Category: Inspiration

Trend Alert: Candles

by gaby

As the year starts drawing to an end, we wedding bloggers begin to think about the trends that have made an impact in 2013, as well as those that are top of our crush lists for 2014. There’s one I have been watching for a while, and I have to say, I am loving what stylists have been doing with it, and it’s candles. I know, right? Who knew they even went out of fashion? But when we’re talking candles here, we’re talking tall and taper candles, multiple candles (the way that flowers were done a couple of years ago), coloured candles, and even candles on wedding cakes, birthday style. LOVE. So I thought it was about time I brought this look to the blog. Here are some of my favourites from t’internets.Read More

Garden Engagement with a Jenna Clifford Ring

by gaby

They say sometimes when you know, you just know. And sometimes… well, your mother knows before you do. That was the case with Shayna and Gavin, who have such an unusual and awesome story (read on for more). And the mother in question (Shayna’s) is none other than South Africa’s own Jenna Clifford, whose name you’ll no doubt recognise from her beautiful line of jewellery. So as you can imagine, this shoot features a very sparkly sparkler too – I just adore Shayna’s ring! This is one for the jewellery fans, for the romantics, and for all the mothers out there who still hope to set up their daughters (except mine, don’t get any ideas mom! ;) ) Huge thanks to the fab Kallah Ohr for sending over her gorgeous pics.Read More

Colour Story: Indigo & Violet

by gaby

As promised, here’s another of the SBB Collection that we haven’t yet featured – this collection of wedding invitation loveliness was the result of a collaboration between SouthBound Bride and the designers of the Invitation Gallery. Each designer chose one of our inspiration boards to work from, and today’s is really digging back into the archives – Indigo & Violet is from the early days of SBB. That may be, but the colours – two rich variations on the purple palette – are really hitting the spot for brides nowadays and the motif used on the collection (hydrangea) is very much of the moment in terms of floral design. So I thought it was high time that we took a fresh look at the way you can incorporate this look into your wedding. Here’s the original board…

Full inspiration board credits here.

The stationery suite could work for just about any venue, but I’m particularly fond of it for a garden wedding or perhaps a vineyard. It’s feminine without being overpoweringly so, sophisticated without being bling, and perfect for a romantic bride who just loves her shades of purple.

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Inspiration Board: Denim, Peach & Coral

by gaby

Peach and coral together are so my current fave. Or coral and blush. It’s that developing ombre-ness of it that really gets me. But the thing is, that these shades are a bit… well, I don’t know, tropical? without a bit of a cool base to ground them. A certain shade of indigo works wonders. So does navy. But today, I’ve paired them with one of my absolute best blues, because it not only comes with a pretty colour but with texture and chilledness too. I am talking denim, as you can probably guess by now. Denim, which you can actually make chic for a wedding, because, like burlap, it’s a surprising and interesting texture that can be softened or glammed up with the addition of more romantic tones. Play around with modern and classic, traditional and irreverent, for a combination that is 100% you. I love the mixture. But what do you think?

Colours: Blue, coral & peach

Top row (l-r): Cake {Sweet & Saucy Shop}; bouquet {Bryan Rupp Photography/Champagne Wedding Coordination}; bride in denim jacket; peach neon; bridesmaids {Tec Petaja}
Row 2: Love is like denim… {Brancoprata}; rings; bridesmaid bouquet {Brit Rene Photo}
Row 3: Couple {ee Photography/Sweet Sunday Events}; caravan; table setting {Elizabeth Scott}; cocktail {Rebecca Wood}.

 

Once Upon a Wedding Dress

by gaby

Good morning lovelies! We’re about to kick off your Friday with some very pretty pictures, courtesy of Debbie Lourens Photography. I love when creatives take some time to play and experiment, and what I really love about this shoot (apart from the gorgeous crowns by Samantha Hanlon, my new happy find) is that Debbie used a vintage lace wedding dress, picked up on eBay. Although she didn’t know the history of the dress, she knew that it was over sixty years old, and started dreaming up a shoot around it. If you’re planning some pre-wedding portraits with your beloved, I think the idea of wearing a vintage dress is very cool – it’s what one of our own RLBs did, to stunning effect. Why not check out eBay and let your imagination run wild?Read More

