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Posts tagged ‘grey’

May 24

H&G feature image
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Real Wedding at the Mount Nelson Hotel {Heide & Greg}

When I was in high school, I used to spend the afternoons at my mother’s office. At some point I discovered a second hand bookshop down the road, where I used to spend a fair amount of browsing time. And, you know, I have a literature degree, so I’m a little embarrassed to admit that they weren’t stocked with Shakespeare, but rather row upon row of Harlequin Romance. So unfortunately, I’m qualified to tell you that two doctors in love? Is straight out of a romance novel. This particular love story has a sweet beginning, an enviable proposal, and a beautiful wedding captured perfectly by new-to-SBB photographer Moira West. Heide had me at hello with that pearl headband, but the iconic Cape Town location (the Mount Nelson Hotel), the carnation bridesmaid bouquets (I TOLD you they were back!), the abundance of roses and the classic pink and grey colour scheme had more than enough to keep me interested, right through to the happy ending. Read more

Nov 14

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Inspiration Board: Dandelion Days

Good morning friends! Hope you had a fab weekend! Mine was good – I had the privilege of spending yesterday with a group of fantastic wedding industry people assisting on a shoot for my friend Louise of (aka @bijouxbride). Lots of hard work, but it was so fun, and I can’t wait to see the pictures. I know there are a lot of people who don’t like inspiration shoots, but for me, they’re a great way to pull together an idea (like a mood board, but on a bigger scale) and I know they’re where I get a lot of the ideas I use in my boards. Plus, they’re great for table settings, which I know brides struggle with sometimes. What do you think? Love ‘em or hate ‘em?

Anyway, on to today’s board. While it’s gone very cold and grey in London town, I know everyone in South Africa is on the other side of the spring/autumn equation, so I thought I would bring you a lovely spring palette to enjoy. A lot of brides shy away from yellow because it’s such a strong colour, but if canary yellow is too bold and mustard is too yellow, consider a soft pastel lemon. Combined with pale green and grey, it’s fresh and flattering, and it brought to mind for me the pretty gardeny side of the Kate Moss nuptials – a traditional church, lots of little flowergirls in white, wildflowers. Add in yellow shoes and a polka dot dress, plus of course a little hair braid (because we do love braids, don’t we!). And if you like the lovely invitations pictured here by my clever friends at Brancoprata, you can download the template for free right here. Perfect, non?

Colours: Pale yellow, green and soft grey

Top row (l-r): Bride & groom (Jose Villa); yellow shoes (Christine Meintjes); polka dot dress; frosted lemons (A. Hana Design); lemonade
Row 2: Dessert table (Amy Atlas); invitation (Brancoprata); macaroon ring shot (Kim Mendoza Photography); vintage car (Photogen Inc.)
Row 3: Dandelion; bridesmaid (Katelyn James); braided updo; flower girls; pretty church from Kate Moss Wedding (Mario Testino/Vogue)

Sep 29

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Real Wedding at Kleinevalleij {Candy & Nic}

Well bake me a cake and call me Martha. If this isn’t one of the sweetest weddings! Sweet like sugar. Sweet like candy! ;) Candy and Nic chose one of the breeziest venues in the Cape (the light, bright, white-washed Kleinevalleij) and the loveliest of colour schemes (grey and pink, which I still heart bigtime), and created a little piece of heaven for their family and friends. There were pretty shoes, and ribbons, and a fairytale dress, and roses, and sugar and spice and all things nice. And proteas, you guys. I never get sick of looking at them, and I adore the table arrangements and bouquets in this wedding. I also LOVE the little fabric hearts on each chair, and the way that the wooden fan favours have been integrated into the place settings. Not to mention the lovely stationery, designed by the bride herself. And here’s the kicker – absolutely BEAUTIFUL photographs by Jani B. It is, quite simply, the kind of wedding that little girls dream about. Oh, and Nic – seriously awesome proposal skills, dude. You should give seminars. Read more

Sep 19

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Inspiration Board: Tales of the Jazz Age

Good morning lovelies! How was your weekend? I had a crazy busy one, and yesterday I got to hang out with some seriously awesome wedding bloggers. The very fab Naomi of Enchanted Dream Weddings was in London with her husband, so a group of us TWIPS girls joined them for a tradional British afternoon tea in Central London – oh my word, holy cakiness! I could use one of those cupcakes right now. Anyway, I’ll be blogging more about that soon, but today I have a very special inspiration board, created for one of our readers. Kirsten emailed me from Melbourne, where she lives with her Aussie fiance, but is planning a wedding in San Francisco. She has the most incredible venue, the City Club of San Francisco, an art deco gem dominated by a Diego Rivera mural, and she felt that the design of her wedding should be jazz age inspired since the venue has such a strong ‘personality’. I just love her colour palette of black and white, with red and gold touches, and I’ve included lots of grey as well to add depth and keep things contemporary as well as classic since grey is such a signature colour right now. I’ve also included chevron – a big trend that resonates with art deco design. For flowers, calla lilies are popular jazz age motifs, and of course I had to have a dress and headpiece from Aussie designer Johanna Johnson - swoon! I also tried to incorporate San Francisco into the board, and the customised art deco poster from Alexander & Co. is beyond perfect! I love the luggage tag place names (a little reference to how far Kirsten and her husband grew up from one another), and with one placed at each table, these collectors’ editions of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s works would make the most amazing table markers (each table name would be the name of one of the books – you’d be limited to six, though, unless you started using the short stories too). It all adds up to a super sophisticated soiree that’s classic but very much of the moment as well. Hope you like your board, Kirsten!

