Tag: fashion

10 Custom Bridal Illustration Keepsakes

by gaby

Custom Wedding Dress illustration by Art Rose Prints

As we announced this morning, August is couture month on SBB (loving this theme!). One aspect of fashion that I personally adore is fashion illustration, and I follow a number of brilliant illustrators on Instagram. But outside of being involved in the fashion world, it’s not often that you’d get to have your very own illustration. Let’s be honest, it’s not often you might have a dress designed for you either! That’s what makes a wedding dress the perfect opportunity, and a fashion illustration of your gown the perfect keepsake. Some designers will create one for you themselves, but if that’s not the case, or if you’re buying a dress instead of having it made, that doesn’t mean you should lose out. I found some wonderful illustrators on Etsy who will do custom designs, and I just had to share them with you! Each has a slightly different style and medium, but they’ll all take an image of your gown and turn it into a masterpiece that you can display with pleasure in your home or office – or give as a gift to someone else.

Read More

Sarah Houston 2015 Collection

by gaby

Hey HEY. We’re finishing off our week in the prettiest way possible, with some gorgeous wedding dresses! Today I’m spotlighting Sarah Houston, a Canadian designer whose flagship store is based in Toronto. I’m new to Sarah’s label, but when her team sent over a sneak peek at her brand new collection, I immediately became a huge fan. I love the combination of textures, from sparkle and embroidery to feathers and soft ruffles and lace, and the way that Sarah’s designs are so very feminine, but with a stylish fashion forward edge. The end result is glamorous and romantic all at once, and with brides all over the world wearing Sarah’s designs, sure to inspire. Enjoy!Read More

Ouma Wedding Dresses

by gaby

Happy Friday y’all! Now, when I tell you that today I am showcasing Ouma wedding dresses, I definitely do not mean that I am showcasing the kind of old-school dresses your ouma might wear (mind you, with vintage going strong, your real ouma’s wedding dress is probably a stunner!). When I say Ouma, I’m talking an up and coming indie wedding dress label from the US. In the last couple of years, Etsy has become a fantastic source for not just everything handcrafted in general, but for bride’s looking for a very special dress, often at a more reasonable price. Ouma are definitely one of the frontrunners, and with beautiful, slightly out of the box designs that include dreamy tulle skirts and super feminine extras like sparkle and shine, it’s no wonder. And the big win is that they ship internationally, so this is one label that South African brides can also access. Here’s just a few gowns from the current collection. Enjoy!Read More

Gin & Glam Fynbos Estate Wedding by dna photographers {Robyn & Grant}

by gaby

Rustic, chic, jazzy, intimate, beautiful, fun… I don’t even know where to start with this wedding, I love it so much. Okay, scratch that, I do. THE DRESS. Seriously, how gorgeous is Robyn’s lace feature back creation (dreamed up by the fashionista bride herself), especially topped off with a shiny gold belt that makes it unlike any wedding dress I’ve featured (or seen, actually) before? Huge wow factor. And speaking of wow factors, let’s talk about the gin bar that Robyn and Grant set up as a way of sharing some of their London lifestyle with friends back home. Amazing (and personal, win). And those are just two aspects of a wedding that really takes rustic glamour to the next level – equal parts elegant and laid back, it’s the kind of garden party I imagine people throwing in the ’20s, with a touch of both France (where the groom proposed) and home, including lovely arrangements of fynbos and herbs. Look out for a hundred perfect little details – flowers frozen into ice cubes, table numbers in lace embroidery hoops, mason jar lanterns, mix and match bow ties. And let’s not leave out the gorgeous pictures by dynamic duo Toni and Desmond of dna photographers, who so beautifully captured everything on camera. Hooray for all of it.Read More

Supplier Spotlight: The Demetriou Girls Collection

by gaby

When I was a little girl (just a few years ago, haha) I DREAMED of being a flowergirl in somebody’s wedding. Sadly, I’m an only child and an only grandchild so it never happened, but I still have such a soft spot for dreamy little dresses for the mini members of a bridal party and I think they deserve to look every bit the princess that they feel being part of your day. So I couldn’t help but fall head over heels when I came across the Demetriou Collection on Etsy. Hand made in Cyprus and shipped worldwide, these luxurious little creations are frothy ballerina fantasies, walking that perfect line between innocent sweetness and elegant chic. The range includes accessories like shoes for babies (oh, the shoes!), head pieces and capes, as well as the dresses themselves. Let’s have a little look, shall we?Read More

How to Wear Statement Bridal Jewellery

by gaby

Source: Oak & the Owl/Em the Gem

This morning, lovelies, we’re talking about one of my all-time favourite things. Jewellery! Oh yes indeed, because who doesn’t love looking at (and wearing) pretty jewels? I’m a huge fan of sticking to classic fashion and using interesting accessories to make it pop, so it’s no wonder really that I’m so in love with the current trend for wearing statement jewellery on your wedding day. After all, if it’s not your personal style in day-to-day life, why suddenly revert to a demure string of pearls on your wedding day? The big question for a number of brides I talk to, though, is how exactly to rock this look without going overboard – after all, nobody wants to look like a bride who (as someone once said about Joss Stone) was covered with glue and rolled through Claire’s Accessories. So today, courtesy of the good folks at Fragments Jewelry, we’re bringing you all the tips and inspiration from real brides that you need. And, just because I can’t resist it, I’m sharing some of my favourite pieces from the Fragments collection. If you’re not already familiar with the brand, then do head over to their online store – but you might want to get someone to hide your credit card first, because I warn you, what you’ll find there is seriously gorgeous!Read More

