Board#25: Outdoor Fiesta

Morning everyone, I'm a bit slow off the mark today, the Christmas countdown is on, with little more than three weeks to get a lot of work out the door and in the post so I'm squeezing in time for blogging when I can. We have some great magazine giveaways coming up in the next couple of weeks so be sure to visit back to make sure you don't miss out! We may just blackmail you into having to make comments to be in to win though so get prepared :-)
Today's board started out as one thing and turned into something completely different but that's often the best way. It's all about the casual outdoor celebration, whether it be on a beach or in a beautiful field, whether it be a wedding or just a good excuse for a party! With long banquet tables, a live band to set the ambiance, some fruity cocktails, twinkly lanterns scattered throughout, and all your nearest and dearest, you have the recipe for a fabulous event!
Hope you all have a great Monday!



Top photo from left; Photo by Meg Smith via Alison Events, Bath Salts by Union Photography, Beach sign via Green Wedding Shoes
2nd row; Musicians via Alison Events, model on chair by Erica McConnell, Blue Sombrero by Thayer Allyson Gowdy via Alison Events
3rd row; Interior via Coco+Kelley, Beach Setting by Thayer Allyson Gowdy via Alison Events, Car photo by Ed Gallagher

What's your wedding style? IX

Woohoo, we've made it through another week! Can you believe Christmas is in 4 weeks? Scary. I haven't given it so much as a passing thought so I can see it's all going to be a bit last minute! And today I'd also like to wish a very Happy Thanksgiving to all our US readers!

So you've gotta love the colours going on in this board right? Opulent and rich and pretty all at once. Would make for a stunning autumn wedding me thinks. Loving the purple with that pop of chartreuse green. If you'd like to see our previous Wedding Style posts click here.



A selection of paper goods from Ruby & Willow, clockwise from top left; Honeycomb, Marrakech, Michelle&Ben Custom Design using stunning flocked paper, and Salzburg.

Classic Covers

Saw these cute covers of the Classics in my local Borders yesterday and just had to snap them....excuse the dodgy IPhone images! Great colours and images. If only I had the time to read one of them....

Stationery Snapshot

This is an invite I recently did for some lovely clients of mine, Georgie & Tejay. They actually flew up from Wellington to come and see me which I was quietly honoured by! Georgie was great to work with, she had a pretty clear idea of what she wanted which makes my job all the more easier.....not to say that putting this invite together was easy!.....there were a few challenges encountered along the way, but I think they turned out beautifully, don't you? And what's more Georgie & Tejay hit the streets to hand deliver most of these to their guests themselves. Now it doesn't come more personal than that does it? That's one invitation you'll never forget. And they said it was a fantastic way to catch up with friends and family at the same time. Love it!

Real Wedding: Hamish + Harriet Part II

We're back with more from Hamish & Harriet's lovely wedding sent in by Jody Lidstone. And in case you're wondering about those gorgeous blooms.....Leaf & Honey.



Any DIY/Budget elements?
As well as designing my dress and the bridesmaids dresses, the table decorations – tables with herb/plant names – ivy, rosemary etc
Describe your wedding flowers:
Gorgeous soft roses with trailing ivy!
Favourite detail of the day:
We loved having our wedding as a lunch rather than dinner – loved it all and then going back in the car in the evening to relax at the westin hotel in town.
What advise would you give out to someone planning their wedding?
Plan ahead and find people you really like for suppliers and then leave it up to them
Most memorable moment?
It was all amazing, the actual ceremony probably and the fun with photos. It was all perfect – amazing weather and a gorgeous day in all
What’s next for you as a couple?
Kids!

Thanks for sharing your perfect day with us! We wish you all the best for a happy future together!

Real Wedding: Hamish + Harriet Part I

We are featuring the sweetest wedding today courtesy of the lovely and very talented Jody Lidstone. Hamish and Harriet got married at Vin Alto, a boutique winery in Clevedon and they've been generous enough to share their wedding with us. You've just gotta love a wedding with the guys rockin' Italian style boater hats! And Harriet....well she's one clever lady designing both her dresses and the bridesmaids! Read on for further details from the bride.



