Suppliers - SouthBound Bride

Kelsey Genna Wedding Dress Collection

31 October, 2012 by gaby

I’m so excited to bring you this post today and introduce you to the work of New Zealand-based dress designer, Kelsey Genna, because believe me when I say this is really a name to watch. When Kelsey sent me her very first bridal campaign, I was immediately struck by how unique, gorgeous and wearable her dresses are. I know many brides who aren’t into the whole traditional dress thing, and want something more boho without sacrificing that wow factor – in fact, I’ve featured many such brides right here, and I can really see Kelsey’s designs on South African brides. They’d be amazing at a farm wedding, for example, and I love that they combine a slightly vintage edge with an elegance inspired by flowers. Not to mention that I’m dying over these campaign images and how beautifully the dresses have been styled – I do love me a good floral crown! If you’re thinking “I love these, but New Zealand is, like, far”, then worry not, because Kelsey often works with brides in other countries and will happily ensure the dress is made to measure and supremely flattering. I can’t wait to see real life brides in these beauties, and to follow what Kelsey does next.Read More

Bridesmaids {Sponsor Showcase}

19 October, 2012 by gaby

Staying with our theme of bridesmaids today, I have some more lovely eye candy from the fabulous SBB photographer sponsors, who have opened their albums to share a gorgeous collection of bridesmaids – both ready-for-their-closeup and behind-the-scenes. I always think it’s a pity when I don’t see any pics of a bride and her girls – not only do their dresses bring a lot of colour and cohesion to the images (and after all the hours you spend picking them, why wouldn’t you want them to be seen?) but because the time spent between a girl and her best friends on the morning of her wedding is so precious and such a celebration of their friendship. When I was a BM for one of my besties, Nikki, a few years back, she decoupaged a gorgeous black and white of her with us two bridesmaids on a wooden box afterwards and filled it with prints from the wedding – still one of the nicest gifts I have ever received and one I treasure, along with a framed version of that pic. It reminds me not only of how special it was to be her witness that day, sharing bridesmaid duties, laughs and memories with the third of our trio, Tracy, but also of all the other special moments in our friendship. Today’s post is a tribute to that wonderful feeling, and also to all the jobs both big and small that BMs do to make sure that their bride has the day of her dreams.

Fit for a Queen

16 October, 2012 by gaby

So… you’ve met the man of your dreams, you’ve dated, you’ve met each other’s parents, you’ve realised you want to spend a lifetime together, and the moment you’ve been waiting for since you were a little girl has finally arrived. Not THAT big moment (we’ll assume he’s already popped the question) – the moment you get to go into a wedding boutique and play dress up. The first time you really get to feel like a bride, when your mom will well up and your best friends will sigh, and you’ll all drink champagne and say yes to the dress. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from visiting both high end boutiques and (sometimes slightly dodgy) budget ones with friends, not all dress fitting experiences are made equal. And nothing makes you feel less bridal than getting stuffed into a shabby sample by a grumpy assistant in a tiny changing room with peeling wallpaper and a curtain hanging precariously off the rail.

Fortunately, that doesn’t have to happen to you. If you read the blog regularly, you’ll know that a brand new branch of Olivelli has now opened in Cape Town, and as well as drop dead beautiful dresses, Olivelli is all about personalised service. Owner Natasha Colson, who was inspired to open her own branch after a blissful experience as a bride at the flagship Gauteng Olivelli store, is passionate about making all her brides and their guests feel like royalty when they come in for their fittings. More than just another wedding chore, it’s an experience.Read More

Supplier Spotlight: Tattyoo Temporary Art Tattoos

5 October, 2012 by gaby

Favours. They’re kind of a pain, aren’t they? You want to give your guests a little something special, that reflects the design of your wedding, makes them feel special and appreciated, but doesn’t cost the earth. So you spend months making pots of jam following your grandmother’s recipe, and adding pretty lids and labels. Come the end of the night, half your guests have left them behind. So.Annoying. For that reason, I’ve become a big fan of favours guests can enjoy at the wedding itself or immediately afterwards, and today I have SUCH a cute one to share with you! I’ve seen temporary tattoo favours popping up in a few weddings over the last year, and I absolutely love them. Advantage one: they add something really fun and irreverent to proceedings, because they’re unexpected in a wedding context. Advantage two: they make for awesome photographs. Advantage three: they’re relatively inexpensive, and you don’t have to worry about your guests leaving them behind.Read More

Q&A with Stephanie Veldman

28 September, 2012 by gaby

In our Reader Survey (if you haven’t completed this yet, you still can right here) one piece of feedback that has been coming through is that you’d like to know more about wedding pros. So I’m delighted to introduce you to Stephanie Veldman, a Cape Town-based photographer. Her photographs really caught my eye from the first time I saw them – they seem to have a special kind of radiance, which is of course exactly what you’re looking for on your wedding day. I wanted to find out more about her, so I asked Stephanie to answer a few questions for you all.

