Well, this is a very special day indeed, as I finally get to share the STUNNING wedding photos from one of our very own real life brides, Stella – aka the Fairytale Bride (see all Stella’s planning posts here). Aka, one of the most gorgeous brides I have ever featured – my goodness, in her photos she could star in a perfume ad (and I do mean that in a good way!). Of course, she was rocking a classic Vera Wang fit for a princess, but the real beauty is in the sheer joy and love radiating from both Stella and her handsome hubby Robin, as they said their ‘I do’s and then partied late into the night with their loved ones from near and far. As you’ll know from reading Stella’s posts, she dreamed of a rustic fairytale wedding, and that’s exactly how it turned out – every single little detail was beautiful and beautifully thought out. Being part of her journey was a pleasure and a privilege, and being able to share these amazing images from Absolutely Loved Photography (seriously, narrowing down the pics for this post was torture!) just brings it all full circle. Huge congrats to the newest SBB couple! :)Read More
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.
I’m so glad that this entry of cake and desserts comes straight after my previous entry on décor, as the entire dessert table, inclusive of our cake, may just be my second favourite part of planning this wedding (you can read about my first love in the previous post). Cake, desserts… oh the sweetness! I absolutely love to bake, which can be clearly seen through my blog called ‘Baked In Love’. To me, baking is something special as every cake, cookie or cupcake has a story. You bake because you want to bake, not because you have to. You bake to share and you bake to celebrate.
Now that we have acknowledged and established my love for all things sweet, let’s dream of cake pops, cupcakes and buttercream!
This has been by far the absolute BEST part of planning this wedding for me. Just thinking about it, my heart begins to beat that little bit faster and my eyes start twinkling. I think what I’m loving the most out of the experience of planning a wedding so far, (apart from the fact that this is the most beautiful ‘joint’ project Rob and I have been able to work on), is the fact that it allows me to be SO creative. It allows me to find joy in the detail and get excited about the smallest little things, which is what will ultimately make the day memorable and special! I cannot wait to share this creativity that has been stirred up inside of me in that final blog post so that it leaves other lovely ladies inspired, smiling and dreaming big.
As I’ve mentioned before, our wedding style is dreamy, magical and romantic, with whimsical and delicate DIY touches everywhere…all in a rustic chic setting surrounded by natural beauty and little touches of sparkly glamour.
I want my bridesmaids to definitely be one of those touches of sparkly glamour! Not only are they four beautiful brunettes but are also fun-loving ladies and can represent that element in the wedding. We need that element in amongst all that dreamy romance.
First confession…
I was never one to dream up my entire wedding as a little girl but I must say that there have always been a few elements of that special day that I have been very sure about…the dress being one. This is because I have always known exactly what I want to feel like on that day – in love for one, but also enchanted, dreamy, beautiful and as if I am living my very own fairytale. Therefore, I’ve always known that it has to be a princess dress as it is the one day in your life where you should most certainly feel like an absolute princess!
Oh stationery…it really is a beautiful thing. It has the ability to set the tone for the whole wedding journey. It is that first glimpse that guests get to see…that first little taste of the magic that awaits them; our enchanting golden ribbon that ties our wedding together from start to finish. Not only has it allowed us to introduce our look and feel, but also let our creative selves shine! We have had SO much fun dreaming up the designs and exchanging endless happy emails with Seven Swans to get our pretties looking absolutely stunning. Colours, types of paper, fonts…oh the joy! Here are some of the inspirations I started with…
Our wedding logo Apart from us having our dreamy, fairytale wedding style, we felt that there had to be a specific theme (or rather a logo) running throughout the wedding. Something that could act as our stamp from start to finish; Almost to give us an opportunity to brand our special day, but in a very personal and meaningful way. Cape Town has captured our hearts and we want to share this love with our family and friends. We soon realized that there is no better way to visually show this ‘love’ and represent our special day, than the stunning African continent with a heart over Cape Town. Even further fitting since 90% of our guests are traveling to Cape Town from other continents! And that is how ‘Robin and Stella’s wedding logo’ was born. Believe me, this won’t be the last time you come across this beauty. We have included it throughout the whole wedding through sweet little touches here, there and everywhere!
Our Save the Dates
Who doesn’t like a bit of storytelling!? Because it gets engrained in our precious little heads from very early in life (especially the fairytales!), I’m sure we all have a love for it. That is one of the main reasons we decided to take the storytelling route for our first stationery item and transformed our love story into our Save The Dates. The second main reason for going this route is that our relationship has been nothing ‘normal’ since the beginning. We felt it necessary to capture, both verbally and visually, the journey we have been on so far. We couldn’t be happier with how our beautiful creations turned out. Notice the two stickers at the back…those are meant to be placed in our guests’ diaries/planners. Our guests absolutely loved them and they make us smile from ear to ear every time we look at them.
Our invitations
Think romantic, not too formal but very delicate in nature. A lot more elegant than our Save the Dates but both pieces of stationery tied together through our wedding colours – ivory, blush, mint green, grey and coral. A bit of twine to bring in the rustic feel and finished off with a little wooden African continent (with heart of course!). I am in love ☺ We also included a mini information pamphlet for our guests, which covers our 3-day wedding itinerary, a checklist for what our guests need to do, as well as some information on the wedding gifts. Practical, yet beautiful.
My top stationery tips:
Find a stationer that you fall in love with by not only looking at their work but also by meeting them (virtually or in person). You want someone that will get excited with you in the planning and design process because they love what they do so much. We certainly did. Thank you Anelle and Ella from Seven Swans for your unrelenting happiness and positive attitude. It has been an absolute joy working with you!
If planning a wedding where a lot of your guests are traveling from near or far to be there, create a wedding website! Don’t replace your paper stationery with a website but include the web address in your stationery. It will save you so much time as you can direct guests to the website for any questions and updates.
All other stationery above, Seven Swans. Images: Bride’s own
It’s always a happy Monday when we get to meet a new Real Life Bride here on SBB. And today we get to introduce two! First off, I’m very excited to welcome Stella to the blog. She’s full of enthusiasm and ideas – I just know you’re going to love her! Meet our new Fairytale Bride…
Meet Stella
Some label me as a bit of an international/global baby as I’m ‘made in Germany’ but have spent the majority of my life traveling and on the move. Having lived in nine different countries, I’ve had the chance to open my eyes to so many beauties of this world, learn languages and meet amazing people. I make sure to go through life with curiosity and a positive attitude, never missing a day where I don’t find at least a dozen reasons to smile. I am a blog-reading (and occasionally writing), Pinterest-loving, baker. I love to run and cycle long distances and recently ran my first marathon! I am an avid traveller and love to capture my travels through photography and journaling as I go. I am obsessed with everything stationery and am in the process of starting my own business!
Most importantly though, I am insanely excited to be a RLB, because it allows me to give back. I have read stories from so many talented and creative brides, who have allowed me to gather plenty of inspiration and so many ideas. I want to be able to share mine through a platform that will reach all those beautiful and lucky soon-to-be brides, and what better place than SBB!? It is one of THE most magical phases in a girl’s life and platforms like SBB suddenly become your best friend and allow that special time in your life to light up even more.
