tips & advice - SouthBound Bride

Bridal Beauty Timeline

24 June, 2015 by gaby

Hello lovelies! When you’re putting together your plans and timelines ahead of your wedding, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s all about those practical things – the bookings, the logistics, the budgets. Or even the creative ones – the palettes, the pretties, the DIYs. But it’s also about you. Unless you’re a supermodel, you probably don’t fall out of bed looking the way you want to on your wedding day, and some of the beauty regimens and prep work need to be started months or weeks in advance, just as much as any dressmaking or stationery ordering. To make it easy for you, as we love to do, we’ve created a printable, tick-off-able timeline just for you! Now, let me be clear. At SBB we believe that the most beautiful bride is one who is the best version of herself. We’ll never tell you that you need to starve yourself, or change your appearance, or even wear a ton of makeup if that isn’t your style. You want to look like YOU – after all, that’s the person your fiance fell in love with, right? So take all of this with a pinch of self-awareness. You do not need to bleach your teeth or shape your eyebrows or get a self-tan before your wedding day. But if you want to, I’ve included those things on the list, so that you can plan ahead. Let’s get planning, shall we?Read More

How to Choose a Wedding Hair & Makeup Artist

19 June, 2015 by gaby

In an alternative life, I think I would have loved to be a makeup artist. You wouldn’t know it from my au naturel look most days (the fact that makeup slides down my face in tropical Durbs makes that a necessity), but I used to absolutely love reading about and trying out new looks and products. So when I get the chance to watch an artist at work on a shoot, or better yet be pampered and have my hair and makeup done for me, I love it. It’s amazing to me how gorgeous these talented pros can make all of us look, using their skills to bring out our natural highlights and make brides look like red carpet starlets on the aisle. But for me, one of the best things I’ve seen hair & makeup pros do for brides is give them a sense of relaxation at the time when they need it most – after all, when the nerves are really starting to kick in, it’s their hands you’re putting yourself in. That’s why it’s so important that the person you pick has to be the right one – someone you feel comfortable with, can communicate easily with, and most of all, who you trust to do a great job. Read More

10 Tips for Planning an Autumn Wedding

23 May, 2015 by gaby

I can’t believe we’re nearing the end of May and have only a week to go of our autumn themed content. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been loving it – in fact, I think looking at all this autumny prettiness has given me a new appreciation for what’s going on outside my window, and I’ve been absolutely loving seeing the beautiful colours of fallen leaves. So if you aren’t convinced yet that it’s a great season to get married in, then just think about a country walk in wellies on crunchy paths, nippy mornings and hot chocolate, golds and rusts and yellows and mochas… and then translate that to a cosy and intimate wedding experience for you and your guests. But as with all wedding planning, organising an autumn wedding requires a few practical considerations, and that’s what we’re covering today. Here are our top tips to make sure you get it right.Read More

How to Cut Your Guest List

24 April, 2015 by gaby

If you read our popular post in January on How to Write Your Guest List, you may be A-for-away on the whole guest list front. But for those of you planning a small wedding (and here’s why you might want to), maybe you need an extra bit of help. After all, while we love the intimacy and lower budget of a bijoux bash, nobody loves having to cut friends and family out of a very special day. So today we’re bringing you our seven top tips for making the snip, as well as some extra tips for how to break the awkward news.Read More

Why Have a Smaller Wedding?

7 April, 2015 by gaby

You’ve probably gathered by now that our ‘theme’ for April is intimate weddings, and I have to say, I am super excited to be focusing on this wedding style in many of our posts over the next few weeks. Everything from elopements to destination weddings to surprise weddings to smaller soirees of 75 guests or less – there’s a lot of wiggle room under that ‘intimate wedding’ banner, so it really suits all kinds of couples and budgets. But before we get into the nitty gritty, I thought I’d answer the question: what exactly makes small weddings rock? Because they definitely do. So here are my Top 10 reasons why you should consider a bijoux bash for your own Big (little) Day.Read More

How to Style Your Engagement Shoot

6 March, 2015 by gaby

It’s that time of year when lots of you will be planning your summer engagement shoots (something I wholeheartedly approve because trust me, you are going to want a chance to get comfy in front of a camera!). That’s all good, but one of the questions I get a lot from readers is: what in the name of Beyonce’s extensions do I wear? Now, I’m all for spontaneity and comfort, but this is one thing you definitely want to put some thought into. So like a good bestie (because we so ARE besties now, right?) I’ve put together 10 top tips to get you started. And even better, I’ve rounded up four fab engagement shoots from the lovely Migneon Marais of Pritti to show you how it’s done. The best part is that none of the four couples we’re featuring were specifically ‘styled’ or told what to wear for their shoots with Migneon, but in their own ways, each nailed the subtle details that turn a pair of outfits from drab to fab in front of the lens.Read More

5 Ways to Cultivate Real Love this Valentine’s Day (and Every Day!)

13 February, 2015 by candice

Valentine’s Day. You either love it or hate it.

For the last three years, hubby and I have celebrated our anniversary as a priority (ten days earlier) far from the crowds and general cheesiness of the holiday. (Sorry, die-hard romantics!) It might sound like a cop-out but it works for us. I have also personally learned that true love is more than random, grand romantic gestures It’s about daily sacrifices – dragging myself out of bed to make hubby a morning coffee (as he has done for me on countless occasions) or quietly packing away the 20 pairs of shoes spread out all over our home without moaning or making a fuss! It’s also about being intentional in the way you show love and appreciation to your partner, something that came up in conversation with some of my married girlfriends at our recent monthly dinner (aka free therapy session!).Read More

Unassigned Seating: Is it Right for You? {Plus Free Printable}

14 November, 2014 by gaby

Sign by Morgann Hall on Etsy

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

SouthBound Guide: Rocking Your Hair & Makeup Trial

23 September, 2014 by gaby

For those of you planning a summer wedding, now is about the time when hair and makeup start moving up the priority list in terms of decisions to be made and bookings to be confirmed – after all, your look is something that relies heavily on the style of dress you’ve decided on, the jewellery or accessories you’ve picked, and the style or level of formality that you’ve chosen for the wedding as a whole. Now’s also a good time to start locking in that hair and makeup trials, and we’ve got you covered with our top tips for how to make the most of this important pre-wedding event.Read More

10 Reasons to Get Married in South Africa

15 August, 2014 by gaby

Today’s post is partly aimed at the overseas brides and grooms, who are considering whether South Africa is the right place to celebrate their weddings (hint: it SO is). But let’s be honest, for those of us blessed to be born or live here, it’s nice to remind ourselves why this is one of the best destinations on earth. A little smugness never hurts, right? ;) To make the deal even sweeter, we’re featuring images from a styled wedding shoot put together by photographer Tania Timkova and Michele Steyn of Passionately Weddings. Tania, a destination photographer, was a visitor to our shores herself and fell in love with SA, especially Cape Town! She wanted to show off the potential to those back home, so worked together with real-life-couple Chantelle & Retief to capture the beautiful scenery, the tenderness, and of course, the love!Read More