Brides Getting Ready {Sponsor Showcase}

21 September, 2012 by gaby

To finish off your Friday, I’m trying something new here on SBB. I’m lucky enough to have some wonderful sponsors on the site, who make it possible for me to bring you beautiful inspiration on a daily basis. Many are talented photographers, and while we regularly feature their real weddings, I thought it would be nice to showcase their work on a monthly basis, so you can get a glimpse of their different styles. They’re all taking bookings right now, so if you like what you see, be sure to get in touch! We’re starting off, as any wedding day does, with images of the bride getting ready. My mom reminded me the other day of a wedding that happened in our street in Johannesburg when I was a very little girl, and not only do I clearly remember the awe that my best friend and I had for the bride in her white dress and veil, but I remember the photographer posing her looking into her mirror, and when I saw that picture I thought it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. Photography trends and techniques have changed as those years have gone by, but the images taken as you share special moments with your mom and bridesmaids, the nerves and anticipation, the sense of expectation as you finally put on The Dress (not to mention your immaculate hair and makeup), are going to be some of your most treasured. So without further ado, give it up for the talented SBB photographers!

Q&A with Essie Letterpress

14 September, 2012 by gaby

Happy Friday, my lovelies! And time for me to introduce you to another fabulous South African service provider. Essie Letterpress is one of SBB’s sponsors, which I’m thrilled about because I love their work so much – not just the beautiful letterpress printing they offer, but the designs they produce as well. It makes me want to reach into my screen and stroke the invitations (is that a publishing thing? an obsession with paper?) just so I can feel those delicious indentations and smell the ink. My love affair with letterpress aside, Vanessa and Ben of Essie Letterpress are just the nicest people to work with, so I asked them to share some behind-the-scenes info and advice with my readers.

Hi Vanessa – thanks so much for taking the time to answer a few questions about your business! How did you get into letterpress?
I was living in San Francisco twelve years ago, whilst studying interior design, when I first came across letterpress, as one of my housemates was doing a part-time course. I immediately fell in love with it! I went on to work as an Interior Designer, but when I moved to a farm from Cape Town two and half years ago and wanted to do something creative, I instantly thought about starting a letterpress printing company. There was also a gap in the South African market for letterpress, so it seemed like the perfect venture.

As well as straightforward letterpress printing, what other services or products do you offer?
We offer a design service, and on the printing side we have just started doing hot foiling as well.

Read More

Mira Zwillinger Reflections Collection

7 September, 2012 by gaby

To celebrate the publication of our Sparkle & Blush images in My Wedding Day, I thought it was high time I shared with you the jaw-dropping dresses we were lucky enough to include in this shoot. I am seriously so in love with them, possibly even more so now than when I first saw them. They’re the kind of dresses that will have your guests gasping as the church doors open, that will bring a tear to your husband’s (father’s, mother’s, bridesmaid’s) eye, that you’ll still be sneaking into the spare bedroom cupboard years after the wedding just to steal another look at. They’re works of fashion art, simple as that. The designer behind all this gorgeousness is Mira Zwillinger, who established her studio in Israel in 1991. Her couture designs are now available in New York and London (where Browns Bride were kind enough to lend them to us), and will soon be in Australia too. Her 2012 collection, Reflections, is a collaboration with her daughter Lihi (after whom one of my favourite dresses is named) and is inspired by glass sculpture – designs which appear to share the light, reflective qualities, but are made from the softest fabrics, sourced from Paris and Milan. Get ready to do some actual swooning.

Q&A with The Desert Rose Project

31 August, 2012 by gaby

Hello friends! First of all, my apologies if you stopped in yesterday and found the site down. The bad news is, it was kind of a stressful day sorting that out. The good news is that the reason it all went pear-shaped is because so many of you have been stopping in to check out SouthBound Bride. You crashed the server, y’all! Which is actually a great problem to have. :) Anyway, I’ve made a few improvements, and the site should actually load a little faster for you now too. Thanks for your patience!

On to today’s feature. I am absolutely thrilled to bring this one to you, because it has everything I love. Friendship, entrepreneurship, art and passion for details, and some good old South African ubuntu. What first caught my eye about the Desert Rose Project was the gorgeous wire hangers that had started popping up in South African brides’ dress pictures, a local cousin to a trend that started across the pond, but with a unique African twist. I loved them, but I had no idea where they came from. Then I started working with Yolande Snyders, a Cape Town photographer and one of SBB’s friends and sponsors. I found out that Desert Rose is a joint initiative by Yolande and her friend Tendai, a local wire artist. Not only do I love what Tendai creates, but I was dying to know more of the story and how this unique partnership came about, so I sent over a set of questions to the pair of them, and I’m sharing their answers with you today. I know you’re going to feel as much enthusiasm for this initiative as I do, not to mention wanting your very own piece of Desert Rose art to add an extra something special to your getting ready pictures!Read More

Olivelli Cape Town + WIN a Free Fitting

10 August, 2012 by gaby

Good morning, SouthBound belles! I have some exciting news to share with you this morning. Those of you in Gauteng may be familiar with Olivelli, a dress boutique that carries some absolutely stunning, exclusive designs, and offers a unique, personal fitting experience. Well, good news for those of you in the Cape: Olivelli will be opening a branch at Tyger Valley next month!