Dress design: 2-tiered/piece dress and un-even hemlines.

1. How long before the actual wedding date, in your opinion, should a bride contact a designer for a consultation?
We prefer that the bride contacts the studio 3-4 months prior to her wedding date to schedule a consultation.

2. How do you go about choosing a colour for the dress?
We mainly chose the colour when we go fabric sourcing with the bride-to-be.  Choosing the right shade of white or any colour for that matter is very important because it has to complement both the client and the design of the particular gown.  However we will suggest some colours during the consultation, but we prefer to put the colour shade to the clients skin/face and see if the colour complements her in natural light.

Little Pink Book says: It is always fun to see a bride enjoy her dress – and by this we mean, the colour complements her smile and style and makes it look like she is wearing her personality on her perfect day!

3. Is there a secret to keeping brides happy as a designer?
Definitely, we believe that the client/bride should at all times be comfortable with her designer and be able to give her objective opinion – thus meaning a professional relationship is very important.  The designer should also have the mutual feeling towards the client, knowing that she trust him/her unconditionally. This gives the designer the capability to perform to the best of their ability, resulting in a gown that’s perfect for the specific client/bride.

Little Pink Book says: Through the year we have seen many brides and have written about many dresses. One of the key tips that we can give any bride, is that you must relate with your designer. A designer must be able to understand what it is that you want, the idea and the look that you want. A happy bride makes for a happy designer and results in a magical wedding dress!

4. How many fittings do you normally schedule?
We schedule 4-6 fittings depending on the intricacy of the design. Usually for clients that are not from Cape Town, we make the exception of less fittings.

5. Would you recommend that the bride collect pictures of what she wants or is it easier for a designer to work with someone that does not have an idea and thus you can get creative?
It’s crucial that the client collects picture of gowns/styles that she likes – especially for the designer. Because during this 1hour consultation the designer has to collect as much information about the clients personality and style as possible. The images people collect reflects their preferences and gives us, as designers, a guideline while designing. We also like to get a general feel of the wedding – where it’s going to be and perhaps colours that will be used in the décor. This ensures that a golden thread ties everything together without it being matchy.

Little Pink Book says: You might have been collecting pictures of your perfect wedding dress since you were standing in your mother’s high heels as a little girl. Collecting pictures lets your imagination go, lets you think about other possibilities that you might not have envisioned at first. As trends come and go, so will your own style evolve or change. If you have a set idea of what you want your wedding dress to look like, remember to make room for the designer’s ideas as they will be up to date with the latest available fabrics and techniques.

6. How do you go about choosing the fabric?
Usually that depends on the design – if we need a structural crisp satin or a fluid silk chiffon.  Fabric sourcing is the most important step during the creation process and the right fabric justifies and brings a wedding gown to life!

7. How long before the wedding do you normally hand over the dress to the bride?
We schedule a final fitting – 1 week before the wedding.  The collection of the dress depends on the client. Most of our brides prefer to collect their dress the day before the wedding because they don’t have the space to store it. Otherwise we deliver the dress on the day of the wedding if the client is getting married close to Stellenbosch or surrounding areas.

8.     What are the key elements you take into account when designing a wedding dress?
GELIEFT’S  ethos is to combine three key elements – the client, the textile and the designer’s vision and this has greatly contributed to the success of every gown created at the studio. Proportion, silhouette and fit is equally important.

9.     A tip from you, the designer, to the bride…
The most important thing when you buy a gown or get have your wedding dress designed is that it must reflect your personal style and the dress should have a comfortable fit.  The wedding gown should enhance your personality and physique and not camouflage you.

more wedding tips and advice…

Read the original blog post here Featured on Moment Junkie again!

Content copyright Nick Coyne Photography, Cape Town wedding photographer.

Low mixed arrangements of hydrangeas, Bombay roses, lisianthus, garden roses, and elegant magenta orchids added incredible pops of colour to the chic table setting. Lighting on the tables comprising of cylindrical glass vases with floating candles, hurricane vases with purple pillar candles and low glass votives ensured a romantic ambience once the sun had set. A fun cluster of white and purple Chinese lanterns suspended above a classic white and black checkered dance floor by Something-Different, created the perfect mood for this South African and Irish group to dance until “the wee hours of the morning”.

