HAPPY NEW YEAR, lovelies! I hope whatever you did over new year, you had a good one, and that 2015 brings you all kinds of wonderful – both imagined and un-dreamt of. At the heart of what we do here on SBB – beyond all the decorations and the dresses and the flowers – is the actual heart of a wedding, those moments of pure joy and emotion and fun that live long in the memory and are especially beautiful additions to the photo album. So to celebrate the new year, we’ve gathered 20 of our favourite moments from 2014. I dare you not to get a little choked up! We’re also giving a special shout out to the amazing photographers who captured these meaningful moments, because it’s by their talent that we get to share in them at all.
Tag: photography
Save It for a Rainy Day
Looking out at the sunshine in Durbs today, it’s hard to imagine a wedding ever gets rained out in this country but as you all know, that is not even close to being the case. In fact, of the five weddings I’ve been to in South Africa in the last two years, three had some kind of rain to deal with. And okes, one of them was in Phalaborwa. Chances? Anyway, the point is this: we hope for sunny skies (and we usually get them) but rain is something that you need to plan for. So I asked fab SBB sponsor Lizl Pieterse of Flamboijant to share her top tips as a planner for avoiding those rainy day blues, and she’s here with some really fantastic advice. Not just that, but I’ve rounded up some beautiful pictures from our photographer friends, which just goes to prove – you can still get the most gorgeous images of your day, come rain or come shine! Over to you, Lizl… ;)Read More
Mothers {Sponsor Showcase}
Here at SBB, we’re a big fan of moms. Partly because it seems like every friend have gave birth in the last year, but more importantly because my own mom is kind of a rockstar. She’s a poetry-quotin’, environment-savin’, best lasagne in the world makin’ little legend, who has not only taught me a million things about life and love, but has taught human rights and conflict resolution to people from Papua New Guinea to South African prisons. She does things that matter. She has a voice so sympathetic that even when I’m on another continent and I call her to tell her I have a cold, it makes me feel better. She’s also probably the only person on earth who calls me out on rare mistakes in spelling and grammar, which is probably how I ended up being an editor in the first place. So ja. Moms are awesome. With mother’s day last month, I started thinking about the role that mothers play in a wedding day – they often don’t have a formal role, like dads do, and they don’t usually walk you down the aisle or make a speech, but they’re such a huge part of how a wedding day runs. Best case scenario? They help you plan a wedding you’ll love, by supporting you and making your ideas come to life, beam at you from the front row and get the first hug once the marriage is pronounced. I asked our photographer friends to dig through their archives and find pictures that celebrated motherhood in all its wedding day forms, and they came back with such lovely pictures, including some of brides who are moms-to-be themselves, funny moments, touching moments. All of them so very special. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!
Landscape {Sponsor Showcase}
Get ready for some INSANELY gorgeous photography friends! I had a feeling when I picked this month’s theme for our photography sponsors that they’d like it, but I had no idea just how many incredible pics would flood into my inbox. And the thing is, as much as I know and you know we are all about the details on SBB, sometimes the pics that really take your breath away are those that zoom right out and put you and your new partner in the context of your surroundings. They say that in South Africa we have a big sky, so maybe that’s what makes these pics particularly stunning, or the amazing scenery that we have, from beach to valley to scrub. I also love that the pictures capture the weather’s changing face, and sometimes storm clouds are the most dramatic and wonderful (so don’t be too horrified if you see them on the morning of your wedding!). This is such an afternoon treat, so grab a cuppa and enjoy – and remember that each of these talented photographers is ready and waiting to capture your big day in their own wonderful way, so do click on the links and drop them a line after checking out the rest of their portfolio!