Tell us about your proposal:
Picnic breakfast on Waitangi day at Duders National Park on a hill side overlooking the sea – suddenly a box was found in the picnic basket! A few seconds after the on one knee proposal a heap of tourists happen to pop up around the hill side behind us!
Tell us about finding your wedding dress:
I was in Sydney on holiday and I saw a dress in a window –and went in - turns out they were two sisters in a dress making shop - been on Oxford St long before it was cool - they were like my fairy god mothers! They told me they would just measure me up in case I did decide to have something made by them – got back to Auckland and couldn’t find the right thing at the right price so I called them up and arranged it all and went back over for a fitting with my design in toe – they don’t have emails! I chose everything and then my bridesmaid was over there and picked it up – it was perfect and fitted perfectly – so long as not much breathing was required!
What was the inspiration for your wedding?
Romantic, classic, gold and rose gold and soft apricot and creams, Italian vineyard location.

Sneak Peek: Hamish + Harriet

Come by for a visit tomorrow to see this sweet country wedding!

AQUIESSE candles

On top of my stationery design, I also import and distribute the most gorgeous candle range from California. AQUIESSE is a soy organic range with the most delicious fragrances. I was getting an order ready to ship out and playing around with the tester tins and had to snap a couple of shots of these great colour combos. Their packaging is all class and with a great logo to boot!

Charity Event Roundup II

More tabletop inspiration from this charity event.

Board#24: Summer Delight

Happy Monday everyone! I am so ready for summer get here and stay here, but it's taking it's sweet time so meanwhile I'll dream up these scenarios to keep me satisfied. This board conjurs up the prettiest of summer weddings, all outdoors, tables laid with beautiful linens, mis-matched vintage china, handpicked flowers scattered in bud vases and how about a game of croquet for afternoon entertainment? Sounds perfect to me!



Top from left; China photo by Janne Peters, photo by Elisabeth Messina, Dessy Bridesmaid Dress
2nd row; succulent bouquet via The Brides Cafe, Bed Linen by Ed Gallagher, Hydrangeas by Courtenay Lambert
3rd row; bride photo by Leo Patrone, Bridesmaids photo via Wedding Style Guide

Stationery Snapshot

A few jobs that have gone out the door recently. First up the Botanique Design from the Signature Collection in Sand and Sage....a nice subtle combination giving a slightly vintage feel to it. Following that the Jardin Design in Raisin and Dusk....so pretty in these colours!! And paired with grey envelopes. And lastly some personalised notecards in such a cute Matryoshka Doll design. I love doing these! Abbey, a previous client of mine, has had me design a few sets of these for friends birthdays and wedding gifts. Such a lovely idea. And a great Christmas present! If anyone would like some personalised stationery designed for Christmas gifts email me!

What's your wedding style VIII

Yeah, we've made it to another Friday! I hope you all have an exciting weekend planned. I have an afternoon of Pimms, sunshine, friends & family planned, followed by a New Moon outing tomorrow! What a line up....can't wait!
Today's little colour snap feature...wait for it...yes yellow (aren't you over it yet you may ask!). Well frankly no. Previously I've paired it with slate and ash grey's but it's equally as lovely with a warm donkey brown shade. This would make a nice palette for any time of year really. Freshen it up with lots of ivory/white for spring and summer weddings, or deepen the tones for fall and winter soirees. Either way you're onto a winner in my eyes.



As I'm sure you've gathered by now I do love to combine patterns so this is a recurring theme in my work, and of course envelope liners are my current crush! There's a couple of new designs below that are yet to make an appearance on the website...one of these days when I get some spare time (!) perhaps. You can always email me to get a round up of new designs.

Charity Event Roundup I

We have a few posts covering the rest of our tables at the Endometriosis Charity Function Magnolia Rouge styled a few weeks ago, so this is part one of the roundup. For all previous posts on this click here. All stationery by Ruby & Willow, flowers by Flowers at Pink and photography by Diana Sanders.

