Good morning lovelies! We’re about to kick off your Friday with some very pretty pictures, courtesy of Debbie Lourens Photography. I love when creatives take some time to play and experiment, and what I really love about this shoot (apart from the gorgeous crowns by Samantha Hanlon, my new happy find) is that Debbie used a vintage lace wedding dress, picked up on eBay. Although she didn’t know the history of the dress, she knew that it was over sixty years old, and started dreaming up a shoot around it. If you’re planning some pre-wedding portraits with your beloved, I think the idea of wearing a vintage dress is very cool – it’s what one of our own RLBs did, to stunning effect. Why not check out eBay and let your imagination run wild?Read More
*UPDATED FOR 2018* If you thought that the wedding we shared yesterday was the end of the sigh-worthy lace dresses we’d be enjoying this week, then good news – it was just the start. :) When I ran the SouthBound Bride Reader Survey recently, one of the questions I asked was what readers would like to see more of, and I had a special request for Victorian lace wedding dresses. We’ve already looked at beautiful lace portrait backs, but it got me thinking about the trend that goes hand in hand with that one – high lace necks and lace sleeves, which are a gorgeously elegant modern interpretation of vintage style. In fact, sleeves are still trending in general (total win for autumn and winter brides!), and of course if you love this style but don’t want it for the whole event you can always wear a lace overlay for the ceremony. It’s a modest look, but one that is so deliciously feminine that you can see why brides keep going back to it – this is only the latest of several Victorian revivals in bridal fashion, after all! *Links in bold denote affiliate links. The cost to you remains the same, but SBB may receive a commission for any sales made.
Some days, I don’t feel like I have the words. After all, there are only so many ways to say ‘pretty’. Graceful, lovely, charming, fair. Today’s wedding is all of those things. It enters and floats across the stage like a blythe spirit, trailing beauty in its wake. There’s the dress, for one. I need about a dozen words for that alone, because it’s one of my favourites ever – and I still can’t believe that the radiant bride designed it herself and made it together with her mother. It is seriously spectacular (illusion lace, where have you been all my life?). Or the gorgeous reception, elegant but with personal touches like handmade napkins/tea towels, billows of baby’s breath, bridesmaids in blue. And of course the games aspect that the bride and groom added – such a sweet personal detail. Pretty definitely isn’t enough of a word to cover it, and yet pretty it is. Of course, I’m also in love with the talented Fiona Clair‘s gorgeous pics, that capture all the sweetness of this couple on their big day, and every soft and splendid moment. And I have some fab news to share (well, fab news for Cape brides anyway) – Fiona is relocating to Cape Town in early 2014, so KZN’s loss will definitely be your gain.Read More
It only took one look at today’s wedding to know I would feature it here on SBB, because what can I say, a bride who gets married in her veldskoens, is most definitely a SouthBound Bride! For our overseas readers, veldskoene are a type of traditional South African shoe. And that’s not the only South African icon making an appearance in this Potchefstroom wedding, as it took place in the old factory of one of our signature brands, Snowflake. Add pretty Victorian/Dutch vintage details, navy lace runners, jewel tones, adorable book pear details and a grey lace dress (swoon) and you’re talking all kinds of lovely. But I think what I heart the most is the story that Rochelle and De Markhoff have – true love at first sight, and young love at that! Kallah Ohr was there to capture every moment of this joyous day, including the moment that De Markhoff clearly fell in love at first sight all over again as his bride walked down the aisle.Read More
It’s Friday folks, and that means time for some pretty dresses! I am always saying that South Africans are secretly taking over the world, and it always makes me smile when I come across homegrown talent over here. That was the case when I found myself fawning over some beautiful gowns on my last visit to Blackburn Bridal in London, and was told that they were by South African (now London-based) designer, Clinton Lotter. So I thought that this was the perfect collection to bring to you today. It’s available exclusively at Blackburn, so UK based brides should head over there to try some of these delicious creations on.Read More
Hello lovelies! We have a cute little wedding coming up soon, but first, here’s our weekly roundup. Actually, this post was going to be about a whole other cake trend, but when I asked myself what sort of cake I could see South African brides really going for in the next year, one answer immediately sprang to mind: lace. I mean, we love lace, right? Especially all you Cape Country Vintage brides. It’s a beautiful texture to add to a cake without having to go too bold – in fact it’s the perfect way to amp up a classic white cake. Not that you can’t do something more colourful, as you’ll see below – the base cake or the lace itself can be any number of colours. I think my absolute favourite look is the blush/nude cake with a white lace overlay, since it reminds me of the illusion/portrait back trend we’re seeing in dresses so much at the moment – so gorgeous! I’ve gathered up my Top 20 lace cakes – which is your favourite?Read More
Time for some more dress inspiration, my lovelies! When Natasha of Olivelli Cape Town told me the new Rosa Clara collection was in-store, I popped right over (virtually, obvs) to check out what this beautiful Spanish label had for us and oh my word, I am in LOVE. It’s like a cross between all the dress fashions I am obsessing about at the moment. A lot of Holly Golightly-esque 1950s/early 1960s styling, plenty of sheer and lace, a touch of ballet and feathery skirts, sweet pastels and some slinky chic numbers. With over 75 dresses in the collection, there really is something for every kind of bride, but I thought I would round up my Top 10. Okay, slightly more than 10. But whatever, they’re BEAUTIFUL.Read More
Time for our second inspiration board of the week, and it’s another in your new favourite colour combo of pink and green. Who can blame you ladies for loving it though – it’s the perfect combination of pretty and calming. For this board, bride-to-be Lana asked for inspiration for her game farm wedding – she wanted it country, romantic, vintage and South African. This is such a classic look, and I’ve tried to add some chic homegrown touches to the basic country vintage palette. For example, pretty tin cups with a sophisticated silhouette, a hand-drawn invitation, Skinny La Minx fabric napkins, and of course proteas. For the vintage touch, I love these crocheted cap sleeves and lace chair covers, soft pink bridesmaids dresses and roses. Add in some mismatched containers with pink and green flowers and succulents on the tables to add a country green touch, and you have the prettiest of South African weddings! Hope you like your board Lana – and thanks for your patience!
