Nov 7
by Studio Sol
Aqua & Rose was inspired by one of our most popular boards, and uses colour combination of the moment, aqua and pink. It’s a tribute to all things beachy, but is still sophisticated for a traditional bride and an up-market venue. It’s perfect for a classic beach wedding, or for a destination wedding with the sand between your toes!
Aug 16
You know what, I’m just going to say this (even though I know one day I may totally regret it). I love involved grooms. Yes, I know it’s tempting to be all “You know what honey, I’ll just organise everything because you don’t care about what colour flowers we go for, do you? You just pay.” In fact, I know this works for a lot of grooms, as well as brides, who already feel like they need to please their moms and moms-in-law and a variable army of aunts, uncles, friends and suppliers who have big fat opinions on your big fat wedding that you simply must take on board. I used to think the best system was for the groom to just have the power of veto. But writing this blog, I’ve been surprised and delighted at how keen some of the grooms are. (Keen as sleen, as my friend Abigail would say.) Admittedly, it’s often the most creative grooms who get most involved, and today’s is one of them. He kicked things off with one of the most creative, handmade, and truly South African two-part proposals I’ve ever seen, and then he and his talented bride designed and made everything for their Simon’s Town beach wedding. And you guys, it is beautiful. So heartfelt, and with such attention to detail – my best kind of wedding basically. Plus, Lizelle Lotter has absolutely triumphed with these photos, so light and airy and romantic that I could look at them all day. So grabba cuppa, and prepare to swoon. Read more
Jun 6
Happy Monday, lovelies! I have so much goodness coming your way this week, it’s going to be like awesome real wedding palooza. But first, I have a very special inspiration board. This one was created especially for bride-to-be Chantel, who wrote to me for some help a couple of weeks ago. Chantel wanted a pretty, romantic look for her wedding at a beachside venue, and she wanted lots of white and aqua for her bridesmaids, but she wasn’t sure if she should introduce any other colours. Although aqua and white on their own are lovely, I always think the addition of another colour adds more dimension and gives you more options when you’re sorting out your details, so I sent Chantel a few different options. There’s so much that goes with aqua – coral, lemon yellow, pretty taupe neutrals, for example – but Chantel and her hubby-to-be’s favourite was a mixture of aqua with rosy pink tones, inspired by the gorgeous image top left. So here’s the rest of what I came up with – light, clean and very romantic!
The key to a look like this is to base everything on a white on white palette, so that you don’t overuse the bright pink and aqua shades – you can also bring in a bit of grey or silver to help. Chantel wondered if a grey or silver damask may work for the tablecloths, and it would, but I think only if it was very subtle (as lovely as damask is, it can really dominate when used in black and white, for example). I’d suggest runners or square overlays as an alternative, and for this palette you could use pretty Cath Kidston-style prints like the pattern seen below from photographer Christine Meintjes’ gorgeous aqua and pink wedding. To bring in the aqua on the tables, I love the idea of using milk glass (or, if not actual milk glass, then glass containers spraypainted white and differing shades of aqua as in the original picture). So pretty! I also added in some beachy touches with shells and starfish, or you could get hold of some pretty white urchin shells or similar, just for a little bit of beach appeal (starfish may make a lovely motif for a romantic beachside wedding). Another place to bring aqua in is in the bride’s shoes (love these ones!) – another pretty little pop of colour alongside the bridesmaids’ dresses, without going overboard. Keep everything soft, especially the flowers (thinking peonies, roses, carnations - maybe with a few anemones for extra visual interest). I also think the ombre trend I spoke about last week works beautifully here – in invitations that have a beachy, washed out look, in pretty cake slices, and in pink flowers that graduate from deep pink to pale pink. For a final, beachy fun touch, have an ice cream bar where guests can create their own cones or sundaes at cocktail hour (or late at night). Or why not try the absolute latest trend and have classy jelly shots instead?
So here you go! Hope you like your board Chantel, and that it’s a good starting point for your ideas!