A Paperless Wedding anyone?

Now I know it's a little bit strange for me to be promoting this concept, as I'm all about the printed paper goods, however I can completely appreciate how this is a very appealing concept to a lot of couples getting married. I'm talking about Paperless Wedding, a new company that offers something a bit different to the normal wedding invite by combining an email invite with a website (with a gift list on the horizon!). For clients wanting a green wedding or who are on a bit of a budget this is a fantastic option. And what's more they offer a free two week trial so it's a great way to check it out.

Emma from Paperless Wedding explains a little more more about how it works.
Paperless Wedding works by the couple logging on and setting up their account. They select their theme and sometimes the colour and then proceed to add in all their details under the venue and events tab. The more information that you put in the better it looks and feels. They can also add their own pages like wet weather plans, gift lists and bridal party details. You can upload a guest list from excel or enter each individually and assign them an invite. Then all you have to do is send!

The guests get an email with a link. This takes them through to the couples website where they can RSVP and see all the details about the big day. They can also upload photos and write a message on the message board. We have a lots of additions coming over the next few months that include thank you emails, reminders and more themes.

Check out their website here or visit their blog for more info.

Real Wedding: Kay + Andrew Part III

If you've just joined us, check out the earlier posts of Kay and Andrew's fabulous wedding by Emma Hughes. How stunning is that photo of Kay - top centre? Simply gorgeous!



Most memorable moment?
Kay: Reading of my mother’s poetry during the ceremony – it was a poem written about my grandparents and ‘simple’ love over the ages.
Andrew: Being challenged to do record amount of push ups during the speeches by one of the groomsmen and doing it!
What’s next for you as a couple?
Andrew had been living in Wellington for 5 months prior to the wedding due to a government contract job. So now I move my life from Auckland to a new city and we start out together on a new adventure as a family.

We wish you all the best in your new life together! Thanks for sharing your day with us!

Real Wedding: Kay + Andrew Part II

I love a moody sky and I think it offsets the wedding dress perfectly in these stunning photos of a Waiheke Island wedding from Emma Hughes. It looks so inviting with the rich, romantic colours and I particularly like how they're paired it with a chestnut brown as well as black. Kay and Andrew are a story of modern romance, meeting online and quickly discovering they were meant to be... read our earlier post for more on their story. These delicious looking cupcakes here were made by Sweetcakes on Waiheke....makes me hungry looking at them! Some more details from the bride below and we have a bit more loveliness coming up so stay tuned.



Favourite detail of the day?
Andrew and I escaped after the ceremony to do our couple shots off-site with Emma. It was our time to be with each other – to dwell on what we had just done, to be a loved up married couple and unfortunately for Emma and her partner – to make out like crazy for an hour or so before we returned to celebrate with family and friends.
What advise would you give out to someone planning their wedding?
Brides - don’t do it on your own. Even if you think you can, it is just so much more fun and exciting if you can either work together as a couple ( fights and all!) or for the bride to have a best friend or family member who will put aside a couple of months to do it together. Doing it on your own can make it seem like just hard work and having a 2nd person’s ideas can really help make the final result that much more fantastic!
Were there any special traditions that you included?
Andrew is ex boarding school and ex US Marines and he wanted to have all of his best mates ceremoniously guarding him during the ceremony. So we had 7 groomsmen and only 3 bridesmaids; it looked a bit uneven but it meant the world to the Andrew.
We also had the box (Egyptian wood design with turquoise inlay) that held the proposal cipher and all the love letters which the ‘treasure hunt’ key opened on our engagement – it was brought in the bridal car, the Mother of the bride held it during the ceremony and then it was placed on the bridal table for the rest of the night – this has become our 1st family heirloom and will be handed onto our children as a sign of our love.