Urban Johannesburg Bridal Shoot

by gaby

Hello lovelies! Things are all a bit hectic behind the scenes here at SBB, as I put the finishing touches on my course material for The Editorial Wedding, which is happening next week. So excited to show you what we have been up to – and photographers, if you haven’t booked yet, tomorrow’s your last chance! It’s going to be an awesome day, and I’m particularly excited to be co-hosting it with a photographer who I admire not only for her beautiful, colourful, crisp photography and ability to capture the moment, but for her business savvy as well. It’s been such a pleasure getting to know Anneli Marinovich over the last year, and I’m so happy to have her as one of SBB’s sponsors – anyone still looking for a wedding photographer in SA for the end of this year should give her a shout. Anneli is so enthusiastic about her work and the industry, and she makes it very easy for her subjects to relax. She’s also a true creative, and loves taking on new projects and shooting different things. I always love sharing her work here on SBB, and today we have a gorgeous urban bridal shoot that she did in Newtown, Johannesburg. I love the mixture of soft, romantic bridalwear (not to mention gorgeous Jannie Baltzer headpieces) with the industrial urban backdrop, and the way Anneli has her model interacting with the Joburg architecture. It would make for an awesome rock the frock – just sayin’! Anyway, big welcome to Anneli as always, and enjoy!Read More

Elbeth Gillis 2013 Collection

by gaby

Good morning friends! It’s time to share some dress inspiration, and today it’s from one of South Africa’s top wedding dress designers, Elbeth Gillis. I’m a huge fan of Elbeth’s work – not just because I’ve seen it sitting pretty on so many SBB brides, but because I was lucky enough to work with some of her dresses on a shoot last year. Our model that day remarked that they were so comfortable, especially considering how detailed and beautiful they were, which is kind of the holy grail of what you want to wear on your wedding day, right? So when Elbeth sent over her new collection, I couldn’t wait to share it with you all. I love love love all the illusion lace that’s going on – so pretty! I also loved that the pictures for the collection were taken at a mansion that’s undergoing renovation – something a bit Great Expectations about the combination of rubble and lace. Elbeth works personally with each of her brides, and her team handcrafts each piece to make sure it fits to perfection!Read More

Coloured Wedding Dresses

by gaby

Image: Michèle M. Waite via Elizabeth Anne Designs

A few weeks back, I gave my predictions for wedding trends in 2013, and today I’m exploring one of my favourite. Coloured wedding dresses have become a huge style crush for me, and it seems like just about every designer feels the same way. And why not? White dresses weren’t even a part of wedding tradition until Queen Victoria married in one in 1840, and they weren’t the norm until after the Second World War. Many brides simply wore their best dress, whatever the colour. So you shouldn’t feel obliged to wear a white gown, any more than you’re obliged to wear a veil. And as wedding dresses themselves move toward evening gown shapes and embellishments (and sometimes even actual evening gowns worn as wedding dresses), the field is wide open for you to wear something that really makes your heart sing. I think what I like most is that, unlike the coloured wedding dresses of the ’90s (which were mostly red and black and wrong all over), most of these combine soft whispers of colour with elegant flowing fabrics, resulting in all the romance of a white ballgown, but with a bit of extra zip. But it’s all very well to read this, and to see the dresses on the catwalk. What do coloured dresses really look like on real brides? Here’s a rainbow of loveliness to show you!Read More

Cymbeline Paris 2013 La Parisienne Collection

by gaby

Audrey Hepburn said it: Paris is always a good idea. And it’s not just the city in general that I have a total crush on, it’s the people. Parisian women (oh heck, all French women) are so impossibly chic, they frighten me a little. I look at the Facebook albums of French friends and wonder how not only do they always look perfectly put together, but so do their mothers, their grandmothers, their friends. I mean, we Italians have bella figura, but the French… well, they’re something else entirely. I’m not sure it’s something you can learn or buy or replicate – I have a feeling it’s part of the DNA. But what you can do, if you want to have that je ne sais quoi on your wedding day, is to invest in a dress by Cymbeline Paris. If there’s one label that embodies that French knack for combining vintage and modern, timeless and fashionable, formal and avant garde, then this is it. There’s even a bridal trench coat, fergoodnesssakes. Here’s what they had to say about it themselves: The Parisian lady is known worldwide for her “unconventional chic”. She highlights the basics and makes her daring a major asset. Everything is about attitude, being in tune with oneself and combining this with a little bit of irreverence.
I love every piece in this collection – appropriately named Le Parisienne – and even better, it’s photographed around the beautiful city, so we can do some Paris travel dreaming at the same time. Sigh. Oh, and the male model in this shoot aint too hard on the eyes neither. Oui to all of it! Enjoy.Read More