Colours: Aqua, pink, white, grey
Top row (l-r): Milk glass containers with flowers; Vera Wang wedding dress (Jose Villa); shell with napkins; bride & groom (Nakai Photography)
Row 2: Valentino aqua shoes; starfish place setting (Mike Adrian Photography); table decor (Julie Lim); milk glass vases (Shay Cochrane); pink ombre cake; beach hair style (First Comes Love Photo)
Row 3: Wedding party; aqua ombre invitation; pink flowers; ice cream cones
Apr 26
When you think ‘Spring’, what do you think of? A host of golden daffodils? Too right, Will Wordsworth. Daffodils are just about the most Springey flower I know, with their fresh yellow colour and buttery soft petals. I heart them big time. And I know Easter’s over, but when I started putting this yellow and aqua inspiration board together this morning, those symbols of happiness and new life kept sneaking in there. I think this would make a gorgeous theme for a Spring wedding in South African September or an Easter wedding in April, with just the prettiest flowers on the block. Hope it gives you a smile this morning if you’re back at work (I’m not! Woo!) and that whatever you got up to this long weekend you had a lovely one! :)
Colours: Yellow, aqua and white
Top row (l-r): Daffodils in aqua glass; San Pellegrino Lemon drinks; egg basket; wedding dress (Jose Villa)
Row 2: Yellow shoes; lemon place setting (Hugh Forte); Easter chick (Abby Jiu); aqua bridesmaid’s dresses (Jenna Davis Photography)
Row 3: Couple with yellow baloons (Adam LeSage Photography); aqua Hunter wellies; daffodil bouquet; blue and yellow cake bunting; flower girl (Girl Friday Weddings)
Feb 15
Yaaaaay! We’re back with Part 2 of the Swan Wedding reveal!! So exciting!
A get-away car was not something I ever really thought much of, but when my mom sent me a photo of this beautiful old cream Citroen, Dirk’s and my hearts were completely set on it. What I didn’t know, was that my awesome brother and his wonderful girlfriend created special bunting (which matched the rest of our wedding perfectly) as a surprise pressie for us. Awesome, right!?! Aw, they even added a Just Married Emergency Kit filled with some munchies and Red Bull so that we could regain our energy for the ‘Groot Partytjie’ (for our English-speaking readers this means “big party” – while being engaged Dirk and I never spoke of ‘Our Wedding’ but always called it ‘Our Big Party’) which was to follow!
In terms of decor, we brought in more neutral tones in the reception area, with gorgeous French linen runners from Domaine du Cap in Paarl and whitewashed crates filled with white flowers. The pops of red, were created by filling brown paper bags with delicious bright cherries. Nom nom! I also made sure the menus and place names added that touch of colourful fun to the dining table, and Dirk’s and my ‘mascot’, a cardboard deer trophy we lovingly call Mumford, took centre stage at the bridal table.
We were dead set on our guests having a brilliant time. For Dirk, that means great music, so together with our ‘third Muskateer’ he spent time compiling the perfect playlist for our Big Party. It meant so much to us hearing all our favourite songs and we got the people dancing to classic hits such as Brother Louis. Even our uncles and aunts were on the dancefloor!
Being traditionalists at heart, we also added all the conventional thrills such as bouquet tossing, garter scrambling and even had activity boards prompting our guest to interact with the speeches by singing the traditional songs such as “Kinders by dosyne” and “Lank sal hul lewe” (basically the Afrikaans versions of “Jolly good fellow”).
A detail which definitely had the guests reaching for more was our cookie buffet. You see, I love a good cookie, so we decided that we would swap desert for a cookie buffet which doubled up as a favour too. I baked dozens of mouth-watering yummies (think, toffee caramel and gingerbread couples!). Annari from Nelle Cakes made the most beautiful hearts and zoo biscuits. Friends and family pitched in, and Delsma added delicious white chocolate wedding cupcakes until we had a table heaving with goodness. My brother hand silkscreened hundreds of cookie bags and Dirk’s sister gave us the wooden Bride and Groom topper as a gift.