Real Wedding: Kay + Andrew Part I

Todays gorgeous wedding sent over by Emma Hughes is all about romance....classic winter romance. Kay and Andrew got married at Cable Bay Vineyard on the lovely Waiheke Island. Doesn't it just ooze warm, winter romance...especially with those capelets. Kay shares some details about their day with us below....check out the proposal story, so creative! Oh and those classic rose bouquets and table displays were done by Lotta Arthur from the Waiheke Island Florist. Check back later for more of their lovely story and equally gorgeous photos.



How did you meet?
Online dating website – took us about 4 weeks to meet face-to-face
Tell us about your proposal:
It was my (Kay's) birthday and Andrew had organised a huge treasure hunt for me around Waiheke Island – which I thought was just for my birthday. It ended with dinner at Cable Bay and a key, love letters and clues picked up during treasure hunt which deciphered a code, hidden in a locked box that spelt out will you marry me. The proposal was just two months after we had met but neither of us were getting any younger and knew the right thing when we found it.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress:
After trying on so many dresses outside of the ‘smart’ budget – a wonderful bridal shop offered to hire out one of their (my favourite) dresses for ½ the price. It was simple, understated structured, and made from a heavy dupion silk with small crystals beaded into the side bodice. It was from Bridal Brilliance.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding?
Deeply in Love, Deep Romantic Reds and a beautiful logo we found with red flowers/hearts which was used for website, invites and seating plan and also inspired flowers and table settings.
Describe your wedding flowers:
My bouquet was a dark red/black roses that just said ‘winter romance’ all over wrapped in simple satin ribbon. For the tables we had tall twisted willow branches with dark red bud roses threaded onto branches to represent winter turning into spring, new beginnings and to give a darkly mysterious yet striking contrast to the dark dark wood in Cable Bay’s vaulted ceiling dining room.
Describe your wedding cake:
We chose cup cakes in three difference flavours – white chocolate, dark chocolate and ‘passion’ fruit assembled on a tower, each wrapped in dark red/chocolate brown satin ribbon and topped with a red jelly baby – the grooms favourite!

More coming soon.

Sneak Peek: Kay + Andrew

Check back in tomorrow for this gorgeous romantic winter wedding sent over by Emma Hughes! Trust me the story will warm your heart!

Snippet & Ink feature

Woo-hoo, I'm over on Snippet and Ink today....very exciting! Kathryn has written up a lovely piece about Ruby & Willow so thankyou, thankyou, thankyou!! Her blog was the first one I stumbled upon in this blogging world and has been a constant daily read ever since, full of the best inspiration boards you've ever seen and the cutest real weddings. In fact before I started Magnolia Rouge she so very generously gave me advise about blogging, which when you don't have a clue (and really I mean I had no idea!), it's good to have some expert help. And so nice in this competitive environment we operate in, to find someone willing to share their knowledge.

Invitation: Nicola & Ian

Nicola and Ian wanted a pocketfold featuring a calla lily....so that's what they got!! Nice colour combo huh? The burgundy with a mocha and pale gold. I did a custom design map for them as well which came out kinda cute!
So congrats to Nicola & Ian, hope you had a fab wedding day!

Charity Event Tablescape III

If you missed our posts last week on the Charity Event Magnolia Rouge styled click here to catch up. Our third feature table used lemons as the centrepiece. I love the use of fruits as part of your floral bouquet, or just enmasse as we've done here.....although we have scattered a few orchids amongst them. Photos once again are thanks to Diana Sanders and all flowers were created by the lovely Sue from Flowers at Pink.

Board#23: Cherry Delight

Happy Monday to you all. Thought we'd start the week on a fun, bright note. How stunning would a wedding look with these pops of red and blue! From a cool aqua blue, to a warm teal all shades look fabulous teamed with a rich red. It's so playful and sassy! How cute are those bridesmaids outfits with their clutches! A wedding that doesn't take itself too seriously is indeed a fun wedding to attend.



