As if this morning’s traditional wedding wasn’t awesome enough, I get to share this gorgeous Part 2 with you this afternoon! For their second ceremony, Tembakazi and Mateli chose to work with the amazing Wedding Concepts, who pulled together an elegant, luxe reception at the Kurland Hotel in Plett. From the rose garden ceremony to the marquee reception, where guests feasted and danced under a galaxy of lanterns, every detail was perfectly executed in shades of pink and periwinkle. The bride and groom made a spectacular entrance, dancing into their reception (with Tembakazi in the shorter evening version of her incredible dress). And as with their Xhosa wedding, Monica Dart was there to capture every beautiful moment.Read More
Today is a VERY special day. That’s because today I finally get to share our first full traditional South African wedding (our first, but by no means our last – in fact, look out for a gorgeous traditional Zulu wedding next week!). Up until recently, not many brides and grooms invited a pro photographer along to the traditional part of their weddings (as South Africans will know, many choose to have a ‘Western’ wedding as well – and we’ll be showcasing Tembakazi and Mateli’s separately this afternoon – don’t miss) but I’m slowly seeing that start to change. And being the fan of beautiful photography that I am, as well as everything South African, I’m thrilled. Monica Dart was just the perfect choice for this Eastern Cape bride and groom – she thrives on colour and movement and capturing those little moments that make up your memory of a day, and I’m absolutely in love with these images. Pots full of delicious food bubbling away on the fire, children laughing and playing, families and communities coming together – and of course the unique joy that surrounds two people in love.Read More
When I was a kid, I was weird about vegetables. Not weird in that I didn’t like them, like most children, but weird in that I did. But only raw. My mom would have to leave whichever ones (short of potatoes and onions, obvs) she was serving uncooked for me. I just thought they were better that way. These days, I cook my veggies, but I think the same philosophy applies to a farmer’s market-style wedding, with veggies on the decor menu. They’re just so pretty in their natural state! The whole idea of organic or farm-to-table weddings has been a big thing in the last couple of years, and in South Africa we got especially lucky with the opening to weddings of Cape venue Babylonstoren, which has to be the ultimate for farm weddings with its eight acre fruit and vegetable garden. I know I have been dying to feature something like this here on SBB, so when Monica Dart sent over Allie and Carl’s wedding I was hooked! This wedding looks like it grew in the most perfect of wedding greenhouses (no wonder, since the bride has co-ordinated a number of weddings before) – I love that it’s completely unfussy, and just lets the natural beauty of the venue and the farm pickin’s shine through. Vegetables on the table, donkeys at the door, and Monica’s gorgeous fine art photography to capture it all. It’s the best possible start to a lovely Wednesday.Read More
Sometimes weddings are like London buses – I went for ages without a lovely beach wedding to share, and now I have two in a row! Well, no complaints from me, as I absolutely adore a toes-in-the-sand, head-in-the-clouds, chilled out beach do and today’s wedding is one of the most chilled I have ever come across. And you guys, an ombre wedding dress. Seriously, I LOVE. Leigh and Andrew are the picture of Cape Town surfey gorgeousness, and their love story had so much to do with Langebaan that they couldn’t help but decide to get married in this special seaside town. They chose a super fun palette of turquoise with a pop of colour-of-the-moment neon, which not only worked with their wedding style but reflected their complementary personalities. My dear friend Monica Dart was there as the photographer, to capture all the life and movement and colour, as only she can. What a lovely wedding.Read More
Woo, it’s Friday! What will you all be doing this weekend? Before that gets started, here’s a little something special for you. You may already know how much Cap Classique luurves Monica Dart, not only because she shoots beautiful weddings, but because she managed to make me look half decent in our photoshoot a couple of months ago. What you may not know about Moni is that she also shoots shut-the-front-door-beautiful boudoir pictures. Now I know what you’re thinking: ugh, boudoir. Rudey dudey pictures of you in your nuddies trying to look like a model from your husband’s FHM collection. Or maybe you’re thinking: “maybe, if I were thinner”. Because when you’re going to be wearing undies in front of a camera, you can never be skinny enough, right girls? Wrong. See, here’s what I have discovered about boudoir in the last couple of years, since it’s become a bit of a trend here in wedding world. One, you may give it as a gift to your husband-to-be, but really, it’s something you need to do for YOU. It’s not only a lovely experience to be dolled up and pampered, and a liberating one to be part-clothed in front of a photographer, but what it really is is an acknowledgment to yourself that even with your lumps and bumps, you deserve to be turned into a piece of art. And art is exactly what a photographer like Monica produces – yes, you’ll be frozen in time looking hawt, but this kind of shoot is as much about what you don’t see as what you do, and it’s class all the way. As with an engagement shoot, you’ll want to think about styling and making it a reflection of who you are, and then just having fun with it. The ladies I know who have been there have all said that it made them feel incredible, and really accept themselves and their bodies in a way they hadn’t before. Sounds bloody fantastic, I’d say. Sign me up, Moni!
