A Beautiful Illusion {Portrait Back Wedding Dresses}

by gaby

K-Patz in happier days. Tut tut, Kristin. No more sparkly boyfriend for you.

Blame it on Kristin Stewart. (I mean, she’s getting blamed for everything else right now, why not.) I thought the biggest style statement of that there Twilight wedding would be the hanging blooms, but it turns out that Bella’s gorgeous illusion back gown was the big winner. With lace being huge right now, I am seeing beautiful lace backs popping up everywhere, and goodness if they don’t always catch my breath. Now I’ll admit, there’s a bit of envy here because no way no how am I ever going to be wearing one of these in any form (let’s just say the look gets a little ruined by a bra strap, and I get a little ruined without a bra), but for you ladies who can pull this look off, they make an incredibly stylish and romantic statement. (For the rest of us, of course, there are still illusion necklines which are also a big trend, but that’s another post). There’s something about the mixture of covered and sheer, of lace and skin, that makes them simultaneously demure and sexy. Just one note of caution – if you have your heart set on wearing your hair down (or even half down, or in a ponytail), give this dress style a miss. No point in covering up Mona Lisa’s smile!

To get you inspired, I thought I would introduce you to some of the key designers who have been working this look recently, and then show you my local favourite.Read More

Real Wedding at Oranje Guest Farm {Liezel & Louw}

by gaby

I love weddings. (Surprise! I bet you didn’t know that.) And this year has been all about attending weddings for me – five so far, and number six coming up on Friday. I can’t WAIT. You’d think by now I’d be sick to death of looking at them, but no. They’re a gift that just keeps on giving. Take today’s gorgeous wedding, from Michael Tree Photography (welcome, Michael!). It’s so elegant, with a palette of navy, mint and grey. (Just take another minute to be delighted by that colour combo, because I totally am.) The bride is rocking a stunning dress and I love that she’s wearing her hair short and loose – it looks amazing. The design has a touch of vintage (cute car alert!), but somehow manages to feel modern as well. And it took place amid some spectacular South African scenery. There are even white proteas, which basically make me want to punch the air. In fact, the whole thing does. Yay for this wedding, and yay that I get to write about it. I love my job!Read More

Real Wedding at Old Mac Daddy {Amé & Karel}

by gaby

Holy moley me oh my – now if this isn’t an amazing wedding, I’ll eat my fascinator. Ever since the team behind the Grand Daddy Hotel (which I am still dying to stay at) opened a country version of their rooftop airstream trailer park in Elgin called Old Mac Daddy, I have been dying to feature a wedding there. (For those who don’t know, each of the trailers – already pretty rad on their own – is custom decorated to a theme by a local artist).  I knew if I held out, the perfect wedding to show off this rustic, funky, informal venue would come along, and boy has it ever. I am so in love with Amé and Karel’s style – from their very cool stationery (how cute is the game-style invitation, not to mention their classy on-the-day farm look and adorable table names!) and quirky ideas, to their green and white flowers and laid back farm chic decor. And those bridesmaids’ dresses! Everything about this wedding is in synch – it’s so beautifully put together and well-thought-out. And, of course, I am also thrilled to be showcasing the work of the awesome Love Made Visible – their ability to see and capture the behind-the-scenes moments that really make up a day so much more than the decor or colour scheme ever could, always astounds me. Sit back, bliss out and enjoy.Read More

Love Letter Engagement Shoot

by gaby

Good morning, SouthBound brides… I have The Loveliest engagement shoot to share with you this morning! A couple of weeks ago, I noticed I’d had a new follow on Twitter from a photographer called Dear Wesleyann, who is based in Florida in the US. I happened to click through, and OMG, blog crush. I absolutely loved the style of Wesleyann’s website, but more importantly, I fell head over heels for her beautiful photographs. Which is saying something, considering how many lovely images I see every day. Her light, bright, clean and joyful style really appeals to me personally, and I soon got lost in her archives of pretty! I knew I had to share my special find with you, so I immediately fired off a mail to Wesleyann, who very kindly agreed to let me feature Tracie and Mark’s love letter-themed engagement. Eek! So that was the first exciting part. The next was when I read Tracie and Mark’s story, and why love letters are so important to their relationship and not just a nice prop – in fact, they incorporated the theme into their beautiful wedding as well. Bottom line? It adds up to one of my favourite e-sessions ever.Read More

