertaining the guests over canapés while we had our photos taken.
For the table décor, I wanted one long pink orchid in the centre of each, with white flowers on either side. We planned on using black chair covers, but later found out that Tokara did not allow them so instead we came up with the idea of using pink pashminas as favours for the girls, which also doubled up as part of the décor. They went down a treat! We couldn’t find the exact colour that I wanted in SA, so I had to source them in the UK.
Den and I just wanted a party – no pomp and ceremony. It was a case of ‘eat, drink and be merry!’ We cut the cake as soon as we entered the reception (great idea!) and didn’t even end up throwing the bouquet or garter as time slipped away from us, but instead Den handed them to my brother and his girlfriend, who we hope are next in line. Our DJ managed to get everyone on to the dancefloor, which was just what we wanted, and in true Denis style he made sure we stayed until the very end … no amount of hinting from the bridesmaids could get him to leave the party to take his poor, exhausted bride home!
The things I loved most about the day were having all my favourite friends and family in one room at the same time, my dress and my hair (which were perfect for me) and of course, walking down the aisle in the Cape sunshine to marry the man of my dreams!
Leigh’s top tips for wedding day sanity:
Get enough sleep the night before.
Try to do as much as possible ahead of time.
Whenever you mention the wedding, people get so excited and have a ton of questions. Enjoy it – it doesn’t last long!
Don’t stress the small stuff… or any stuff for that matter. Just relax and enjoy the whole day. The things that don’t go according to plan break the ice and lighten things up.
Take as much advice as you can from the people who do weddings for a living.