Sjoe. I have been getting more reader requests for inspiration boards than I can keep up with, but I absolutely love hearing from you and will get to as many as I can, so please do be patient! Our second board for the week is for Kelsey, who is planning a summer wedding at the college she and her fiance attended. I’ve seen quite a few college weddings on US blogs, and I think it’s a lovely place for a wedding – something I sort of wish we did in SA. Mind you, I don’t think you could pay me enough money to get married at the ugly shoebox that was the Stellenbosch arts building! Anyway, I digress. Kelsey dreams of a wedding that’s delicate, simple and romantic, and wanted to include both lace (because of the pretty vintage factor) and stones, because her fiance proposed while they were skipping rocks on the Boise River. How adorable is that? I love this sort of personal touch, and luckily I have come up with some really cute ideas. Kelsey’s palette is absolutely dreamy, and incredibly contemporary – light blue and light grey are such an of-the-moment colour combo. LOVE. I’m envisioning a classic wedding with some pretty but not too fussy touches. I adore the idea of a blue or grey wedding dress, but bridesmaids in these shades are just as wonderful, and I’d recommend bringing in quite a bit of sheer fabric if possible (also a big trend for 2013). The lace motif comes in through a lacy wrap for the bride, pretty lacy stationery (I wouldn’t use too much actual lace on the tables, to keep it unfussy), a lace decoration on the cake and even a lace backdrop for the photobooth. Flowers are mostly white, as is the rest of the table decor I’m picturing. (If Kelsey would like to keep it simpler, she could scale down that table decor.) For a vintage touch, I’d include simple details like ‘something blue’ embroidery, piles of ‘love letters’ tied together with ribbon (a new take on the book table decor trend), and how adorable are these crochet covered stones? The stone motif was the most fun to include – I absolutely heart the runner, because it reminds me a little of a riverbed (so appropriate here) but other ways to bring them in are though giving your guests wishing stones to hold during the ceremony, or stones to write on as a guest book alternative, stones inside hurricane jars with candles on the table, or even stones covered in clay with names stamped in as place cards (although not all at once please!). The end result is so pretty and romantic, don’t you think? Hope you agree Kelsey – good luck with the rest of your planning!
I’ve never been one to not know what I want. I have almost always had rather specific and clear preferences and ideas about what I do and do not care for. I know what I like and if I cannot find that I can most certainly always find what I do not like to rule things out. I don’t like horrors, I don’t like skiing, I don’t like bubblegum flavoured anything, and I don’t like minimalist design. What I do like… well since this is a dress post…
Beautiful luxurious fabrics, layer upon layer of soft, sheer material draped ever so delicately, as if angels have placed it to effortlessly express the femininity of its wearer. Ethereal. A dress that moves as you move, that seems to float as if itself experiencing the lightness of being so superbly and hopelessly in love. In the world of the dress I love Elie Saab, French Chantilly and Alencon lace, creations from the 1920s.. wedding dresses.
There is something about a wedding dress. It somehow isn’t just a white dress, or a pretty outfit. It says something. It emanates something. Maybe it’s the joy that shines out of the bride herself, or the enchantment of her devotion that gently settles on her cheeks like the snow that creates Evangeline’s dress in the movie Nanny Macphee. Maybe it’s the way the groom looks at her, which seems to expose and magnify both inner and outer beauty for all to appreciate or maybe it’s simply the shared knowledge of the magnitude of what wearing the dress means.
And I guess what I would like most out of my dress is for it to make me feel like a bride. Authentically me, but also special, because the day is special, the moment is special.
Colour-wise I would like it to be ivory – I am completely taken with the creamy look of the dress in this picture!
