Tag: Real Weddings

Real Wedding at Café Felix {Leandri & Neil}

by gaby

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens… Whoa there, showtunes. But seriously readers, I can’t help but think that today’s stunning Café Felix wedding is absolutely chokka with a few of my favourite things (and yours). Lace, roses, mismatched dresses, ribbon, chalkboards, lavender, tulips, postcard luggage labels, brunia, succulents, bell jars (am I pushing your buttons yet here?), beautiful stationery, milk glass and silver, hanging birdcages. It’s like a smorgasbord of loveliness right now. Topped off, of course, with work by some of my favourite Cape service providers including bright and beautiful pictures by Adene Photography, and a sweetly smiling, clearly head-over-heels bride and groom. It’s just perfection for your Tuesday morning. So go on. Dive in. (PS You’re totally going to be singing Julie Andrews all day. Sorry!)Read More

Real Wedding at Clouds Estate {Ine & Riaan}

by gaby

Attitude, baby. It’s all about attitude. In life, in work – even in weddings. The truth is (and I need to remind myself of this a LOT), that there’s a limited amount of control you have over the material you have to work with every day, but the one thing you always have control over is how you deal with it. I don’t know today’s bride, but I feel like she gets that. She planned her Clouds Estate wedding herself (with lots of help from friends and family) and put a lot of thought and effort into the perfectly pink details (how much do I love the Mr and Mrs style favours?). But on the day, she let it all go and spent her day basking in marrying her husband and spending time with all the people she loves. You just need to take one look at her radiant smile in these absolutely gorgeous photos by Lauren Kriedemann to know that kind of attitude was working for her, and then some! So even if you usually skip the text, make sure you read it today, because Iné really has some great, down-to-earth advice!Read More

Real Wedding at the Castle of Good Hope {Kerri & Russell}

by gaby

What’s that expression about the best laid plans? Well, I had the BEST laid plans for you all this week, and one after another they’ve gone awry, largely due to the fact that we keep losing power (and then internet for hours afterwards) in my road. It’s driving me mental. Especially since I had not one but two posts almost lined up for you yesterday and another for today. BUT, patience is a virtue, and I’m doing a quick switcheroo and bringing you yesterday’s wedding today, and the other two posts next week. Bonus. Brushing all that annoyance off, I’m still SUPER excited to share this wedding with you, since it not only features a real Cape landmark but also a couple I know, which is always fun. I met Ker and Russ through my friend Belinda (one of the gorgeous bridesmaids in these pics), so I have been hearing all about this wedding from Day One. And when I saw the absolutely spectacular pictures that Judy Stofberg of Just Judy Photography had taken, I asked Kerri if I could feature their big day right here. Now castle weddings might be a dime a dozen here in the UK, but they’re a rarity down Africa way. The Castle of Good Hope, which is a wonderful historic choice as a venue, is actually the oldest colonial building in South Africa, and replaced a small fort built by Jan Van Riebeeck in the 1600s. It’s a real slice of South Africa’s cultural heritage, and just wait until you see the spectacular Cape views! I love how Kerri and Russell made the most of their venue with formal touches like the piper on the roof (seriously, how cool is that?) and the deep purple they chose as their accent colour. The great thing about choosing a backdrop like this is that you don’t need to go mental on the decor, just let your guests soak in the atmosphere.Read More

Real Wedding in Hermanus {Lizeth & Danie}

by gaby

You probably won’t even be aware of this, but there’s been a lot of debate recently in the wedding blogging community. We are, according to some commentators, way too obsessed with details, only blogging about weddings that cost thousands of dollars and are overrun with mason jars, and forgetting what weddings are really about. I’m not even engaging with that here, but if ever there were an example of a wedding that holds love at its very core, where the details and décor are crafted with care, where the day is full of happiness and laughter and the simple things in life, then this is it. Lizeth and Danie went back to basics, and planned a day full of the people and things that made them happy. A tent on a Hermanus beach. A beautiful handmade wedding dress. Bunting. Picnic baskets full of homemade food. And you know what? It’s still ridiculously pretty. So kick off your shoes, and enjoy the gorgeous pictures from Annemari Ruthven that so brilliantly capture the light and joy of this special day.Read More

Real Wedding at Rickety Bridge {Louise & Clive}

by gaby

Hello lovelies! Looking out of my office window (into my GARDEN! How cool is that?) all I can see is a beautiful mess of autumn leaves all over the lawn, but today’s wedding just smacks of freshness and sunshine and the summer sun. I haven’t had many breakfast weddings on Cap Classique yet (although it’s actually a trend I’m looking at right now for a friend), but if I had to dream one up, I couldn’t make it more perfect than this one. Louise and Clive planned their big day at Rickety Bridge all the way from Australia in just five months, which is quite an achievement in my book! They kept it simple, but all the elements of Extreme Pretty are there: bright white linens in a white marquee, fresh lemons and lavender, pretty country flowers, a ruffly dress (adore this one, by the way). It makes me want to stand up and burst into a rousing rendition of Morning has Broken. (I won’t, lucky for you.) Instead, I’ll let you sit back and enjoy the loveliness, courtesy of one of my favourite photographers, Ms Monica Dart.Read More

