Bicycle Bride #1: Meet Our Bicycle Bride

by gaby

As promised earlier, friends, we’re saying goodbye (for now) to one of our Real Life Brides, and hello to a brand new friend. Allow me to introduce the lovely Irene, who’ll be taking us through all of her ideas and inspirations before her wedding next month. Yay! Irene, we’re so happy to have you – welcome! Today, we’re meeting Irene and her fiance, and hearing a little bit about their wedding style. Meet our Bicycle Bride…

Meet Irene
I’m a translator and my fiance Du Toit is a pharmacist – we live in Bellville with our two dogs. He’s very sporty, having played professional rugby, and is now an avid cyclist/runner/crossfitter, etc. He’s completed the Absa Cape Epic twice and his suggestion for our HONEYMOON was to climb Kilimanjaro (don’t worry, I replied with a very definite “no”). I’m a couch potato who loves to read, watch my favourite series and I love to make crafty things. He’s a very sweet, happy-go-lucky person whilst I’m sort of a control freak. But I think we’re a good match and that our differences makes it work. We do share interests – we are obsessed with our two Weimaraners – our children (beware of our Facebook pages, we are those crazy dog people who spam your walls with pictures of them!) and we enjoy taking them for walks in Grabouw’s forest reserve. Although I’m not a sporty person at all, I have to confess that I love to be a spectator at his sporting events! We love to go to the movies (most of our friends think we have bad taste in movies – we strongly disagree) and we love to have coffee and breakfast at Oppikoffie on Sundays.
As mentioned, I love to make crafty things and to get married really is just the best time for craft/DIY lovers. It can also be a bad thing – I have had SO many ideas and I keep changing my mind (curse you Pinterest!). With a little under two months to go, I STILL have to make final decisions on (too) many things. Luckily our beautiful venue is a huge part of the decor in itself, which makes things a lot easier. I opted to save money and do most of the decor and all of the planning myself. Be warned, it’s true what they say: it’s super hard work to pull off a DIY wedding, so hats off to the professional wedding planners out there!

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Fairytale Bride #7: The Ceremony

by gaby

Hello lovelies! Sadly today is our last post from our Fairytale Bride, Stella (apart from her wedding, of course) – it’s been so fab following all of her posts and I’m sure you’ll join me in wishing her an amazing wedding day this weekend! We’ll be welcoming our next RLB this afternoon, so don’t miss that either :)

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Before I start writing about the joy we have found in creating our own ceremony, I wanted to mention that it is merely four days to go until we live happily ever after! My stomach is doing somersaults – the good kind – and my heart is slowly overflowing with love as we are welcoming all our family and friends to Cape Town at the moment. So many happy emotions… I am worried my heart may burst before the actual big day!

The ceremony. We’ve had an interesting experience with the planning of this one. Before having put much thought or much work into it, it felt more like a ‘task’ that had to be completed as part of the wedding planning – deciding on the what, the who and the how. As soon as we opened up to it though, and started getting into the beautiful details of readings, the choice of words and of course the music, it soon became the most magical part of all planning really. And I have a sly presumption that the ceremony may also just be my favourite part of the final big day, but that I will only be able to say in my next and final post.

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Inspiration Board: Cupid’s Arrow

by gaby

It’s Valentine’s week, lovelies!!! And in honour of the annual festival of Lurve, we have a week packed full of lovey dovey goodness for you (more than usual for a wedding blog, even). You’ll be ah-ing over love stories and proposals, falling in love with some very pretty weddings and of course getting some V-Day style inspiration. Starting with our inspiration board today. Instead of going for the ‘typical’ reds of a Valentine palette, I decided to opt for the softest, sweetest blush and combine it with clean white and a touch of gold and grey. To play on the Cupid theme, I’ve included some cheruby details, as well as an arrow motif (this is actually very trendy in fashion and design, so if you have a Valentine connection in your love story, it’s a great way to bring it in subtly). I must say, I am rather smitten. How about you?

Colours: Blush, rose, white, gold & grey

Top row (l-r): Bride with bridesmaids {Brumley & Wells/A Vintage Affair Events + Rentals}; angel wings {Anita Spero Design}; portrait back dress {Elizabeth Messina/Claire Pettibone}
Row 2: Arrow wedding invitation {Minted}; bouquet {Logan Cole Photography/Beau & Arrow Events}; flower crown {Natalie Spencer Photography/Darling & Daisy};gold feather boutonniere {Michele Ng}
Row 3: Arrow bracelet {Our Labor of Love}; Cupid dessert display {Natalie Spencer Photography/Darling & Daisy}; arrow place setting {MCR PROJECTS}.

 

SouthBound Sundays {9 Feb 2014}

by gaby

Hello lovelies! How has your week been? It has been flu central in our house – yuck – although fortunately seem to be over it now. And just in time for Valentine’s week, which is going to be our biggest, bumper-iest, week of Lurve on SBB, EVER. I have so much romantic content just ready and waiting for you guys, I can’t wait to share it! First, here are my weekly favourites from around the wedding blogosphere.

