Confessions of a DIY Bride #4: The Dress

by gaby

Hello lovelies! Sam’s back today with more on her DIY wedding adventure! And this is such a special post – I know I felt a bit choked up at the end!

DIY Bride Disclaimer: My ‘DIY Dress Project’ didn’t stretch to actually making my own dress, or getting a fabulous mom/aunt/granny to create the perfect Couture Gown, but I was lucky enough to be able to re-create a vintage heirloom into my own version of THE dress.

When I started my search for a not-too-extravagant but still pretty awesome, reasonably comfy wedding dress, I hoped the answer would be a vintage one. (I had visions of a puffy 1950s cocktail number). So, I trawled vintage fairs, shops and websites, and saw so many beautiful dresses and even more beautiful accessories, but generally felt a little overwhelmed at my lack of London vintage shopping knowledge and know-how.

Then I travelled to South Africa, and in between the mad rush to choose a venue and find a caterer, my mom, sister and I visited a few wedding boutiques, and I dutifully tried on the dresses. They were nice (some were even very very nice) but… they just weren’t quite right. Eventually, I decided I’d go back to London, find a plain, simple high street dress, and accessorise it with my grandmother’s wedding veil (cathedral length, 1940s Brussels lace). There was just one problem – no one could find it. Anywhere.

It was in the process of searching through yet another trunk, at the back of yet another cupboard, in the last few hours before I flew back to the UK, that I found the rumpled old plastic bag… Filled with an even more rumpled mess of delicately textured, oyster satin and few lonesome diamantes… It wasn’t my grandmother’s veil, but it was her wedding dress. The same one she wore in 1946 when she’d married my grandpa.Read More

Real Wedding at Webersburg {Leandrie & Raubie}

by gaby

Hello dear friends – sorry you missed out on your real wedding fix yesterday! I have a little holiday planned for next week, so I’m on double duty making sure everything’s ready to keep things pretty around here. Anyway, today’s wedding from Cheryl McEwan – as full of little details as it is – is definitely one to keep you entertained. Leandrie and Raubie were married at the magnificent Webersburg, with pops of green against a neutral palette, and lots of fun touches. My favourite is definitely the milkshakes with stripy green straws – adorableness! I also really love that Cheryl’s made sure not just to photograph these details as they stood on the day, but to get the bridal party interacting with them – it’s a nice editorial way of bringing those little touches to the forefront and making sure your pictures tell the story not only of your day, but of all the effort you put into the details, which I know is important to a lot of you! So here we go… enjoy!Read More

Winter Gold {Plus DIY details + special offer}

by gaby

You guys, I am doing such a happy dance as I post this feature today! It has been a long while coming, and I am thrilled to finally be able to share it with you. See, this isn’t just a beautiful shoot that someone sent me, I was actually there for this one. I saw it put together from scratch. I even helped make it happen a little. Not that it’s my shoot – ‘assisted’ is the key term here. All of this shimmery, wintery loveliness comes straight from the imagination of styling queen Louise Beukes of b.loved (how pretty must it be inside her mind?) as well as the lens of Liesl Cheney. It’s all about making your guests feel cozy while at the same time sweeping them up Narnia-style into a world of snowflakes and pinecones and sophisticated elegance. And now’s a good time for me to say how proud I am of everything Louise has achieved. A couple of years ago, she approached me as a SouthBound Bride herself, and told me she wanted to start a blog. I thought it was a great idea. Then she told me she wanted to be a stylist, and I thought that was an even better one. The result is not only daily eye candy on her fabulous blog, but a portfolio that is just busting at the seams with loveliness. This was one of her first shoots, so you can see she hit the ground running. Oh, and the reason we didn’t show it to you earlier? Only because it was too busy being featured in UK magazine You & Your Wedding.Read More

Lace Wedding Cakes

by gaby

This post was going to be about a whole other cake trend, but when I asked myself what sort of cake I could see SouthBound brides really going for in the next year, one answer immediately sprang to mind: lace. I mean, we love lace, right? It’s a beautiful texture to add to a cake without having to go too bold – in fact it’s the perfect way to amp up a classic white cake. Not that you can’t do something more colourful, as you’ll see below – the base cake or the lace itself can be any number of colours. I think my absolute favourite look for lace wedding cakes is the blush/nude cake with a white lace overlay, since it reminds me of the illusion/portrait back trend we’re seeing in dresses so much at the moment – so gorgeous! I’ve gathered up my top 20 wedding cakes with lace details – which is your favourite?

