Skip to content

May 21

1-SBB
3 Comments

Inspiration Board: Mint to Be

Good morning, everyone! Did you all have lovely weekends? It’s Inspiration Board Monday here on SBB, and I have to say, this might be my new favourite colour combination. I stumbled across it somewhere, and I knew I had to turn it into an inspiration board. There’s something about the way that coral and mint (two of the trendiest colours in weddings right now) work together that I just love, and when you add in navy it just has a whole new depth to it. I would have thought that it might come out a little retro or mod, but (while you could certainly use these colours that way) the board I’ve come up with is all sweet, slightly French shabby chic, with a touch of glam gold and lovely lace. Put your husband-to-be and his groomsmen in navy suits, and carry lush coral bouquets with your girls – the key to this look is knowing which of the colours to combine when, so that it doesn’t look too matchy matchy. Done right, this could make the prettiest of weddings.

Colours: Mint, coral, navy and gold

Top row: Love napkin {The Stationery Studio}; Claire Pettibone dress; heart shutter; blue shoes {Shewanders Photography via Wedding Chicks}; chevron cake {Erica O’Brien Cake Design}
Row 2: Table plan {via 100 Layer Cake}; invitation {Minted}; dessert table {Tracey Kiansky Photography via The White Library}; antique tin {Dreamy Whites}; ribbons {Andi Mans Photography and Design via The Wedding Chicks}
Row 3: Ranunculus {via Wedding Chicks}; mint heart earrings {Dariami on etsy}; confetti cones {Pink Cherry Mama on etsy}; coral bridesmaid dresses {Jose Villa via The Wedding Chicks}.

And don’t forget that you can request your own inspiration board by clicking on the button below:

May 19

1 Comment

The Love List {19 May 2012}

Happy weekend, SouthBound Brides! It’s been an awesome first week here on SBB, and I’m so grateful for all of your support! I can’t wait to share more loveliness with you next week, but in the meantime, make sure you’re the first to know about new posts by following on Twitter, liking the Facebook page (where you’ll also find a feed to the blog), or subscribing by email. And if you’re in the UK, sign up to find out more about our upcoming events by filling in the online form here.

Here’s the highlights from SBB this week: We started with gorgeous autumn vineyard inspiration, and continued the autumn goodness with this incredible Cape wedding. We also visited with the elephants in a very special Garden Route celebration, and then headed back to the Cape for a sophisticated wedding with Italian flair. Not to mention a farmer’s market-themed mood board, Pantone colour inspiration, and Johanna Johnson’s gorgeous art deco dresses.

Another highlight of the week for me as that the lovely Christie over on Hindsight Bride featured me as part of her Follow Friday bloggers series. Thanks so much, Christie!

Here’s my highlights from the rest of the web…

Read more

May 18

johanna johnson luxor feature image
2 Comments

Johanna Johnson Luxor Collection

I hate to admit it but sometimes Australia gets all the best stuff. For example: my three godsons, who live in Sydney. Or Indecent Obsession (well, they were awesome when I was 14 anyway). And certainly Johanna Johnson. South African brides may not have heard of her yet, but if you ever check out the spectacularly beautiful weddings coming out of Aussieland right now, you will definitely have seen her work. I adore its art deco styling, which manages to be retro but also fresh and modern at the same time – I’m pretty sure brides didn’t actually look this good in the 1930s. The fabrics are luxe, the draping is exquisite, and although not all brides can carry off this look, those that can are sure to draw gasps as they make their ceremony entrance. Johanna recently released her latest collection, which she’s called Luxor – I can’t think of a better name. It brings together the art deco fascination with the exotic (especially with Egypt) with the glittery opulence that I’m seeing coming into wedding styling regularly at the moment. I absolutely love it, and not just the dresses – check out the headpieces and other accessories too. Read more

May 17

M&V-feature image
3 Comments

Real Wedding at Bon Cap {Marelize & Valerio}

You know how sometimes in life there’s a theme tune for a particular moment? Well, the theme from Love Boat is totally playing for me right now… “Loooove, exciting and new…” (didn’t you just LOVE Love Boat? My housemates and I used to watch reruns at lunchtime when we were at varsity. Shutup, I said REruns. I’m not that old.) Anyway, today’s adorable couple met on board a cruise ship they were both working on. How romantic is that? She’s an Afrikaans girl, he’s an Italian boy – and there they are meeting in the middle of the ocean. Not to mention that when I read their proposal story, I was so picturing the staircase scene in Titanic. Sigh. And romantic is exactly what their wedding was – Marelize decided to use black and white as her colours and black lace as her accent (I know some of you are planning to do the same, so you will love what she’s done here). And get this, her mom MADE her dress. How special is that? All the pictures were taken by Andre & Selma of Expressions Photography, and I think they’ve done a great job capturing the couple’s exuberance at joining their lives together, across two continents and three languages. Oh, and PS, I love that Marelize and her girls got ready at the Worcester Art Gallery – what an unusual backdrop! Read more

May 16

1 Comment

Pantone Fall 2012 Colour Report

This isn’t quite breaking news, but while I was on hiatus, Pantone released their latest set of colours for autumn 2012, and I wanted to share them with you, as well as a few mini-boards showing how you might combine them into fresh takes on old colour palettes. Tangerine Tango (Pantone’s colour of the year) is still going strong (and I actually prefer these colour pairings for TT than those from spring), but for the less adventurous there are some softer colours as well as some bolds that pack a punch. Chatreuse, for example, can be used sparingly but to great effect. I suspect that of all of them, Rhapsody is the one we’ll see in more weddings this season, but I think (with the Olympics just weeks off now) that Olympian Blue must be my favourite. Which is yours?

