Okay, I have to be honest, I try not to feature too many beach engagement shoots. I know, I know, but when I was growing up in PE it became this thing that everyone who got engaged did – dress up in jeans and plain white t-shirts, and get photographed running down the beach at Sardinia Bay. I have looked at about a hundred of these albums (sorry, PE friends), and I think it scarred me. So I only feature beach shoots that I am totally in love with, and today’s e-session for Jeff and Josephine definitely qualifies. Kerry and Luis of Piteira Photography have perfectly captured the incredible light of a Camps Bay sunset – I can’t believe it was already four months ago that I was sitting with my lovely friend Robyn drinking martinis and looking out at this exact sunset just before coming back to London. Like all of Kerry and Luis’ images, I just want to wallow in the dreaminess. Josephine and Jeff (who live in London) were out in Cape Town for their wedding, which you can see in all its glory over on The Pretty Blog.Read More
I would like the type of wedding that my younger cousins enjoy. A celebration of our family and friends – where its littlest members know that they are adding something truly invaluable to our day. A family wedding. Beauty without pretence. A day with an air of excitement, a newness, a belief in magic.
Being from a large family I was lucky enough to be a flower girl three times growing up, and I was a flower girl in some of my first and fondest wedding memories. I remember getting dressed with the bride and her bridesmaids, with all the excitement in that room – the hair, the makeup, the flowers. I remember posing for photographs in a field, being made to feel special, being thanked by name in a speech. I recall my feet swinging – not yet being able to touch the lovely grassy floor underfoot, and I remember catching the bouquet. It was simply wonderful – being privy to all the excitement, and being a part of something so special.
Happy Monday, folks! The inspiration board requests have been flooding in lately, and I’ve been having so much fun turning your ideas into collages. This week I’m featuring two reader request boards that couldn’t be more different (look out for the other on Friday afternoon), starting with this piece of East Coast summery goodness. Philani wrote to tell me about her colour scheme of ‘new leaf green’ (isn’t that the sweetest way of describing it?) and white with touches of bright blue (I’ve gone for a sort of royal blue here, but this could be lightened up as far as aqua if Philani prefers). She described her style as ‘plain but elegant, kind of less is more’, which together with her colour choice immediately made me think of preppy style. Think Jackie O. – simple elegance is what this whole look is about. Stripes are a key component, as are fabrics like cotton and grosgrain, and the look is surprisingly easy to put together, especially if Philani focuses on relatively clean tables with bright green flowers and punches of blue in the napkins or stationery. I adore these bridesmaids in tops and striped skirts, and groomsmen in bowties are a must! For the bride, a relaxed but formal dress – maybe a full skirt with pockets – would be ideal. Serve signature cocktails with striped paper straws on the lawn, and don’t forget lots of lovely ribbon! Hope you like your board, Philani!
I have such a sweet engagement shoot for you today, submitted by Wimbledon-based photographer Maxeen Kim. She sent over Cameron and Weronika’s super sweet story as proof that South African men can be romantic – don’t you love it? (Actually, while my dating history reads like a small corner of the United Nations, I haven’t actually dated that many Saffa men myself, so I couldn’t comment either way, but it’s nice to know Cameron is making our boys look good!) Weronika is actually from Poland, and the two lovebirds met when Weronika was hunting for a flat-share. Four years of dating and trips to both South Africa and Poland followed, before Cameron booked a surprise flight to Paris for Weronika’s birthday (somewhere she had always wanted to visit). She thought that was the big surprise, but in fact it was an Eiffel Tower proposal! For their engagement shoot, they chose to recreate a picnic in the park – something they often do in London – and incorporate a fan souvenir from their Paris trip. Cute, non?Read More
Let’s get naked, people. If you’ve been following my inspiration boards you will already know that I have a style crush on the biggest trend to hit wedding cakes since pies and donuts, and if you follow any other international blogs you probably will have seen a good few of these already, but I thought it was high time we had some naked cake roundup goodness here on SouthBound Bride. So what is a naked cake? In short, it’s a sponge cake that remains un-iced. It might have icing in between layers (although cream cheese frosting, cream and fruit are also common) and it might be beautifully dusted with icing sugar or dribbled with caramel, but the sides are generally left au naturel. And unlike Britney getting in a cab without her undercrackers, it’s a beautiful sight to behold, especially if you’re having a rustic wedding. Decorate with fruit, flowers or both, and stick to a series of smaller cakes or follow the traditional tiered round or square cake. You can go for a classic deconstructed Victoria sponge, or have different layers in different flavours and colours, which also looks pretty amazing! Of course, not everyone is a fan – some cake pros I know feel it looks unfinished and worry about the cake drying out – and, of course, there’s no hiding any cake mishaps under fondant here. Despite this, I think we’ll be seeing lots of these in the upcoming season.
