decor - SouthBound Bride

Enamelware Wedding Details

19 November, 2014 by gaby

Afternoon, brideys! You know how I’m always on the lookout for details that add a uniquely South African twist to your big day, so while today’s roundup isn’t a trend as such, it’s definitely a fun local-is-lekker addition to your decor and one that I’m seeing quite a few South African brides incorporate beautifully. Enamel tin mugs are a relatively inexpensive piece of tableware we’re all familiar with, but did you know you can pretty them up to make a fab wedding detail? Whether it’s as an escort card or favour (with or without the addition of a candle or a little plant inside), an addition to your table decor (at each place setting or as a centrepiece, especially if you include the enamelware kettles and pots in your scheme), or just a sweet way of serving drinks during cocktail hour or a late night coffee or hot chocolate bar, they’re sure to make your guests smile. My favourite place to buy the mugs for your wedding is The Perfect Day, who can custom engrave them with your design and sell at a bulk price for 48 mugs, making them perfect for favours. Here are some of my favourite ideas for using them.Read More

20 Ways to Incorporate Lavender Into Your Wedding

5 November, 2014 by gaby

With summer fast approaching, it’s time to start thinking about summer blooms, and one of my absolute favourites is lavender. This pretty, fragrant (and yay, relatively inexpensive) bloom is a regular feature in wedding design, and it never fails to hit the pretty buttons for me! So today I thought I would round up 20 gorgeous lavender wedding ideas – pick your favourites and adapt or reproduce to add some lavender loveliness to your own big day.Read More

Gold Leaf Wedding Ideas

25 September, 2014 by gaby

*UPDATED FOR 2021* As you know by now, I love nothing like I love a little sparkle, and recently I have been absolutely loving the little gold foil and gold leaf wedding details that I’ve seen popping up, especially those that have an imperfect textured look. So soft and pretty! Gold foil is, quite simply, a thin sheet of gold, while gold leaf is even thinner. They can be used in printing (see our roundup of gold foil invitations here) or applied to objects for a gilded, luxurious finish. This is also quite a versatile technique, and can be incorporated anywhere from gold foil cakes and table décor to a bold gold leaf bridal makeup look, or even a wedding dress of veil with handpainted gold leaf detailing. Swoonage! Here are some of my favourite gold leaf wedding details to inspire you.

*Links in bold denote affiliate links. The cost to you remains the same, but SBB may receive a commission for any sales made.

Yarn, String & Macrame Wedding Ideas

21 August, 2014 by gaby

Afternoon, lovelies! It’s time for us to round up another little trend that’s been raising it’s sweet, craft-friendly face in weddings recently. Have you noticed how many variations on knitting yarn, crochet, macrame and string have been making an appearance? It’s got that retro ’70s chic to it, and as I mentioned, it’s super DIY friendly – from macrame hangings and backdrops to string art, to balls of wool or thread-wrapped table numbers, this is a way to bring something new and different to your wedding design that you’ve made yourself. Here are some of my favourite yarn, string and macrame wedding ideas, as well as some gorgeous macrame wedding details I found for sale on Etsy!

*Links in bold denote affiliate links. The cost to you remains the same, but SBB may receive a commission for any sales made.

Ten Tables: Travel Theme {Part 2}

12 April, 2014 by gaby

Pack your bags! It’s time for us to take another trip to the magical land of lovely wedding tables, with the second part of our Ten Tables special on travel-themed wedding tablescapes. Love it! As always, I’ve broken down some of my favourite tables from real weddings and styled shoots into their easy-to-make-your-own components. Along with DIYs and top tips. Because that’s just how we roll. If you’d like to see all the pretty tables from Part 1, you can find it right here.

