Posts from the ‘Beach Weddings’ Category

Jun 11

L&A-beach-ombre-wedding-monica-dart-southboundbride-F

Real Wedding at The Farmhouse Hotel {Leigh & Andrew}

Sometimes weddings are like London buses – I went for ages without a lovely beach wedding to share, and now I have two in a row! Well, no complaints from me, as I absolutely adore a toes-in-the-sand, head-in-the-clouds, chilled out beach do and today’s wedding is one of the most chilled I have ever come across. And you guys, an ombre wedding dress. Seriously, I LOVE. Leigh and Andrew are the picture of Cape Town surfey gorgeousness, and their love story had so much to do with Langebaan that they couldn’t help but decide to get married in this special seaside town. They chose a super fun palette of turquoise with a pop of colour-of-the-moment neon, which not only worked with their wedding style but reflected their complementary personalities. My dear friend Monica Dart was there as the photographer, to capture all the life and movement and colour, as only she can. What a lovely wedding. Read more

Jun 4

5 Comments

Real Wedding at Grootvlei {Vicky & Arri}

Get ready, people, because this might be my favourite beach wedding EVER. Bold claim, I know, but just wait until you see it. I don’t know where to start! Of course, I shouldn’t be surprised – this is what happens when two creative people get together and fall in love. Arri is a 3D animator and Vicky is the designer behind the awesome Mocho Loco brand (so you can get a bit of her genius for your own wedding, win). He’s South African, she brings her Argentinian heritage to the table – and you’ll see how much dancing and fun went down, starting right there on the beach. Seriously, this is the only wedding I have seen with the bride and groom hula hooping – it. is. awesome. The couple went BEYOND when it came to DIY – they made everything, and it is all so gorgeous. My favourite is the door entrance to the ceremony area (beach perfection!), and I also loved the swing for two that they sat on during the speeches. The table decor includes some of my favourite DIY elements tied together perfectly with Vicky’s lovely stationery. And my goodness, I can’t not mention Vicky’s beautiful dress! But I keep coming back to the dancing – it’s the heartbeat of this joyous wedding, bringing together family and friends from two continents in an incredible celebration. The amazing Maree Louw of Natural Light Photography was there to capture everything, and capture it she did in the most gorgeous photos. It was so hard to choose, so you’re getting a bit of a photo bonanza today. Okay! Enough raving from me. Here it is! Oh, and PS, if you want to see more, come back later for the video! Read more

Nov 7

3 Comments

Real Wedding at Umtamvuna River Lodge {Anna & Robbie}

I know many of you out there are probably fans of Paulo Coelho. I have to admit, I’m not, but the first time I read The Alchemist I had just broken up with my first love, and it gave me comfort. Years later, I published an educational edition of the book, so I read it again, and even though this time it wasn’t my thing, I did appreciate the whole idea of life being a journey and how sometimes random things conspire to point in a particular direction. It’s an amazing feeling when that happens, and I couldn’t help being reminded of that story and feeling when I read today’s couple’s ‘how we met’ story, which really is like a journey of signs. Very cool. Of course, all love stories end in a celebration, and Anna and Robbie’s ended this chapter in a wonderful wedding at Umtamvuna. I adore their laid back style (and Anna’s amazing Temperley London dress!) as well as their literary theme (having played Toad of Toad Hall in my younger years I’m particularly delighted by the Wind in the Willows slant!), and especially Andrea Carlyle‘s epic photographs capturing the stormy skies. So much loveliness. Read more

Oct 9

6 Comments

Real Wedding at Paternoster Lodge {Katie & Theoniel}

Today’s real wedding caught my attention when I spotted the driftwood logs and hanging twinkle light curtains on Be-dazzled Events‘ Facebook page, and I was thrilled to see the whole wedding appear over on the awesome Jules Morgan‘s blog. I love intimate weddings, and I adore Katie and Theoniel’s concept of sharing a favourite destination (who doesn’t fall in love with the West Coast, after all?) with their family and friends. Their design was relatively simple, but very stylish, and perfectly reflected the West Coast vibe in shades of grey and beige neutrals. And how about those fairy lights? Aren’t they just magical? This wedding is proof of how a great venue, a clean palette and a few special details (love that driftwood heart ring ‘cushion’ and the stylin’ groomsmen, for example) are all you need to make your wedding picture perfect (although the perfect pictures Jules takes don’t hurt either – it was too hard to choose, so this is a bit of a bumper post!). Read more

Sep 12

6 Comments

Real Wedding at Die Walskipper {Carmen & Evert}

Ah, Jefferys Bay. Home of the Supertubes. During my high school surf chick phase (and by that, I mean, wore Roxy t-shirts, not actually had the balls to surf) this is where you could find me during the Billabong, sitting on the beach trying to look cool and pretend I wasn’t eyeing up all the pretty surfer boys whose tans were better than mine was ever going to be. I loved JBay, so I’m stoked that today’s wedding at Die Walskipper gets to be from there. It perfectly reflects JBay’s laid back beachy style, and there’s such clever use of readily available materials. For example, brown paper printed up with ‘sand, see en liefde’ (sand, sea and love) used as a wall hanging and again as a table runner. Shell lanterns, string globes, a typography motif. Tin cups and twine-wrapped napkins. Tropical leaves instead of flowers (except for a beautiful protea bouquet). It’s coastal rustic at its finest, and perfectly reflects Carmen and Evert’s casual style. Pictures were taken by Monica Dart, and they’re absolutely mesmerising – I love how Moni combines her fine art eye with documenting genuine moments, and you just have to look at guests’ faces to see what a special day this was. Read more

