DIY - SouthBound Bride

Indieberries Invitations Sneak Peek

25 March, 2013 by gaby

Today you can catch me guest posting over on Indieberries, one of my favey South African blogs, written by one of my favey South African bloggers. Yay for Che and Warren, who are getting married in just two weeks time! I’m sharing a word of advice and some of my adventures in bridesmaiding (hint: it includes at least one awkward entrance and a wedding cake disaster). And to celebrate, I have a little sneak peek of Che’s gorgeous handmade invitations – each like an individual package of awesomeness. She’ll be giving you the lowdown on these soon, so be sure to keep checking into Indieberries for the final product, and you can also get some seriously fantastic DIY advice from her Save the Dates post on SBB here. But for now, let’s just enjoy a hint of what her guests found in their letterboxes. Can I just say: how much are we looking forward to seeing her wedding??? Read More

Modern Pastels Styled Shoot

22 March, 2013 by gaby

I have such lovely inspiration to share with you all this afternoon! When photographer Veronique Mills got in touch to share this lovely styled shoot she put together with Just Jack at Landtscap, I jumped at the chance to share their take on modern pastels (set beautifully against the clean blank canvas that is Landtscap). I loved the candy colours (how cute are those milkshakes?) and the opaque painted vases, and I especially loved that Veronique explained the table had been DIYed for less than R500 – you can see a full breakdown of her costs at the end. That’s the great thing about a good styled shoot – you can take one or two elements are really make them your own, like DIY vases, or using napkins for pops of colour, or even the pretty pastel nails the models are sporting! And the cherry on top? That CAKE. I think it might be my favourite Nelle Cakes creation yet!Read More

Guest Post: Indieberries Save the Dates

29 January, 2013 by gaby

Oh we do love a DIY bride. And we especially love her when she’s our friend Che and she just happens to run a supercool South African blog called Indieberries, with cartoons and stuff. See, Che reminds me of my friend Marcelle. In Std 2, she pitched up at our school, and everything she touched turned to perfection. Her handwriting was awesome. She could draw. Her projects looked like professional scrapbooks. When she covered her compass tin with pictures it looked SO COOL (seriously, in the late ’80s that was a thing). She was like Regina George with the cutout t-shirt, but whenever I tried that stuff, it just looked ridiculous. So when Che got engaged, I knew that her guests would be treated to lots of creative, handmade, scrapbooky details that only she could put together, and I bought her wine and made her promise to send them to me. So here they are! Che’s Save the Dates are beyond cute – they’re based around the idea of ‘pencilling the date in’. I especially love that she wanted their guests to have something physical to open and use, like a present. Can you imagine getting one of these? You’d automatically be amping for the wedding, right? Anyway, you can read the thought behind these invites on Che’s awesome blog, or read on below for all the best Indieberries DIY tips. Oh, and pssst, if you’d like to read her and Warren’s story, see their adorable engagement shoot here.

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Confessions of a DIY Bride #4: The Dress

18 January, 2013 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

Winter Gold {Plus DIY details + special offer}

17 January, 2013 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

Real Wedding at Towerbosch {Ja-nien & André}

10 January, 2013 by gaby

So there I was having dinner with Louise of b.loved last weekend (more from her later today!), and we were chatting about how most good wedding blogs focus on a specific style – it’s just good blog business, really. But I thought to myself, not for the first time, how fortunate I am to have chosen a geographical rather than a stylistic niche. I get to feature all kinds of weddings (as long as they’re in South Africa) – from achingly beautiful formal affairs to barefoot beach braais. And in my eyes, that makes me a very lucky girl, because I have eclectic tastes. Variety is definitely the spice of blogging life for me. And one of the styles I love featuring most is handmade weddings, because not only are they always so pretty, but they’re filled with warmth and love, the same way that you always have a special appreciation for a gift someone makes for you. Today’s wedding has everything that makes handmade weddings lovely – a charming venue (Towerbosch/Knorhoek), fresh flowers in jam jars tied with lace or painted white, homemade preserve favours, crochet boutonnieres, flower crowns for the bridesmaids, and a bride and groom beaming with joy. We don’t have our usual background info, but that’s all the more reason to sit back with a cup of coffee and enjoy the beautiful pictures from Cape Town photographer Coba Engelbrecht.Read More

DIY ‘Wolfpack’ Wedding Programs

27 November, 2012 by gaby

A few weeks ago, I introduced you to reader Claudine, who showed us how to put together a whisky bar, as she did for her wedding. Today Claudine is back with a second post sharing one of her DIY projects – what she charmingly calls a ‘wolfpack’ program. Anyone who’s ever been stuck in a church waiting waiting waiting for the bride to arrive will know that it’s about ten minutes of smiling excitedly, looking around and waving at old friends, five minutes of shuffling and glancing at the door, and then sheer boredom until the big arrival. Which, depending on how punctual you are, could be anything from five minutes to an hour (and yes, I have been there, and in a freezing church nogal). I’m not encouraging bride’s prerogative-style lateness, but if you want to make sure your guests are entertained, this program is a great way to handle that, plus it doubles as a fan in case of hot weather. It includes the wolfpack – introductions to the wedding party – and a fun wordsearch. And it’s been a huge hit among other brides already. So here we go! Thanks Claudine! (PS All images are by Laura Versveld, and you can also see the whole of Richard and Claudine’s wedding on Lovilee.)Read More

DIY Whisky Bar

17 October, 2012 by gaby

It’s funny how the drinks you like change with age, isn’t it? I mean, when I was 18, I drank a lot of alcopops, but I wouldn’t be caught dead with one now. And at that age, I thought whisky was vile, but now I quite like a one from time to time (although, I’m sorry purists, mine’s on the rocks). Due probably to the fact that a few years back I dated a guy who really loved the stuff, and I came to appreciate it more after a distillery weekend in Islay, Scotland. Maybe that’s appropriate, because there’s something a bit more sophisticated about whisky – it’s to be enjoyed slowly, not downed or drunk through a straw (what WAS that anyway, eighteen year old Gaby?). Point is, I think a whisky (or whisky and cigar) bar is a really lovely addition to a wedding reception, and something that usually makes the groom’s eyes light up in the planning. So I was delighted when SBB reader Claudine got in touch after her own recent wedding to share how she and her groom Richard created a whisky/whiskey bar for their wedding – and how you can too! All images are by the awesome Laura Versveld, who is based in Mpumalanga. (You can also see the whole of Richard and Claudine’s wedding on Lovilee.) Take it away, Claudine!Read More

Real Wedding at Paternoster Lodge {Katie & Theoniel}

9 October, 2012 by gaby

Today’s real wedding caught my attention when I spotted the driftwood logs and hanging twinkle light curtains on Be-dazzled Events‘ Facebook page, and I was thrilled to see the whole wedding appear over on the awesome Jules Morgan‘s blog. I love intimate weddings, and I adore Katie and Theoniel’s concept of sharing a favourite destination (who doesn’t fall in love with the West Coast, after all?) with their family and friends. Their design was relatively simple, but very stylish, and perfectly reflected the West Coast vibe in shades of grey and beige neutrals. And how about those fairy lights? Aren’t they just magical? This wedding is proof of how a great venue, a clean palette and a few special details (love that driftwood heart ring ‘cushion’ and the stylin’ groomsmen, for example) are all you need to make your wedding picture perfect (although the perfect pictures Jules takes don’t hurt either – it was too hard to choose, so this is a bit of a bumper post!).Read More