**UPDATE** See our latest roundup of naked cakes (especially for autumn weddings!) hereRead More
Almost thirteen years I’ve been living overseas now (how the hell did that happen?). People at home often ask if I get homesick, and the truth is, mostly I don’t. Not that I don’t love my home country or miss my family, but I think mostly if you just don’t indulge it, it goes away. Although someone should have told that to me three months ago when I was on a solo road trip through Limpopo and Enya’s Exile came on the car stereo (ugly cry deluxe), or about five minutes after I finished watching Invictus. Seeing today’s engagement shoot was another one of those moments. Not only are Kara and Lance a truly lovely couple, but they recreated their engagement on Lance’s family farm, Anura (where our Real Life Bride, Cheryl, was also married). It brought rushing back to me the absolutely breathtaking, awe-demanding beauty of the Cape winelands, and what it was like to wake up there every day for my four years at university. It sort of made me hurt a little, right in my heart, the way you do when you see your first love again. But in a good way, I think. It’s a tribute to Vibe Photography that the pics are not only a glowing keepsake of Kara and Lance’s pre-wedding happiness, but a celebration of the countryside they love so well. Perfection. Enjoy. Now, ahem, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to play some Toto. (Oh, and speaking of Toto, how CUTE is their dog?)Read More
I’m very excited about today’s reader request inspiration board, since not only is it a pretty way to start off the week, but it was created for someone I know. Natalie is a university friend of mine – a fellow Minervianer – who got in touch last week to tell me about her wedding. She and her fiance are getting married in the late summer, and want a sophisticated, elegant wedding that still lends itself to being very relaxed and informal. I couldn’t have chosen a better venue for them than La Petite Dauphine near Franschhoek, or in fact, a better colour scheme to suit the venue than the one Natalie has picked: lavender, silver, and a fresh, silvery green. I could immediately picture it – the kind of romantically simple wedding that would be perfectly at home in Jose Villa‘s portfolio or on the pages of Style Me Pretty. We’re certainly looking at a French country influence, so lavender makes not just the perfect colour but a beautiful motif, and Natalie could choose to use it in her stationery as well as to add texture and whimsy (as well as fragrance) on the day. I’d have bridesmaids in lovely long dresses, and the groom with a lavender boutonniere and a stylish grey suit. Long tables, either indoor or out, would have white cotton linen, simple country-style arrangements and bread rolls wrapped in muslin and twine, with a little sprig of lavender tucked into them, at each place setting. All the best things about the French lifestyle would be represented: champagne, cheese, wine (these wine bottle table numbers are a classic, and so easy to DIY), macarons. Have guests write sweet notes to the couple and ‘post’ them in a set of little rustic ‘postboxes’, and at the end of the night take home a little bag of dried lavender to put amongst their clothes and remember the occasion whenever they smell that wonderful fragrance (Natalie could also scatter some along the aisle, as stepping on it would release the aroma). Mix together, add friends and family and some late summer sunshine, and then serve. Congrats again, honey – I can’t wait to follow along with your planning!
Afternoon, folks! We’re rounding off a pretty awesome week here on SBB with one more piece of pretty and awesome. I’ve been getting tons of requests for inspiration boards from all of you, so I’m working double time to try and create as many of them as I can. Reader Kristin has been waiting a little while for hers, but I hope it will be worth the wait! Kristin is getting married in a hall in summer, and she’s looking for turquoise accents to classic black and white, with peacock feathers and a general air of chic. Initially I was just going to send Kristin over to a board I created right at the very beginning of the blog (you can find it here), which was when the peacock trend was taking off. But then I thought about it, and I thought maybe we could bring the peacock theme a little more up to date. One option would be to go for a very art deco look – peacock was a key motif during the period after all – but instead I decided to add a bit of glitter to the teal, black and white palette – a look that’s very of the moment. The focus is less on actual peacock feathers – although they’re included in select spots: a boutonniere, with the bouquet, and on the bridesmaids’ headpieces – and more on beautiful peacock imagery. I am so in love with the place settings using peacock plates, gold cutlery and an ornate charger – if hiring this isn’t an option, consider a custom printed menu that fits inside a plain white plate, to give you a similar visual effect. I also adore the letterpress invitations pictured here – stationery is a great way to ‘brand’ your wedding in a sophisticated way. Add a bit of glittery texture – if not on the wedding dress (although I always seem to go back to this gorgeous wedding dress!) then maybe on one bridesmaid’s dress, and how cute is the little packet of sequin confetti? Teal/turquoise shoes and BM dresses are a must, but beyond that I’d stick to classic black and white. And there you have it. Hope you like your board, Kristin!
Styling an engagement shoot is never the easiest thing – how do you settle on the perfect look and location to sum up the two of you as a couple (and make you look hot)? After all, you might be a couple who like to glam it up on a Saturday night, but think there’s nothing better than wellies and a walk in the countryside on a Sunday. One way that many couples work around this is to rock two or three different outfits during an engagement shoot, and today’s is a perfect example of how to do that beautifully! Megan and Eugene were photographed by Inecke de Kock in three different outfits and locations, and each says something special about the couple. I love their save the date calendar idea, as well as how they had fun including some of the local kids in their more formal shots. So cute! Thanks for sharing, Inecke!Read More
It’s my favourite time of year again – Pantone have just released their latest spring fashion palette, and man, is it a good one! I absolutely love every one of these pretty, preppy colours, from punchy Poppy Red or Lemon Zest to cool Monaco Blue (best name ever) and Linen, which pretty much go with everything. Greyed Jade and African Violet are lovely soft versions of purple and green, and Tender Shoots and Nectarine offer chilled out alternatives to chartreuse and coral. I also love emerald and dusky blue – lovely, cool colours you just want to dive on into. There are SO many combinations of these colours that would look amazing at a wedding, but I’ve put together a few mini palettes to get you started. Which is your favourite?