Inspiration Board: And It Was All Yellow

by gaby

Monday, Monday, can’t trust that day… But you can trust that I’ll be brightening up your Monday with a brand new inspiration board on the blog! And this time it’s even brighter than usual, with a yellow-themed board created just for reader Bronwyn. She’s having a summer wedding in Johannesburg, and wants a modern theme for her big day. She’s looking for something clean cut, including square tables, as well as a few quirky ideas. I just loved putting this one together! Yellow is a bold colour choice, but I can’t emphasise enough what a happy colour it is, and I really think that it gets everything off to a wonderful start. With Bronwyn’s ideas as a starting point, I immediately thought of two elements. The first is chevron – the pattern you’ll see under the ring and on the runner below. Chevron is huge in design at the moment, partly because it has links to Art Deco and the 1920s trend, but also because it’s a great balance of clean cut and preppy with a little retro twist to it. And it is just sooo pretty! So I would definitely use chevron as a key motif for this wedding – in stationery, on table runners, etc. There are tons of chevron ideas to play with – just tap it into Pinterest to see a selection. The second element I thought would be great is a focus on typography, which like Bronwyn’s specification, is also modern and clean cut (and brings in the black and white part of the colour palette beautifully). Again, there are lots of ideas around, but at the wedding I’ve included below, the couple really went to town, having hanging ‘banners’ above the reception space with absolutely gorgeous type. You could also type up quotes or meaningful words in your chosen font and frame them to create an installation on one wall at the reception. Add in a few industrial elements (naked lighbulbs, for example, or the quirky but very cool clip escort card idea), use square white vases on the tables, and bring in bold pops of yellow in your flowers (love the tulip bouquet), shoes, bridesmaid dresses, and even your veil. What a gorgeous wedding – I for one can’t wait to see how it all turns out. Hope you like your board, Bronwyn!

Colours: Yellow, black and white

Top row (l-r): Ring {P: Gabe Aceves Photography}; yellow shoes {P: Jennifer Longaway}; reception space with typography accents {P: Erica Loeks}; tulip bouquet{P: Yolande Marx Photography}
Row 2: Naked bulb strings {P: Belathee Photography}; invitation {Minted}; typography banners {P: Erica Loeks}; bright yellow bridesmaid dresses {P: Jennifer Weems Photography}
Row 3: Yellow birdcage veil {P: Chad Cress; Veil: Jade Rose Designs}; yellow flowers in white, square vases; chevron runners; clip escort cards {P: Lara Robby Photography}.

 

Real Wedding at Cabriéres {Lindi & Scott}

by gaby

Hello friends! I have been dying to share today’s totally adorable Cabriéres wedding with you for ages. One, it is uniquely South African – it even has a Karoo farm theme! With little tin windmills on the tables. Like I say, ADORABLE, right? And not just for the sake of it, either – everything about the day was chosen to reflect the couple’s personalities and the history of their relationship. Which, as you know, is so my thing. And two, I love that you can see so much genuine love and emotion, not just from Scott and Lindi, but from their friends and family as well. Steven Booth, their awesome photographer for the day, even spoke about this in our emails, telling me how during the speeches especially, you could tell how this group of friends and family know each other and really ‘get’ each other, resulting in some very entertaining but also heartfelt speeches. What an awesome wedding to have been a part of.Read More

