Category: Weddings by Type

Real Wedding at Rawdons Country Hotel {Candice & Justin}

by gaby

Well, it’s always a very special day when I get to share one of our real life bride’s weddings with you all. Because I don’t know about you, but I feel like these ladies become friends, and by the time I have read all about their inspirations and ideas and shared their excitement, I can’t WAIT to see how it all turned out and feel like I was there to raise a glass to their happiness. So it’s with great pleasure that I’m sharing the first of our 2013 RLBs’ weddings with you today – our lovely Marie Antoinette bride, Candice. I’ve loved reading her lyrical descriptions of the wedding she dreamed up, inspired by Versailles and Downton Abbey and even a little by The Hobbit. I sighed over her gorgeous themed rehearsal dinner and engagement shoot. And now I can finally show you Candice and Justin’s elegant, heartfelt wedding, photographed by an incredible team of US photographer Alicia Swedenborg with our very own Catherine Mac second shooting. Wow. It is AMAZING. And be sure to read Candice’s beautiful description of the big day, because if that doesn’t make you sigh, you don’t have a romantic bone in your body. So without further ado, here’s Candice…Read More

Real Wedding at Nooitgedacht {Bridget & Quinton}

by gaby

What’s the expression – ‘we plan and God laughs’? Well, that was certainly true for me this week, when I had a full week of goodness planned for you that got halted by some dodgy code that crept into my beloved little site and shut things down for a bit while I sorted it all out (that’s me: owner, editor, office manager and tech support! ;) ). Anyway, I’m trying to be philosophical about it all, and so we’ll just have to wait until next week for me to share our lovely real life bride’s wedding with you, and I’m sure it’ll be all the more awesome for the wait. For this morning though, we have a gorgeous wedding from Abigail K. It was just a couple of weeks ago that I rounded up ice cream pastel bridesmaid dresses, and now here the look is in all its lovely glory – really, I think this might be one of my absolute favourite wedding styles. It’s so soft and pretty, and works beautifully with country vintage touches like proteas, lace and antique books. But I think what really makes Bridget and Quinton’s wedding stand out for me is the way that they used the space available to them at Nooitgedacht, employing the beautiful drive as a ceremony area, with colourful bunting and lamps strung high across the trees, lending everything a celebratory, festival vibe. So pretty! I also love the bridesmaids’ single king protea blooms, tied with pretty ribbon and looking so lovely against their dresses. It all wraps up to be incredibly pretty and colourful in quite a classic way. Enjoy. (Oh, and psst, be sure to stop by this afternoon for some great advice on planning a beach wedding!)Read More

Real Wedding at Tanglewood {Maria & Gerrit}

by gaby

Serendipity. It’s the loveliest of words, isn’t it? Happy accidents. And with some couples, it really seems to fit, so it was no surprise to me that when I read Maria’s story of her beautiful wedding it was a word that she used herself. See, Gerrit and Maria have a serendipitous beginning – both religious, they decided to ready themselves for a lasting relationship with a marriage course at their church, and it was there that they found each other. They share a surname – another happy accident – and you can see from the love and happiness surrounding them on their wedding day that that’s just one of many things that they share. And goodness me, how much am I in love with Maria’s incredible grey silk dress and floor-length mantilla combo? Wow. Not to mention the really fresh styling of their decor, in bold green, navy and pink with an adorable cartoon stationery touch. My favourite part is the ficus trees they’ve used as centrepieces – such a unique touch, but one that is part of their story, as all the best wedding day details are. This is really a wedding to pore over and fall properly in love with, and that’s in no small part down to the stunning images from Cari Photography – love, love, love!Read More

Real Wedding at Molenvliet {Christelli & Heinrich}

by gaby

Another day, another BEAUTIFUL wedding! And while I’m always a fan of unique colour combos or fun themes, sometimes it’s good to remind ourselves that a classic white wedding will never go out of fashion. Today’s gorgeous nuptials, photographed to perfection (as always!) by Catherine Mac, are the ideal example. This wedding is elegant, it’s romantic – it’s the blank canvas on which a grand love story is written. Christelli and Heinrich make a stunning couple, and everything from her diamond solitaire engagement ring and ribbon tied bouquet to her sweeping lace gown whispers classic beauty. But there are also fun touches – the tables named after wines (so appropriate at Molenvliet, one of our premier vineyard venues) or the ice cream dessert, for example. So for all you classic brides (and lovers of romance everywhere), this one’s for you.Read More

Real Wedding at Little Stream {Lynsay & Graham}

by gaby

As a blogger, there have been a few times unfortunately where I’ve had to face the question of whether to blog in the face of unhappy events, whether home or abroad. This isn’t a news blog, but it can seem trivial to talk about weddings when there’s a major earthquake, or when my American readers are dealing with a national tragedy like what happened yesterday in Boston. I’m a runner, and my heart goes out to everyone who was injured or was there, and their friends and families. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned as a runner, it’s to carry on, even when things feel bad, when your legs are pounding and a part of your brain is telling you you’d be crazy not to stop. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned as someone who has also experienced loss of my own and through others, it’s that one of the very reasons that we have to hold tight to those shining moments of joy like the celebration of two people falling in love and promising a lifetime to one another, is because life isn’t always cupcakes and toile. So I’m blogging today. And frankly, there couldn’t be a wedding that is more full of life and love and promise and light than this one. Lynsay and Graham opted for a picnic wedding at the picturesque Little Stream in Constantia, and everything from the luminous bride and her boho bridesmaids to the high tea-style tables laden with food, the hanging teacups and acres of bunting, to the ice cream cart bringing smiles of delight to adults and kids alike is a gentle celebration of family and friends, nature and romance. Charlene Schreuder is a genius at capturing this sort of wedding, and she’s done so in her usual gorgeous style.Read More

