Real Garden Wedding {Lindsay & Gareth}

by gaby

Hello my lovelies! Today’s wedding is a breath of fresh air, or more like a summer breeze on a perfect afternoon (Gaby looks out of the window at a winter London garden and despairs). Lindsay and Gareth wanted an unpretentious wedding focused on their nearest and dearest, so they set aside the usual hunt for a venue and married in an uncle’s garden with a woodfire oven churning out fresh pizza and a live blues band and jukebox. Sounds like heaven, no? If ever a wedding captured the lazy, hazy spirit of summer (as well as the theme of ‘eat, drink and be married’), then this is it, and although we’re usually all about the details, I couldn’t help but delight in Kelland Photography‘s captures of this spirit among the guests as well. Which is just one more SouthBound wedding that goes to prove that doing your wedding your way – whatever that means to you – is also the best way.Read More

Beach Blush

by gaby

This afternoon I’m sharing some styled shoot inspiration, courtesy of Joanne Markland and The Mosaic Wedding Company, with a team of talented colleagues from the Nuptian Network of Associated Wedding Specialists. I love seeing industry peeps pulling together, and it’s been a real pleasure to see more styled shoots coming out of South Africa this last season – they’re such a great way to generate ideas and beautiful, inspiring, editorial imagery! This look is particularly do-able, and is the perfect look for a bride who’s having a laid back beach wedding but still wants a classic, romantic look. Simple, lush single blooms combine with natural textures like shells and white stones, with a touch of aqua blue glass from vintage bottles. There’s also a touch of fun with stripey blue straws, cute little cupcakes and the general palette of pink and aqua (which you can amp up or down depending on where on the fun/classic scale you prefer to lie). Add a swishy dress, and you’re set!Read More

Real Wedding at Hillhouse {Leigh & Andrew}

by gaby

Hello friends! It’s our first real wedding of the week, and this one is chock-full of handmade goodness! You know, people who have met me always assume (because I’m not much of a child person) that I’d be the first person to say that I prefer weddings kid-free. In fact, the opposite is true. I love kids at weddings (unless they’re screaming through the vows – take them outside, folks). They’re always so giddy and excited and awed by the whole thing, and they’re the most fun on the dancefloor. But more than anything, they remind me that a wedding is a community celebrating an event that isn’t just happening to someone else, but is part of who they all are and the fabric of their lives and friendships – having children there (another part of that fabric) just seems right to me. Anyway, this isn’t a lecture on why you should have kids at your wedding (do, don’t, up to you) but rather a thought that came out of today’s lovely wedding which also happens to have been particularly child-friendly. And the thing is, that with all the colour and beauty and detail (how much do we LOVE that altar backdrop, for example?), it seems very much a colourful tapestry of celebration in the way I’ve described. Samantha Maber was there to take these beautiful photos, and I’m thrilled to share them with you today!Read More

Real Life Bride #9: The Bridesmaids

by gaby

I suppose there are many different ways of deciding on the people that you’ll have walking down the aisle before you and many factors play a role in this (sometimes difficult) decision. Some stick to family members, some to friends, some choose according to what the budget allows or how many groomsmen the groom will have. I didn’t set myself any rules. My two sisters are a pair of amazingly awesome, beautiful, fantastic ladies who I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. Naturally, they would have to be bridesmaids. But I also want my bestest friends to be by my side as they are the pillars on which I rely in life. So I’m going to have five bridesmaids. Yes, it has its complications in terms of the dresses, time schedule, budget, etc. but I wouldn’t change anything. I’m a very determined person so I figured I would make it work despite the odds.

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Inspiration Board: Duck Egg & Peach

by gaby

Happy Monday, friends – hope you had a lovely weekend! Are you all ready for Valentine’s Day? Last week we combined pretty peach with modern mint for an inspiration board that was probably my most shared in a while, and today we’re working with peach again, this time paired with a beautiful duck egg blue. As soon as reader Alana wrote to tell me about her colours I absolutely fell in love with them, and I’ve been really looking forward to this board. Alana is getting married in early spring/late winter at Kruger, so while this is a perfect warm weather palette I’ve included some more sophisticated touches for an indoor venue. Alana wanted a touch of vintage, so I included letterpress silhouettes and pretty bow-decked shoes. Peach bouquets (and a peach wedding dress!) look beautiful with the soft blue bridesmaid dresses, together with peach cocktails and an adorable blue cake. Greet guests with rolls wrapped up in blue napkins and fresh preserves, and serve cool peachy cocktails. Alana also asked for a few quirky touches – I loved the idea of bells for your guests (to be rung after the ceremony) and my all-time favourite quirky yet elegant touch is umbrellas suspended above the dance floor. It makes quite an impression, but is actually relatively easy to pull off. Hope you like your board Alana!

