So, are you as crazy in love with this tropical bridal shower inspiration as I am? Yep, of course you are. So fun! We’ve already published our guide on how to throw a tropical themed shower for yourself or your bestie, but I thought I would round up some fun stuff that you can use to make it extra pretty. Starting with invitations, because ALOHA, there are some seriously amazing invites on Etsy for a tropical theme shower! Like, enough to make me want to throw one just so I can buy them. Good luck picking your favourite – I know I couldn’t ;) Links in bold denote affiliate links. The cost to you remains the same, but SBB may receive a commission for any sales made.
Afternoon, lovelies! For those of you planning a shower at the moment, one of the details that can really be a pain in the pachanga (unless you’re actually a designer) is the invitations. The last shower I organised, I spent DAYS making them from scratch, complete with fabric envelopes (nobody even commented on them, gah). Frankly, I would have been better off going with one of the gorgeous printable invitations you can get these days – Etsy in particular is full of these lovelies. The best part is, that printables are either an immediate download, or are sent to you once customised, so they’re quick, reasonably priced and can be bought from anywhere in the world. All you do is take them to your local printshop or even send the file via email (for extra eco points) and you’re sorted! There’s loads of choice too – in fact, so much choice, that it can be time consuming to sift through all the options. That’s where today’s post comes in, because we’ve picked out 20 of our absolute favourite shower invites for you to choose from. Just click on the links (or any of the images) below, and you’ll be taken straight to Etsy to get more information and make your purchase. Yay! (This post includes affiliate links)Read More
Table numbers – most couples need ’em, but how to make them so they’re just as pretty as everything else on your table? Well, DIY brides and grooms, your answer is right here. I’ve rounded up fifteen of the prettiest, most original DIY table numbers here today – all you need to do is click through on the links to find the full tutorials, and get crafting! There’s something here for all kinds of weddings: rustic, woodland, elegant, classic, modern, botanical, vintage. Which is your favourite?
In the world of wedding stationery, Save the Dates serve a really useful purpose. They mean you don’t have to worry about sending invitations too early (a tough call when, for example, you may not yet have nailed down your style or budget) but equally, they mean your guests have plenty of notice to make sure they can attend your wedding. So kind of a win-win. Of course, lots of brides and grooms these days send their STDs (worst wedding acronym ever) via email, which is a great budget and environment saver. But maybe you’d like to send something tangible, to get your guests excited for the celebration to come. Here’s the good news – while of course getting custom STDs created by your stationery designer is awesome, there are also loads of gorgeous (and free!) printable Save the Dates available online, whatever your wedding style. So today I’m rounding up 15 of my favourites. Just click the links to make it happen (and if you’d like to know more about wedding stationery timelines, see our feature).Read More
A few years ago, when one of my university friends was planning her wedding, I checked in to see how things were going. “We’re doing things a little differently,” she said. “You might think it’s weird.” I doubted that – after all, I believe couples should do what’s right for them. “There are no groomsmen or bridesmaids,” she said. Makes sense, I thought, if that’s what you want. “There aren’t formal speeches – but there’ll be periods where we’ll have an open mic.” I wondered how that would work, but thought it was a fun idea (it was). “And we’re not having assigned seating.” Wait, say what now? I mean, I’d been to plenty of events where you weren’t assigned a specific seat, but you did get assigned a table, but she was talking about no direction at all. A seating free-for-all. Table anarchy! How would that even work? Would it be like a game of musical chairs or (shudder!) the scramble to get on an Easyjet flight? I’ll be honest, I was kind of dreading it, and I totally made sure my friends and I had done some strategising about nabbing seats together. I worried about getting stuck on my lonesome. The funny thing is, that when the day came around, it turned out to be so not a big deal. A table had been reserved for the family and a few close friends, and everyone else just made themselves comfy. In fact, it was kind of brilliant and really in keeping with the laid back vibe of both the couple and their wedding. So since then, I’ve been a lot more open to the idea of unassigned reception seating, which I’m noticing a few more couples choosing these days. You only need to Google it once to find out this is kind of a controversial wedding etiquette topic, so today on SBB we’re rounding up the pros and cons, and helping you with top tips and wording for if you do decide that unassigned is the way to go for you.Read More
