Category: Dresses

Grace Loves Lace

by gaby

As much as I love the more traditional wedding dress designers (oh, Vera!), I’m also a huge fan of the up-and-comers, and a great place to find them is on Etsy. Every now and then I indulge myself with a good long browse through all the beautiful (often more affordable yet completely handmade) options scouting out new names, and Grace Loves Lace is one I have been looking forward to sharing with you for a while. Not only are the dresses absolutely GORGEOUS (Grace Loves Lace could have written the book on boho-luxe) but they ship from Australia all over the world and yes, that totally includes South Africa. Local brides, rejoice! I know it can be nerve-wracking ordering a dress over the internet, but every one is made to order from their studios, and since they only sell online they have built their reputation on satisfied web customers. It’s definitely about time that you knew the name. So today I thought I would bring you some dress swoonage. You’re welcome ;)Read More

Rosa Clara 2014 Collection

by gaby

Wow. I thought I was in love with the Rosa Clara collection last year, but… wow. This year, they have outdone themselves. Just scrolling through the collection of floaty, lacy, ivory, super-feminine gorgeousness, I am blown away. All the big trends are there – illusion, Gatsby, peplums. But what I love so much about this design house is that there’s a little (beautiful, not gimmicky) twist in every single dress, a combination of detailing and shape that mixes things up a little but retains the elements that we’re all so in love with. It’s an astonishingly beautiful group of dresses, and I can’t WAIT to see these on brides! Rosa Clara is stocked exclusively in South Africa by Olivelli, so give your local branch a call to try on or order one of these beauties.Read More

Real Wedding at Lynton Hall {Sasha & Ben}

by gaby

Morning friends! Today’s real wedding is unusual in that it’s the story of a dress as much as it is the story of the bride who wears it, and the love she shares with her groom. I get most weddings submitted by photographers and brides, but this one came straight from talented designer Casey Jeanne, and as soon as I looked at the pics (by DS Murrell Photography) I understood why. Sasha’s dress is SPECTACULAR. Perfectly fitted, lace illusion back, and deep red. I am completely, utterly, head-over-heels in love with it. And then I read the sweet, truly South African story of how beautiful Sasha and her handsome groom came to fall in love and plan a unique, cross-cultural wedding, and I knew this was something I had to share with you all. We don’t have reception details today, but who needs ’em, when you’re focused on this dress… and on this love.Read More

BHLDN Summer Bridal Lookbook

by gaby

We’re off to sunny climes for our afternoon adventure today. And my goodness, are you about to be swept up in a tropical bohemian haze of beautiful dresses, chic accessories and a dreamy location. If I were to be shipwrecked, I think I’d be quite happy as long as I also had a treasure chest full of BHLDN wedding and bridesmaid dresses to dress up and frolic about in! Head over to the BHLDN website to check out their full collection of dresses – although be ready to spend some time there, as each one of their collection is more swoony than the last. I can’t WAIT to see these on real brides.Read More

Sarah Janks Bridal Collection 2013

by gaby

Images: Jen Huang Workshops via Grey Likes Weddings

It’s funny – as I was saying to a friend the other day, wedding dresses were the part of this industry that I was least interested in when I started. I don’t know if the dresses just got prettier, but now I can’t help but do a bit of swooniness whenever I see a new collection. Even more so when I get to work with the gowns on a shoot, as I did with one of Sarah Janks‘ incredible creations, Briana, last year. I can’t show you those pics juuuust yet, but it turns out I’m not the only stylist who picked it out – just look at the amazing pics of Briana from one of the Jen Huang Workshops above. If you want a bit of this uber feminine gorgeousness in your life (and more importantly, in your wedding), you’ll want to check out the Sarah Janks 2013 bridal collection. Sleek silhouettes, beautiful adornment in lace, taffeta and embroidery and soft, floaty draping make each dress something quite spectacular. And there’s another aspect I love – the little capelets, belts and boleros that can be passed down, creating not only a versatile wedding day look but also a special heirloom. In London, Sarah Janks is available at Blackburn Bridal.Read More

Clinton Lotter 2012/2013

by gaby

It’s Friday folks, and that means time for some pretty dresses! I am always saying that South Africans are secretly taking over the world, and it always makes me smile when I come across homegrown talent over here. That was the case when I found myself fawning over some beautiful gowns on my last visit to Blackburn Bridal in London, and was told that they were by South African (now London-based) designer, Clinton Lotter. So I thought that this was the perfect collection to bring to you today. It’s available exclusively at Blackburn, so UK based brides should head over there to try some of these delicious creations on.Read More

