magnolia rouge

Bridal Accessories shoot by Laura Murray Photography

May // 22

How is your week going? We’re having some crazy wild weather around here… drove home in the most insane electrical and rain storm yesterday. Although obviously it pales in comparison to what is happening in Oklahoma right now. It’s so hard to fathom a disaster on that scale… literally having everything you own and know of reduced to nothing. Events like this really show the strength of human resolve (not to mention the strength of Mother Nature!) and it very very quickly becomes abundantly clear what the most important things in life are… human lives not things. My heart goes out to everyone affected and I wish them all the best for the coming difficult weeks.

Today’s feature from the lovely Laura Murray Photography is something a little different with this gorgeous shoot of bridal accessories. Styled by A Vintage Affair Rentals, there are lots of lovely ideas for you brides to be!

Our idea for this shoot was to create something simple yet beautiful. Boleros are my favorite way to dress up a basic gown — the lace and feminine detailing is the perfect accessory. And fresh flowers in the hair is a style I never tire of. We also showcased a diamond hair piece that make long, loose curls a fancier look.

Photography | Laura Murray Photography, Styling | A Vintage Affair Rentals, Boleros & Diamond headpiece | Blue Gowns

Florals | Bare Root Flora, Model | Kat McCleary

Inspiration Board: Blushing Beauty

May // 21

I was honoured to guest post over on The Perfect Palette a couple of weeks ago with the Blushing Beauty inspiration board. I love these soft romantic tones for a wedding, it’s such a timeless look.

Photos from top left; Bride | Caroline Tran, Gold glass | Edyta Szyszlo, Shoes | Sara Hasstedt, Placesetting | Anne Robert

Mansion | Rylee Hitchner, Bride | Caroline Tran, Cookies on a stick | Vicky Starz

Cake | Gigi-Mamma Cakes, photo by Chelsey Boatright, Bride with headpiece | KT Merry

Tuscan wedding by Carmen & Ingo Photography

May // 20

I have a cracker of a wedding for you this Monday morning… I hardly know where to begin with it! There is just so much prettiness here I think it might be my all time longest photo post!! If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you’ll know that I’m a big fan of Carmen & Ingo from Germany (who shot this incredibly Indian wedding), and not only that, we’ve also become good friends through this crazy online world! And what’s even more exciting is that they’re heading this way next summer so if you’re in the market for a photographer well you could have some German superstars alongside you on your big day. Get in touch with them if you’re interested.

From Carmen & Ingo… “We are super excited about this wedding. Not only because we were shooting the wedding of fellow photographers, also because it was a destination wedding in beautuful Italy. When Angelika and Artur first contacted us with the idea of having the wedding in Tuscany, we knew that it would be outstanding. It was 41° Celsius when we arrived in Montecatini Terme, and it was not forecasted to get any “cooler” for the Saturday wedding. So we got prepared for a new temperature record to shoot in. And it was!

During our location scouting on Friday, we met with Angelika and Artur and seeing this amazing location Villa Sermolli in Buggiano Castello made us almost sleepless that night. It is simply an amazing place to get married. The day started very laid-back with their friends and family getting ready in the wonderful rooms of the villa. Everything was already well-decorated and set-up for the party to start. It is unbelievable how much time these guys, together with friends and family, put into all the wonderful details and DIY projects. A very emotional and personal ceremony officiated by Angelika’s brother-in-law made for a perfect start for the very intimate wedding party. The time flew by actually in the garden with some little games, canapés and drinks. We could not wait to head out in the area around the Villa to do some couple shots with this gorgeous looking couple during the best light of the day. Have a special look at the outstanding wedding dress, which was made by Angelika’s cousin herself. It was breathtakingky beautiful. We had simply the best light for a shoot. We love those soft colors in Tuscany — the trees, the olive gardens and old Italian streets and houses.”

Wedding Photography | Carmen and Ingo Photography, Wedding Venue | Villa Sermolli in Buggiano Castello, Tuscany, Italy Wedding Styling, Concept, Stationery + Decor | Angelika & Artur of Die Hochzeitsfotografen (The Bride & Groom)

Floral Design | Stil(l)leben (The Bride’s Mother), Wedding Dress | Melitta Baumeister (The Bride’s Cousin),

Bride’s Shoes | Miss Selfridge, Groom’s Suit | Windsor, Groom’s Boots | Durango, Rings | Michaela Roemer

Moments…

May // 19

Photo by Samantha Pilkington of Diana Sanders Photography

Kumeu Valley Estate wedding by Lene Photography

May // 17

The days of hiring a photographer for your wedding who also happens to live in your city are long gone. These days couples are flying their favourite photographers to their wedding location from all around the world. And there’s another trend happening where photographers are fleeing winter in their home countries and spending a couple of months enjoying summer elsewhere, travelling and shooting a few weddings in what is effectively their off-season. Sounds like the perfect plan to me… perhaps I could convince my hubby to retrain as a photographer so we could do this!! Lene & Victor from Lene Photography are one such couple doing this. They left a cold German winter and spent the summer here and shooting in and around the North Island and whilst here captured Zara & Mark’s gorgeous Kumeu Valley Estate wedding.

From the bride: My dress was from Rue de Seine in Newmarket. Once I stepped foot in the store and met Michele and Michael I knew that was it. I’m fussy about fabric quality and what I liked about Rue de Seine was how beautiful the fabrics were (silks and French lace – to die for!) and how much care they put into tailoring. They were incredibly lovely to deal with and went out of their way to make sure that my dress was perfect for me. I have quite simple taste so I went for a dress made of grainy, Dupion silk in ivory with little silk buttons down the back.

