The Editorial Wedding: Sneak Peek

by gaby

If you’ve been following along here, you’ll know that it’s not long now until SBB together with Anneli Marinovich will be hosting our very first workshop – The Editorial Wedding. It’s all about getting your photography published, and I have so much exciting stuff to share on the day. One of these (the most exciting, in fact) is the styled shoot being put together by the lovely Louise of b.loved with a crack team of suppliers. When we started planning EdWed, I asked Louise to put together a shoot that would get her excited, and get photographers excited, full of details and gorgeousness and the things we wedding people dream of pretty much all day and all night. A week later, we had the following conversation.

Gaby: “Hey Louise, so what sort of look do you think we’ll be going for?”

Louise: “It’s kind of Kate Spade meets Elizabeth Messina.”

Then she said a lot of other things about colour and pattern and table arrangements and ceremony areas, but I’d kind of stopped listening.

Gaby: “Dude, you had me at Kate Spade and Elizabeth Messina.”

So that’s all I’m going to say to you too. And if you’re anything like me, that’s all you’ll need. What I will say is that everytime I get one of Louise’s style boards, or when we sat last week discussing details over champers at Cannizaro House (our fantastic workshop venue), I want to make a lot of happy squealing noises. And also, I’m seriously considering finding a husband in the next three weeks, just so I can get married in Louise’s setup. It’s going to be gorgeous. Photographers: you should be there.

To get you excited, we’re sharing a few pins from Louise’s super secret Pinterest board this week (head over to b.loved and the EdWed facebook page for more, and Anneli will be sharing one soon too). Here’s mine :)

Image source: Danielle Capito Photography via 100 Layer Cake

The Editorial Wedding will be held on 9 April 2013 at Cannizaro House. Cost is £325 including lunch and a takeaway guide to UK and international publications – for full details please see our website. Not much time now, so if you’re interested please drop us a line at [email protected].

 

Inspiration Board: Bon Voyage

by gaby

Well, I promised you folks a week of inspiration, and that’s exactly what we’re delivering! After this morning’s colourful wedding, this afternoon we’re concentrating on just the one colour – the only colour this year dahling, Pantone’s 2013 colour of the year, emerald green. Reader Heather wrote to ask for an emerald board for her spring wedding in New Orleans. As it’s a destination, Heather and her fiance plan to incorporate maps and a travel motif, but they want to keep things simple and elegant. So I’ve kept travel details to a minimum, with a map guest book and other subtle touches – a little globe, postcard-style escort card tags, antique map boutonnieres for the guys and super sweet vintagey favour bags. Combined with lace and the deep emerald shade, it creates the sort of vintage feel Heather wanted, and has a nod to travel without feeling themey. Flowers are kept simple white with prominent foliage, as are the boutonnieres, and the bridesmaids wear emerald dresses with emerald shoes for the bride. For the tables, a lace runner is perfectly pretty, with a variety of small arrangements in different vases. It works, doesn’t it? Yay for emerald. Hope you like your board, Heather!

PS Photographers, if you really want to be inspired, come back in an hour when I’ll be giving you a sneak peek of what’s to come on our EdWed shoot! It’s GOOD. :)

Colours: Emerald and ivory

Top row (l-r): Mini globe on books {Blush Bridal Consultation Group/Lauren Brooks Photography}; thistle boutonnieres {Jose Villa/JL Designs}; green shoes {Dally Street Images}; map guest book {Snap Weddings}; bouquet {Anne Robert Photography/Petals & Hedges}
Row 2: Postcard escort tags {Tracie Howe Photography/Blush Celebrations}; bridesmaid dresses; cufflinks {Not on the High Street}; groomsmen {Shannen Natasha Photography}
Row 3: Bride in lace wedding dress {Tracie Howe Photography/Blush Celebrations}; favour bags with vintage aeroplane {Sarah Layne Photography/Your Perfect Bridesmaid}; table setting {Sarah Layne Photography/Your Perfect Bridesmaid}; couple with map {Celeste Duran}.