Happy Friday, lovelies! With the equinox coming up, we have such a lovely little spring printable for you today from the talented Vicky at Mocholoco. As well as being an awesome stationer, Vicky is also one of our real SouthBound Brides (her gorgeous DIY beach wedding was one of my favourites of 2013), and is also about to relaunch her website, so to celebrate, she created this gorgeous watercolour-style poster – the perfect addition to your desk (or desktop). I’m not sure if brides and grooms always realise the huge amount of thought and process and creativity and hard work that goes into producing bespoke stationery pieces, and I’m personally pretty fascinated by how it’s done. So instead of just presenting the finished product, I asked Vicky to give you all a little glimpse behind the scenes into her process. Blood, sweat and glitter! Thank you SO much, Vicky – be sure to click through to her site to see more of her lovely work.Read More
The web is an amazing place – so many creative people sharing their expertise and ideas, and so often for free. It seems a pity not to make use of their generous gifts, especially when planning something like a bridal shower slash kitchen tea slash bachelorette slash hen night (can I just call it a henkitch showerette from now on?). I often come across gorgeous bridal shower printables that would fit into a variety of decor schemes, so I thought today I would gather some of my favourites into one place, for easy reference. Here you’ll find everything from hen party games to bachelorette invitations, from recipe cards and gift tags to decor items. Where relevant, the designer as well as the original source of the hen party printables is listed – if you like their work and you’re looking for something customised, why not click through to see more of their portfolio? I’ve also included some not-free options from Etsy to give you extra choice! *Links in bold denote affiliate links. The cost to you remains the same, but SBB may receive a commission for any sales made
Hello! Thanks for your patience today if you tried accessing SBB – we’ve migrated servers (of course, the downtime was impeccably timed by my providers) which is good news, but did result in some nailbiting from me. Because I’ve been waiting to share this little piece of news with you, and I am SO EXCITED. Seriously, I am smiling so huge right now, because today is not just the day I get to fulfil an ambition, it’s the culmination of a whole year’s worth of work behind the scenes. For a while now, you will have heard me mentioning a shoot I co-styled with Louise of b.loved, which was shot by Chanelle Segerius Bruce. You may even have seen the shoot if you picked up copies of You & Your Wedding or My Wedding Day in the UK and South Africa, respectively. The days those mags hit the shelves were immensely good days too, but today is the day I finally get to see those images being set free online. Our little birds are taking flight. Which is actually an appropriate metaphor, because I’m delighted to say that they are featured today on Wedding Chicks. WEDDING CHICKS, YOU GUYS. I’ve loved WC for YEARS – long before I ever dreamed I would have my own wedding blog. They’ve grown and grown since then, but what I really admire about them is they’ve never lost their brand or what they’re about, and they have been wonderful to work with too. The fact that a shoot I co-styled, based on an inspiration board I created, including stationery from the SBB Collection (designed by my very dear friend Anelle of Seven Swans, no less) is on one of the top wedding blogs in the world today kind of blows my mind. I’m so happy! See the full feature here.Read More
Time for the weekend, lovelies! Hope you have a good one planned. Before I get on to today’s feature, I wanted to apologise for things being a little slower than usual here on the blog (and on my email, sorry anyone who’s been in touch!) – if you follow on Facebook you’ll know I managed to sprain a finger (nothing serious, but having your right index finger strapped to your middle one kind of gets in the way of typing very quickly!). Things will be 100% back to normal next week. Hey, these things happen, right? ANYWAY, so it’s been a while since I did a hen party theme roundup, and I’m very excited about this one! Circus weddings have been a big trend in the last couple of years, and I adore them, but not everyone wants to go so ‘themey’ for their actual wedding. The perfect solution? A Big Top Bridal Shower! SUCH a fun theme, and you can really make it classy (and shape it around whatever level of activity you’re planning).Read More
Good morning wedding belles! We’ll have another fabulous South African wedding on the blog this afternoon, but in the meantime, I wanted to share some fresh inspiration. First there was the pastel trend, then ombre, so it shouldn’t really be a surprise that watercolour-style design has been one of the biggest trends to emerge in 2012. It’s everywhere, from gasp-inducingly beautiful invitations and other paper elements, to cakes, decor and even to bridesmaids dresses. It’s soft and romantic, and heart-stoppingly pretty. I know you’re going to love it.
Here’s a roundup of all my favourite watercolour details – look out in the credits for the DIYs and printables (in bold), as this is a look you can pull off on any budget!