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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

Real Wedding at Rockhaven {Nicola & Andre}

by gaby

Well, here’s a wedding unlike any I’ve seen before! From the moment Andre and Selma of Expressions Photography sent over a pic of Nicola and her bridesmaids, I was hooked. Nicola and Andre – varsity sweethearts – got engaged in India. So even though neither has Indian heritage, they decided to have an Indian-themed wedding. In the Cape winelands. With a rabbi (even though neither is Jewish either). It’s slightly barmy, but you know what, I love it. It’s so full of colour and light and fun. You look at their friends – dressed in saris or playing croquet or dancing Bollywood style – and it’s clear everyone’s having the best time and that this is one wedding that’s gone down in the record books. And you look at Nicola and Andre’s faces as they promise to spend their lives together, and it’s obvious that they are meant for each other. And that, my friends, is what a wedding’s all about.Read More

Inspiration Board: Spain Meets South

by gaby

Hello lovelies, I have an extra inspiration board for you today. This one is a request from reader Simone, who’s originally from SA but now lives in Melbourne with her Spanish fiance. So international! The wedding will take place in a beautiful town in central Spain, set on a hilltop with winding streets and castle ruins. What an impossibly romantic location! Being proudly South African, Simone wants to include South African elements, including King Proteas and aloes. Because the venue hadn’t been finalised when she wrote to me, Simone wasn’t sure of much of the design, but she’d picked coral and mint as her colours. I think this is a great choice – not just because they’re on trend, but the soft pink and warm pink will work well in a variety of settings (and, of course, with the proteas). I’d combine them with copper or brass vessels for a lovely Spanish colonial feel on the tables. Another Spanish touch I would make a lot of is lace – this makes a great motif, and doesn’t need to look Victorian vintage. For example, use just a touch in soft mint bridesmaid dresses, in the form of doily cupcake cases and even as a photobooth backdrop! My favourite lace detail is the cake – especially with that protea on top! It’s the perfect Spanish/South African combination. I also thought the tiles as table numbers were a charming touch. Simone is considering serving macaroons (great for the colour) but I love the idea of a late night serving of hot chocolate with churros and koeksusters. In fact, menu is a wonderful way to pay tribute to your home country, just as Princess Charlene did for her Monaco wedding. Another idea from that wedding is to include South African music in your service. Hope you like your board Simone – can’t wait to see your wedding!

Colours: Coral and mint

Top row (l-r): Mantilla; lace dress {Jimena Roquero}; protea centrepiece {Jennifer Sando/White Room Events}; doily cupcake case; cake with protea topper and lace detailing {Jennifer Sando/White Room Events}
Row 2: Macaroons; tile escort cards {KT Merry}; mint lace bridesmaid dresses {Melissa McClure Photography}; churro hearts
Row 3: Spanish doorway; table decor (3 images) {Joielala/Canvas & Canopy Events}; lace photobooth/ceremony backdrop {NGG Studios/Imbue Weddings}.

 

A Bride Abroad #7: The Dress

by gaby

Ooooooh yes! It’s time to write about… drumroll tsshh… THE DRESS!!!! I’ve been waiting for this one to come round in sheer anticipation. Not quite sure why though, because I myself don’t yet know what my wedding dress is going to look like. Eek!

Because it’s being made in Cape Town, I won’t know until very shortly before the wedding. The bonus is that I get some extra time to decide, which is great, because my ideas have changed so much over the past few months. Who knows what I’ll end up wearing…

What I do know is that I’m not one for many layers and loads of lace. No petticoat. No tight bust in which I cannot breath. No scratchy fabric. No long trail. I’m a very practical person and therefore cannot afford to choose a dress which is going to be a hassle. That said, it still has to be gorgeous.

I love a dress which in essence is plain, but has small details which make it interesting. A splash of colour, an interesting neckline, different fabrics folding over one another. We’ll see what the future holds… While you wait, I leave you with these beautiful photies.