Real Wedding at Cloof Vineyards {Cynthia & Chris}

by gaby

Afternoon, lovelies! So, as you know, I have a total crush on being Southern. It’s all about the drawl, y’all. So you can just imagine how much I lurve this wedding, which is not only full of sweet Texan touches, but combines them with the elegance of an English garden party and the best of my beautiful home country as well. It’s just the loveliest way to do multi-cultural, ever, and full of steal-able ideas. Not to mention, fun. They had a barn dance! With hats! And sheriff badges! Could it be more adorable? Not to mention the whole long table-outdoor eating thing (Denim table runners? I die). Responsible for all this handmade prettiness is clever Southern belle Cynthia and her South African husband Chris, as well as Cynthia’s sister, who just happens to be talented photographer Julie Wilhite. I’m so excited to be able to share Julie’s gorgeous pics of a very special family celebration on this, my first day as a self-employed person (free at last, free at last) – and lucky for us, although she’s based in the US, she’s always keen to visit her sister and shoot in SA, so give her a shout if you’d like to ask about availability! I had a ball putting these pics together, and I know you’d love looking at them.Read More

Real Wedding at Chamonix {Libby & Grant}

by gaby

If you read a lot of (or even a few) wedding blogs, there are certain words you’ll hear us use again and again (and I don’t mean “breathtaking” or “amazeballs”). Certain things we generally agree on, as a tribe. And one of these is ‘details’. We’re kinda obsessed with them, and I want to tell you why. Because on paper, weddings are pretty much the same. White dress, aisle, rings, kiss, confetti, party. Just like on paper, every love story is the same. Boy meets girl (or boy, or girl meets girl, whatever), spark, kiss, courtship, proposal. But you know and I know that every love story is unique, like a fingerprint, or a flake of snow. And if your wedding is the celebration of that uniqueness, the details tell the story. They’re the little things that your guests remember, and for an outsider looking in, they’re what inspires them to tell their own story. So you can guess why I fell in LOVE with today’s wedding at Chamonix the moment I saw it. It is detail-palooza. Seriously, it’s the grand daddy of detailed weddings. Heartfelt, personal, handmade details. I adore it, and I know you all are going to go gaga over it too. Also, I should say that the pictures were shot by the super talented Adene Photography, and that the bride, Libby, is one of the sweetest I’ve ever dealt with. There are so many highlights, but I’ll let the bride tell you in her own words…Read More

Real Wedding at Kleinevalleij {Candy & Nic}

by gaby

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

Real Wedding at Shelley’s Gourmet Cafe {Catherine & Mark}

by gaby

So the other day, there I was sitting at a table with a group of awesome ladies from the wedding industry, and we were discussing wedding size. General consensus? Small weddings rock. And I’ll admit, a lot of that comes from us all being design and detail oriented, but the fact is, especially during a recession, you can just get much more for your money with fewer guests. A wedding that, as my friend Louise of Bijoux Bride (who specialises in this kind of thing) would say, is small but perfectly formed. And I’ll tell you another secret reason I have for loving intimate weddings – somehow, they seem to make brides and grooms feel free to make bolder, less traditional choices. Take today’s wedding, which stopped me in my tracks as soon as I saw it over on photographer Allan McCreadie‘s blog. Not only is it at an unconventional location (a favourite Cape Town restaurant), but you guys, HOW MUCH are we loving Catherine’s styling? I adore her Vivenne Tam dress and seriously gorgeous accessories. Every photo of her looks like it’s a fashion shoot (although we shouldn’t be surprised – her day job is as a design manager for a bag company in China). The whole day just looks like so much fun, and has such an intimate atmosphere with family and friends. So if you’re considering a smaller celebration, let Catherine and Mark’s wedding style inspire you.Read More

Real Wedding at The Grand {Fiona & James}

by gaby

Today I am EXCITED, and it’s not just because my guilty little pleasure Made in Chelsea came back on TV last night, yah. (Um, Gabriella my namesake “making a point”? Awkward.) It’s because of this wedding. See, I happened to go to university with the groom, and when I heard a rumour that the fabulous wedding he and his lovely wife-to-be were planning was going to be at The Grand, which is just one of the best hangouts in Cape Town (two, in fact, with one in Clifton and one in Granger Bay) and an absolute dream for a cross between Cape Town city chic and right-on-the-beach style, I jumped on the email to Fiona to find out all about it. Co-ordinated by the fab Event and Design, it turned out to be just as gorgeourific in reality as Fiona and James had planned, and now I finally get to share it with you! Wait till you see Fiona’s dress and shoes – she made such a beautiful bride and looked like she stepped straight out of an Audrey Hepburn movie.Read More