Top photo from left; Still Life by Janne Peters, unknown, Bride via Alison Events, Cherries by Helen Norman
2nd row; Bridesmaids by Duston Todd, Car photo via Wedding Style Guide, Table Setting by Magnolia Rouge, China Photo by Helen Norman
3rd row; Invitation by Ruby & Willow, unknown, unknown, Escort cards by Ruby & Willow

Stationery Snapshot

I'm about to head away for the weekend after what's been another insanely busy week, but I'm going to leave you with an invite that just went out the door. Our Tuileries design from the Signature Collection in wisteria & donkey. Such a pretty colour combination! I have loads of recent work to post, just need to take some pics over the coming weeks.
Happy weekend everyone!

What's your wedding style? VII

Happy Friday everyone.....my lovely husband has booked us into a quaint beachside spot for the weekend with some good friends...very spontaneously I might add so I'm more than a little impressed. It's the only way to stop me working.... physically remove me from my office. It'll be a much needed break, after a fairly non-stop month. I plan to visit the always fabulous Matakana farmers markets, get creative with my camera, stroll the beach in bare feet, and then put them up to read a book (I have to admit to trying to resist reading New Moon before the movie comes out!).

Anyway I digress...this weeks board was inspired by this beautiful wedding by Carrie Patterson. I know I say this every time, but I really do love this colourway. It's honestly one of my faves - of course it includes green so we're all happy!



I've paired with it an assortment of invitations from the Ruby & Willow Signature Collection. Hard to pick my favourite....what's yours?
If you're new to Magnolia Rouge and want to catch up with previous editions of our WYWS series, click here.

Charity Event Tablescape II

The Charity event that Magnolia Rouge styled a few weeks back was for experting put on by Astra Bridal with the always fabulous Gayle Garmaz from Exquisite Weddings as organiser extraordinaire. Honestly I don't know how she does it, the amount of hours that go into these events, and doing it in and around an already busy schedule....I am in awe! Brides if you're on the hunt for a planner, do yourself a favour and talk to Gayle! I promise you will have the most stress free day ever! Anyway back to the event, we were very priveledged to have the incredibly lovely Miriama Kamo from TV's 20/20 host the evening, and well as some Auckland rugby players participate in a fun auction, which helped raise a great amount of money for the NZ Endometriosis Society. Annah Stretton kindly loaned Miriama and some of the other presenters/organisers some fabulous outfits to parade in. I'll try and bring you some photos of the actual event next week but in the meantime here's another of the tablescapes.

Crisp green and white is a colour combo I'll never tire of. I found this pretty fabric with a pale green print, made a runner and napkin bands and tied them with a grosgrain ribbon. It's such an easy DIY option to give your tables a completely unique look. And who says you have to use the same fabric throughout, use different patterns in the same colourways. Search fabric warehouses for offcuts or vintage pieces. We paired it with our Arboretum and Birdsong invitations which worked well with the gorgeous birdcage centrepiece. The table has a simple sweet organic feel to it, I love it. Not only lovely for a wedding, but for a bridal shower perhaps? Thanks again to Diana Sanders for the fab photos!

Real Wedding: Sarah + Matt III

A huge thankyou goes out to Kate MacPherson who sent us this loveliest of weddings from Boomrock to feature today, and of course to Sarah and Matt for generously sharing their details with us. Sarah's oh so gorgeous dress is by Provonias, and her stunning makeup was done by Michelle Perry.

Some parting words from the bride:
What advise would you give out to someone planning their wedding?
Make sure you take 15 minutes to relax with your new husband during the day ~ it goes so fast and before you know it the day is over. Oh and a pair of jandals to party the night away in!
Most memorable moment?
It had to be walking down the isle with my dad on one side and seeing all your close friends and family together with the most perfect husband watching you.
What’s next for you as a couple?
Enjoying time together in our new home and relaxing with our puppy, Ruby ☺

Congratulations Sarah & Matt, we wish you both all the best for a happy future together!

Real Wedding: Sarah + Matt II

I am thrilled to have the chance to show you this fantastic wedding from Kate MacPherson. I absolutely love her style of shooting, and look forward to bringing you a lot more of her gorgeous work. In the meantime to see more check out her website...and she tells me there's a blog in the works so keep an eye out for that!

