Real Wedding at The White House {Jo & Corey}

by gaby

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

DIY Wedding Postmark

by gaby

A few weeks ago, I highlighted some gorgeous travel-themed invitation suites, and today I thought I would follow that up with a little DIY that might help brides and grooms who want to create a similar look but maybe aren’t Photoshop whizzes. I feel you guys, because when I started this blog three years ago, sshhh! but I only knew how to use Paint. Seeryus. Those of you who have been with me for a while will know how tragic that first banner was. Anyway, the point is, sometimes we all need a bit of step-by-step guidance. One element I really liked in a number of the suites that were featured was the inclusion of customised postmarks, with the bride and groom’s names and wedding date and location. Whether you incorporate it into an invitation design, or have it turned into an actual rubber stamp (love that idea!) this Photoshop tutorial will show you how to create one these sweet little jetset wedding details for yourselves.Read More

Victorian Splendour

by gaby

Victorian Style Lace Wedding Dresses | SouthBound Bride

*UPDATED FOR 2018* If you thought that the wedding we shared yesterday was the end of the sigh-worthy lace dresses we’d be enjoying this week, then good news – it was just the start. :) When I ran the SouthBound Bride Reader Survey recently, one of the questions I asked was what readers would like to see more of, and I had a special request for Victorian lace wedding dresses. We’ve already looked at beautiful lace portrait backs, but it got me thinking about the trend that goes hand in hand with that one – high lace necks and lace sleeves, which are a gorgeously elegant modern interpretation of vintage style. In fact, sleeves are still trending in general (total win for autumn and winter brides!), and of course if you love this style but don’t want it for the whole event you can always wear a lace overlay for the ceremony. It’s a modest look, but one that is so deliciously feminine that you can see why brides keep going back to it – this is only the latest of several Victorian revivals in bridal fashion, after all! *Links in bold denote affiliate links. The cost to you remains the same, but SBB may receive a commission for any sales made.

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La Belle Maroc

by gaby

Oh hello, beautiful! I have such a lovely styled shoot to share with you all this morning, inspired by the colours and romance of Morocco. I’m a big fan of Moroccan-style decor (see our full feature on Moroccan wedding style here) – it’s such a great theme for bringing colour and texture to your wedding design but in a sophisticated, cosmopolitan way and Moroccan decor is also relatively easy to get hold of. So of course I was thrilled when the team from TopVendor Wedding Awards got in touch to share this gorgeous boho styled shoot. TWA was created to recognise the talented service providers in the growing South African wedding industry, and today’s shoot features some of our favourites, including awesome photographer Vivid Blue and decor and planning specialists Flamboijant. I’m more than a little obsessed with the bougainvillaea bouquet – how pretty is that? – as well as the other beautiful flowers including pincushion proteas and the pancake wedding cake. And how stunning are the models’ boho styles created by the awesome Corlé Barnard? There’s so much creativity in this industry and in this country – thanks so much for promoting it and for sharing this today, TWA ladies!Read More

Ten Tables: Rustic {Part 1}

by gaby

We’re doing something new this afternoon, and it is all about tablescapes. As much as I love designing the overall look and feel of a wedding via inspiration board, one of the key questions whenever I’ve helped a friend plan her wedding has been “okay, but what exactly do we put on the tables?” You can see fantastic details and ideas in styled shoots and real weddings, but one of the things that I know brides always want to see in the pictures is how it all looks together, how you combine things, what that combination looks like. This new series sets out to help – not just by inspiring you with some of the most beautiful tables I have found, but in breaking these tablescapes down into their elements so you can start getting an idea of what those elements are and how they work together. Take one of these designs as it is and treat the breakdown as a shopping list, mix and match different bits of a few tables, or adapt to make them your own. You’ll be surprised as you go how many inexpensive elements you can include, or DIYs that can be done (I’ve given advice on both wherever possible). We’re kicking things off with the first five of my ten favourite rustic tables for all you brides dreaming of a farm or a barn or a forest wedding.

UPDATE: You can find Part 2 here.

Table #1: Country Colourful

FLOWERS: Chrysanthemums, dahlias, delphiniums, roses

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Real Wedding at Collisheen Estate {Julia & Waylon}

by gaby

Some days, I don’t feel like I have the words. After all, there are only so many ways to say ‘pretty’. Graceful, lovely, charming, fair. Today’s wedding is all of those things. It enters and floats across the stage like a blythe spirit, trailing beauty in its wake. There’s the dress, for one. I need about a dozen words for that alone, because it’s one of my favourites ever – and I still can’t believe that the radiant bride designed it herself and made it together with her mother. It is seriously spectacular (illusion lace, where have you been all my life?). Or the gorgeous reception, elegant but with personal touches like handmade napkins/tea towels, billows of baby’s breath, bridesmaids in blue. And of course the games aspect that the bride and groom added – such a sweet personal detail. Pretty definitely isn’t enough of a word to cover it, and yet pretty it is. Of course, I’m also in love with the talented Fiona Clair‘s gorgeous pics, that capture all the sweetness of this couple on their big day, and every soft and splendid moment. And I have some fab news to share (well, fab news for Cape brides anyway) – Fiona is relocating to Cape Town in early 2014, so KZN’s loss will definitely be your gain.Read More

