Shweshwe Game Lodge Wedding at Kuthaba by Liesl le Roux

You know what I love to bits? This couple. Seriously, Dominique and Jason are so much a pair after my own heart, a twosome who love the South African bushveld and know how to throw a great party. Oh, and let’s not leave out Dominique’s love of shweshwe, which she used throughout their gorgeous wedding. Throw in a team of awesome wedding pros making the big day happen in the heat of Limpopo summer (including fab photographer Liesl le Roux), proteas, little gold safari animals, and a dreamy dress, and you have a wedding that’s as SouthBound-fabulous as you can possibly imagine! Game lodge brides and grooms take note – this is how to do a bush wedding oh so right.

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City of Gold Styled Shoot by Tickled Pink, Ninirichi Style Studio & As Sweet As Images

I’ve featured a lot of styled shoots on SBB, but I’m not kidding when I say that this might be one of my all-time favourites. It’s so thoroughly South African, from its shweshwe top to its shimmery gold toes. Natalie Elliot of Tickled Pink and her seriously impressive team of suppliers (including Ninirichi Style Studio, who styled it to creative perfection!) have done an amazing job, putting together one idea after another, each reflecting beautiful homegrown wedding style (as well as industrial wedding chic), and giving us a faux wedding that’s as fun and modern as it is glamorous. There are SO MANY clever, stealable details making up this Jozi love story, that you need to look at it over and over again to see them all – from the ‘Ag Sweet’ candy buffet laden with local favourites to the colourful table, but I think the ceremony area with concrete breeze block and wooden protea aisle, as well as textured metal skyline backdrop is my best. Take some time to scroll through the gorgeous pics by As Sweet As Images, and be inspired. (And yes, I included more than usual, but seriously, how could I not?)Read More

Elegant ShweShwe Mountain Shadows Wedding by welovepictures {Anita & Ulrich}

Today’s bride is really, truly a SouthBound Bride, in so many senses of the word. Anita may not be from SA, but she has a deep bond with our country, and when she and her South African-bord husband tied the knot, they went above and beyond to include dozens of gorgeous South African elements in the mix, including loads of beautiful shweshwe. As a regular reader, Anita found all of her suppliers via SouthBound Bride, and having been in touch with her during the planning process, I loved her enthusiasm for every little detail. It’s worth reading her story and advice below to get a sense of just how much thought went into each aspect – right up to a stargazing lounge so guests could see the Southern Cross, sigh. The day was beautifully captured by the wonderful welovepictures.Read More

African Geometric Styled Shoot by Yolande Snyders & Yellow Papaya

Happy Friday lovelies! I have some super sunny, summery inspiration to share with you today, an African take on sunshine yellow with (eep!) a dip-dyed Didi Couture gown. Wow. I adore everything about the styling of this shoot by Simone of Yellow Papaya – the use of geometrical and ombre elements, the relaxed farmyard vibe and the inclusion of shweshwe (which we KNOW I love!). It all makes for a wedding design that is familiar but unusual, and pretty without being overpoweringly girly. In short, super inspiring! Thanks to the awesome team behind this shoot for sharing it with us today, including fab photographer Yolande Snyders and video by The Wedding Revelation.Read More

How to Create an Elegant Shweshwe Wedding by Piteira Photography & SouthBound Bride

I am BEYOND excited to share today’s shoot! Not just because I think it’s so pretty, but because for me it’s another step in the direction I have dreamed SouthBound Bride would grow. See, I don’t just want SBB to be another wedding blog, another place of prettiness and support and inspiration (although it’s all of these). What has always made the blog different for me is that it is all about South African weddings. So, to me, it’s also important that SBB is a place that epitomises South African wedding style. What makes our weddings unique? What do they look like? How can I celebrate the designs and traditions that are close to our hearts? I still have work to do in many areas to adequately represent our diverse and beautiful country, but one thing I wanted was to celebrate what I think of as icons in SA style and design. I started dreaming of styled shoots that combined current international wedding trends, but had our very own homegrown twist. Today’s is the first of these for 2014, and the uniquely South African element we’re celebrating is shweshwe. Which I LOVE. And you guys, this is the year for shweshwe. It’s happening.Read More

Inspiration Board: Copper & Shweshwe

I’m so excited to bring you today’s inspiration board, because it’s a preview of a mini-shoot I’ll be sharing with you tomorrow, a collaboration between myself and Piteira Photography (yay, can’t wait!). It features one of my absolute FAVOURITE prints, a truly South African design element (and one which is going to be really hitting its stride in 2014): shweshwe. For me, using this iconic South African fabric is the most gorgeous way to bring a homegrown twist to your wedding design, and still be right up to date with wedding trends internationally (prints, after all, are having their day in the sun). You can get shweshwe in quite a range of colours now, but the original indigo is the one I love most, and it’s a stylish and contemporary shade that combines beautifully with many other colours. I wanted to show how the pattern can be used in a really elegant way – for example, at a classic winelands venue – so I combined it with cool wedding white and a contemporary metallic, copper, for a bit of warmth. The colours look really graceful together, especially with the addition of white candles as a third key design element. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see where we ended up, but for today, I hope you love our inspiration!

Colours: Indigo, copper & white

Top row (l-r): Sash with shweshwe rosette {Julie Wilhite}; cake with high taper candles {White Loft Studio/Mayflour Cake + Confection}; table setting {}; long tables {Jose Villa}
Row 2: Shweshwe bowl; invitation suite; shweshwe fabric
Row 3: Blue bridesmaids {Caroline Tran/Kelly Oshiro}; copper tag escort cards {Mark Brooke Photography/JL Designs}; brass candlesticks; copper vase {Docuvitae/Kourtney James Perry}.

 

Simon’s Town Engagement Shoot

Straight off, I am just going to say, I LOVE this couple’s proudly South African styling. Sazi’s shweshwe ruffled dress especially is just the bomb, and they’re perfectly co-ordinated which (Brangelina and the Beckhams taking it too far aside) makes for the most amazing pictures. Of course, it always helps when you have a fantastic photographer, and today I’m so happy to share the work of Yolande Snyders. You may remember Yolande as one half of the Desert Rose Project team, and I’ve got to know Yolande a bit via email as one of our sponsors over the last couple of months. She’s such a honey, and I so admire her enthusiasm not just for her photography but for her community. Awesome. Anyway, Sazi and Khulile, today’s super stylish couple, decided to have their engagement pics taken wandering around Simon’s Town (one of my fave Cape spots), including in the toy museum, which is such a fun touch. It’s the perfect portrait of a perfect Cape afternoon. Read on for more of their love story…Read More