Happy Friday, brideys! Hope you have a fun weekend planned, but first, we have lots of lovely coming your way, starting with this vintage French style bridal inspiration shoot from Jana Marnewick Photography. Jana based the shoot around ‘millésimé’, a French term meaning ‘vintage’ and she has created some absolutely stunning looks for a variety of brides. I am just loving the romance of light on lace, and I can’t quite decide between the soft pastel palette of the first table and the statement autumn palette of the second. Whichever is your favourite, you’ll find lots of inspiration here.Read More
Afternoon lovelies! I have such a pretty lil’ engagement shoot to share with you this arvie! Matt and Belinda love everything French, so for their engagement shoot with Andre Sonnekus, they asked Eco-Chic Weddings to help out with some gorgeous French-inspired styling. So adorable, and I love the outfits too. And be sure to read about Matt’s proposal – this guy could teach classes in how to organise the perfect romantic weekend!Read More
Are you ready… are you ready for love? Lordy, I’m clearly more than a little sleep deprived. I think I just quoted Elton John. Even so, it’s an appropriate question, since love is what you’ll find plenty of in today’s gorgeous real wedding. Love between the cute as anything bride and groom, love from their friends and family, and love-liness all over the place in their design and decor. You may remember me mentioning Keri and Andrew’s story last week, when I featured their engagement shoot (so cute) – after helping Keri out with an inspiration board I was dying to see how it all turned out and couldn’t wait to see Eileen Laubscher of Bright Girl‘s fantastic photos. Well, they were even better than I’d imagined – a rustic French-inspired palette with a handmade feel and very personal touches (LOVE those cow table plans!). Keri looked absolutely beautiful and natural, her groom seriously dapper, and I’m a sucker for her stylish mismatched navy bridesmaids’ look, especially in their fun shades! If you haven’t already, be sure to check out Keri’s own blog, Midlands Musings – she’s a rising star in the SA blog scene, and you’ll soon be a fan ;)Read More
You know, I’ll never forget the first time I visited London’s Borough Market. I’m embarrassed to say it was many years after I started living here, but maybe that was a good thing, because it also took a few years for me to become more of a foodie and certainly more of a cook, and I’m not sure I would have appreciated it before. There’s something so special about a market – the smells, the sights, the sounds and the general happy vibe as people stop here, taste this, buy that. So when market weddings started to become a thing, I was completely on board. Especially because it’s a great way to get your guests to mingle and relax, which is something that today’s bride and groom understood only too well. They had a big guest list, but they wanted their friends and family to socialise and relax, and they hit upon a brilliant way of making that happen. Starters were served market-style, from the cutest little striped tent stands. C’est adorable. The French stripes continued into the marquee reception, complete with brightly coloured flowers suspended from the ceiling in glass jars and bottles. I absolutely LOVE this look – it’s so happy and pretty and fun, and I’m delighted to be sharing it with you today. The fab Drikus Le Roux was on the scene to capture every pretty stripe and smile.Read More
Good morning, everyone! Did you all have lovely weekends? It’s Inspiration Board Monday here on SBB, and I have to say, this might be my new favourite colour combination. I stumbled across it somewhere, and I knew I had to turn it into an inspiration board. There’s something about the way that coral and mint (two of the trendiest colours in weddings right now) work together that I just love, and when you add in navy it just has a whole new depth to it. I would have thought that it might come out a little retro or mod, but (while you could certainly use these colours that way) the board I’ve come up with is all sweet, slightly French shabby chic, with a touch of glam gold and lovely lace. Put your husband-to-be and his groomsmen in navy suits, and carry lush coral bouquets with your girls – the key to this look is knowing which of the colours to combine when, so that it doesn’t look too matchy matchy. Done right, this could make the prettiest of weddings.
As a wedding blogger, it’s an understatement to say that I see a LOT of weddings. And sometimes, they start to sort of blend into one another like one long, pretty dream sequence. But some weddings just kind of stick out in the memory, and today’s in one of those. I first spotted it on the ZaraZoo blog a while back, and I just had to ask photographer Stefan Steenkamp if I could feature it. Lucky for me, lucky for you, he said yes. So why do I love it so much? First of all, I have a total venue crush on Firlane House, where it was held (the bride’s brother owns it – win!). Secondly, a HAMBURGER station? What’s not to love? And finally, I’m a big fan of the laid back French feeling, and the use of ultra modern grey – even the bride is in a gorgeous silver gown (how much are we hearting silver gowns right now?). I fall to the floor ADORE their bunting – is it not one of the most creative and gorgeous ways of using photographs you have ever seen? Go on, you know it is. And it’s no wonder the bride got it so right – she is, after all, the owner of gift shop Rhubarb Room in Cape Town. Some people have all the taste!Read More
Happy 4th of July to all my American readers! Today’s board is another reader request (I’m loving how many requests I’m getting these days!) – this time from the lovely Ingrid – and I have to admit, it was a bit of a challenge. I knew exactly what I was looking for, but it wasn’t easy to find in the right colours. I’m so excited with how it turned out though, and I hope you are too, Ingrid!
When Ingrid emailed me, she knew exactly the sort of colour palette she was after for her Kleinevalleij wedding. She’d also fallen in love with the table arrangements for this unbelievable Style Me Pretty wedding, which pretty much inspired everything else. Let me break down this look a bit. The key is in its contrasts: modern paired with a bit of vintage and a touch of rustic. Succulents and silver? Shouldn’t work, but they SO do. The components – lush purple flowers (dahlias! so gorgeous!), succulents, mercury glass, wooden boxes, moss, distressed ceramics and silver. I’ve added in a few avian details and some blackboards and lilac for even more of that French country style. Doesn’t it look amazing together?
Ingrid’s bridesmaids are going to be getting their own dresses, so she wanted to make it easy for them, and chic little black numbers are a great way forward. To distinguish the girls, I suggested giving them long strings of pearls that they can all wear in a different way, but purple shoes are another alternative (Ingrid could wear sparkly and silver if she wants to stand out). I love that guests would start off with a classic black and white wedding (maybe with a couple of small purple touches in the stationery at the ceremony) and then be wowed by the whole look when they move into the reception hall. I see a lot of weddings currently at Kleinevalleij using some pretty grey/silver damask tablecloths, and these could also work brilliantly here. I don’t know about you, but I’m dying to see how this wedding turns out! (And don’t forget – if you’d like me to create a board just for you, drop me an email and let me know a bit more about what you’re looking for.)
I’m feeling a bit of love for French wedding style at the moment so I put together this little inspiration board using one of my favourite patterns, toile, combined with touches of dusky rose and a hint of grey (which just goes with everything, doesn’t it?). I’m imagining a gorgeous French chateau, chandeliers hanging from the trees, wonderful food, fine wine… Sigh. Vive la France.