How to Create a Winning Submission for SouthBound Bride
A smiley moment with my fab EdWed ladies, Anneli & Louise (pic: Maxeen Kim)
It’s FRIDAY! But before I bring you some bridey inspiration (and boy oh boy, will you love the inspiration I have today), I wanted to do a post for my fellow industry peeps, specifically photographers and co-ordinators, and even fellow bloggers. As you may remember, this week saw the first ever Editorial Wedding Workshop at the fab Cannizaro House, a new venture I put together with photographer Anneli Marinovich and stylist and blogger Louise of b.loved. It’s always a bit scary to do something new, and I must admit that since I was handling all the morning’s teaching, I was a little terrified I would just bore all the students to death. Fortunately, it seems we all pulled it off – one of our lovely students Charlie has already written a lovely post about her day, and feedback from the rest of the class was just as nice. *blushes* We have more workshops in the pipeline (and psst… not just in the UK) but in the meantime, I thought I would tell you a bit of what the day was all about. The Editorial Wedding is all about getting published (both in print and online), publishing and submitting effectively, building relationships and personal branding, and learning to shoot in an editorial way to give yourself the best chance of success. Every day (and I really do mean every day) I see photographers and other suppliers make basic mistakes that mean their work doesn’t get featured, or missed opportunities to promote their businesses effectively. I’m a huge believer in sharing the knowledge I have gained with others (each one teach one, as Miranda Bailey would say), so I thought it was about time I went into a bit more detail about what makes a winning blog submission, with particular reference to SBB. And shared some of the Instagram pics from the day with you as well!Read More
Shoes {Sponsor Showcase}
SHOES, you guys! Sorry, I’ll calm down. A while back, a bunch of wedding bloggers used to post pictures of shoes every Tuesday – doesn’t seem to happen anymore, but as a shoe fiend myself, Tuesday Shoesday used to brighten up my day. Well, get ready, because our photography sponsors have put together a delectable selection of shoe shot just for you. Now I know shoe pictures aren’t everyone’s thing – they are literally the thing my friend Abigail hates most about wedding pictures nowadays. So if that’s you, well, look away now. For the rest of us, a shoe shot can be a fun way of incorporating the details of the getting ready, picking up a dash of the signature colour (great for tying your wedding album together, actually) and just generally celebrating what some of us consider a wearable piece of art. It’s also a great way for our sponsors to show off their very different styles – have a browse and be sure to click through and see more of your favourites’ portfolios!
Victoria Grech Masterclass Workshop
Hello lovelies! I have an absolutely gorgeous styled shoot coming up for you today, but before I post it, I wanted to tell you a bit more about where it came from. At the end of last year, I was invited to a very special workshop by Nicola of Propose PR – the kind of invitation that makes me so glad to be a blogger! UK photographer Victoria Grech was offering a one-day photography masterclass, just for us blog and planner types. Now, I’m not the world’s worst photographer, but it’s definitely no talent of mine. My dad is an awesome photographer, and luckily he’s taught me a lot, but as a result, I tend to just latch on to the same composition and overuse it. And I can honestly say I’ve never used a single camera on any setting other than ‘Auto’. At the same time, there are often bits and pieces I’d love to be able to take a quick pic of for the blog, but they always stand out as completely rubbish next to all the professional beauties. So I thought this workshop was basically the best idea ever.Read More
The Bouquet {Sponsor Showcase}
Time for some inspiration from SBB’s photographer friends! I have to admit, I am a huge sucker for the subject of this month’s pics: bouquets. I know not everyone loves flowers as much as I do, but for me (having been a bridesmaid three times now), the moment the bouquets are delivered is one of the most exciting of the day. I absolutely LOVE how not only has floristry really become such an art but how for wedding photographers they’re no longer just a thing the bride holds, but the opportunity for both breathtaking still lifes, and a way of showing the personality of the bride or wedding. So when I sent out the call for this month’s showcase, I asked SBB’s wonderful photographers not to necessarily choose the most stunning bouquet, but the pic that best represented their style. And wow. Every single one of these images (which actually do show beautiful flowers, by the by) had me floored. So have a look through and be inspired in more ways than one – and remember to show our sponsors some love by heading over from their links to check out more of their lovely work!
Q&A with Lizanne Higgs Photography
Hello friends! Just before our Friday comes to a close, I have someone lovely to introduce you to. I met photographer Lizanne Higgs towards the end of last year – she had been living in London for a while, but has now made the move back to SA with her husband – congrats, Lizanne! Before she did, I was able to get to know her a bit, and she answered a few questions for me over a glass of wine. I’m sharing what she had to say together with some of the pics from her first Cape wedding – both were teachers, so there was a bit of a school decor theme going on, how cute is that?
Hi Lizanne – thanks so much for chatting to us today! How did you get started as a photographer?
Hi Gaby, this is so exciting being interviewed for your amazing blog, SouthBound Bride. Thank you!
I have had a desire in my heart to do photography since my high school days and now I am finally living the dream. Unfortunately I could not afford to buy a digital camera back in those days and so I set that dream aside and slightly forgot about it… until a few years later when I read the book by Joyce Meyers, I Dare You: Embrace Life with Passion. The book inspired me and I remembered what I wanted to do with my life as a profession, I wanted to be a photographer and within a month after reading the book I bought my first camera in the UK (on my credit card!). I starting taking photos of scenery and eventually a few friends asked me to photograph their weddings and newborn babies and from there on I could not stop. Every photo shoot was more exciting than the last and the adrenalin rush I got on some of the photo shoots was mind-blowing! I LOVE photography. I had some awesome opportunities in second shooting weddings in the UK and from there on shot my first solo wedding in London.Read More
A Bride Abroad #6: The Photography
Whenever I chat to someone who’s been in a lengthy, happy marriage about their wedding day they get this little sparkle in their eyes and as they are taken back to that special day they reach for their wedding album. Then starts the trip down memory lane – the dress, the food, the “oh look how so-and-so looked back then”, the fond memories and small details….it’s all there in the pictures.
