Tag: Real Weddings

Real Wedding at Constantia Uitsig {Anne & Simon}

by gaby

I always know it’s going to be a good day when a wedding arrives in my inbox from The Aleit Group, since the events they design are all phenomenal! I’m especially excited about today’s though, because it’s the first one of their smaller weddings I’ve featured. A huge part of the Cape Town wedding market is made up of couples from overseas having intimate celebrations in our most beautiful of cities, but just because there are fewer guests doesn’t mean the prettiness quotient has to be any lower. In fact, the opposite is often true, and ‘pretty’ is definitely the word that should be used to describe Anne and Simon’s wedding. It has pretty in abundance. Pretty venue. Pretty flowers. Pretty pictures (thanks to the always awesome Joe Dreyer). And a wedding dress that is the definition of pretty. Love that Anne chose to wear something beautiful and unusual – for me it’s the detail that brings everything else together. And I LOVE that the in-case-of-rain Plan B turned out to be even more spectacular than Plan A might have been. Proof yet again that rain on your wedding day doesn’t have to spoil a thing.Read More

Real Wedding at the Stellenbosch Hofmeyrsaal {Mona & Paul}

by gaby

We’re kicking off this week’s weddings with a sweet and sunny celebration from Maree Louw of Natural Light Photography. Pinks and purples are a popular colour combination for South African brides at the moment, and they’re the perfect complement to the Cape sunshine that blessed today’s couple on their wedding day! I especially love the use of bougainvillea flowers tucked into the napkins and filling baskets for confetti. It makes such a difference when a couple thinks outside of the box when it comes to which flowers they use – although I adore the classics like roses and peonies, there’s something very fresh about spotting something a little more unexpected, and bouganvilleas just scream summer to me. (And, since we’re having a last late burst of summer here in the UK, it perfectly matches my mood. Now, if I just had an ice cream…)

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Real Wedding at Rockhaven Farm {Jacqui & Neil} Part 1

by gaby

Oh, how I LOVE this wedding! It’s just bursting with colour and life and joy, and with personal touches, and most of all, with family and friends having a great time celebrating the two people who are joining their lives together (not to mention the kind of fab details we’ve come to expect from the Wedding Concepts team). It’s everything we all want our wedding days to be. And no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t narrow down Jules Morgan’s beautiful, beautiful photos to a single post. So – yay! – you get two of them! And even better, the bride, Jacqui has been sweet enough to send over plenty of background that you won’t want to miss. So… tada! Here’s Part 1, and be sure to come back later for Part 2.

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Real Wedding at Rockhaven Farm {Kyle & Jamie}

by gaby

There are some weddings where just looking at the photos can instantly brighten up your day, and Kyle & Jamie’s (Kyle being the girl and Jamie the boy!) is definitely one of them. Their flowers are AMAZING. Their venue is one of my all-time favourites (Rockhaven Farm, with its resident dogs, cats and ducks, which we also featured here and here). And the two of them just radiate a sense of calm and joy that has had a smile on my face the whole way through putting this post together. Not to mention the incredible light and detail that photographer Jani B manages to get into her pictures – it’s like taking a big gulp of fresh air on a spring morning. (Oh, and regular readers will also spot the flawless cake and biscuit making of one of our own brides, Roxanne Floquet – how gorgeous is her work?) Love!

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Real Wedding at the Steenberg Hotel {Irene & Hans Joachim}

by gaby

Oh, I do love me a winter wedding! I don’t see nearly as many as I’d like to coming out of South Africa. And yes, I know the Cape is spectacular in the summer, and many of you want an outdoor ceremony and reception, but if you’re just setting out in the planning process it’s worth considering the winter months, as they have their own very special beauty. Today’s wedding is a perfect example of that for me – an elegant couple, rich jewelley colours, and one of my favourite ever bride’s outfits. You have to love a girl who gets married in red boots! Photographs are by the ever wonderful Nikki Meyer – every wedding she photographs is serious eye candy, so make sure you head over to her blog (and make yourself a cup of coffee before you do, because you’ll be there a while!). Big thanks to Nikki and of course to Irene and Hans – congratulations again, you two!Read More

Real Wedding at Klein Genot {Nicole & Konrad}

by gaby

Today’s bride is kind of a friend of a friend. I ran into her a couple of months ago the morning after her hen do, looking WAY too radiant and serene and non-hungover for someone who’d been drinking vodka at the Ice Bar the night before, and she told me she was getting married in a couple of weeks. Once I heard about the details, I was super excited to see how it all turned out, and even more excited when I found out that her photographer was Brenda Wardall from Hearts in a Shutter, whose fantastic photographs I had featured before. But when I finally did see the pics from Nicole and Kon’s big day, it was just above and beyond any expectations. Soft colours, beautiful Winter light, lemon groves… and the biggest, happiest smiles from the bride and groom. Settle in and enjoy!

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Real Wedding at Morgansvlei {Sheyenne & Reynhard}

by gaby

Details, details, details. I know I go on about them all the time, but really, it only takes one or two really lovely ones to engage the imaginations of your guests and make your wedding stand out (too many and it can just feel fussy). The clever use of detail is exactly what today’s wedding (photographed by the ever-fabulous Judy Stofberg of Just Judy Photography) manages, for me. Simple neutral colours and classy indigenous flower arrangements are set against floaty fabrics, beautiful metalwork and one of the best guest book ideas I’ve seen in a while (not to mention the perfect cheese cake). And how incredible does the bride look? She’s got that whole poised/elegant/serene/joyful Audrey Hepburn thing going on – seriously, this is how we all hope to look on our wedding day. In fact, I think poised/elegant/serene/joyful pretty much describes the whole wedding. Enjoy!Read More

Real Wedding at Bon Cap {Lenise & Lourens}

by gaby

When photographer Anel Smit sent me today’s wedding  I couldn’t help but be struck by the verve and energy of the couple – and by bride Lenise’s big smile! I loved that they had so much fun with their couples session, and couldn’t wait to see the rest of the wedding. As it turned out, it was a fusion between the bride and groom’s different styles, and a warm family centred celebration in the true sense of the word, and I’m sure it’ll brighten up your afternoon the way it did mine! Big congratulations to Lenise and Lourens, and thank you to Anel for her lovely pics!Read More

Real Wedding at La Petite Dauphine {Lojanka & Jaco}

by gaby

Wowsers. Just when you think you’ve seen every new idea in the vintage stable, a wedding comes along that combines familiar elements in a whole new way, and makes you fall in love with this look all over again. This wedding is 100% style and gorgeousness. Bride Lojanka is an interior designer (and clearly a girl with an incredible eye for detail) and she and husband Jaco, together with their superstar co-ordinators Wedding Concepts, really hit this one for a six. I have a long, long list of things that made me go “ooh!”, but right at the top is the ceremony arch covered with vintage vessels and suitcases (love!), the antique sewing machines holding menus in place, the bride and bridesmaids’ outfits, and OMG the fairy lights strung over the tables! Quite simply, I love this wedding. Thank you so much to Lojanka, Jaco and the Wedding Concepts team for sharing it here, and to Ian Mitchinson, who took the simply stunning photos.

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Real Wedding at Club Havana, Halfampieskraal {Marelize & Roelf}

by gaby

There’s so much about this wedding I love. I could go on about the details or the venue (OMG the venue – a Havana-style cigar lounge in the middle of farm country? How cool is that?) or Riekert Cloete’s phenomenal photographs, but anything I write is just going to take away from what the bride has to say. At the end of the day folks, THIS IS WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT. It’s love. And I am just privileged to share it.

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