Coordinated by: Kate Rawbone

Images by: Monica Dart

The Saturday morning, after breakfast, the remainder of the guests arrived and all was abuzz with everyone getting ready for the ceremony at 14h00.  The lodge was quickly rearranged to make an area for the ceremony at the pool and the décor set-up, being quite simple yet very elegant , was done without much fuss. Alya’s favourite colour is that of coral and since it was her second marriage, she chose a classic coral boat neck cocktail dress. She choose coral roses to match her dress and then complemented them with king proteas to bring out the “Africa” element in the wedding. Square vases containing the coral roses and proteas alternately were placed along the centre of the long tables while glass oil lamps provide the ambiance for the evening.

After the ceremony, the guests enjoyed a decadent double chocolate mouse cake along with French champagne while the couple and their children took a drive in the game drive vehicle for a family shoot in the bush. Upon returning Amarula, biltong, nuts and pretzels (and I do believe a castle or two for the men) were enjoyed as the sun set once again. The guests then moved into the dining area where a 3 course dinner was enjoyed by all.

The weekend as all over far too soon – but for Alya and Raymond it was only the beginning of a whole new journey together!

Article by Michelle from Silver Lining by L’aTELIER

In the meanwhile meet Isabel, Jacques niece – on Friday morning early I did a photo session of little miss Isabel and her mom&dad.

This little one really stole my heart – what a cutie!!!!!

See for yourself and let me know your thoughts !!!

Photos by Laura da Paixao & Natelee Koen

Bridal portraits courtesy of ZaraZoo Exclusive Wedding Photography

Conrad and Ricolette’s wedding at Allee Bleue in Franschhoek – Keywords:  Hoofs, Horses, Vintage Fairytale…

A word of advice – if you decide to get wedding photos taken with a horse, make sure its a friendly one!

Poor Ricolette walked away from their couple shoot with her hoof print patterned dress and a bitten hand!!!!

The brides to be arrived at 14h00 and on arrival received a lovely bubbly with a program set out for the 3 hours ahead – excitement! All the service providers in one space to interact with our beautiful brides-to-be, bridesmaids and mothers! The Little Pink Book team was very excited as this was our very first Wedding Workshop ever!

Little Pink Book’s first Western Cape Wedding Workshop was held at the intimate wedding venue, Bon Amis Restaurant @ Bloemendal! This interactive wedding workshop is ideal for DIY brides who want to tap into the knowledge of our top service providers in the wedding industry.

The aim of the day was to highlight elements on the wedding day that we feel brides are either afraid of – the budget – or can’t wait to get to – the wedding dress! In a successful 3 hours this is what our Wedding Workshop was all about:

We started with delicious canapés – as traditionally also presented just after the ceremony at a wedding – just as a taste of what is yet to come later in the program. Our first service provider – Mark Chipps from Goosebump Productions – briefed us on not only the importance of videography on your wedding day, but also what separates a good videographer from a bad one – this might be one of the elements that you either neglect or one of the first that is cut when it comes to budgeting, but as Mark informed us – Your wedding memories are what you take away from the day, so remember to have those very special moments captured on video. One day you will be grateful that you spent a little extra and then have a wedding video to show your grandchildren or just to relive those special memories whenever you feel like it!

Look your best, feel your best and very important, keep your guests happy with the best! The first thing that comes to mind is tasty, well presented food! Chef Adrian Cook from Bon Amis Restaurant provided us with delicious canapés while explaining to us how important your choice of food is when setting up your wedding menu! On a hot day it is better to have light, fresh food and on a cold winters day – warm, cozy food/canapés will comfort your guests. It is important to speak to a chef or caterer with regards to your wedding season, as the food of your choice might not fit into what the weather has in mind.

Almari de Waal from Make-up by Almari had a beautiful canvas to work on, model and actress Leani Ekermans. Almari took our guests on the Make-up journey by highlighting elements of wedding make-up that are very important to implement into your wedding make-up routine. Almari did a smokey eye and nude lip look on our Leani to enhance her fair skin tone, her bright blue eyes and her blond hair.

