Wednesday, May 16

A fabulous DIY South African wedding with an eclectic, whimsical and a little bit hippie theme

From the bride...
I totally started planning my wedding before I was even engaged. My husband and I dated long distance for a year and a half before we were finally in the same city. I am Canadian and he is South African; we decided to get married in South Africa because that’s where we met. My family was so supportive throughout that process. They didn’t bat an eye to come thousands of kilometers to be there for me on my day. Even though we didn’t have a very big budget, they overwhelmed me with their support through the entire process. I have always wanted to have a “fabulous DIY wedding with an eclectic, whimsical and a little bit hippie theme.” I’m so happy with what I got. My wedding dress was $100 from a one day closeout sale that I stumbled upon completely by accident with my mom one day. It was magical. Maureen Patricia of Queen Couture in Victoria made some alterations so that the dress fit my vision and my body like a glove! I also decided to make a second dress to wear at the reception. My dream dress has been the Vera Wang from Bride Wars but in case anyone hadn’t noticed, Vera is a bit steep for my pocket, so instead, she was my inspiration and I started sewing. I bought $10 shoes from Costa Blanca and made a killer necklace from a 1920′s vintage belt buckle and some ’60s costume pearls. Double score. Two outfits: $400.
 
The flowers were an amazing score as well, we picked arum lilies from a farm two days before the wedding through a friend, free of charge. I also asked a few other friends and family members if they could donate some white flowers, greenery and lavender for the reception decor and my bouquet. I kept a crocheted doily that my great-grandmother made for me when I was eight and used it to wrap my bouquet — it was my little piece of home that I took with me when I got married. My bridesmaids and I also spent hours scraping labels off of wine bottles to put flowers and candles in at the reception. My parents, grandparents, fiance, my aunt and some dear friends made it a group effort to cut and sew the long table runners for the reception. This wedding was truly a community effort!
I designed and sewed my junior bridesmaids’ dresses (one was repurposed; it was originally my own dress), and they looked completely fabulous. My bridesmaids wore whatever they wanted (within a color palette — my inspiration was the colors of a peacock feather) so I could rest assured they would be comfortable in whatever they wore. Our wedding cake was a Rice Krispie cake. I love the stuff and am not really such a fan of cake. Plus, it was cheap. My mom made it the day before the wedding. The cake toppers were a favor from another wedding that I reused. Because some people could only make the ceremony, we split up the speeches into two parts. Reece said his speech to me directly following the ceremony along with Mitch, his brother and best man. My dad and I, as well as my maid of honor, made speeches after dinner. I loved it because I knew Reece was so relieved to have his speech out of the way for the rest of the wedding! Our wedding was a continuous affair throughout the day. There wasn’t really a lull where people didn’t know what to do between the ceremony and reception. By the time the tea and treats had wrapped up at the chapel, the guests were invited to have drinks, cheese and hors d’oeuvres at our reception venue. We had some amazing friends who also provided live music and even wrote us a song that everyone joined in singing. By the time we arrived, everyone was already completely wound up, excited and ready to party. 















Wedding Wednesday


I am obsessed with this Santa Barbara outdoor wedding. I love the color scheme used here--purples, greens, oranges, bronze, and antique white make for a very colorful and fun outdoor wedding. The bride wore a beautiful strapless Monique Lhuillier gown and stunning Jimmy Choo shoes to complete this romantic, candlelit wedding.

All images courtesy of Stylemepretty.com

Monday, May 14

The Next Chapter

Hello to all of my loyal readers! 

I apologize for taking a month-long hiatus but I'm back! The past month has been an intimidating, yet exciting time. I successfully graduated from Pepperdine University on April 28, 2012, and spent the weekend with 30 of my closest friends and family members. We had a delightful brunch on the rooftop of Kristy's Wood Oven and Wine Bar in Malibu, complete with copious amounts of love, laughter, and joy. 

Since then, I moved to Santa Monica and have been interning with Mindy Weiss nearly full time. I am sad to say that my College career is over but I am extremely proud of myself and my accomplishments that I made while at Pepperdine. While it was undoubtedly the most trying and difficult four years of my life, I made it out a much better person, friend, and employee. I learned that hard work really does pay off and that you should never give up on your dreams. I never gave up on my dreams while at Pepperdine and looking back, all of my dreams became a reality. 

As I sit here writing this, I feel more blessed than ever and am so excited to jump feet-first into my career. I hope that one day, my career dreams will morph into an incredible reality. I am actively pursuing a career in the event-planning industry and cannot wait to keep all of you updated on my progress. This is a big week for me and I appreciate all of your prayers and positive thoughts. Here are some photos from my graduation weekend:

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did.  So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore.  Dream.  Discover.


Sunday, April 8