♥ WEEKLY FAVES

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Wedding Dresses for Hourglass Shaped Brides

by gaby

Wedding Dresses for Hourglass Shaped Brides

*UPDATED FOR 2021* You know how on Say Yes to the Dress, there are those moments when a bride comes in and she’s adamant about a specific shape of dress she wants, and when she puts it on it just looks… wrong. And then, if she’s smart, she tries a shape the consultant suggests instead, and is instantly transformed into a goddess? I love those, because I KNOW the feeling of trying something on and it looks nothing like how it did in your head or on the hanger and you feel desperate because omigodnothingisevergoingtofitmeorlookawesome. Trying something on that is right for your shape is the opposite of that feeling, but the truth is that it only happens when you let go of some of the pre-set ideas you have, and work with reality. That’s what this series is about – making our brides feel like a zillion dollars, whichever of the main body shapes they are rocking. Today we are all about hourglass shaped brides, and I’ll be giving you some tips for dressing this curvy shape to perfection, as well as swooning over some incredible hourglass wedding dresses from Etsy.

*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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Namibian Desert Rustic Wedding by Jules Morgan {Manuela & Graham}

by gaby

After the rainy day weddings we’ve had so far this week, today we’re going to the other end of the spectrum for a wedding in the mountains of Namibia (hey, neighbours!). Talk about rustic chic – Manuela and Graham picked a luxury tented camp for their venue, and complemented the incredible surroundings with vintage farm-style decor. Jules Morgan always takes the most beautiful pictures, but with a majestic backdrop like this one, her pics are absolutely breathtaking. I love how gorgeous natural desert textures were mixed with pretty feminine ones like doilies and lace, and modern touches like Manuela’s pouf blusher veil. And how much do we LOVE her bouquet? So unique, and so perfect for the setting.Read More

A Day at the Circus Engagement Shoot by Elandre Montgomery

by gaby

Hello lovelies! I am full of a cold today (struck down in the pribe of libe, as Monica from Friends would say), and have spent the morning in bed alternately sleeping and feeling sorry for myself, so no wedding for you today, sorry. Worry not, you’ll be seeing it tomorrow morning instead. For now, the best possible way to cheer myself up is by sharing this super super fun engagement shoot. Not just circus themed, you guys, but shot in a circus. Because the couple (Daniela & Angus) are professional clowns – Daniela is actually part of the Boswell Wilkie dynasty, as the granddaughter of its founder and ringmaster. How INCREDIBLY cool is that? This would put a smile on anyone’s face – and is perfectly captured by Elandre Montgomery!Read More

Sequin Table Runners

by gaby

Sequin Table Linens

Last month, I identified pretty table runners as a trend we’ll be seeing lots of in the coming season. While many of these will be lace for vintage-loving brides, we’re also seeing some gorgeous sparkly sequin runners coming through (and not just runners, full sequin tablecloths, in all their glittery glory!). You’d think this would all be a bit much, but I have to say, each time I see one of these tables, it makes my magpie heart do a little hop, skip and a jump. And why not? It’s your wedding! Even your tables should get to wear their party dresses, right? So today I’ve rounded up some of my favourite sequin runners, as well as a few suggestions for bringing a bit of sparkle to the table if you don’t want to go the whole hog.

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Modern Romance Landtscap Wedding by Jani B. {Carol & Marko}

by gaby

Yesterday we brought you one of the many weddings that had to deal with a very stormy Cape last November, and today, we have another. Just like yesterday’s couple, Carol and Marko were proof that it’s all about attitude, laughing off the weather and enjoying every moment of their gorgeous wedding. And gorgeous it definitely was! I am more than a little in love with their very stylish combination of white and grey with a touch of duck egg blue, wood texturing and just a dash of sparkle (rose gold bridesmaid dresses and wooden proteas for the win!). With a cheese and wine spread second to none, lush white flowers accented by Banksia proteas (love!) and moss table numbers and monograms, this celebration was all kinds of pretty – sun or no sun. With the chic blank space backdrop of Landtscap and the clean, crisp images by fab Jani B., this is one wedding sure to inspire.Read More

Persephone Bridal Portraits by Debbie Lourens

by gaby

Afternoon, my lovelies! Time for some unusual and pretty inspiration, courtesy of Debbie Lourens, a Cape Town-based photographer. Debbie has a fresh approach to bridal portrait sessions for those brides who have approached her wanting to ‘rock the frock’. I am not always a huge fan of the so-called ‘trash the dress’ sessions as they CAN be tacky, but do I love the idea of a bride getting to wear her dress again and create something special and beautiful together with her photographer! In this case, Debbie was inspired by her own love of Greek mythology (which I totally share) to produce a shoot themed around the myth of the goddess Persephone. In case you’re not familiar with the story, it goes that Persephone (the daughter of Zeus and harvest goddess Demeter) was kidnapped as a young maid by Hades, god of the Underworld. Her mother, devastated, went searching for her, and eventually Hades agreed to allow Persephone to return to her mother, but first gave her a pomegranate to eat. When Demeter saw Persephone with the ruby stain on her lips, she knew that her daughter had tasted the fruit of life, and made a new home for herself. So a bargain was made. Each spring, Persephone returns to the world, heralded by flowers. Each autumn, she enters to the underworld, and as her mother grieves, the winter season comes. Lovely, isn’t it? And what a perfect inspiration for boho brides.Read More