Before we close out the week, I wanted to share a little hideaway I discovered recently: The Cavern hotel in the Drakensberg. Originally I was planning to meet friends from Joburg there (it’s half way-ish between Joburg and Durban, making it a convenient weekend break from either) but in the end my mum came out with me for a couple of days of R&R, and you guys, it was awesome. A few days of mountain air (and limited time on social media) was just what I needed to clear my head and relax. It’s a great resort for families, but it’s also the perfect place for a honeymoon, a bit of a romantic mini-break or even a pre-wedding girl’s chill-out weekend, so of course I had to share it with you too!Read More
*UPDATED FOR 2021* I did a post on the language of flowers a few years ago, when Kate Middleton selected the blooms for her bouquet to represent various sentiments, and I thought it was about time to update it and introduce some of you to a beautiful tradition you might not be aware of. In fact, the language of flowers goes back about 200 years, and was especially popular in the Victorian era, when young ladies consulted one of the many flower dictionaries available at the time in constructing their ‘tussie-mussies’. These days the interest in ‘florigraphy’ has largely been lost, but I think it’s a super romantic vintage tradition to bring into your wedding (as this real bride did to gorgeous effect) and a really sweet, meaningful way to construct your bouquet. You can find meanings for dozens of blooms online, but today I’ve drawn together ten of our favourite wedding flowers together with their meanings, which come from The Knot Book of Wedding Flowers by Carley Rooney. And some gorgeous wedding flowers to get swoony over too, of course!
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Sometimes I just like to post pretty pictures of things I like, and I REALLY like sparkler send-offs. Maybe it’s because they look so magical and Hollywood ending-ey, or maybe it’s just because sparklers were the only fireworks that didn’t scare the living crabcakes out of me when I was a child (I HATED Guy Fawkes, still kind of do). Whatever, sparkler exits are awesome. It seems to be more of a thing among our friends in the US (and of course some venues won’t allow them for fire insurance reasons), but if you can do a sparkler exit, not only is it a great way to end the evening, it’s also a hell of a photo. Of course, your photographer may have gone home by then, so this is the one time I’m going to say be sure you have a friend who loves photography at the ready, because done right it really is too good a shot to miss. Safety obviously is also a concern – make sure you have a couple of sensible (and sober) friends or family members on fire marshall duty, fire extinguishers at the ready, and metal sand buckets for disposal of the hot sparklers afterwards. To make sure this works, you’ll also need more than the standard little sparklers – large ones are available online, and have about a four minute burn time. Which also means there’s no need to run down the line (often making it a better photo). Needs a little pre-planning, but as you’ll see in the pics on this post, totally worth it.Read More
Two reasons I knew from the start that this wedding would be gorgeous. One, the bride’s called Gabi so OBVIOUSLY that immediately makes her awesome (and I’m not biased about my namesake at all). And secondly, this clementine, lemon & lime coloured celebration was put together by some of my absolute favourite suppliers, including photographer Cheryl McEwan, fabulous flowers, Bright & Beautiful and Seven Swans (by the way, do read Gabi & Gary’s ceremony programs, because they are adorable!). I just love all the citrus elements in the bouquets and on the tables, adding a bright punch of colour to a rainy Cape winter day, right down to sweet lemon meringue tarts baked specially by the groom’s mom. Even the food is fun – who doesn’t love burgers served on custom wooden boards? It was the perfect way to send off these high school sweethearts into married life, and here’s wishing them one as sweet as a bag of oranges.Read More
What do you get when an interior and textile designer falls in love with a landscape/urban designer? Well, besides a whole lot of love, joy and happy smiles, you get a gorgeous, natural, modern wedding with geometric-inspired fabric detailing and a soft yellow and grey palette that blows my little wedding loving mind. Christél and Warno’s wedding was a labour of love where almost everything was DIY, and the result is loads of sweet, clever, whimsical details, from a windmill-adorned dancefloor to little triangle Tillandsia ‘houses’ as favours. Add to that a bride in glittering Maggie Sottero, a Franschhoek mountain backdrop and fantastic pictures by Danieka Erasmus (aka the Picturist), and this is one for the loveliness record books.Read More
I say this all the time, but HOW is time going so fast? I could swear I’ve done loads of these DIY roundups this year, but when I looked at the archives, it turned out not so much. Eish. Anyway, I’m excited to bring you this one, because geometrics have become such a key trend in weddings this year. (Psst, look out for tomorrow’s wedding for a gorgeous example.) And of course, it’s not just a trend in weddings, but in fashion and interiors too, which is a bonus because some of the clever DIYs that internet creatives have come up with are absolutely perfect for quirky wedding details. I’ve rounded up fifteen of my faves for you today.
If there’s one motif that has quietly been making it’s way into South African weddings recently, it’s cows. Yep, cows. We love ’em, and considering our African roots, maybe that’s not surprising. What’s very cool is that our brides and grooms have shown how a motif like this can be incorporated in a classy way, and never more so than in today’s ‘organic, white and candlelight’ wedding from the lovely Carmen Roberts. Lauren and Andrew were married at the beautiful Netherwood in the Midlands (so the cows were super appropriate to their farm venue) and created a sweet motif that was branded on to the boards at each place setting – cows also popped up in the cake toppers, in signs and table plans, and even in the table names. The rest of the wedding design was classic, white and natural – clouds of baby’s breath and succulents, dapper bow-tied groomsmen and a bride in a beautiful long-sleeve lace dress. It’s everything a winter bride could dream of.Read More
Morning loves! It’s inspiration board Monday, and as promised, I have another board mixing and matching the colours from Pantone’s Spring 2015 palette. Recently I have been loving pinks and blues together, and this is such a fresh way of doing it – a bright blue a few shades up from navy, a sweet rosy pink and another, softer, blue (as well as a few softer shades of pink and lots of white). Pair with a touch of toile and some ripe blueberries, and you have the perfect summer wedding style.
Colours: Pantone Aquamarine, Classic Blue & Strawberry Ice and pastel pink
You know, if I hadn’t actually given blood the other day and seen it for myself, I would swear sometimes that glitter flowed through my veins. Show me something sparkly, and I am SOLD. And one of the things I love best is gold glitter against a stark monochrome background. But what do I like even better than all that? A touch of home, of course. Which is why I absolutely adore this styled shoot from the very lovely Maxeen Kim, a South African based in London who not only takes beautiful piccies, but is all about inspiring budget-conscious brides, which makes this shoot not just beautiful but achievable too. Maxeen channeled her love for all things South African into a bridal look and table that has a clean black and white base with a glamorous, blingy sheen – perfect for the modern South African bride. I love the stunning model’s guinea fowl headpiece, the foiled stationery, as well as the sparkly runner, the beaded cattle, and of course, the beautiful chevron cake. This is a look I would love to see in a real wedding one day soon!Read More
I’ve been hearing lots of rumours in the SA wedding industry that this summer is going to be the summer of yellow weddings, and I for one couldn’t be happier to see this happy shade go mainstream. It reminds me of a friend at university who had a bright yellow dress, and every time she wore it, said she noticed how everyone smiled at her – literally, it’s a colour that makes you smile. Which is the best mood to put your guests in, right? Absolutely. So I’ve pulled together 25 of my absolute favourite yellow bouquets – so much sunshiney goodness! And of course, even if you’re not planning a full on yellow colour scheme, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t have a pop of bright in your bouquet, especially when it looks as gorgeous as these do.Read More