Suné le Roux from Adam & Eve Wedding Studio and Mary-Ann Prinsloo from Dreamcatchers set up four tables with different table arrangements so the brides could get an idea of table stationery, different elements and materials that can be used as table stationery and decorations, also how different flowers compliment different looks and wedding styles. Transparency, material, leather and linen. Mary-Ann’s flower arrangements were perfectly placed to enhance the stationery designs.

The dress – yes!! The next wedding element to be discussed was the wedding dress! Beautifully displayed on mannequins, the wedding dresses from Robyn Roberts Bridal wear took the spotlight – or sunlight for that matter! We sat in awe of the delicately presented dresses as Robyn and her assistant Michelle took us through key tips to remember when you are searching for the perfect colour, cut and fabric. We often frown upon actually paying for a consultation, but as Robyn Roberts reminded us, it is money well spent, as you walk out a consultation with a clear idea of what style dress you look great in, the colour that suits you the best and a clear idea of what the designer has in mind for your wedding dress design. So you don’t just end up paying to fit on dresses, you are paying for advice that you won’t be able to find in a magazine.

We also had three beautiful flower bouquets from Design by Marcel: a long stemmed bouquet with less flowers for a taller bride, a short stemmed fuller bouquet for a shorter bride and small bouquet for your more petite sized bride. This is also a very important element to your wedding ‘outfit’ as you want to look your best and not hide behind a flower bouquet or have a bouquet that is way too small in proportion to the rest of your dress and body.

For every bride the next element might be a ‘frightning’ one – the budget. Johann from Lieveling Weddings uses the Little Pink Book in his daily planning process to ensure that he has his brides ready and educated on what they can expect and how to plan their own wedding costs/prices and budget layout. The girls loved Johann’s energy, positivity and insightful tips – and of course the fact that he himself uses the Little Pink Book when planning and coordinating a wedding.

We were very excited about the entertainment element to a wedding day! We had the opportunity to see the brilliant Elegant Entertainment live in action! Introducing themselves as Manager Giovanni from Bon Amis and the Head Chef our guests were caught off guard by their singing act that followed their introduction. They are truly talented! Simon, MD of Elegant Entertainment, also advised us on entertainment at weddings.

While the Elegant Entertainment team surprised us with their double act, exclusive wedding photographer, Stefan Steenkamp from ZaraZoo took our model for the day, Leani, for a wedding shoot on the venue. Hereby covering all aspect of the wedding day, Hair, Make-up, dress and finally putting it on together on a lasting memory medium – the photos!

While our photographer and model were busy with the wedding shoot for the day, Louise from Mila -The Cakeshop had a little treat in store for us – a cake tasting! Each guest received a little pink box that contained delicious flavour possibilities for a wedding cake. YUMMY! We were able to compare tastes and textures. Also, just like the canapés and menu options, Louise advised us on how important it is to remember what kind of cakes work better with which season. You can’t for example have a mouse cake in summer, as it would melt before you can even display it, let alone serve it to your guests!

With our treat in hand we had our lucky draw! One night accommodation for 2 at Vrede & Lust and 5 consultation vouchers from Robyn Roberts bridal wear! Six lucky ladies with six lovely Little Pink Book Wedding Workshop prizes! On that note, Stefan Steenkamp and Leani returned from the wedding shoot and Laura & Natalee from ZaraZoo Exclusive Wedding Photography, worked their magic and Laura quickly edited a few photos for us to view at the end of the day. In the meantime each guest received a lovely goody bag with business cards from all the suppliers, a Fair Lady Bride AND a complimentary Little Pink Book!!

A big highlight of the day was to interact with the photographer, Stefan Steenkamp, himself. To tap into his knowledge and expertise and to get insightful tips on wedding photography and the interaction between the bridal couple and the photographer!

Tick! First Little Pink Book Wedding Workshop done! DON’T miss out on the next one!

For more information on our Little Pink Book Wedding Workshops contact: media@littlepinkbook.co.za