Tag Archives: balloons

A South African Winter Wedding at A Private Game Reserve: Jaimi & Adrian

September 23, 2011 in Wedding | Written by

Jaimi & Adrian are wedding photographers themselves so when it came to planning their own big day the photography was obviously a very important part for them. “Adrian and I met through a photographic project he did back in 2008 and we fell in love,” Jaimi told me. “He asked me to marry him on a misty morning in October 2009 in the Drakensburg Kzn. We got married on January 10th, 2010 and had a small ceremony at Tala. We renewed our love for each other and had our wedding celebration on June the 24th this year at our special love place … Tala Private Game Reserve.”

“As Adrian has been in the wedding industry for over 12 years now as a wedding photographer. We really wanted our day to be ‘us’ and a bit more rocker than the weddings we shoot every weekend of the year. We took all the ‘stuff’ we loved and piled it onto one day – from the clothes we love, to the passion we have to the fun we wanted for our family. It turned out awesome, it was personal, full of love, non stressful and just super rocking.”

“We had the most intense African storm at about 2pm in the afternoon and we almost thought our shoot would be hindered but we had the most awesome day thereafter, the sky cleared and Sam (our photographer) literally shot us in one location rotating us in a 360 degrees.”

“Our whole playlist scared our DJ, David just a little, but he trusted us and played it anyway and Adrian (not a big dancer) and I (love dancing) ended up being the last couple on the dance floor. Our first dance song was ‘Monuments and Melodies’ by Incubus and everyone just stood around us and we attempted a dance. It was incredible – I felt like it was just us.”

“As mentioned earlier, this was a renewal of our love from a year and a bit back, and we loved every second. We are so glad we had a videographer  (Lauren & Andrew) and Sammi Babe did a super job of the photos. Everything was just an overwhelming blessing having the most important people either side of us and everyone we loved at our long single banquet dinner table. We chose our own wine for the evening and a shooter table. We also had a DIY photo booth that made the party start on a high note.”

“Our theme was all about being us,” the bride concluded. “Adrian and I got together under rough circumstances and got married just 4 days after deciding we wanted to. We just needed this. This solidarity with our family. It was evidence of our love for all to see. Being a winter wedding in South Africa we had a sort of vintage-autumn theme. I did not like the idea of flowers so we did black candles, different height and size crystal candle stands and real autumn leaves across the whole length of gold taffeta table cloths.”

Beautiful…and check out the video too!

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A Retro Wedding with a Contemporary Twist: Reyna & Michael

September 6, 2011 in Wedding | Written by

Reyna & Michael’s intimate wedding had a 1950′s and 60′s vibe but with a contemporary and romantic twist. “Our general inspiration was our favorite era, mid-century and everything that comes with it: Themusic, the films, the design and architecture, but in a subtle way,” the bride told me. “Also, the addition of the birds idea was Michael’s because he knows how much I love them.”

The couple were very keen to make sure that all their favourite things were included in the day. “It is amazing how much you can learn from your partner’s taste and personality, when you make this a fun labor of love project,” Reyna continued. “Our biggest challenge was having to make it all come together all the way to the wedding from Canada, but I would do it again in a heartbeat!”

The outside ceremony took place Shelter Island Shoreline Park, San Diego and the bride walked down the aisle to ‘Moon River’ by Henry Mancini. Then followed by a laid-back reception at JRDN Restaurant at Tower 23 Hotel. “My mother-in-law made the table runners for us, and my mother made my fresh-flower bouquet and boutonnieres,” the bride continued. “Everything that involved ink and paper and was designed by us. I made a second bouquet with vintage flower pins and our cake topper was inspired by a picture we took together on 6th Avenue in Downtown Manhattan.

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Regula & Bruno’s Afternoon Tea Party Reception (Part Two)

August 10, 2011 in Wedding | Written by

Remember Regula & Bruno’s spooky Rye wedding? Well they’re back, not once but twice today! I’m kicking of this Wednesday morn’ with the Belgian leg of their wedding and this afternoon I’ll be sharing their creepy wedding portraits taken at an abandoned fairground! Originally from Belgium the couple were keen to have a tea party reception in their home city for all their friends & family that didn’t come over to the UK for their ceremony.

Writer Regula told me all about their tea party. “We knew what we wanted to do for our wedding reception immediately. Because we were getting married in England we wanted our friends from Belgium to feel like they were in the UK. We decided we were going to do a wedding afternoon tea.”