Charity Wedding Favours

by gaby

Well, this is one wedding trend that really makes me feel good to be talking about. Because, you know, sometimes when you look around at all the need in the world, it can seem a bit obtuse to spend so much time thinking about napkins and sequins. With all the money spent on a wedding, it’s no wonder that so many couples get to wondering if they can share the love beyond the circle of friends and family, and benefit their community or favourite causes. Or perhaps it’s a case of paying tribute to the memory of loved ones, including them in your day in a meaningful way. Whatever the motive, wedding favours are an easy way to have a charitable aspect to your wedding. We’ve all heard stories of brides who spend hours picking out fancy favours, only to find piles of them left behind on the tables – well, this is the perfect way to skip that problem altogether, ensuring that the money you spend on this hospitable tradition ends up doing good somewhere. There are so many lovely ideas out there for charity favours, and it’s been awesome to see local companies and charities getting on board and coming up with fresh options. As always, there’s so much creativity in real weddings too – I’ve rounded up some of my favourites to inspire.Read More

Puppy Love Engagement Shoot

by gaby

Afternoon, friends! Well, I promised you a double dose of this couple (and of course the fab Jacki Bruniquel too) today, and you won’t be disappointed with this super adorable e-shoot on the family farm. Jax so perfectly captures the mood of each couple shoot she does, and this one is so personal, what with all the memories the farm has for Chantel from growing up there. It’s also the place Brett proposed, making it even more special as a shoot location. And I love, love, loved that they included their three dogs in the pics. Anyone who knows me will know that I am a total dog person – in fact, my family has a standing joke that wherever we are, if there’s a dog in the room it will immediately come up to me (secretly, I love this). So not only am I cooing at how utterly cute these furbabies are, but I’m loving the laid-back happy atmosphere they add to the pictures, perfectly the happy vibes given off by this loved-up couple. They say never work with children or animals… but Chantel and Brett may beg to differ!Read More

Colour Story: Hawaiian Honeysuckle

by gaby

Afternoon, my lovelies! We’re heading into the last few weeks of the year, and as we do, I thought it was time that we gave a bit of a spotlight to some of the invitations from the SBB Collection at Invitation Gallery that you may not yet have come across. Although some of them have starred in shoots I have styled, there are still a few more that I absolutely love, but haven’t had a chance to play with yet. And today’s is hands down my favourite. In fact, it may be my favourite from the whole collection: Hawaiian Honeysuckle. Here’s the inspiration board that started it all…

Hawaiian Honeysuckle

Full inspiration board credits here

Hawaiian Honeysuckle is all about relaxed beach loveliness, and m.studio did a phenomenal job in putting it together in a gorgeous coral and turquoise/aqua colour scheme. Even the wording is fun, perfect for a picnic wedding on the beach, with a camper van as a getaway car.

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Inspiration Board: Copper & Cobalt

by gaby

If I had as many boy crushes as I do colour crushes, I’d be falling in love every other day of the week. And here I go having my head turned again, this time by a gorgeous combination of copper/rose gold and blue. It’s amazing. And it totally works using every shade from a blue indigo to a dusk or smokey blue, to bright royal shades to sophisticated navy, so you can vary according to your favourite combination. I suspect that blue is going to be THE colour for 2014, and with metallics not going anywhere, bronze, copper and rose gold are a lovely update on glitzy gold or shimmering silver. What do you think?

Colours: Cobalt blue, copper & white

Top row (l-r): Shoes {Jennifer Laura Design/Val & Sarah}; cake {Fiona Kelly/Always Andri Wedding Design}; copper crockery; bridesmaids {Corbin Gurkin Photography/Loluma}
Row 2: Groomsmen in blue suits {Corbin Gurkin Photography/Loluma}; diamond ring; invitation suite {Kristen Weaver Photography/An Affair To Remember/9th Letter Press}
Row 3: Blue dress; cobalt vases; bridesmaid with corsage {Mr Haack/Jesi Haack}; hydrangea centrepiece {Docuvitae/Kourtney James Perry}

Save It for a Rainy Day

by gaby

Looking out at the sunshine in Durbs today, it’s hard to imagine a wedding ever gets rained out in this country but as you all know, that is not even close to being the case. In fact, of the five weddings I’ve been to in South Africa in the last two years, three had some kind of rain to deal with. And okes, one of them was in Phalaborwa. Chances? Anyway, the point is this: we hope for sunny skies (and we usually get them) but rain is something that you need to plan for. So I asked fab SBB sponsor Lizl Pieterse of Flamboijant to share her top tips as a planner for avoiding those rainy day blues, and she’s here with some really fantastic advice. Not just that, but I’ve rounded up some beautiful pictures from our photographer friends, which just goes to prove – you can still get the most gorgeous images of your day, come rain or come shine! Over to you, Lizl… ;)Read More