We imagined a pretty, festive summer garden wedding with close friends and family, followed by a merry celebration. We had both been to a wedding at Kumeu Valley Estate previously and really liked how relaxed the venue felt. My mum made 80metres of bunting, which we strung around the venue, and little pot plants to line the outdoor aisle.

All of the decorative elements were done on a budget, and because of our three-month engagement (with Christmas in the middle of it and both working in busy full-time jobs) we had to be choosy with what we spent time on. Mark designed and printed all the stationery himself and Mum made bunting and other little bits and pieces to decorate the venue. We had to let go of a few little details and play to our strengths, but it all worked out perfectly and we were blessed with the most beautiful hot summery weather on the day.

My wedding flowers were soft and relaxed – I didn’t want anything that looked overdone. Kelly at Blush put together wild, loosely-tied bouquets of David Austen roses, lambs ear, garden roses, small clusters of Gypsophila, Lisianthus blooms in soft pastel tones. For the table settings we used a similar combination of flowers in different glass bottles and vases. The flowers exceeded my expectations.
Focus your energy on thinking about what marriage (the institution of marriage) means to you and why you’re doing it, and make sure that it takes up more of your headspace than planning the wedding.
The ceremony was my most memorable moment! I loved walking up the aisle with my proud dad and seeing Mark standing up there waiting for me. It felt so good for both of us to be standing before friends and family and God and making these declarations to each other. Our friends Fraser and Naomi Browne (aka Paper Cranes) sung a few songs during the ceremony and it was just really enjoyable.

Photographer | Lene Friesen, Florist | Flowers by Blush, Music | Paper Cranes, Cake | The Boutique Baker Co

Venue | Kumeu Valley Estate, Dress Designer | Rue de Seine, Shoes | Mi Piaci, Hair & Make-up | Olga Gill

Bridesmaids Dresses | Kingan Jones, Grooms Attire | Working Style

Lene Photography & Blush by Kelly Amundsen are both members of our directory

Auckland West Coast wedding by Greta Kenyon

May // 16

I have a serious dose of pretty for you from Greta Kenyon Photography but before I get onto that I have to apologise as I completely forgot to announce the winner of the giveaway!! SO the lucky winner of all these goodies is Eliana from A little bit of Country!! Congratulations Eliana!! If you’d like to send me an email we can work out delivery details.

So back to this gorgeousness below… where to start… there is just so much to say about this beautiful wedding, from the bride’s stunning Luci DiBella dress, to the amazing florals by Kelly from Blush, You can also see Lisa & Ant’s lovely west coast engagement shoot here. Lisa is a graphic designer so naturally her wedding has style in spades and luckily for us she’s sharing some of the details with us…

“From the outset I knew I wanted a unique gown that exuded the glamour of the 1920s, 30s and 40s but I didn’t want to limit my search to a particular style. I discovered Luci DiBella’s ready-to-wear collection through the wonderful Louise Anderson. From memory my dress was the second or third I tried on and I loved it instantly. My mum and sister were with me also and it was a special moment when we realised we all agreed that the dress was ‘the one.’”

“We have a mutual love of the ocean – Ant is a volunteer lifeguard at Piha and I grew up in Hawaii so I love to surf. We’ve spent lots of time on the West Coast together over the years and it has always been special to us. We were excited to find Cassels, nestled amongst beautiful native bush on the way to Muriwai. The stunning venue spoke for itself so it carried our vision for a relaxing semi-outdoor wedding easily. Our styling incorporated shades of ocean, peach and grey. We named our reception tables after significant places in Piha and each card was attached to a corked glass bottle filled with black Piha sand.

I am a graphic designer so my first project was to design our stationery. I enjoyed odd little jobs like searching for envelopes in the perfect shade of grey! My amazing mum made our flower girl’s dress and my grandmother spent hours embroidering tiny flowers onto the sash and sleeves – I’m sure it will become a treasured family heirloom. Mum also made our wedding cake – a tower of white almond lamingtons and our bomboniere – apothecary jars filled with our favourite baking including afghans, yo yo’s and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.”

“Our bouquets featured pale grey Dusty Miller leaves, white, peach and blush roses, dahlias and gypsophila. Floral arrangements at the venue consisted of a selection of roses, dahlias and gypsophila displayed in a variety of glass bottles and vases.

We enlisted the talents of dance teacher Aaron Gilmore to help us with our first dance and we had an absolute blast with him in the weeks leading up to the wedding. Aaron had us whirling around the dance floor in no time and we surprised our guests with some great rock ‘n’ roll!

Trust your own judgement and instincts and having confidence in the decisions you make can save lots of time and worry. Make your wedding day uniquely yours by filling it with the things that you and your partner love. Don’t worry about too much about trends or what others might think. Once you start making decisions and sticking to them, everything comes together without too much fuss.”

Photographer | Greta Kenyon, Videographer | White Wedding Video, Cake | Bride’s Mother, Florist | Blush by Kelly Amundsen Stationery | Bride, Venue | Cassels, Dress Designer | Luci DiBella, Shoes | Jean-Michel Cazabat, Hair | Karin Kreutz Talauta, Make-up | Grayson Coutts, Bridesmaids Dresses | Ivy & Aster, Grooms Attire | Working Style

Greta Kenyon & Blush by Kelly Amundsen are both members of our directory