Inspiration Board: Ascot Opening Day

I’M BACK!! Hello lovely friends, I’m delighted to return to you this fine morning. This last morning of my old life, where I’ll make my last journey to Oxford on the train. (Boy, can I ever not wait to see the back of that train.) From tomorrow, I’ll be starting a new chapter, and Paddington will be just a bear and not the station I spend half my life waiting in. I’m terrified, I’m excited, I’m nervous, I’m relieved. But most of all, I’m ready. And I can’t WAIT for the next part of the journey. In the next few weeks I’ll be starting to introduce some new features to you, I’ll be making some big announcements, and ultimately, I’ll be introducing you to the new website. This morning, as I look back on a great five years of my career, I honestly feel that the best is yet to come.

For today, we have some fabulous inspiration, in the form of a board inspired by one of my FAVOURITE movie scenes. (Well, sort of.) I mean, the black and white Ascot Gavotte scene in My Fair Lady is beautiful, not just because it has Audrey Hepburn being Audrey Hepburn in it, but because all the dresses and set were designed by the incredible Cecil Beaton. (Unfortunately, I hate musicals, so as long as it’s on mute, we’re all okay.) Add the lightest pearly pink, and you have a design that is thoroughly modern and absolutely perfect for an elegant (possibly vineyard) wedding. Don’t you just love it? Smashing. Positively dashing.

Don’t forget to come back later to see more yummy inspiration from our real life bride, Cheryl.

Colours: Black & white, blush pink

Top row (l-r): Parisian stripes ceremony arch (Simple Splendor Photography); blush pink bridesmaids’ dresses (Anastasia Photography); oysters (Flory Photo); ceremony chairs (Adam Barnes Photo)
Row 2: Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady; blush pink, black and white invitation suite (sugar paper); crowd from Ascot scene in My Fair Lady
Row 3: Black & white macaroon tower; shoes (Studio Impressions); wedding dress with stripe sash

Inspiration Board: Berries & Stripes

I’m just going to go ahead and say it: I LOVE today’s inspiration board. It started with the image top left, and has grown into a board I want to put on my party best and climb inside of. Because how can you not love the marriage of city sophistication and wine farm charm? Classic elements like swirly calligraphy invitations, white roses, chandeliers and a gleaming getaway car mix perfectly with softer country touches – hypericum berries, a wedding signpost, dining under the vines. Serve guests a choice of champagne or this swish gold take on mason jar cocktails during pre-dinner drinks, and wow everyone with a beautiful, sophisticated cake (from local caketress Roxanne Floquet). I love the way that the grey pinstripes bring everything together, and the palette of grey, black, white and gold with little pops of berry red smacks of sophistication. Of course, a swish bride deserves a swish dress, and I’m totally obsessed with this one! Like I say: I love all of it. Hope you do too!

Colours: Grey, black, white, gold and red

Top row (l-r): Red hypericum boutonniere (Andy Duback); wedding car with gifts (Jose Villa); wine bottle table numbers (Missy Cochran); grey striped ribbon bouquet wraps (Cari Photography)
Row 2: Calligraphy letterpress invitations; gold shoes (Jose Villa); wedding signpost (So Happi Together/Gabriel Ryan); gold mason jar with stripey straw; champagne with berries
Row 3: Bride & groom (Yvette Roman); rose bouquet with red hypericum berries (Stephanie Hunter Photography); cake with ribbon and crown details (Roxanne Floquet); vineyard chandelier tables (Jose Villa).

Real Wedding at 401 Rozendal {Woutrine & Tate}

Winner winner, chicken dinner! Today is a good day. There are actually quite a lot of reasons for that, but I can only tell you two of them right now. One, I have a new home! Wooo! It’s a little further into suburbia, but in return for leaving my beloved Putney behind I get my own little home office. Which, as a blogger (and hell, as a Londoner), is seriously exciting. And also, there’s a trampoline in the garden, which I will no doubt make use of after a couple of glasses of chenin. Two, I have a faaaabulous wedding to share with you from the wonderful folks at the Aleit Group. Their features always rate amongst my most viewed, and it’s no surprise, since they’re full of panache and pretty details. Enter Woutrine and Tate, who not only combined romantic and strikingly modern into one gorgeous package, but chose to brand their wedding with a beautiful monogram and used it everywhere. I can’t say this enough times: you cannot go wrong with branding your wedding. It’s memorable, it ties your whole look together, and it actually saves a lot of deliberation over the smaller details. Woutrine and Tate’s letterpress monogram was pure class – I especially love how it turned up on napkins, giant screens, you name it. Their decor (OMG, strelitzias!) also fit perfectly into the incredible 401 Rozendal – what a find! Love the fusion of rustic, sophisticated ballroom details and even a little modern/industrial – it works amazingly, doesn’t it? I’m expecting to see a lot more from this venue. Pictures are by the talented Jan Hendrik.Read More

Real Wedding at the Mowbray Golf Club {Celeste & Aiden}

Woohoo! Holly holly holiday! How I do love a few days off. Hope whatever you’re doing, that you have a brilliant one. And here to continue the festivities, is the third wedding for this week (and it’s a city wedding, which I always love!). Celeste and Aiden chose to have a super slick modern soiree in classic black and white at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town and Mowbray Golf Club. Think black glass, silver plates, a touch of damask. Bridesmaids in elegant black dresses and a gorgeous orchid bouquet. All you need is Frankie Sinatra crooning That’s Life in the corner and you have a swingin’ celebration any hipster would be proud of. Which shouldn’t be a surprise, really, since Aiden happens to be the creative director at GQ South Africa. Celeste is a doctor. Talk about a power couple! The fabulous pictures were taken by Toni and Desmond of Desmond Louw Photography. Enjoy!Read More

Parisian Stripes

Oh, I do like a trend! It’s no secret that stripes have been all over the catwalks recently, and they’ve been showing up in subtle wedding details and especially in stationery for a while. But recently I’ve noticed a lot of bold black and white stripes showing up on tables, including in yesterday’s gorgeous featured wedding, and I couldn’t help but wonder, are stripes the new damask? It’s true that they have the same magic of allowing pops of colour to really stand out against a black and white print. And they have the added bonus of a bit of Parisian ooh la la. Aaaand they perfectly walk that narrow line between bold and sophisticated. In fact, I can’t think of a single reason not to love them!

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