Colour Story: Placid Blue & Hemlock

by gaby

Not long ago, when I put together some inspiration boards for the new Pantone spring colour palette, I predicted that the combo of pastel green and blue would be a favourite, and that this might just be the key colour combination for 2014. Well, we won’t know for a while yet if I was right, but judging on the many Facebook likes and shares and Pinterest pins the board has had since then, I’d say I might have been on to something. So I thought there was no better pairing for a colour story! Here’s the original board:

Full credits here.

Those cool tones just meld together into perfect prettiness, don’t they? When you use two colours that are close to each other on the colour spectrum, another advantage is that you can easily create a sort of ombre effect with your colours, instead of going too mix and match. Mix your pastels with whites and neutrals – again, this gives you quite a lot of flexibility. And with blues and greens not being too girly, it’s a colour combo that your groom is sure to love too.

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Inspiration Board: Portrait of a Lady

by gaby

Happy Monday friends! How was your weekend? The weather has been completely mis here in Durban, although happily I was safely installed in a box for the Sharks game yesterday instead of sitting in the stands in all that rain. Hopefully the summer starts hitting South Africa a bit more soon though, because my tan is fading fast… Anyway, Monday morning means inspiration board time, and I must say, I am loving this one. A lovely dark teal (does that colour have a name?) with blush is the perfect combination of soft romance with dark jewel tones that are very much on-trend at the moment. The look is very sophisticated but pretty at the same time. What do you think?

Colours: Teal, blush and gold

Top row (l-r): Bride with statement necklace {Christine Meintjes/The Pretty Blog}; bridesmaids {Reg Campbell Wedding & Editorials/Keely Thorne Events}; shoes and bouquet {Desi Baytan Photography/Modern LA Weddings}; tablescape {Fondly Forever Photography/Yellow Bird Events}; teal groom’s suit {Fondly Forever Photography/Yellow Bird Events}
Row 2: Cake with blush flower detail; bouquet {Elisa B Photography/Southern Blooms}; car {Erin Hearts Court}; macaroon {Fondly Forever Photography/Yellow Bird Events}; flower in gold goblet {Fondly Forever Photography/Yellow Bird Events}; flower girl {Elisa B Photography}
Row 3: Bride {Fondly Forever Photography/Yellow Bird Events}; blush cocktail; pink calligraphy stationery {Ryder Evans Photography/White+White}; teal door; flowers {Fondly Forever Photography/Yellow Bird Events}.

 

Guest Post: Guest Books by Indieberries

by gaby

Are you all sick of hearing from our friend Ché of Indieberries yet? No, of course you’re not. Because she is Awesome.Sauce. We love Ché. And we especially loved all the fab ideas she had for her wedding, from her Save the Dates to her invites to her guest book. And that’s what Ché is sharing with us today, along with a bunch of brilliant advice for how to make your own guest book awesome. UN-fortunately, we don’t get to see Ché’s actual wedding or pro pics of her guest book because… well, something bad happened to the photos. We won’t talk about it. Moving on. But let’s just say that this lady is not only a legend at producing an incredible wedding and choosing a very lovely man to marry, she is also the queen of grace under fire and an awesome example of someone who loves the pretty but knows what marriage is really all about. Maybe one day I’ll ask her to tell you about that. But for today, she’s talking guest books. Thanks Ché!

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After searching for a wedding guestbook and only finding standard run-of-the-mill, not-too-exciting options I decided to crack on and create my own personalised coffee-table keepsake. (Although to be fair, I didn’t search too hard for the aforementioned guestbook because I always knew I wanted to make my own).Read More

Budget Tips From SouthBound Brides

by gaby

Image above by Adene Photography – see the full wedding here.

Happy Friday friends! You may have noticed, but I’m working hard behind the scenes to bring you more of what you love, and one thing I always get feedback about is practical/advice posts. You’ll be seeing plenty of these in the coming weeks and months! In the Reader Survey, you also told me that one of the ways SBB has really helped you is by reading the advice given by our real brides in each wedding post. So I thought, who better to give you some advice than our own SouthBound brides? Keeping costs down is one topic that always comes up, so I’ve trawled through our archives to find all the very best tips and ideas for budget-conscious couples. Each of them is summarised in a handy card, so go ahead and add the ones that resonate with you to your Pinterest boards as reminders while you go through your planning process. And feel free to share your own advice and ideas in the comments!Read More