I made a conscious effort to take every moment in – I didn’t want the day to fly by as so many people had said it would. And it was funny, the day felt exceptionally long (in a better than good way!) and I can remember so many mind blowing moments in absolute detail: the exchange of the ‘this is it’ with my maid of honour just before walking into the church, Dirk’s face when my dad and I walked down the aisle, the exuberant shower of popcorn once we could say we are now Mr and Mrs, all the hugs and kisses when we welcomed the guests at our pre-drinks area, the applause walking into the reception hall, our first dance as newlyweds…
But when asked what was my absolute favourite moment, I cannot say. If pushed I will say that walking down the aisle was it – tears were streaming down Dirk’s face, the music was overwhelmingly beautiful (a good friend played ‘Comptine d’un Autre ete: l’apres midi’ from the soundtrack of my favourite movie, Amelie, on the piano) and I was so aware of being surrounded by all the people we love and cherish. But even better was the moment I realized just how amazingly loved Dirk and I are: probably 70% of the guests flew all the way from Gauteng to attend our special day, Dirk’s parents drove over 1700km with their car filled to the brim with ‘wedding’ and never complained even once, my parents who enabled everything – they would have moved the earth if we had asked them to! My brother hand silkscreened the cookie bags, played courier, played driver and together with his girlfriend, Marike, make over a 100m of bunting; my aunt probably baked 300 custard cookies (if not more!). I can carry on forever about all the love we felt the weekend of our Swan Wedding – my good friend even flying from London just to be there, Dirk’s aunt who took so much care with the flowers, all the hands that helped set up (you guys rule!) and all the beautiful words of encouragement on the night (and re-felt when opening the mountain of gifts and beautiful cards). It was all pretty overwhelming, but amazing and I know I felt like the luckiest girl alive.
From Dirk, the groom (yes, we finally let him speak!):
Funny how the big day just creeps up on you, although you’ve planned for it for such a long time in advance. I will never ever forget the sight of Anelle and her father coming down the aisle. That image is burnt into my memory forever and it’s one of my favourites for sure. Looking so elegant and beautiful, I saw my friend, my love, and my life from now on. I couldn’t be happier. Although I cried (a little bit), our wedding was all about being comfortable and having a blast with all our friends and family. It felt special to sit alongside my ever smiling lawfully wedded wifey, as well as my old and new family at the main table, taking it all in, sharing in the culmination of so much planning and preparation which I experienced first-hand. That, and getting to contribute to what was definitely a fantastic celebration, with all of my friends down in the “Boland” which I now call home, having fun and laughs until the wee hours of the morning. I look at all these pictures and I can honestly say it is EXACTLY how I experienced the whole day and evening. A great day and evening indeed.
Dirk and Anelle: You guys… THANK YOU for sharing your wedding journey with all of us. It’s been a privilege. I couldn’t be happier for you, or wish you more love and joy in your lives together. xx
Service providers:
Venue & catering: Delsma Farm
Photography: welovepictures
Stationery: Seven Swans
Flowers: Anette van Brauershaven
Bride’s dress: Lunar
Bride’s shoes: Trenery
Earrings: Ida Elsje
Groom’s suit: Sesto Sento (Willowbridge Mall)
Wedding bands: Ivan Bancroft
Groom and groomsmen’s rosettes: Hill’s Rosettes contact Sue Eveleigh (eveleigh@mweb.co.za)
Hair: Riana Ehlers
Makeup: Iza Loubser
Wedding Car: Kontrei Toere
Bunting: Me Thinks (Marike Jordaan)
Cookies: Nelle Cakes
Feb 15
I once had a boyfriend who woke me up on my birthday with champagne for breakfast, a very generous Harrods voucher, and the promise of a day of shoe shopping. That was pretty exciting. I kind of feel the same today, because I’ve been anticipating this wedding (along with many of you) for so long! Today I can finally reveal in all its splendour the wedding of our real life bride, Anelle Mostert of Seven Swans, who kept us wrapped up in her planning process and inspiration for much of last year without ever giving away too many of her wedding secrets (you can read the full series here). When Anelle and I first came up with the idea of Real Life Bride (Swan Wedding), I had no idea just how much enthusiasm and effort she would put into her posts, or that she would become a dear friend. And you guys, she made THE. most. beautiful. bride. She and her handsome husband, Dirk, look like a pair of rockstars and I am just blown away by all of the amazing details as you’ll see from their pictures. And oh, the pictures. Not only is this one of my favourite weddings ever, not only am I thrilled to bring you the big reveal, but I also get to feature images from the absolutely incredible welovepictures (happy dance!). Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you know Travis and Maike are big news in wedding photography (not just in South Africa) and they have knocked this one for a six. Seriously, I could go on and on, because their collective eye is just BEYOND… and more than that, sheer joy just shines out from their pictures. But I’m pretty sure they must be getting bored of hearing how amazing they are. It’s kind of a given at this point. So I’ll cut through the luvviness and just say wowthesepicsarestunning, and thank you so much Travis and Maike! Ok, here we go. (The post is in two parts with a FULL breakdown by Anelle, based loosely around the categories of her previous posts) so make sure to check back after lunch for LOTS more!