Table #1: Gorgeous Globetrotter

SUGGESTED FLOWERS: Baby’s breath

Supplier Spotlight: Blooming Wonderful

11 April, 2014 by gaby

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE getting packages in the mail. Best. Thing. Ever. So when a package turned up in my postbox recently with my name on it, instructing me to ‘open the box and shout hooray because this is your special day’, it put a huge smile on my face before I’d even opened it (if you follow SBB on Instagram, you will have seen all the adorable goodies that were inside). The box came from Blooming Wonderful, a creative husband and wife team based in Somerset West. Their business, which has stationery, a shop and a decor hire ‘wing’, is kind of a one-stop-shop of awesomeness, and full of the quirky little touches that I know brides and grooms are always looking for.Read More

Bicycle Bride #4: The Decor

3 March, 2014 by gaby

Pinterest is an amazing tool when planning your wedding. The possibilities and inspiration are endless and it’s highly unlikely that the virtual pin board won’t have at least a few images or posts on something you’ve entered in its search engine.

However, Pinterest can be highly addictive, and when it comes to wedding planning, it’s not always a good thing. I’ve had more than a year to decide on my decor elements for the wedding (I say “my”, because Du Toit is not interested in decor at all, and the few inputs he did try to make made no sense to me, and were thus instantly discarded…) and yet it is only now, three weeks before the big day, that I can finally say that I’ve decided on the decor for the wedding.

See, I’ve been on Pinterest practically every evening since we got engaged, and my real Pinterest board (I’ve only shared my board with shortlisted ideas) is out of control with more than 600 images! I literally changed my mind at least every week, with the result that I now have to scramble to get things done in time. Confessions of a Last Minute Crammer!

Ten Tables: Beach {Part 2}

22 January, 2014 by gaby

Hello lovelies! How did you enjoy Part 1 of our beach wedding tables series last week? Which was your favourite? Today we’re back with five more, and I hope you love them as much as I do! As before, I have broken each one down into its key components and shared my suggestions for recreating the look, including tips for budget and DIY brides. Each of these tables is different and would of course suit a different kind of beach reception (or can be adapted for a non-beach reception, if you take out some of the seaside elements like shells), but the main thing to notice is how they are built up layer by layer. That way, you can go out in search of your own lovely finds and bargains, and create your own perfect wedding table.

Table #1: Beach Blush

FLOWERS: Roses, dahlias, succulents, hare’s tail

Fairytale Bride #5: The Decor

20 January, 2014 by gaby

This has been by far the absolute BEST part of planning this wedding for me. Just thinking about it, my heart begins to beat that little bit faster and my eyes start twinkling. I think what I’m loving the most out of the experience of planning a wedding so far, (apart from the fact that this is the most beautiful ‘joint’ project Rob and I have been able to work on), is the fact that it allows me to be SO creative. It allows me to find joy in the detail and get excited about the smallest little things, which is what will ultimately make the day memorable and special! I cannot wait to share this creativity that has been stirred up inside of me in that final blog post so that it leaves other lovely ladies inspired, smiling and dreaming big.

Escort card inspiration:

Ten Tables: Beach {Part 1}

14 January, 2014 by gaby

Our Ten Tables series is back, hooray! For those of you who didn’t catch the rustic tables (Part 1 & Part 2) last year, the idea of the series is to break down different tables along a specific theme into their components so that you can see what EXACTLY goes into creating a look. You can pick your favourite and treat it as a shopping list, or mix and match elements you like and add your own touches. You’ll also be amazed at how many of the details can be DIYed or included on a budget, and I’ve detailed those as well wherever possible. This time, we’re all about beach weddings. Now, let me be clear – I don’t necessarily think that if you are having a beach wedding or a wedding at a beach venue, you need to have a beach themed table. You don’t need to have shells, or driftwood, or boats. You don’t even have to have a nautical colour scheme. So if you don’t like those things, you go ahead and create a table that would work at any venue. But if you want to add a song of the sea to your decor, each of these tables is a classy and pretty way to do it.

UPDATE: You can find Part 2 here.

Table #1: Beach Ombre

FLOWERS: Air plants, succulents, hyacinth, thistle, lisianthus, scabiosa pods, privet berries