PS And yes, your eyes do not deceive you. Below you’ll find boudoir shot on an empty South African Airways aeroplane. How. Awesome. Is. That?!?
Hello lovelies! Looking out of my office window (into my GARDEN! How cool is that?) all I can see is a beautiful mess of autumn leaves all over the lawn, but today’s wedding just smacks of freshness and sunshine and the summer sun. I haven’t had many breakfast weddings on Cap Classique yet (although it’s actually a trend I’m looking at right now for a friend), but if I had to dream one up, I couldn’t make it more perfect than this one. Louise and Clive planned their big day at Rickety Bridge all the way from Australia in just five months, which is quite an achievement in my book! They kept it simple, but all the elements of Extreme Pretty are there: bright white linens in a white marquee, fresh lemons and lavender, pretty country flowers, a ruffly dress (adore this one, by the way). It makes me want to stand up and burst into a rousing rendition of Morning has Broken. (I won’t, lucky for you.) Instead, I’ll let you sit back and enjoy the loveliness, courtesy of one of my favourite photographers, Ms Monica Dart.Read More
Hello, blog friends! Ok, cards on the table, I am a little nervous about this post. Not just because I am veering away from the pretty to share something more personal, and to discuss social media (don’t worry, I actually get back to weddings by the end of it!) but because I’m also posting images from my recent shoot with the fantastic Monica Dart. Monica was in London this summer, and Louise from Bijoux Bride and I asked her to let us play model. (You can see some of Louise’s shoot here.)Read More
Morning, lovelies! We’ve had quite a lot of rustic chic and country vintage weddings on the blog recently and, much as I love them, I thought it was time for something with a bit more glitz and old school elegance. Today’s couple also had a vintage inspiration, but in this case it was the glamour of art deco, and they chose the winelands splendour of MolenVliet for their venue. I’ve been dying to feature a MolenVliet wedding, as when I was in Cape Town in December everyone in the industry was raving about how lovely it is, and Nelle & De Wet’s wedding certainly doesn’t disappoint. Details I love: the pretty (mismatched) bridesmaids’ bouquets (a great idea if you choose to have your girls wearing the same colour), the subtle pops of turquoise blue against chocolate brown, the fun groomsmen’s socks and goodness me, that cake! There are lots of black and white pics in today’s selection, but it just seems appropriate for such a classically romantic wedding. And wow, the pictures. I’m always so happy to feature Monica Dart‘s work, because her images have so much life to them. It’s actually a challenge editing the selection! I think these might even be my favourite so far. I also loved how Monica captured Nelle and De Wet at a rural petrol station – so fun! It’s always great when couples can spice it up a bit in their creative shoot. Anyway, I could go on and on, but you want to see the pictures, right? Right. ENJOY!Read More
So yesterday was Thanksgiving, and even though I’m not American, I found myself giving a lot of thanks. As in, THANKS to a certain South African broadband network who shall remain nameless, we couldn’t get the pictures through for yesterday’s real wedding. But THANKS to the hard work of the one and only Monica Dart (I am totally the president of her fan club today), it’s all here for you right now. And THANK goodness, because this is just the bestest way to end off your week (or start your week, or continue your week… it’s that sweet). As usual, I am in love with Monica’s photos, which seem to dance off the screen of their own free will. Combine that with a beautiful summery day, a haawt couple (seriously, how beautiful a bride is Kedi? – and she’s a doctor no less!), the prettiest of summer flowers against crisp damask tablecloths and a breezy garden setting, and I am pretty much smitten. So big THANKS to everyone involved for sharing!Read More