“The biggest task of all was making our wedding tea invitations, both of us being graphic designers we had an image in our heads of how we wanted it to look. We combined these visions and worked on the designs for over 6 months only to get them ready just in time. Our invitation was actually a folder filled with a number of cards people could discover as they opened it, in each invitation we sowed a customised teabag. We also made a wedding blog with our digital invitation so people could check the blog for details if they didn’t have the actual invitation with them. We put some homemade video’s on it of us assembling the wedding invitation packs, together with some 1940′s video’s of how to prepare the perfect tea. We had information on it explaining people what afternoon tea is all about as most Belgians don’t know a lot about the custom.”

“For our venue we chose a bar/gallery in Antwerp owned by friends, Bruno designed their logo website and front of the building and was given full creative liberty so we knew the place was perfect to be our venue. Bruno’s illustrations were still up on the walls from his exhibition so the wall’s were all ready decorated with our things. Since it was our friends bar we were allowed to do what we wanted with the place. We unscrewed things and took them out and cleared everything we didn’t need. The furniture in the bar was all vintage or DIY, perfect for our vintage theme.”

“For the decoration, we collected vintage crockery and bell jars for a year, and by the end of may our  house was full of boxes. We made bunting, posters, cards, labels… from making decorations to hanging them up, also the catering we did ourselves. Most of the food we brought home with us from the UK the rest was made by us. Then we had to do all the things that you have to do for getting a bar that has never seen a wedding into wedding-land.”

“We decorated the tables with vintage teapots, sugarbowls and milk jugs. We attached a red balloon to every teapot like it showed in the design of our menus. We put bell jars on tables, each containing things from our house including the little doll’s dress I’ve treasured whole my life and inspired my wedding dress. We had little pots of jam with a cotton cover we stamped our wedding logo on. We scattered around pictures of me and Bruno which me made to look vintage and we had rock candy made with our names and logo as wedding favours. On the tables we put paper spoons with table conversations and we customized bubble blowers with our design. It was so much fun seeing people blowing bubbles and enjoying themselves with looking at our photograps. Mind you after the party all the bubbleblowers, decorations and most of our pictures were taken home by our friends.”

“We had paper cups with our logo to drink from, for the toast outside, as we only found out last minute that there weren’t enough glasses. For the reception we wanted everyone to drink their wine and beer out of the old teacups. Mind you, we were very surprised everyone did so. For our buffet we had all the English classics like scones, sandwiches, cakes, cookies and even real clotted cream which our lovely photographer brought with her from the UK. We had a British cheese selection and cupcakes, sweet and evil but mostly loads of them. Our beautiful wedding cake was made by the lovely Becky from Consumed by Cake. Being a food blogger my cake was a big thing! It featured two swallows flying to a heart. A classic 1950′s sailer tattoo image.”

“We had a British candy buffet for people to fill bags to take with them and a glass dispenser with the homemade lemonade I made in the morning and one with Pimms. Instead of a DJ we had an Antwerp street musician playing his old piano in the most melancholic way.”

“This guy composes his own songs and plays them from the heart. He plays in the streets of Antwerp and pushes his piano around the city by hand. I had him in mind to play at our tea party but sadly didn’t see him the months before the wedding. The day before we left for the UK for our ceremony I heard his music and tracked him down through the sound. I was so excited I found him and asked him to come and play.”

Don’t you just love it?! Be sure to come back later today for part three of the Regula & Bruno saga – their wedding photo shoot in an abandoned fairground!

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A DIY Fashion Shoot Using The Rock n Roll Bride Planning Notebook!

August 8, 2011 in Bridal Shoot/Trash The Dress | Written by

A photo shoot featuring the Rock n Roll Bride planning notebooks!? Oh yes that’s one sure-fired way to get my attention!

“We styled the whole shoot ourselves using items from eBay (and of course the Rock n Roll Bride notebook,” photographer Jaye of  Tux & Tales Photography told me. “We decided we would do a few styled shoots ourselves on a shoestring budget. I think it is a great way to show brides that they can have a fun and fab style with a little pocket change and a lot of elbow grease. I hope you enjoy my ultra-rad millinery. Picture me sitting on the living room floor, feathers flying everywhere whilst my cat tries to run off with the hat in his mouth every time I turn around to get another feather. The bouquet I made myself out of crepe paper. Boo (our model) is a burlesque performer so she did her own hair & make up!”