Sarah & Matt wanted simple & classical affair but elegant at the same time. They chose to feature lots of candles in antique votives with flowers everywhere to create a garden feel with lots of fragrance. Sarah shares a few of the gorgeous details with us below including the super pretty flowers that were put together by Ingrid from Scent Boutique in Wellington.

We set out for a classic garden theme ~ very white and green with lots of smells, on the tables it was a mixture of white roses, lambs ears, rosemary, sage amongst others. The bridal bouquet was stunning and complimented our theme and my dress perfectly. For our wedding cake we took the idea from a UK bridal magazine and tailored it to our own requirements…2 tiers of chocolate and one of lemon with a lush white chocolate frosting and loads of antique white and soft pink roses all over one side ~ there was nothing left!

Favourite detail of the day?
I found my grandmothers veil who had passed away 10 years ago in the back of a wardrobe, she had made it herself and it was gorgeous ~ had a few holes and patches of brown to the age but it made even that bit more special.

Real Wedding: Sarah + Matt

Ok, stunning bride alert!!! Honestly do they come more gorgeous than this! When I saw a snippet of this wedding sent by the incredibly talented Kate MacPherson I had to mail straight back to get me some more eye candy! Sarah & Matt got married at Boomrock, which is a stunning venue on the coast just north of Wellington. To add to the drama of the location they got helicoptered in to make for an unforgettable entry! Sarah & Matt share some details of their day below....GREAT proposal story, and we'll have more beautiful photos to share later in the day so don't forget to check back.



More from the happy couple:
How did you meet?
Sarah and I met at a rugby club prize giving at a bar. She was there only by accident but what a fortunate one it was. We ended up and running around the waterfront to another bar in the rain before talking all night.
Tell us about your proposal:
The proposal was a few months in the planning and coincided with a holiday to Greece. Somehow I managed to keep the ring a secret for the entire journey. The proposal started off with joint massages at a cliff top hotel in Santorini before a manicure for Sarah. This was followed by champagne and brunch over looking the ocean before being picked up for a surprise private boat cruise around Santorini on a private 40 ft launch. Sarah had the pleasure of listening to a mix CD that I had made of our previous 5 years together before I hopped down on one knee and proposed. Thankfully Sarah said yes and we celebrated with Dom Perignon and lunch on the boat before a swim in the middle of the ocean.
The day was capped off with the room being covered in rose petals on our return from the cruise and a private dinner over looking the ocean that evening.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress:
It was a complete mistake! We were living in the UK and I thought it would be special to try on a few at Harrods while my mum was over from NZ ~ not thinking I would find the one after 3 try ons! I knew it was the one even before I had it on…typically it was the heaviest dress but I feel in love with it straight away.

Coming up...

Check back in tomorrow for this gorgeous wedding by Kate McPherson

Charity Event Tablescape I

A couple of weeks back.....actually a month now (seriously where does time go?), Magnolia Rouge were involved in a fantastic charity event for the NZ Endometriosis Society, put on by Astra Bridal and ourselves. It was held at the Auckland Museum which has this fabulous room at the top overlooking the whole of Auckland - sensational views, and a great wedding venue! It was run like a boutique wedding show with 22 vendors having their own table and a chance for prospective brides to have a more intimate chat with suppliers compared to the standard wedding show. Magnolia Rouge styled all of the tables differently and I'm delighted to finally have some photos to show you. I'm going to stretch them out over a week or so, but to start with I'll bring you one of my favourites - and it was my table of course!! I love the look of hand-picked flowers in mason jars so I was excited to use this. Now I'm no florist obviously (that would be Sue who did the rest of the flowers...this was my baby!) so this suited me well as there's not a whole lot of arranging needed. I found this gorgeous floral fabric with a vintage look to it and made it into a runner, then put an assortment of silver filigree jars and votives amongst the flower jars. Check back throughout the week as we bring you more tables.
All photos are by the very talented Diana Sanders.