Colours: Black, white, grey and red, with gold and silver metallic touches

Top row (l-r): Groomsmen in braces and complementary ties (I can’t find my link to this image – if anyone knows where it’s from, please let me know!); San Francisco customised art deco poster; lilies (Sedona Bride);luggage tag place card (Megan Ann Photography)
Row 2: Chevron clutch; sparkly gold shoes; art deco earrings; chevron sequin dress; Penguin collector’s edition series: The F. Scott Fitzgerald’s; art deco stationery (Vintage Designs)
Row 3: Art Deco Woman Receiving Flowers (Lempicka style); art deco cake; deep red calla lilies; Johanna Johnson dress.

Sep 5

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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).

Aug 31

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Real Farm Wedding {Marietjie & Andre}

Back to the grindstone this week! But I can’t complain too much since it’s only a couple of months now until I’ve worked out my notice and become my own boss. My new little office is coming along nicely (thanks to a helping hand from my amazing housemates, who painted the base coats while I was away – how nice are they?) and soon Cap Classique will have a brand new command centre. And that’s not the only reason I’m so chirpy this morning – just wait until you have a look at this wedding I have been bursting to share with you! I dare you not to get a big grin on your face as you look at Cari Eksteen’s scrumptious pictures and read Andre and Marietjie’s super cute his ‘n hers commentary! They are so adorable. I love love love their grey and red colour scheme (how amazing are the red pincushion proteas with the brunia?), and the amazing attention to detail they put into the accessories for their pictures – those little pops of red that keep showing up and making me smile. And let’s not forget the shoes! Those little beauties first caught my attention and I still heart them madly. Not to mention the cake… Oh, everything! This is one example of a farm wedding done just right – enjoy! PS Fun fact: Andre’s parents are also called Andre and Marietjie – talk about meant to be! Read more

Aug 29

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Inspiration Board: Elegant Pewter

Hello lovelies! I’m back from my holiday, feeling refreshed and tanned and enjoying a last little day off for the bank holiday today. Greece was spectacular, and apart from having tonsilitis for a few days, I had the best time. And the food! Oh my word. I’ve eaten enough fresh fish, feta and calamari to feed a small Greek army. Not to mention the spectacular sunsets… Sigh. Back to reality. Of course, when reality is getting to make pretty inspiration boards for Cap Classique brides, then reality aint so bad! As you know, I just love when readers get in touch to ask for their very own inspiration boards, and today’s was created especially for Elana, who has chosen pewter and white as her colours. Elana is getting married at Dieu Donne, a stunning Franschhoek venue that is all light and glass and views and facebrick, and she wanted to create a look that was classic and elegant. Think all white flowers (with touches of fynbos), long silvery bridesmaids’ dresses, mirrors and chandeliers, with macaroons as favours. I don’t know what Elana’s planning for her dress, but I love the idea of including a brooch detail either on the dress or shoes, and picking this up with the cake later on – a subtle way of pulling everything together. But the idea that really made me excited was including suspended blossoms either above the tables or as a backdrop in a key part of the space like the dancefloor or dessert table. This is a hot trend at the moment, and it’s just the kind of quirky, memorable detail that can set the decor apart. The overall effect is beautiful and timeless. Hope you like your board, Elana!

If you’d like to request your own inspiration board, email me at capclassique {@} yahoo {dot} co {dot} uk.

Colours: Pewter & white

Top row (l-r): Rose and fynbos bouquet; bride & groom (Bowersock Photography); Badgley Mischka shoes (Amy Wellenkamp Photographers); champagne flutes (Natalie Spencer); fynbos confetti (Nikki Meyer)
Row 2: Chandelier detail at Dieu Donne (Roxy Laker); suspended blooms; ornate mirror table plan (Shoot Lifestyle); grey and white macaroons (Taylor Jackson Photography)
Row 3: View at Dieu Donne (Lizelle Lotter); hanging flowers; centrepiece (Amy Wellenkamp Photographers); bridesmaids in pewter dresses (Shoot Lifestyle); cake with brooch and ribbon detail.

