Rain rain go away – it’s a miserable day in Durban, but I’m curled up in bed with a dog at my side, bringing you this wedding that’s full of colour and light and beachy goodness. I absolutely love SBB reader Sarah and Gareth’s chilled out attitude, including their choice of Paternoster as a venue and bright colours and references to children’s books and toys on the tables and throughout. In fact, there are tons of great ideas to be had here, so be sure to read Sarah’s story as well as revel in Justin Davis‘ lovely pics. But be absolutely sure to scroll down to the end, where you’ll also find the AWESOME stop motion animation that they made for their invitation. So creative and fun!Read More
Hello lovelies! I am determined to get out in the sun this afternoon (got to pump up the tan before winter hits, right?) so it’s the perfect day to bring you some sunkissed inspiration from another of our beautiful neighbouring countries, Mozambique. I haven’t been yet but I am DYING to go, as the chilled out beach shack vibe is so my holiday style. It’s also the perfect place for a laid-back, toes-in-the-sand wedding, and it was the ideal choice for the lovely Keith and Marilize, since it’s where he proposed to her. Friends and family joined them for a tropical weekend getaway, and a team of talented wedding pros pulled everything together, headed by The Love Bucket, who specialise in Mozambican weddings. It was SO hard to narrow down Alexis Diack‘s beautiful photos, from Marilize’s elegant dress to the dreamy light and stunning scenery that formed a backdrop to this festival of lurve. Today’s couple sailed off into the sunset (literally, as they work on yachts in the world’s far-flung, glamorous places). We don’t have the usual text to go along with our images today, but I have no doubt that you’ll happily sail away with them anyway, enjoying every lovely, beachy moment.Read More
You know, if I think back to Std 5 discos, all I can remember is serious amounts of awkwardness. Sitting on opposite boy/girl sides of the room, wanting to rush out whenever a slow song came on, then dancing stiffly and super far apart (except if you REALLY liked the oke, and then it would be head on shoulder). Once I danced with a boy and mouthed along with the song (Did I think it was sexy, Dirty Dancing style? Probably. It wasn’t.) and he was all “Gabs, what are you doing?”. OMG, so much awkwardness. I definitely did not find lurve at the disco, but I’m delighted to find that someone did. Specifically, today’s gorgeous couple. SO ADORABLE. And that’s just the meet-cute. The stunning wedding itself was held in one of my favourite Cape Town venues, the gorgeous Grand, with its combination of incredible views, bold pink and industrial edge. The photographer was SBB fave, Stephanie Veldman, who captured every dreamy moment from ceremony to sunset.Read More
Morning, lovelies! I thought it was about time we had a beach wedding here on SBB – as much as I love the countryside, I do love me a good ol’ toes-in-the-sand beach ceremony and reception so much. And I LOVE today’s beautiful, personal celebration, which brings together everything we love about the West Coast, including an absolutely stunning beach house venue. I fell in love with The White House (SO my dream house!) when I came across it a few months back (have to stay there at some point!) and I immediately wondered how it could be used for a wedding, bearing in mind that it’s a house of course, and not an actual venue. I had assumed that meant tiny intimate weddings only, but our creative couple today utilised not just one but three separate locations and created a sort of open air market to really capture the Yzerfontein vibe. Such a brilliant idea, don’t you think? Jani B‘s pics capture every lovely moment in glorious detail and colour – I especially love the couple pics up in the master bedroom with that glorious view of the sea. It’s the perfect way to send us off into the weekend dreaming of summer! Oh, and PS, these two have the most amazing story of how they met and Corey’s proposal, so don’t miss it!Read More
Any good photographer will tell you that the relationship they strike up with many couples goes above and beyond what’s on the contract. Not only do they share your excitement ahead of the wedding and keep things calm (and moving) on the day, they’re also there to share some of the most incredible, intimate, personal moments, the biggest of your lives. Many become like a member of the family or bridal party, and often friendships are formed along the way. It’s a special relationship for sure, but usually, it only begins once there’s been a proposal – it’s not often that the photographer is there right from the word YES. But that’s what happened with today’s gorgeous, laid-back couple, Sarah and Oded, and their photographer, the fab Laura Jane. She was a surprise witness to their proposal (see the shoot here)! Laura Jane was also there to see Sarah and Oded’s love story cumulate in a beautiful, blissed out beach wedding in Ballito (try saying that after a few cocktails). I love all the little details, from the succulent and peacock feather bouquet (brilliant combo, who knew?) to the adorable favours. A wedding as sweet, fun and in-the-moment as that proposal.Read More
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
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
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
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
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
