Wedding Treats from the Market

Hi everyone, we're Kim and Filipa and we run a daily wedding and design blog called Ruby and the Swallow. We're huge fans of anything local and anything creative, and for that we love the I Heart Market. We were thrilled when they asked us to do a guest post! Basically, we went around the market looking for stalls that would be able to add that extra special touch to your wedding day. We picked our favourite wedding trends and wedding details and set out to find stalls that could make those details come alive. In true Ruby style, we found A LOT and just couldn't cut anyone out - there's a wealth of great, unique local products to be found right at the Market. Here's what we found!

We love accessories that are different and that pack a punch. Nadia from Cupcake Couture does just this with her handmade, one-of-a-kind collection of corsages and boutonnieres. She hand-crafted these boutonnieres for a local Cape Town wedding, and she can custom make them to suit your colour theme. A recent new product Nadia has added to her product list are her keepsake necklaces. These are perfect for a bride who wants to include something borrowed, blue, old or new into their outfit. Nadia will take any old trinkets you have (old keys, grannies old brooch, scraps of fabric) and make them into beautiful necklaces or pins for you to wear. It's something unique, and a great way of using your little treasures. 

We stumbled across this gem of a store on our way out of the market and we simply loved the look of this grey dress. Its simple and the lace is right on trend. We thought it would make the perfect bridesmaids dress and would be something your bridesmaid could wear again. And at a cost of only R350, what more could you possibly want? Cindy of Eb and Am makes all these dresses, and has made bridesmaids dresses before. She will obviously consult with you and create something perfect for your liking. Get hold of her at 0734731813 or email her at ebandam@gmail.com. 

If you are only to know one thing about the wedding industry right now, know this: bunting is a HUGE trend at the moment. We simply adored the bunting available from Little Mud Hut Designs. Vanessa is right on trend with creating this wonderful hessian bunting that has a lace trim detail. You can have the bunting custom made to reflect the colours of your wedding, and you can even get your names printed on them. How divine? Little Mud Hut designs isn't just about bunting though, so do go take a look at their stall. It's packed with packaging tags, labels, magnets and gift bags. A sure win for any bride looking to be inspired. 

Cocktail hour is an important part of your wedding. Guests are restless after the ceremony and need to kill time while you go take pictures. So what do you do to occupy them? Feed them of course! The baked goods at Boutique Boulangerie literally made our mouths water. They had a great selection of tapas style tarts and pastries and artisan bread. They also had a great selection of cakes available, including a gorgeous red velvet one. Contact them to create a cocktail hour menu for your big day - we're certain you won't regret it! They also do wedding cakes, desserts and chocolates. 

Decor ideas were plentiful at the Market this last week. We adored the paper flowers made by Freshly Found. They've made these for weddings before and they can make them out of custom paper to suit your theme. They're great for including into your bridal bouquet or on your wedding tables as an extra fun element. The chalkboard hearts from Queen of Hearts are right on trend and a great addition to your big day. Use the pegs to seal favour bags closed, use the hearts to write people's names on, or use an extra big heart to write your menu on. They can custom make the chalkboards into any shape for you ,so the sky is the limit. We think they would be great as directional sign posts too! The Shabby Chic Boutique was oozing wedding prettiness and we didn't know where to start! From the wooden engraved signs to the hanging wooden hearts, your dream vintage-styled wedding can be style just from this stall. Use the ceramic hearts as gifts for your guests or bridesmaids, use the hanging wooden hearts as escort cards for your guests - love love love! Get in touch with Le Anne on 079 515 2368. 

You've spent an uber amount of money on a photographer for your big day and now Jen-Jen Designs can step in and block mount the gorgeous pictures of you into mini works of art. We've always been fans of Jen-Jen's work and we think block mounting a few of your photographs is a great way of showing them off - no icky frames, no boring albums - this is different and we love it. Jen-Jen also photographs couples and does great sequence shots (see above) which are great when mounted up as a series. 

We had so much fun finding all these stalls and we were surprised at how many of them could cater to a bride and groom. We'll always vote local above anything else, and these suppliers are all friendly, professional and pay great attention to detail. 

A big thanks to the I Heart Market crew for asking us to guest post. 

The Ruby Team 

Picture Credits 

All market pictures taken by us // Sequence shot in Wedding Portraits taken by Jen-Jen Designs  // Accessories picture found here  // Bridesmaid picture found here  // Bunting picture found here // Cocktail picture found here // Decor pictures (left to right) found here, here, here and here  // Portrait picture found here