Great Gatsby Bridesmaid Dresses

by gaby

*UPDATED FOR 2021* Hello lovelies, are you all ready for your weekend? I have a rare personal post coming up today, but first, it’s time to look at another awesome bridesmaid dress trend and this is one I’ve been looking forward to highlighting for a while. I don’t know about you, but I LOVE The Great Gatsby. Ever since I read it, I’ve been a little bit obsessed with the roaring ’20s. I’m also a little bit obsessed with Baz Luhrmann – Strictly Ballroom is my ALL TIME favourite film, with Romeo + Juliet coming a close second (although, let’s not talk about Moulin Rouge or Australia, kay?). So as you can imagine, I am dying to see the film. And the timing is perfect, because fashion and wedding world have been jonesing for this for ages – 1920s keeps being a trend, and it keeps getting better, especially with all the gorgeous embellished dresses around at the moment. Seriously, could someone doing this please make me their bridesmaid? Because I so want an excuse to wear one of these beauties. Full disclosure: it’s not the most budget-friendly look, but it is mismatched (or even matched), glam, perfection. You don’t need to be having a vintage or Gatsby-themed wedding to pull it off either, but it will add a gorgeous touch of dapper flapper to your wedding style.

*Links in bold denote affiliate links. SBB may receive a commission for any sales made.

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Veluz Reyes Ready to Wear

by gaby

Afternoon brideys, time for some awesome inspiration for you all! It’s been a while since I did a wedding dress collection post, and there are so many beautiful gowns floating around out there at the moment. But if there’s one look that has absolutely entranced wedding world and racked up Pinterest pins and clicks in their thousands, it’s portrait or lace back wedding dresses. We did a whole post about it a while back, and one of the designers who I mentioned then has continued to rock my world. This is one thing I adore about the internet, because in a different age, I may never have heard of Veluz Reyes, who along with Claire Pettibone is pretty much the master of this wedding dress style for me. Veluz is already famous in her home country, the Philippines, but now she’s inspiring brides and wedding bloggers internationally. Up until recently, all of her dresses were bespoke creations for her lucky, lucky Veluz brides, but this year she launched her own Ready to Wear collection, and I just had to share it with you today! I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t more than a little obsessed with the combination of frothy skirts, elegant lines, illusion detailing and, for some of the collection, the loveliest hint of peach/blush. I have a feeling that Veluz Reyes is one name that is just going to get bigger and bigger.

Sophia:

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Elbeth Gillis 2013 Collection

by gaby

Good morning friends! It’s time to share some dress inspiration, and today it’s from one of South Africa’s top wedding dress designers, Elbeth Gillis. I’m a huge fan of Elbeth’s work – not just because I’ve seen it sitting pretty on so many SBB brides, but because I was lucky enough to work with some of her dresses on a shoot last year. Our model that day remarked that they were so comfortable, especially considering how detailed and beautiful they were, which is kind of the holy grail of what you want to wear on your wedding day, right? So when Elbeth sent over her new collection, I couldn’t wait to share it with you all. I love love love all the illusion lace that’s going on – so pretty! I also loved that the pictures for the collection were taken at a mansion that’s undergoing renovation – something a bit Great Expectations about the combination of rubble and lace. Elbeth works personally with each of her brides, and her team handcrafts each piece to make sure it fits to perfection!Read More

Sareh Nouri Spring 2013 Collection

by gaby

Time for some more dress dreaminess (yes, I know, we have been a lot about the dresses recently, but I know that it’s the first thing most brides start dreaming about!). A few years back, if you’d asked me what I thought an ideal wedding dress should look like, I would have told you as plain and simple and flattering as possible, but I think I may have caught some kind of fashion bug. Now I am all, the frothier and more romantic, the more I love it. (Lucky I have no plans to marry, or some poor man would be forking out for a Vera Wang.) So you’ll forgive me for going just a little bit melty when Sareh Nouri, a New York-based designer, sent over her Spring 2013 collection. It is GORGEOUS. I’m especially in love with the peachy blush Sophie, which might be my new favourite coloured dress. Or the sparkle-tastic Ressan. Or elegant Audrey. Heck, I love ’em all, especially when the Sareh Nouri team took them out into the countryside with an incredible, ethereal photoshoot with Emme Wynn (who might also be my newest photography crush). The perfect amount of loveliness to light up your Tuesday afternoon!Read More