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Inspiration Board: Lovelier Than Lilacs

by gaby

It’s Monday, and Mondays mean one thing here on SBB, and that’s inspiration boards. Yay! So to kick off the week, I have a reader’s request that I’ve been looking forward to getting to. Georgie sent me a request before Christmas for her Johannesburg wedding – she said that with so many themed weddings around, she and her fiance wanted to bring their focus back to what was traditional, classic and elegant. Their venue in Parktown has a gorgeous view of the city, so they’d like that to be central, and will include lots of ambient light in the form of candles and fairy lights. Their palette is clean white with dove grey, lilac and celadon (a green very much like Pantone’s current Greyed Jade). Georgie had just one more request, and that was to include orchids, since they will remind them of India and Singapore – two places that are meaningful to the couple. So that was the brief, and that’s what we’ve got. No themes, no motifs, no gimmicks – just classical elements and a gorgeous set of colours. As with all weddings where white forms a big part of the canvas, texture is important, so I’ve included lots of it – feathery tulle in the bride’s dress, crisp linens on the tables, even a little touch of velvet ribbon, which I really like (especially since this is an autumn wedding). The orchids are there – nice, simple and soft, but I think roses on the table are a classically romantic statement so I’d probably stick to orchids in bouquets and in other special places like on the cake. Chandeliers and a twinkle light curtain add a festive touch, and I’d bring in the colour accents in soft ways – bridesmaid’s dresses, shoes and (my best) invitations with a subtle touch of celadon on the edges. Add a pretty hairpiece, updos for the bridal party, a touch of calligraphy and signature cocktails for while guests enjoy that magnificent view. Et voila. A return to elegance. Hope you like your board, Georgie!

Colours: White, lilac, dove grey & celadon

Top row (l-r): Orchid {Anouschka Rokebrand}; bride {Beth Helmstetter/Samuel Lippke Studios}; pale lilac shoes {SH Weddings/Hanle Productions}; calligraphy table number {Jose Villa}; chandelier {Tea Olive Photography}
Row 2: Invitations with celadon edging {Lucky Luxe Couture Correspondence}; elegant updo {Easton Events/Patricia Lyons Photography}; orchid and rose bouquet; lilac velvet ribbon; cake with white orchids {Jenna Walker Photographers/Creative Weddings}
Row 3: Bride and groom with fairy light curtain {Cory Ryan Photography/CLINK }; lilac cocktail with ribbon tags {Samm Blake}; diamond ring {KT Merry}; table setting {Kate Preftakes Photography}; lilac bridesmaid dresses {Samm Blake}.

 

Q&A with Lizanne Higgs Photography

by gaby

Hello friends! Just before our Friday comes to a close, I have someone lovely to introduce you to. I met photographer Lizanne Higgs towards the end of last year – she had been living in London for a while, but has now made the move back to SA with her husband – congrats, Lizanne! Before she did, I was able to get to know her a bit, and she answered a few questions for me over a glass of wine. I’m sharing what she had to say together with some of the pics from her first Cape wedding – both were teachers, so there was a bit of a school decor theme going on, how cute is that?

Hi Lizanne – thanks so much for chatting to us today! How did you get started as a photographer?
Hi Gaby, this is so exciting being interviewed for your amazing blog, SouthBound Bride. Thank you!
I have had a desire in my heart to do photography since my high school days and now I am finally living the dream. Unfortunately I could not afford to buy a digital camera back in those days and so I set that dream aside and slightly forgot about it… until a few years later when I read the book by Joyce Meyers, I Dare You: Embrace Life with Passion. The book inspired me and I remembered what I wanted to do with my life as a profession, I wanted to be a photographer and within a month after reading the book I bought my first camera in the UK (on my credit card!). I starting taking photos of scenery and eventually a few friends asked me to photograph their weddings and newborn babies and from there on I could not stop. Every photo shoot was more exciting than the last and the adrenalin rush I got on some of the photo shoots was mind-blowing! I LOVE photography. I had some awesome opportunities in second shooting weddings in the UK and from there on shot my first solo wedding in London.Read More