Romantic Farm Wedding at The Oaks Estate by Jani B.

I know I say it all the time, but when you let your personalities shine through every detail and facet of your wedding, just as this pair of lovebirds so gracefully did, you’ll end up with a celebration as memorable as it is fun. Think rustic wooden tables laden with boxed arrangements of country flowers, lavender seed favours and gelato instead of cake, the bride in a seriously dreamy Watters gown, and photographer Jani B. floating about turning every so-good-you’ll-remember-it-forever moment into beautiful images. Sounds pretty much perfect to me.Read More

Sunflower-filled River Place Wedding by Genevieve Fundaro {Carin & Darren}

Roses are red, violets are blue, and sunflowers… well, sunflowers are the colour of happiness. They always remind me of my days at university, when us girls would often buy a single sunflower stem for a friend, or just to make our own day. They also remind me of the fields of sunflowers I’ve seen from the window of a train rolling through the Tuscan countryside. Such happy memories! Like proteas, I love how a little goes a long way (even a single bloom makes a statement), and of course their relentlessly cheerful bright yellow. It goes perfectly with the gorgeous aqua/mint chosen by Carin and Darren for their rustic chic wedding with a chilled outdoor reception by a gorgeous river landscape, and photographed beautifully by Genevieve Fundaro.Read More

Inspiration Board: Under the Tuscan Sun

Okay, this is about to be a jealous-making post. Because tomorrow, bright and early, I’ll be jetting off to Bella Toscana for three weeks in some of the most heartbreakingly beautiful scenery on earth. Picture every Tuscan vineyard you’ve ever seen in a film? Yup, exactly like that. I can’t wait! I’ll be working hard under the summer sun, but I’m actually looking forward to it – and to my ‘farmer tan’! ;) As promised, the blog will continue as if nothing has changed, but please be patient if emailing me, because I am officially off the grid. In fact, that’s something I’m almost as excited about, since for the last few years I’ve been constantly connected to some kind of electronic or social media, and it’s time to switch off and just be in the moment. So to celebrate my trip (YAY!), I’ve created a Tuscan-style inspiration board. There were a lot of ways I could have gone with this – understated olive leaf and grey, lavender and green… But one of the things I love about Tuscany is its warmth and abundance, and the fields of sunflowers I saw for the first time from a train window many years ago. These flowers are gorgeous, but they can be overpowering, so I’d just use single blooms for the bridesmaids and then in sporadic arrangements in the reception venue. Include materials such as terracotta and linen, and the straw covered bottles that traditionally hold chianti (called a fiasco, how fun is that?). Fabrics are floaty, and an open sided marquee with long tables is a must (or just set up under the trees). Tuscan olive oil is the best (believe me, I plan to eat lots of it!) and makes the perfect favour. So there you go. And here I go! See you in a month!

Colours: Sunflower yellow, olive green & Tuscan terracotta

Top row (l-r): Dress {Jose Villa Photography/Joy de Vivre Design Boutique}; wire candelabra {Leo Patrone}; floaty bridesmaid dresses {Mint Photography}; tables {Collin Hughes/Shannon Leahy Events}
Row 2: Invitation; place setting with bread {Joy Thigpen/Toast Events and Design/Jose Villa}; stamped envelope {Ruby & Willow}; olive oil favours; sunflower single bloom bouquet {Buffy Dekmar}
Row 3: Bride & groom {Josselyn Peterson/Leonora Moss}; sunflower arrangement {Olivia Griffin Photography/Walton Event Design}; wicker Chianti bottles; Tuscan landscape.

 

Real Wedding at Beloftebos {Alexandra & Rob}

Morning lovelies! If you popped in yesterday looking for your real wedding fix, apologies that it wasn’t there as usual – Chez Gaby is full of visitors at the moment. Which is lovely, but does make it difficult for me to find time to blog. But I was too excited to share today’s colourful, sunny wedding with you to wait any longer! And what a perfect day for it – the sun is shining in London and it looks like it’ll be a beautiful day!! (Erm, I realise this means summer is over for you lot in the Southern Hemisphere, so sorry about that, but on this side of the world we are very happy to see blue skies again!) ANYWAY. As I said, today’s wedding is full of colour, including the gorgeous sunflowers, which are the bride’s favourite flowers. I think they set such a great tone, don’t they immediately make you cheerful?! Alexandra and Rob chose one of my favourite venues for their big day – the gorgeous Beloftebos – and I love how it looks completely different with every wedding. Its country vibe was ideal for what they had in mind, and Bernard Bravenboer was there to capture all the goodness with his camera.

Read More