 

Real Garden Wedding {Bridget & Glenn}

by gaby

Get ready to start your day with a burst of colour, because I am bringing you such a lovely wedding full of it this morning! You know, as much as I love a formal wedding with classic, subdued decor, I can’t help but smile wide when I come across one that is built for joy. There’s such exuberance in every corner of Bridget and Glenn’s garden wedding – paper windmills, miles of bunting, dozens of mismatched vases and flowers of every kind, ably captured by the lovely husband and wife team of Knot Just Pics. But then, that kind of joy is at the centre of Bridget and Glenn’s relationship – printed on the back of their programmes was this wonderful quote, which Bridget says is just what went through her mind the first time she noticed Glenn with his two little girls and a huge, amazing smile: “Then he smiled. It was the biggest smile she’d ever seen. It was radiant and suffused with an irrepressible good humour. She looked into that prodigious smile and a strange feeling took hold of her. She smiled back at him, despite herself and felt a rush of well being, an indefinable but overwhelming sanguine cheerfulness. Things will turn out right the voice of her heart said to her. Everything will be alright. She knew, that no man who smiled with so much of his heart would knowingly hurt or harm another.” (From Shantaram) See? I love this couple already.Read More

A Bride Abroad #10: The Ceremony

by gaby

With a little less than two weeks to go till the BIG DAY, I must admit the nerves are starting to creep in. I thought I had everything so well organised and prepared that I would come home and just RELAX. Well that was an interesting plan… The little details are keeping me quite busy, but I am enjoying every day. The weather has been amazing, people have been amazing and this country is just amazing in general. I have also been completely spoilt by two kitchen teas and a super-duper bachelorettes with the coolest personal touches. So I’m having a rad time! I can’t believe the wedding is next weekend – every time that thought pops into my head, my heart makes a little jump and my stomach whirls with excitement. And nerves. But that’s what the rescue remedy is for, right? Now getting back to those formalities…

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Inspiration Board: The Lake House

by gaby

Good morning, friends! Who’s ready for an inspiration-filled week? Well, I hope you are, because this week we have not one but FIVE reader requested inspiration boards to share with you. That’s a different board every day, and five different looks to fall in love with. And that’s alongside our usual raft of loveliness, so get ready to get in trouble with your IT department for stopping by SBB at least twice a day! ;) (Of course, if that’s a problem, you can always subscribe via email.) So let’s get started! Today’s board is for reader Ashley, who’s planning an autumn wedding at a lake house in Minnesota. How romantic does that sound? And romantic is the right word for the palette she’s chosen (LOVE): navy, mint and blush. Most autumn palettes are warm, but this combination of cool shades makes me think of those first chilly mornings by the water (how I miss my river runs!). Ashley’s theme for her wedding is ‘happy, love, best friends’ and she wants a mix of classic, vintage and casual comfy. I think we’ve struck the right balance here and I love the typographic elements – the invitation using the ‘today I marry my best friend’ quote and the thank you card at each guest place. The final result is soft but a little preppy, and very very pretty. Hope you like your board, Ashley!

Colours: Navy, mint & blush

Top row (l-r): Cocktail with blueberries {Chrisman Studios}; flower garland {KT Merry Photography/Beauty in the Making}; table with mint chairs {Martha Stewart}; thank you card; window with heart {Elizabeth Messina}
Row 2: ‘Today I marry my best friend’ invitation; bridesmaids with blush wraps {Emily Steffen Photography}; mint and clear vases {Laura Ashbrook Photography/Floral Occasions}; lemonade in mason jars {Ulmer Studios}
Row 3: Bride and groom on pier {Caroline + Ben Photography}; wrapped box; pink dress {Elizabeth Messina}; pink shoes; macaroons.

 

SouthBound Sundays + V&A Ballgowns {17 March 2013}

by gaby

Happy Sunday friends! And Happy St. Patrick’s Day (especially to my lovely Irish housemate, Kelly). I’ve always been a big fan of St. Pat’s, ever since my Catholic school in Joburg used to do a big sweets and cakes day and it was the one day you could make an exception to your Lenten resolutions. Which I guess means I should spend all day reading tabloids and watching reality TV, since that’s what I gave up this year, except that I haven’t missed them at all. Instead I’m curled up on the couch watching vintage cop shows, listening to the rain outside and cooking up a bumper crop of inspiration boards for you lovely lot. It’s been a super busy week making plans for our Editorial Wedding workshop at London’s Cannizaro House (UK photogs, if you haven’t yet signed up, do soon – we have so much knowledge to share and you guys the styled shoot is going to be AMAZING – more on that this week), but then I do like to be busy!