“As for inspiration – we were really dedicated to a shoot which was going to demonstrate the beauty of the North,” Jaye continued. “Although we  had a brief stint in Essex, we are really Northerners at heart and I wanted to do something fun and sassy that shows Yorkshire at its best. The photos taken in front of Drax (the coal fire plant) are particularly special to me. People often complain about the North of England being ‘too industrial’ but that is exactly what we love about it. There is something so optimistic about industry. The big factories are where hard working people go to create the fabulous things we use and eat every day.”

“We stopped and took the pictures with your amazing little planner when we were on our way to the power plant shoot. We were at a park near our house and there are a few really rad, grotty little buildings which we thought made a pretty Rock n Roll backdrop. Ever the northern lass, Boo only needed to be told ‘act like a rockstar’ and I just had to be around to press the button!”

The Rock n Roll Bride planning notebooks and wallplanners are available to purchase exclusively through notonthehighstreet.com. For prices and further info, clicky here.

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A Recycled Wedding Fashion Shoot at Paramount Ranch

August 3, 2011 in Styled Photo Shoots | Written by

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“The concept of this photo shoot was ‘eco friendly + recycled wedding fashion for modern brides’,” photographer Yuna Leonard writes. “ Both of the dresses and the boots in this set were found at American Vintage store on Melrose, Los Angeles. I love that store!”

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“I was in love with the ideas of recycling and reusing wedding fashion from days gone by – maybe from brides who were in your Mother’s or Grandmother’s generations. The dresses I bought were also very inexpensive { from $70 – $ 100. The boots were $50.} We fused this style with an idea for outdoor / backyard styled reception fashion as well.  The mixed style of vintage + bohemian + western totally got me this time! Hope you enjoy it!”

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‘Til Death Do Us Party Wedding Shoot: Angelo & Rin

July 22, 2011 in Engagement | Written by

 

Angelo & Rin’s super quirky, super fun and super them engagement shoot was split into themes – each one styled (by the couple) to represent different areas of their relationship. “We had two locations for our shoot–in our house and at my old college, where Angelo and I met,” Rin explained. “The Field, Picnic, Skate, and Steps sessions were taken at the alma matter at our university. The ‘Steps/Skate’ location is actually exactly where I met Angelo (with his punk rock band) at an outdoor rock concert. ‘The Field’ and ‘Picnic’ sessions showcased more romantic side to our relationship.”

“The ‘Chalk/Suspenders Sessions’ showcases some of the other things we love doing–doodling/creating art, dressing up and goofing around with our dogs. The ‘Balloon Session’ was a tribute to our indie side, and in the ‘Bed Session’ shows how we like rocking out, drinking beer, and how we imagine married life to be like.”

“Finally,the ‘Switcheroo Session’ illustrates the androgynous nature of our relationship. Physically, Angelo looks girlier than me (he’s fairer, practically poreless and zitless… and more docile!) and I’m pretty much a tomboy. But on a deeper note, what’s great about our relationship is that we don’t let gender stereotypes define our roles in our marriage. And in a traditional patriarchal Christian society like the Philippines, that’s pretty cool.”

“Angelo and I were super lucky to have design/photography duo Everywhere We Shoot on board to do our prenup photography,” bride-to-be Rin continued. “These guys are friends who frequent the same gigs, art spaces, and thrift shops that we go to. Their philosophy has always been to keep doing and creating, not for money, but just because they love what they do. And knowing that we were on a budget-DIY-wedding, they agreed to do a pro bono engagement shoot for us in a heartbeat. I was also blessed to have a former schoolmate slash band groupie of mine, Kitty Caragay, do my make-up.”

“Before the shoot, we exchanged emails with Everywhere We Shoot sharing photography styles/fashion/make-up we liked. Of course, a LOT of our references came from Rock n Roll Bride. Everywhere We Shoot loved our ideas and they were really stoked to work with us because they knew that we were all on the same wavelength.”

 

“Everywhere We Shoot did a great job in capturing our individuality, as well as showing our personality as a couple,” Rin continued. “The photos were very playful, they showed us doing the things we love, being silly, and just having fun together. The styling and production design was done by us so that the shoot would be 100% genuine. Our props consisted of our toys (bubbles, guitars, skulls, dolls), junk in the house, vintage stuff that we love (cameras, books, vinyls), and my darling doggie-siblings.”

 

“Our wedding will be inspired by our passion for design and music, and challenged by a very tight budget. Hence, we set out to express our undying love for each other through a vintage-Rock-n-Roll-do-it-yourself wedding (and pre-wedding shoot) which we fondly named “Till Death Do Us Party.”

What a cute session to round off a fabulous week on the blog!

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