Sep 4

2 Comments

Real Wedding at The Grand {Barbara & Michael}

So. When I was about 15, my friend Marcelle threw a great big birthday party at an abandoned house on her family’s farm. There was drinking, and laughing, and Green Day’s Dookie on repeat, but what I remember most was that her high school friends were very much the cool kids from the cool school. I was so intimidated, I don’t think I spoke to anyone all night. Well, some weddings… some weddings are like hanging out at the cool table. Couples that seem so impossibly stylish, their wedding seems to come from a magazine. Today’s is one of those – Barbara and Michael (and their guests) could have been plucked from the pages of Vogue, as could their stunning, atmospheric photographs from dna photographers. But if you look beyond the über-stylish venue (love me that Grand), the to-die-for views of the Cape coast from Granger Bay, and Barbara’s incredible blush lace and corset dress, there’s a sweetness and carefree spirit at the heart of this wedding that perfectly reflects the Cape Town atmosphere. It’s city chic meets coastal class, and I for one could look at it all day. Ah, la dolce vita! Read more

Jul 26

5 Comments

Real Wedding at Grootvlei Guest Farm {Ingrid & Denzil}

You know, sometimes when you travel, it makes you appreciate all the wonders and beauties of the world, and how luck you are that you can plane, train or automobile your way around them. And sometimes, travel makes you appreciate what you have at home. It’s like that for me with the South African coast. Sure, I’ll never say no to a tropical island, and there’s something very appealing about bobbing around in the smooth Mediterranean. But you only have to sit on a pebbly beach in Brighton for five minutes to miss our soft, pale sand, and there’s nothing quite like the roar of our not just one, but two oceans. I think that’s one of the reasons why beach weddings are always highlights for me, especially when they manage to recreate some of that wild, natural beauty. That’s what today’s stunning wedding at Grootvlei does – the palette is like a stormy day at sea with light breaking through the clouds (which is appropriate, considering the proposal). Soft greys and whites, with flashes of natural green. Orchids and succulents (which I never would have expected to work together, but are so elegant). A driftwood altar. The pictures by Stephan Marais are so gorgeous, I just knew I had to share them with you! {Oh, and PS, I love Grootvlei’s mussel motif – such a cool texture for a beach venue.} Read more

Jul 12

2 Comments

Real Wedding at Sea Trader {Misha & Henri}

You know, a lot of people, when they find out what I do, comment that organising a wedding these days is such an over-the-top thing. In the same way as I think my mother believes you can only be either a teetotal or a budding alcoholic (guess which side of that line I fall on?), I think many of them believe a wedding can either be a three day zillion Rand extravaganza with ice sculptures, chocolate fountains and swans in the swimming pool, or a pared down civil ceremony with zero decoration and lunch at a nearby restaurant. Well, you and I both know that’s rubbish. There’s a spectrum of weddings, and that’s what makes them so interesting and exciting. But one thing I do know is that adding just a few key details will raise your wedding’s game. Take today’s Sea Trader wedding (photographed by the lovely Bernard Bravenboer), for example. It isn’t over the top, but it is beautiful. Clever Misha and her wedding planning team knew exactly where to add those special details. Coloured glass on the tables. A beautiful rose bridesmaid dress and a flower girl in a baby’s breath crown. A picturesque beach ceremony. Interesting boutonnieres. Wedding newspapers. Pretty cocktails. No swans in the pool. No ice sculpures. Just the gorgeous pink fairytale wedding that Misha and Henri dreamed of. Simples. Read more

Nov 8

4 Comments

Real Wedding in Hermanus {Lizeth & Danie}

You probably won’t even be aware of this, but there’s been a lot of debate recently in the wedding blogging community. We are, according to some commentators, way too obsessed with details, only blogging about weddings that cost thousands of dollars and are overrun with mason jars, and forgetting what weddings are really about. I’m not even engaging with that here, but if ever there were an example of a wedding that holds love at its very core, where the details and décor are crafted with care, where the day is full of happiness and laughter and the simple things in life, then this is it. Lizeth and Danie went back to basics, and planned a day full of the people and things that made them happy. A tent on a Hermanus beach. A beautiful handmade wedding dress. Bunting. Picnic baskets full of homemade food. And you know what? It’s still ridiculously pretty. So kick off your shoes, and enjoy the gorgeous pictures from Annemari Ruthven that so brilliantly capture the light and joy of this special day. Read more

Sep 20

5 Comments

Real Wedding at The Grand {Fiona & James}

Today I am EXCITED, and it’s not just because my guilty little pleasure Made in Chelsea came back on TV last night, yah. (Um, Gabriella my namesake “making a point”? Awkward.) It’s because of this wedding. See, I happened to go to university with the groom, and when I heard a rumour that the fabulous wedding he and his lovely wife-to-be were planning was going to be at The Grand, which is just one of the best hangouts in Cape Town (two, in fact, with one in Clifton and one in Granger Bay) and an absolute dream for a cross between Cape Town city chic and right-on-the-beach style, I jumped on the email to Fiona to find out all about it. Co-ordinated by the fab Event and Design, it turned out to be just as gorgeourific in reality as Fiona and James had planned, and now I finally get to share it with you! Wait till you see Fiona’s dress and shoes – she made such a beautiful bride and looked like she stepped straight out of an Audrey Hepburn movie. Read more