 Source

Read more

May 16

C&K-feature-image
2 Comments

Real Wedding at Knysna Elephant Park {Caroline & Keith}

As a proudly South African wedding blog, one of the things I want SBB to do is to showcase the depth and breadth of awesome that getting married here in my lovely homeland offers. Sometimes, that includes something REALLY special and uniquely Saffa, and that’s what you’ll find in today’s wedding. It doesn’t get more African than having a herd of elephants among your guests (although, I should point out, for all the foreigners who think that we live in huts and ride to work on impalas, that this is a pretty unusual experience, even for us!). Keith and Caroline are two of our own, now living overseas, and they wanted a wedding that really honoured their heritage. They chose to get married at Knysna Elephant Park on the Garden Route, an extraordinary venue where the couple and guests can get up close and personal with the resident herd. I just love this idea, and what makes it even better is that the park makes such a valuable contribution to elephant conservation. Add in an intimate, close-knit family group, a pretty pink and pewter colour scheme, a wonderful photographer (Judy Stofberg of Just Judy) and a very happy bride and groom, and you have the loveliest of lovely South African weddings. Read more

May 15

1-Vintage-Truck-Farm-Inspired-Wedding-500x345
6 Comments

Inspiration Board: Market Day

Hello friends! How are you enjoying your Tuesday? Where I am (in Durban) it’s raining like mad… hm, time to head for the English summer again, I think. ;) Big thanks to all of you for the blog, facebook, twitter and email love for the new site – very, very much appreciated! This afternoon I have a fun little inspiration board for you, which was created especially for one of our featured brides whose sister is now taking the plunge. The plan is to have a sort of market feeling, celebrating ‘the abundance of life’. Guests will get to serve themselves from an amazing spread of market-style food – how fun is that? I just love this idea, and I was pleased to find that farmer’s market-style weddings are a growing trend across the pond. There are so many cute things you can do here, and you all already know how much I love including fruit and vegetables in your decor. So here’s my take, using bright colours and rustic natural textures. Mason jar lights are perfect here, as are the adorable vegetable escort cards (and a carrot as a boutonniere? why not?!), kraft paper and chalkboard details, and Bashews soft drinks. I love the idea of creating a whole market display, especially when guests are given brown paper boxes or tote bags, and able to take home produce as their favours. Flowers are mixed and natural, and I like the mix of little jars and potted arrangements. I can just imagine the bride wearing a pretty short dress, like the one shown here – so fun! Hope your sister likes this, Kerri – keep us posted!

Read more

May 15

Z&G feature image
2 Comments

Real Wedding at Dieu Donné {Zoe & Grant}

Good morning! If you guys loved the autumn inspiration on the blog yesterday (and you did), you are going to die when you see what I have for you today. Zoe and Grant have been massively patient with me – I have been waiting to share this wedding at Dieu Donné for months, but I knew it was the one I wanted to kick off the new SouthBound Bride. It’s so unusual, with its autumn theme (a season South African brides are only just starting to discover, I think) and the details are so thoughtful, quirky and personal. Like pretty leaves instead of confetti, or the paper birds and cats hanging in the trees along the aisle. In fact, don’t get me started on that aisle – I LOVE IT. And I especially love how it became a feature with the addition of fairy lights in the evening. So clever. In fact, the whole thing’s clever and beautiful and atmospheric, and the amazing Jules Morgan has captured it perfectly through her lens. Zoe and Grant – thank you SO much, and I hope it was worth the wait! Read more

May 14

2 Comments

SBB Events

So, friends, how are you liking the new site? I have had so many lovely comments from friends and readers already, and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. :)

ANYWAY, there’s another part of SBB that I am launching today, and I wanted you all to be the first to hear about it. As you know, I am based in London most of the year (although right now I’m closing out a three month stint in sunny SA – so awesome). And for the last two years I’ve been doing this, I regularly chat to brides over there who tell me that they really miss being able to do some of that wedding scouting with their friends and bridesmaids, because when they go to wedding shows, most of the suppliers are people who they won’t be able to use when their wedding is on another continent. And then on the other side, they’re sitting trying to plan a whole huge event from a computer, with maybe a super quick trip back to SA to confirm that the venue that looks so good on screen isn’t actually some kind of flea pit. It isn’t always fun, and you know what? It should be fun.

Enter the SBB Events – boutique gatherings of SouthBound brides. London location, South African suppliers. Each one will be different, with different guests from the industry, different venues and themes, etc. But at each one you’ll have the chance to chat with other brides in the same boat as you are, to get advice and ideas from me, to encounter some of the best that is available in the place you’re getting married, and of course to have fun and walk off with a little goodie bag (because what is a party without one, right?).

SBB is working on the details of the first event which, depending on demand, may be as soon as June 2012, so why not register your interest now, and you’ll be the very first to know all about it.

Look forward to seeing you there!

May 14

autumn-vineyard-featured-image
7 Comments

An Autumn Vineyard

Let the SBB loveliness begin! :) And I can’t think of a lovelier way to start, than with this GORGEOUS inspiration shoot, which has been sitting prettily on my laptop waiting for you. It’s also super appropriate for the season we’re in at the moment, and I hope will inspire some of you in love with wine farm weddings to consider an autumn date for your big day. I mean, just look how gorgeous it is, right? It’s also shot by two of my favourite photographers, Luis and Kerry of Piteira Photography. Kerry is a homegrown South African lass who met her husband Luis when they were working on board a cruise ship. They are the cutest. They’re based in Portugal for most of the year, but you can catch them during the summer months in Cape Town, so if you’re still on the hunt for a photographer, give them a call. Read more

Page 2 of 4712345...102030...Last »