Aug 8

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Inspiration Board {1 Theme 3 Ways}: Chic Safari

Happy Monday folks! We have one of my favourite features on Cap Classique this week – 1 Theme 3 Ways, where I bring you three inspiration boards around a particular theme or motif, all with very different looks. Safari style isn’t something we always associate with the Cape, since there are such spectacular bush venues around the rest of the country, but I’ve had many requests recently for safari style (more about venues later this week). In fact, one of this week’s boards was designed specifically for a reader who is considering vintage safari as her theme. But today I thought I would start with a more modern palette – one that is bang on trend in fact: green, grey, black and white. I know lots of you want to avoid the very obvious animal motifs, but I think a touch of zebra works perfectly here – just be sparing and use it wisely. I love the combination of pale green and grey bridesmaid dresses and a delicate white and green bouquet with a touch of brunia, and then bolder graphic touches like the zebra stationery and the black and white striped rosette. And this being 2011, we can’t not have a bit of sparkle – how gorgeous is this bride’s bolero? This look is ideal for a couple who want an elegant modern wedding that still has a touch of the bushveld about it, or who want to reflect elements of a game lodge setting without going overboard, and it’s very easy to achieve. I love it – what do you think?

Colours: Green, grey, black and white

Top row (l-r): Bride with sparkly bolero (onelove photography); green and grey bridesmaids’ dresses (13:13 Photography); hanging lanterns (Cari Photography); lamp with rosette (Cari Photography)
Row 2: Zebras; bouquet with roses and brunia; I Married Adventure (onelove photography); rings with stamp (Laura Ashbrook Photography)
Row 3: Bride & groom (Zara Zoo); zebra stationery suite (Paper Moss/Laura Ashbrook Photography); outdoor reception (Shanna Jones).

Jul 28

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Real Wedding at The Foodbarn {Amy & James}

One of the best pieces of advice that I’ve heard, and that I always pass on to couples in the early stages of wedding planning, is to pick three priorities together. Three things you want to make sure are exactly as you want them on your big day, no compromises, spare no expense. And then – this is the important part - let the other stuff go. If it’s not going 100% according to plan, let it go. If you can’t afford it, find a cheaper alternative. If you don’t have time to DIY it, let someone do it for you, or buy it, or do without. Prioritisation keeps you sane. I don’t know if anyone passed this little nugget on to today’s bride and groom, but they seemed to get it anyway. They’re foodies, so they chose a venue with incredible food (The Foodbarn in Noordhoek). They didn’t have time to go crazy with the decor, so they found a place that already had lots of unique and lovely design details and just added special, personal touches. They wanted to spend time with their guests, so they did a pre-ceremony shoot with photographer Nielen Bottomley. It all comes together into a beautiful, intimate wedding with a pretty pink and grey colour palette, that feels completely unforced and unhurried. I love it. And of course, I especially love that Amy used Cap Classique in her planning. We inspired her – and now she’s inspiring us! Read more

Jul 4

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Inspiration Board: Pretty in Purple

Happy 4th of July to all my American readers! Today’s board is another reader request (I’m loving how many requests I’m getting these days!) - this time from the lovely Ingrid – and I have to admit, it was a bit of a challenge. I knew exactly what I was looking for, but it wasn’t easy to find in the right colours. I’m so excited with how it turned out though, and I hope you are too, Ingrid!

When Ingrid emailed me, she knew exactly the sort of colour palette she was after for her Kleinevalleij wedding. She’d also fallen in love with the table arrangements for this unbelievable Style Me Pretty wedding, which pretty much inspired everything else. Let me break down this look a bit. The key is in its contrasts: modern paired with a bit of vintage and a touch of rustic. Succulents and silver? Shouldn’t work, but they SO do. The components – lush purple flowers (dahlias! so gorgeous!), succulents, mercury glass, wooden boxes, moss, distressed ceramics and silver. I’ve added in a few avian details and some blackboards and lilac for even more of that French country style. Doesn’t it look amazing together?

Ingrid’s bridesmaids are going to be getting their own dresses, so she wanted to make it easy for them, and chic little black numbers are a great way forward. To distinguish the girls, I suggested giving them long strings of pearls that they can all wear in a different way, but purple shoes are another alternative (Ingrid could wear sparkly and silver if she wants to stand out). I love that guests would start off with a classic black and white wedding (maybe with a couple of small purple touches in the stationery at the ceremony) and then be wowed by the whole look when they move into the reception hall. I see a lot of weddings currently at Kleinevalleij using some pretty grey/silver damask tablecloths, and these could also work brilliantly here. I don’t know about you, but I’m dying to see how this wedding turns out! (And don’t forget – if you’d like me to create a board just for you, drop me an email and let me know a bit more about what you’re looking for.)

Colours: Deep purple, lilac, grey and green

Top row (l-r): Purple bouquet (JL Designs/Marianne Lozano); silver and succulents (Stephanie Williams); printer’s tray (Stephanie Fay/Jasmine Star); feather boutonniere; lavender wreath
Row 2: Bride with succulent hair accessory (Stephanie Williams); arrangement with candles (Stephanie Fay/Jasmine Star); bird ornament (Amber Events); bridesmaids in little black dresses
Row 3: Shoes (Jani B); blackboard escort cards (Millie Holloman); signature drinks; purple envelope with calligraphy (Corbin Gurkin); distressed ceramics.

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