Tag: London

Inspiration Board: Puttin’ on the Ritz

by gaby

Crunch time you guys! It’s my last week as a Londoner (for a while anyway) and I have about a ZILLION things to do before I go. But we won’t think about that. What we will think about is a bit of a tribute in loveliness to the city. There are a lot of sides to London that could inspire a wedding and many that have inspired me in other ways, but the one I have chosen today is all about glitz and glamour, as symbolised by one of the grand old ladies of the London hotel scene. The Ritz, baby. The palette is mint, gold and classic black and white (with just a teeny tiny hint of blush), the look is chic and romantic and the waiters are definitely serving champagne. So put on your finest frocks and starched collars and come join me! Of course, you don’t have to be in London to make this look work for you – all it requires is a glamorous venue, a cocktail or champagne and canape reception, and a dash of sparkle. Dashing, dahling!

Colours: Mint, gold, black, white & blush

Top row (l-r): Place setting {Ed Osborn Photography/Mimi Nicole Events}; mint dress {Monique Lhuillier}; invitation {umama on Etsy}; gold shoes {Liesl Cheney Photography/b.loved}; fireworks
Row 2: Dessert table in mint and gold {Beau & Arrow Events/Katie Neal Photo}; bridesmaids in LBDs and gold heels {Your Event by Erin/Melissa McClure Photography}; gold cutlery {Ed Osborn Photography/Mimi Nicole Events}; champagne {Belathee Photography}
Row 3: Ritz London {Elly Mac Photos}; bridesmaid with menu {Izzy Hudgins Photography/Simply Savannah Weddings & Events}; table setting {Ed Osborn Photography/Mimi Nicole Events}; bride & groom in London {Steve Poole}.

 

Indieberries Engagement Shoot

by gaby

A few years back, my dear friend Lenore sent me a link to a South African blog called indieBerries. Think you’ll like this, she said. And that was how I entered the deliciously barmy world of Che, writer of fun blog posts, drawer of hilarious cartoons, scrapbooker extraordinaire. Che is one of those people you instantly like, even just via the internet – she’s bubbly and warm, creative and ever so slightly mad. She also makes beautiful stationery, which I used as a thin pretext to get in touch years ago (she kindly wrote a guest post for me then). So of course, when she got proposed to in spectacular fashion and started planning a wedding, I declared myself her new bestie. Conveniently, she was going to be in London for a few months, so I’ve since got to spend some time with her and she is exactly as I’d imagined – which means that I dig her a lot in person as well as online. All of these would have been reasons on their own that I’d be excited to feature her engagement shoot with fiance Warren (or ‘The Warr’ as I can only ever think of him after Che dubbed him that on her blog – it’s fine, he calls me SBB), especially when I found out that their photographer was none other than the awesome Anneli Marinovich. But when I discovered that they had the CUTEST concepts for their shoot, I knew it would be one of my favey couple shoots ever. First, Che and Warren brought the ‘love locks’ tradition to London, adding their own little lock of love to Hungerford Bridge and throwing the key into the Thames. Then they headed for the London Eye, and had a quintessentially London picnic, where each gave the other a love letter to read while Anneli snapped away. What I love most is that these concepts weren’t just used as props – they were catalysts for genuinely romantic and emotional moments between these two lovebirds, and the expressions of happiness on their faces just say it all. They both seem to glow in each other’s company – just imagine how amazing their wedding is going to be! Be sure to read on below for details on the shoot, and for the AWESOME story of how they met (make sure you head over to indieBerries for how he proposed too!). Che and The Warr: huge congratulations!Read More

London Park Engagement Shoot

by gaby

I have such a sweet engagement shoot for you today, submitted by Wimbledon-based photographer Maxeen Kim. She sent over Cameron and Weronika’s super sweet story as proof that South African men can be romantic – don’t you love it? (Actually, while my dating history reads like a small corner of the United Nations, I haven’t actually dated that many Saffa men myself, so I couldn’t comment either way, but it’s nice to know Cameron is making our boys look good!) Weronika is actually from Poland, and the two lovebirds met when Weronika was hunting for a flat-share. Four years of dating and trips to both South Africa and Poland followed, before Cameron booked a surprise flight to Paris for Weronika’s birthday (somewhere she had always wanted to visit). She thought that was the big surprise, but in fact it was an Eiffel Tower proposal! For their engagement shoot, they chose to recreate a picnic in the park – something they often do in London – and incorporate a fan souvenir from their Paris trip. Cute, non?Read More

Confessions of a DIY Bride #2: The Invitations

by gaby

The invitations….that first tentative step into the deep-end of wedding planning, often happens before you know exactly what your (fully fabulous) Big Day vision looks like. Which, of course, makes picking the ‘right’ invitation even trickier!

SAVE THE DATES SAVED THE DAY!
We had the added stress of getting our invites out ASAP, as many of our guests needed to book flights, and organise annual leave. This is where the American tradition of a ‘Save the Date’ came in handy. With our date and venue set, and and inspired by the fact that most of our guests would be travelling from London to SA, we decided to base our Save the Dates on that London Underground staple – the Oyster card.

We tweaked the design (with apologies to TFL) and printed them straight onto magnetic paper (no really, it is a real thing – look here) at home on our shke-donky old inkjet printer, and mailed them out with the Christmas cards. This not only gave our cross-continental guests no excuse not to come, but also gave us breathing space to send out the invites closer to the day, once we had some idea of styles and themes.Read More

London Hen Night

by gaby

Happy Tuesday, folks! Instead of a wedding, today we have a real hen party, organised by yours truly for my lovely friend Heidi. It’s actually kind of nervewracking showing off something I’ve designed myself, especially since the printer and I had a little last minute disagreement (machines! pff!) and the fonts are a little, shall we say, pedestrian as a result. Fortunately, I’m pretty sure that Cheryl McEwan could make anything look good with her beautiful photographs. She seriously went above and beyond for us, and I cannot sing her praises loudly enough. (I’m only sorry she’s leaving London, but our loss is Cape Town’s gain!)

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London Love Couple Shoot

by gaby

Oh you guys. I am SO in love with these photographs, and it’s the perfect way to end a week of wonderful couple shoots. It’s one of those where once you’ve seen the images, you can’t get them out of your head, starting with the first one, which I completely fell for when I saw it on Cheryl McEwan’s blog. Not only are Lylie and Will completely gorgeous and wrapped up in one another, but it makes the place I live now look so magical. Not always easy in a bustling city that has been photographed a thousand different ways! I think it really makes a difference that the locations are all places that mean something to the couple, so even though they’re iconic and very public spots they all feel incredibly personal. (Oh, and the dog… what can I say – Lylie and Will, if your ADORABLE pup goes missing, it was totally me who came and stole her!)

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