Real Wedding at Kelvin Grove {Deborah & Michael}

by gaby

Take one dietician plus one software developer, add equal portions of family and friends and place in a pretty church and then a reception venue filled with handmade, personal decor. What reaction, as my Science teacher might have said, will you get? Well, a sweet, pretty wedding day of course! As you all will know by now, my favourite themes are those that say something about the couple, so when bride Deborah wrote to tell me about the scientific touches she and husband Michael added to their big day to reflect their love of science, I was intrigued. I especially loved the way they collected beakers and test tubes and used them for flowers and favours (the best use, if you ask me, but that’s only because I totally failed chemistry) and the cute equations they concocted for table numbers (Cute equations? Now there’s a phrase I never thought I’d write). Add in some protea and a mint/blush combo, and some pretty pics from Illuminate Photography, and it adds up to loveliness, squared. ;)Read More

Real Wedding at Hawksmoor House {Alet & Jacques}

by gaby

Oh my word, you guys, I am knackered. I’m sitting here on my couch yawning away, even after a good night’s sleep after our Editorial Wedding workshop. That’s what you get for pulling together a workshop in a month, right? But it was so fantastic – such a pleasure to spend the day talking weddings and blogs and magazines with a group of lovely people and talented photographers, not to mention the most gaaawjus styled shoot set up by Louise of b.loved. It’s pretty terrifying to try something brand new, but it couldn’t have gone better. Anyway, so I am getting back into the swing of the blog schedule with the most beautiful wedding, captured to perfection by Vivid Blue Photography. Wow, this bride must be one of the most stunning I have ever featured, and Hawksmoor is such an amazingly striking venue – with her dashing groom and classy, colourful decor it all looks like something out of Vogue or Vanity Fair. Not to mention Alet’s protea bouquet, which I am totally dying over! I’m pretty sure my brain’s still not working well enough to give you a better description, so I’ll let the pictures speak louder than words!Read More

Real Wedding at Lourensford {Hestelle & Niel}

by gaby

Oh my word, you guys. THIS WEDDING. I’m just going to do a Ted Mosby upfront here (for anyone who watches HIMYM) and say that I’m in love with it. Have been from minute one that I laid eyes on it, and once you click through to see the pictures (and you HAVE to see the pictures, by the dear Celesté Prince from Aglow Photography) you will be too. It is quite possibly one of the sweetest and most romantic (not to mention stand-out) wedding designs I have ever featured – full of blush paper peonies set against light-strewn branches (so magical), the most gorgeous wedding dress (and a very stylish bride and groom) and a fabric bouquet that will steal your heart. Niel and Hestelle wanted a soft and sophisticated look, with a fairytale touch, and that’s exactly what I think they achieved. It’s beautiful – so beautiful, in fact, that it’s not only being featured on SBB today, but on my lovely friend Louise of b.loved‘s blog as well (head over there to read Hestelle’s full story of her big day). So what are you waiting for? Dive in.Read More

Real Wedding at Die Opstal {Ilze & Louren}

by gaby

Good morning, SouthBound Brides, did you have a good long weekend? I took a couple of days off for the first time in AGES – although, by “took off” I just mean from the blog, not from work sadly. But sometimes it’s good to give yourself some time off, and I’m back refreshed and renewed for a week of sheer loveliness! Yay. Anyway, speaking of sheer loveliness, today’s wedding is just full of softness and sweetness and stealable details. For example, one of the first that caught my eye when photographer Nadine Aucamp sent over Ilze & Louren’s lovely wedding was the doilies placed delicately under every plate – such a simple way of bringing shabby chic styling to the table, but so effective! I also loved the collection of ceramic vases of all different shapes and sizes that Ilze put together – such a sweet twist on the milk glass and silverware collections we’ve seen a lot of recently. And I love the bird-on-a-wire table listings! As I said, sheer loveliness.Read More

Real Wedding at Providence {Jolene & Travis}

by gaby

Putting this wedding together has been such fun – first I found myself humming Dolly Parton due to the bride’s name (sorry, Jolene, you must get this all the time) which led to a Dolly Parton spotify fest (even though I typed it as Dolly Partyon, which is now totally going to be my stripper name if I ever become a stripper). None of this has anything to do with why it’s a lovely wedding, but it is. I love the misty magical forest of donkeys pics captured by photographer Stuart Dods (so Shrek, in a good way) and the coral details – there’s good reason why this is a colour that brides have fallen in love with over the last year, as it really does just pop against white in such a pretty way. The bride looks like a beautiful princess with her elegant coral ladies in waiting. Travis and Jolene continued the fresh colour combo through to their sweet stationery and reception decor, and it’s the perfect contemporary combo. So thanks for sharing, Jolene (and also for giving me an excuse to indulge in a bit of the Dolly!).Read More