♥ WEEKLY FAVES

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Wedding Memorial Ideas

by gaby

Wedding Memorial Ideas

Rachel Solomon Photography/Rani Hoover Inspired Weddings & Events/Riley’s Flowers via Grey Likes Weddings

*UPDATED FOR 2021* So, let’s talk wedding memorials and remembrances. Not a cheerful topic, but something that unfortunately affects many engaged couples as they plan their wedding day, knowing that someone important won’t be present. Whether it’s a recent loss or someone long-missed whose absence is especially felt on big occasions, many of you will have a parent, one or more grandparents, a sibling, or an old friend on your mind. And, while a wedding is the happiest of occasions, it’s also a celebration of history and community, and I think an appropriate moment to acknowledge those who are part of that history, even if they are deceased. But how do you create a wedding memorial that pays tribute without lessening the joy?

*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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Parant Parant Bridal Headpieces

by gaby

Before this Thursday is out and I tuck into an evening martini, I thought it was time for another little snippet of bridal fashion inspiration – and this time, we’re letting things go to our heads. If by things, I mean super gorgeous bridal headpieces from Swedish designer Parant Parant. I’ve been meaning to share these inspiring little pieces of heaven with you for ages, and with everything going Gatsby this year, there’s never been a better time to go for a statement headpiece. I love that the Parant Parant pieces are romantic and feminine, but bold. They make for gorgeous pictures, so if you’re not brave enough to wear one all day, consider doing so just for the reception or even just for the photo session – I’ve seen brides do this before and it looks amazing. Plus it just gives you all the more reason to find an excuse to get dressed up and wear your headpiece again ;) Read More

Real Wedding at De Uijlenes {Nadine & Alan}

by gaby

I have such a special wedding to share with you today! We hear a lot about ‘boho’ weddings, but today’s bride and groom really embody the bohemian life, and not just because the bride wore a flower crown on her big day. When they tired of the corporate world and wanted more freedom, they started their own business creating the most beautiful lasercut lights. Groom Alan is also a skateboarder, and spends the rest of his time skating or filming for skate videos and magazines. Nadine signs all her emails ‘love and light’, and that’s exactly the feeling I have when I look at their INCREDIBLE photos from Love Made Visible. Bex and Bruce have outdone themselves with their gentle documentary style that always captures the amazing emotion of a wedding day, and there’s so much love and joy throughout Nadine and Alan’s forest ceremony and eco chic reception. I love that they did things a little differently, with sack and egg & spoon races instead of throwing the garter and bouquet, and ended their night with their guests around the fire, singing and playing the guitar. Get ready for loveliness!Read More

The Editorial Wedding: Update

by gaby

Hello friends! Last week, I made the very exciting announcement that, together with photographer Anneli Marinovich, I was launching a workshop for photographers called The Editorial Wedding, which will include a styled shoot from the extremely talented Louise of b.loved. We’ve been so thrilled with the feedback we’ve had from everyone (especially some requests for a repeat workshop in South Africa – watch this space!) including a shedload of enthusiastic blogger friends here in the UK, and we can’t wait to share everything we have in store with our participants. I’ll be giving you a sneak peek into Louise’s shoot (you guys, seriously, it is AMAZING) next week, but today I wanted to announce that our venue for The Editorial Wedding (or the EdWed as we’ve been calling it!) will be Wimbledon’s own Cannizaro House.

Cannizaro is a real little jewel of South West London – many of us know it as the perfect place to have a high tea with the girls, a romantic dinner with your fella or to relax in the beautiful grounds on a sunny summer afternoon. But it’s also a beautiful wedding venue, with all the charm of the countryside but the convenience of being so close to central London (and only a short distance from Wimbledon station). The suites and function rooms are gorgeous (I’m especially a fan of the different wallpaper looks they’ve chosen!), the food is delicious and we’re so looking forward to making it our ‘home’ on workshop day, 9 April.

So, photographers! If you’re still on the fence about booking a place, what are you waiting for? We have so much knowledge to share with you, and so much gorgeousness for you to get stuck into with your cameras. It’s going to be a very full (but very satisfying and inspiring) day. Tickets cost £325 – all details are on our website.

Huge thanks to the fantastic staff at Cannizaro for accommodating us! See you soon!

Cannizaro House
West Side Common | Wimbledon | London SW19 4UE
Website: www.cannizarohouse.com
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 020 8879 1464