Colours: Duck egg blue & peach

Top row (l-r): peach wedding dress {Cluney Photo }; duck egg blue bridesmaids {Veil and Bow}; blue ruffle cake {Sweet & Saucy Shop}; peach cocktail {Cookie + Kate}
Row 2: Bread roll place card {Martha Stewart}; marmalade favour {Tink Photography}; thumb print guest tree {Verity Stubbs/Ginger and Mint Photography/Christina Prochazka/Chrisp Pictures}; bell favours {Beaux Arts Photographie}
Row 3: Bride & groom {Melanie Wessels}; silhouette letterpress {Farrell and Chase}; peach shoes {Insight Creative/Carbine Avenue}

SouthBound Sundays {10 Feb 2013}

by gaby

Hello my dear friends – how has your weekend been? I’ve had a lovely one. On Friday one of my bestest friends came over for sushi and way too much red wine, and we caught up and put the world to rights. On Saturday it was off to Oxford for lunch with more lovely friends – this time a group of ex-colleagues who have become dear friends and their husbands and children. So much fun! As for today, I’m spending it in bed, having been woken up in the middle of the night by a random drunk guy who broke into our porch – I eventually went to investigate some strange noises and found someone sticking their hand through our letterbox! Thank goodness I have a male housemate, who was very quickly shouted for and sorted it out. And the saga of the teenagers next door continues… Anyway, I’ve been pinning all kinds of loveliness from around the web, so here’s our little roundup!

♥ WEEKLY FAVES

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Q&A with Anneli Marinovich

by gaby

Good afternoon my dears, and a good afternoon it is when I get to introduce my readers to one of my very favourite industry people. Anneli Marinovich is a long-time supporter of the blog – she was one of our first sponsors and since then I have had the pleasure of getting to know Anneli both as a person (she’s lovely!) and as a businesswoman and photographer. And let me tell you, this girl is going places. Not only does Anneli shoot the most beautiful pictures that really capture the moment, but she’s super switched on, which has made working with her a pleasure. In fact, Anneli and I are currently working on a special project that I can’t wait to announce very soon! In the meanwhile, I thought it was high time I got my friend to answer a few questions for us. And remember – although Anneli is based in the UK as I am, she also shoots during the season in South Africa, and she’d love to hear from you!

Hi Anneli – thanks for joining us on SBB today! How did you get started as a photographer?
I’ve always enjoyed photography, especially travel and street photography and after we tied the knot in Cape Town in 2009, having had a wonderful experience with our own wedding photographer (Andre van Niekerk), I decided to look into wedding photography. I took an intensive course focusing on building a successful wedding photography business when we returned to the UK and realised that this was what I wanted to do… full time. I shot my first solo wedding in London in May 2010 and absolutely loved it. The decision to leave my full time job in advertising came in July 2011 after having shot weddings part-time for just over a year as well as second shooting with established wedding photographers, and I haven’t looked back since!Read More

Real Bridal Shower: Rustic Coral

by gaby

Happy Friday, friends! Later today we’ll be getting to know one of my favourite wedding peeps, but first, I’m super excited to share a lovely bridal shower sent in by photographer (and bridesmaid supreme) Alana Meyer. And here’s a really fun fact – part of the inspiration came from one of our very own boards! I just love that (and seeing how it evolved), and it shows that you don’t have to be planning a wedding to get ideas from SBB. I also love the way that Alana and co. really used the space they had – turning an outdoor area into the ultimate girly tea party location. It shows that throwing a party at home can be every bit as pretty as booking a fancy restaurant (and is a lot less hassle for set-up, as I know from personal experience!). But what I love most are the framed statements from the groom of what he loves most about his bride-to-be, which is pretty much my favourite shower idea in ages, and so easy to do! But enough from me – over to Alana to tell you all about it, from inspiration to reality. Links in bold denote affiliate links. SBB may receive a commission for any sales made.

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Real Wedding at Cabrières {Tana & Arlo}

by gaby

Round these here parts, we love a bit of a French influence, and never more so than when it results in a pretty country wedding. Which is exactly what we have for you today – I’ve been dying to share this one with you ever since I was sent a link to Lauren Kriedemann‘s gorgeous photos. Tana and Arlo have an awesome story of how they met, and they chose to marry at the gorgeous Cabrières in Montagu, stringing bunting by the yard and filling their tables with proteas and blushing brides. I love their use of paper details, including flowers for the ladies, strings of birds and hearts, and even a wall of paper butterflies. It’s all so whimsical and delicious, and there’s even a beyond awesome getaway car! Enjoy…Read More

Coloured Wedding Dresses

by gaby

Image: Michèle M. Waite via Elizabeth Anne Designs

A few weeks back, I gave my predictions for wedding trends in 2013, and today I’m exploring one of my favourite. Coloured wedding dresses have become a huge style crush for me, and it seems like just about every designer feels the same way. And why not? White dresses weren’t even a part of wedding tradition until Queen Victoria married in one in 1840, and they weren’t the norm until after the Second World War. Many brides simply wore their best dress, whatever the colour. So you shouldn’t feel obliged to wear a white gown, any more than you’re obliged to wear a veil. And as wedding dresses themselves move toward evening gown shapes and embellishments (and sometimes even actual evening gowns worn as wedding dresses), the field is wide open for you to wear something that really makes your heart sing. I think what I like most is that, unlike the coloured wedding dresses of the ’90s (which were mostly red and black and wrong all over), most of these combine soft whispers of colour with elegant flowing fabrics, resulting in all the romance of a white ballgown, but with a bit of extra zip. But it’s all very well to read this, and to see the dresses on the catwalk. What do coloured dresses really look like on real brides? Here’s a rainbow of loveliness to show you!Read More