I was so glad we decided to get married in the picturesque small town, Riebeeck Kasteel. Our guests loved the laid back vibe and made the most of it by going on wine, cheese and olive tastings. We also had a welcome party at Baa Baa Black Sheep the night before the wedding (which is awesome if your guests come from far away as it means you get to spend just a little bit more time with friends and family).
I decided against wearing a veil at all as I didn’t like the traditional ‘unveiling at the alter’ bit and while I thought I was going to wear a gorgeous headpiece I decided against that too after Riana Ehlers and I did our hair trial. I wanted a very natural look, so windswept hair with a loose plat running down the left felt just right. Instead of adding detail to my hair, I wore the most gorgeous earrings, made by the wonderful Ida Elsje to add just that little bit of kapow to an otherwise understated look. Oh gosh, and I never ever told our readers that I actually bought my wedding dress right off the shelf at Lunar! I loved how the top layer of soft netting felt as if I was walking in clouds and the organic cotton meant I was comfortable (and cool!) the entire evening (exactly what I had wanted all along. And the best part? I wore simple flip flops from Trenery, which meant no sore feet, no blisters and absolutely WAY too much dancing!
As far as my boy (oh, my husband now!) goes, it was a whole different story altogether. Getting him a suit was just a bit of a nightmare as he initially wanted a light grey suit. Just as we finally found it (I did mention four malls, remember??) a whole lot of things went wrong with the alteration and eventually we decided to just go with a black suit. But, he did look oh-so-snazzy for his bride, so in the end all’s well that ends well, I suppose. We also had giant rosettes made up in our wedding colours for the groom and his best men – fun fun fun! :)
But one of my favourite things was probably my maid of honour’s dress. You see, she has bluer than blue eyes, a light complexion and blond hair. PERFECT for wearing the bright blue of our wedding and might I say, she looked ravishing! To tie in with the guys, we added lots of detail in blue and red to the neckline of her dress. Oh, I just LOVED it! She didn’t even need a bouquet and had her hands free to help me with spare tissues, grabbing my bouquet and all the rest. And her mom made the dress… ah, perfection!
Looking back at our wedding day, the venue (Delsma Farm) really did set the tone for what we wanted to achieve. They happily obliged my decorating whims and allowed me total freedom to make up their venue just as I pleased. We could also do this on the Friday, which helps a lot in terms of planning (and ensures a fresh bride, come wedding day!). Plenty of our guests stayed on the farm and with some people only leaving the party at 5am (!!) a few extra mattresses were pulled out from under beds to make sure no-one drove when they really shouldn’t. They had cosy fires going on the stoep (veranda), delicious catering and the friendly owner even played barman to our guests into the wee hours of the morning.