Mismatched Bridesmaid Accessories 3 {Jewellery, Hairpieces, Stockings, Cardigans}

by gaby

Source: Michelle Lindsay Photography

Hello friends – hope you’re having a great day! Today I’m bringing you the third and final installment of my roundups on mismatched bridesmaid accessories (see here for bouquets, and here for shoes) – even I can’t believe there are so many ways to let your ladies express themselves! Today I have even more amazing ideas, literally from top to toe! Just a word of caution – all of these trends work best when you use one or combine two at the most (including the dresses themselves), so don’t go overboard. For example, you could put your girls in the same black dresses with different coloured shoes and bouquets to match them, or mismatched dresses in the same colour with different statement necklaces. It’s all about making a style statement, not looking like they’re going to a fancy dress party! The good news is that you can be really creative, depending on the time of year, the style of your wedding or even your personal style. If you love wearing scarves and your wedding is in autumn, give each of your ladies a beautiful and unique scarf to wear. Or if, like me, you’re a fan of chunky cocktail rings, gift each of your girls with a different ring for a special touch to add to their look that will always make them think of you. I think this trend will just continue to grow – I can’t wait to see what maids will be rocking next season!Read More

Real Wedding at the Du Boirs {Nicolene & Krishen}

by gaby

I have such a feast for the eyes to share with you today! When Vashnie of Bodhi Vision Photography sent over the pictures from today’s modern Indian wedding at The du Boirs in Hillcrest, Natal, it was like my inbox was having a party. This wedding is so full-to-the-brim of colour and life, I couldn’t wait to share it with you! Nicolene and Krishen took the traditions of their Hindu heritage and put their own, more modern spin on them, resulting in the kind of personal ceremony and reception that we love most here at SouthBound Bride. They opted for not just one colour scheme but two, using more traditional red, green and gold at the ceremony and surprising their guests with a rich peacock palette at their reception – what an amazing experience it must have been walking in and being greeted by the second vibrant look of the day! Other elements I love: their cake – how gorgeous is that cake? I don’t know how they made themselves cut into it! – and the patterned rose petals on the aisle. Fancy!Read More

Travel Themed Engagement Shoot

by gaby

Just when I think I’ve seen every new idea in engagement shoots, along comes a session that shows me that there are infinite ways for a clever couple (and a clever photographer) to express themselves. Alana and Chris are keen travellers, and I love how, together with the awesome Jacki Bruniquel, they used maps and even a written list of favourite places to highlight this in their pictures. Not only are they absolutely beautiful images, but they’re the kind of personal, meaningful ones that will be treasured for a lifetime.

Here’s Alana with a bit more about their (suitably jetset!) proposal:
We try to travel and explore quite a lot and I tend to be the one who puts our lofty plans into action…Chris knew that if he tried to book a trip somewhere it would be extremely suspicious so he just hijacked a weekend in Cannes, France that I had booked for us! He produced a ring out of nowhere while we were at the top of a hill in the Old Town, perched on an stone wall with a stunning view of the sun setting over the sea, eating macaroons we’d bought at a market earlier that day. It was so simple, happy, romantic and so perfectly us.Read More

Real Wedding at Grand Dedale {Catherine & Mark}

by gaby

One of the things I love about SouthBound Bride being a destination wedding blog, is that I’m not limited to a particular aesthetic in the weddings I feature. Which suits me perfectly, since I have pretty eclectic tastes myself. I’ve featured beautiful vintage weddings, boho beachy celebrations, African-tastic bush scenes, city slickers, even themed weddings. I adore them all. Today’s wedding doesn’t fit into a particular mould – it’s set in the beautiful Cape countryside but has elements of classy city minimalism; it’s elegant and sophisticated, but with fun touches like fresh oyster shucking and a pimped up dessert table. And all of this within the most gorgeous white on white palette. It’s quintessentially Capetonian, and no surprise that it’s been so perfectly rendered, since it was co-ordinated by the awesome team at Wedding Concepts and photographed by Jan-Hendrik. I know you’re going to love it as much as I do!Read More