What traditions to keep and which to kick

By Cathrine Westraadt                   Updated 15.02.2018

When it comes to wedding traditions there are those we love and those we would rather give a skip. How to decide what to keep and what to kick is not all that hard because it all depends on what is important to you. Traditions are established to create memories through generations of brides within their family. From time old favorites like something borrowed, something blue and something new to those we do not enjoy or let’s say your bridesmaids hate, dressing them in the worst style for your special day. Let’s dive in…

Wearing bright white on your wedding day, this is one that is often frowned upon especially by the mothers and mother in law. Age old tradition states that a bride is to wear all white on her first wedding day, we say kick this one! We are crazy about off-white wedding dresses and even adding subtle colors. We say add some spice to your special day.

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Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue, this is one tradition every little girl dreams of when thinking of her special day. We vote this one as a keeper. This tradition is a beautiful is shared between, grandmothers, mothers, sisters and even your mother-in-law and you. Whether it’s the garter, a hairpin or a timeless necklace, something you will someday hand down to your daughter.

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Another questioned tradition we hear about a lot is the wearing of a veil. This is one of those we will leave up to you as there is many ways to wear a veil and not all of them is frowned upon. We say kick the traditional veil and do something different and edgy. You can also upgrade to a princess cape which adds a soft but spontaneous side to your wedding look.

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Wedding day gifts for him and her, this is a tradition we absolutely love. Putting some thought into something special to make your big day even more memorable. Whether you tell him to take a shot before tying the knot or whether he says diamonds really are a girl’s best friend, we think this is one of the cutest traditions and really has room for creativity.

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Planning your wedding day can be quite stressful and what about the timeline… We say kick the traditional timeline and change things up. Why wait to do the first dance, why only cut the cake at the end of the evening and why have so many speeches. Change things up and create a timeline that suits your needs and makes your day memorable and different.

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Bridesmaids dresses are something we need to give you a heads up, please kick this tradition. It is rude to put your bridesmaids in the worst possible dresses. You can put them in a million-dollar Ralph Lauren dress all eyes are still going to be on you, the bride. You are the focus of the day and no-one will be talking about the bridesmaids outshining the bride as this is just not possible. So, do us all a favor and kick the ugly bridesmaid's dress tradition.

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Traditions are endless and some we love to have and others we don’t. For your wedding day, the decision is ultimately yours in terms of habits to keep or kick. We will always encourage every bride to do what she loves and make the day memorable and possibly create some new traditions.

7 Must have flowers for this season

By Cathrine Westraadt                   Updated 07.02.2018

With the new wedding season approaching soon we would love to give you the low down on what flowers are in for Spring. Making decisions for your wedding is hard enough we want to make flower selection one less worry. The current trends seem to be less is more and different is in. Flowers for your wedding day symbolizes life and color and can display both the bride and groom’s personality in so many ways.

 One trend that we absolutely LOVE is succulents. The simplicity and the understated beauty of succulents are incredible. Not only are they easy to style, they also look fantastic on photographs and they last forever and a day. Succulents are not a traditional choice, but they add a certain elegance to your wedding day when paired with softer flowers. Not only can you use them for table décor or bouquets, but they make marvelous cake decorations as well.

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Something beautiful for the soft and dainty bride, a true lady like similarity in peonies. Such a soft elegant feel to your wedding day. Peonies make you feel like dreaming of a world of peace and harmony. Some color in between the white peonies will make your bouquet the talk of the wedding industry. This is one of the only flowers that can be used from the start of bloom right through and they always project ladylikeness.

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How many brides never tread close to tulips, they are so afraid it would look kitsch. But styled in the right way with the correct combination you will have something so unique and inspired by your fiery personality. They provide timelessness and elegance with a classic touch. This is a classic that we will take to our graves in the wedding industry.

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Brides that dare to be different, we say style your wedding with Hydrangeas. We believe this provides an ethereal feel and something so out of this world it can only be done by some of the best florists. Believe it or not, this is also the perfect flower for day weddings as it provides a fairy-like type of garden feel if you want a fairy-like forest feel we say let’s get everything draped in Hydrangeas.

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 When making use of flowers on your wedding day not many brides think of the aroma of the flowers. When you are one of the brides where every detail matters, we suggest picking Magnolias for your wedding day. Not only will you look unbelievably regal you will smell like a million bucks too. Magnolias are beautiful open flowers that look perfect when in full bloom.

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Some flowers can speak a thousand words and there is one flower that speaks volumes about the brides’ personality, this would be the Daffodil. It is known in the wedding industry as the friendly flower, brides choosing to fill there special day with this beauty is some of your most sunny brides. They are bright and vibrant and so unique because of their trumpet-like shape. The flower much like the bride who picks this is a standout type of character, no blending in for either of them.

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Last but certainly not least is the extremely popular Gerbera or as most South Africans know the flower, the Barberton Daisy. This is one selection that has made it to countless weddings in the past few seasons and it never disappoints. No matter the occasion, the theme or the look Gerbera’s are suited for every occasion. They are simple, fun and not too hard to come by, which makes them perfectly suited for short notice weddings.

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Flowers bring an interesting dimension to your wedding. We dare you to be different, kick the traditional wedding flowers and do something people will remember. Do not overspend on your floral arrangements as most of them will fade along with your wedding day. Have something memorable without breaking the bank and you will not be florally disappointed after your wedding day has come and gone. 

Trendy wedding dresses this season

By Cathrine Westraadt                   Updated 04.02.2018

With wedding season upon us and new fashion trends arising we have the inside scoop for our brides as to what dresses are hot or not this season. The good news is that last season’s trends are still holding up as some of the favourites for going into this season, off shoulder, blue and loads of lace. We are look at wedding dresses in shades of pink and nudes, detachable sleeves, princess like wedding capes, jackets and believe it or not pants.

Feeling like a princess on your wedding day is no longer dictated by the princess ball gown it is now a classical, simple, understated elegance of a wedding cape. So every bride can now truly feel like a super hero on her wedding day. The Capelet was the start of this extremely popular trend and has now evolved to the beautiful princess cape with Disney like inspiration.

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How often do you find that perfect wedding dress and it compliments your every move but the only drawback and the reason why you will ultimately say no to the dress is because it is a strapless style dress. This season one of the trends will make this problem disappear for ever, the detachable sleeves. From classical lace and pearls to flashy crystal incrusted sleeves or the understated invisible sleeves. We do not often agree with accessories to your wedding dress, but these are a must this season and we are sure this trend will be hanging around for a couple of seasons to come.

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Exciting news for brides looking to kick the traditional wedding look. This season we are loving wedding dress mini’s, pants and something different in terms of colour, shades of pink and nude. So for all those brides looking to show off those gorgeous legs the mini wedding dress would suit you perfectly and is still as elegant with a slight bit of edge to your wedding day look. While white wedding dresses are a beautiful timeless tradition we are extremely excited to have the trends include some colour this season with shades of pink and nudes it opens the dress variety when going shopping, more options almost always means more fun with your girls. We are also excited about the fact that fashion trend keep the untraditional styles coming this season with the alternative pants & shorts option for brides who simply does not want a big white wedding dress. This style also oozes elegance and simplicity in such and understated way. Then the option also exists to go with a more relaxed short for a bohemian style wedding look. We love this trend and hope they stick around.

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At the end of the day our last word to every bride will always be that no matter what trend is in this season, your dress is perfect if you feel like a million dollars in it and if you are comfortable in the style. No fashion magazine can comment or dictate your happiness on your wedding day, this is ultimately your choice and you need to be able to look back in years to come and still be in love with your wedding dress.