Dirk was actually the one who suggested the red and blue colour scheme and it proved absolutely perfect in creating just the fun, spontaneous and relaxed atmosphere we were looking for. The only tricky bit, was that I couldn’t imagine filling the beautiful, traditional church with all these bright colours. Solution? I added no colour to the church – only white and light grey pinwheels with white ribbon detail to decorate the aisles and the programs were also done in grey and white. Only once all our guests moved outside for the confetti celebration, were they met with blue and red bunting on the church railings and bright red mini popcorn boxes with the words ‘Gooi Mielies’ on them (for those who don’t know, this saying loosely translates as “haul ass”, but it also refers to popcorn as the Afrikaans for popcorn is ‘springmielies’… therefore literally “throw popcorn”). On the way to the venue we stationed bright red direction boards to ensure no guest got lost along the way and once they were inside Delsma, the gardens were bursting with colour. I loved the pre drinks area with its bright bunting, the Bashews bottles with distinctive red labels hanging from the trees, red and white striped straws and hay bales with checkered red blankets. Fill it up with people drinking Pimms and homemade lemonade and you get plenty of belly laughs and general good times!
Click here for Part 2!!
Oct 19
For those of you who follow our inspiration boards here on Cap Classique, you’ll know that aqua is a big colour crush for me at the moment. So you won’t be surprised that I was attracted to this pretty, classic wedding photographed by the super nice Mark Engelbrecht, who was kind enough to send it over a few weeks back. I love that it has loads of sweet personal touches, without trying too hard, and a sort of dreamy serene quality that’s a combination of Mark’s style and a bride and groom who were completely happy and relaxed. Thank you to both of them for opening their hearts to share their day with us! Enjoy!
Oct 18
Something fun for today’s board! Circus and carnival elements are big news in weddings right now, and if you’re looking for something light hearted and whimsical and don’t mind going a bit non-traditional, this could be perfect for you. It’s certainly something your guests will be talking about for years! You can have a lot of fun with the stationery elements as well as the snacks – serve popcorn, candy floss, toffee apples and ice cream, and set up a pick ‘n mix with all kinds of sweets for guests to pick from. Hire a tent if you can, and go crazy with bunting and balloons. This is definitely one wedding where you’ll want to set up a photobooth with plenty of fun props (my favourite are these animal masks!) In short, maximum fun! (Although one thing I’d avoid if I were you are the clowns. As Carrie Bradshaw said, “Nothin’ scarier than a clown”…)
Colours: Aqua, red, touches of gold
Top row (l-r): Circus sign; biscuits; ice cream and drink; circus tent
Row 2: Carousel horse; engagement shoot; menu; bridal party
Row 3: Popcorn cupcakes; decor; moustache sticks; animal masks; favour bags.
Oct 4
This weekend I’ve been having a play around with the colours included in the Pantone spring colour lineup - love all of them! There are endless combinations to consider for your wedding, all fresh and pretty and effortlessly current. This is one of my favourites (and so easy to use) - trendy aqua always makes an impact, especially against the palest of pinks, and russet provides a great neutral contrast. It works perfectly with pretty garden wedding details, cupcakes, chandeliers, ruffles and, of course, peonies. (Will I ever get tired of these? Don’t think so!) Just add guests and sunshine for the perfect, laid back, happy day.
Colours: Blue Curacao, Silver Peony, Russet
Top row (l-r): Bridesmaids; peony bouquet; chandeliers
Row 2: Cupcakes, Just Married banner; aqua mason jars; chandelier invitation; aqua shoes
Row 3: Flower girl moustaches; bride & groom; dancing shoes; outside reception.
Sep 6
This week’s board is inspired by the gorgeous Miss Dior Cherie advert (top left) – with its pretty pastels and Parisian backdrop it makes the perfect starting point for a chic and whimsical wedding. Balloons are also bang on trend, with many couples already inspired by the movie Up! Finish the look with dashes of cerise, pale pink and aqua – and don’t forget the macaroons!
Colours: Pastels plus aqua, pale pink and cerise
Top row (l-r): Miss Dior advert; cake; bridesmaid; macaroon placecard holders; bubbles
Row 2: ‘Nothing is real but dreams and love’; Parisian details; cupcakes with flags
Row 3: Flowers; groom details; bride and groom with balloons; bunting table assignments; interior decor
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