Stunning fall wedding by Alixann Loosle

Why hello there! Did you have a lovely weekend? We had the most fabulous weekend here with stunning summer weather. My last stationery job until the end of January went out the door on Friday so I literally had the whole weekend computer free which is very unusual for me! We had beach walks with Charlie, entertaining on the loveliest summer evening ever, time in the garden... really quite blissful! But I think something I need to do more often! It's good for the soul :-) Finally my first bit of Christmas decor went up and this week I plan on starting and finishing my Christmas shopping in a relaxed fashion - early morning visits to the shops to beat the crowds and traffic is my plan! 

Before I move on to today's feature I just want to take a moment to acknowledge the utterly senseless tragedy that occurred in a tiny New England town over the weekend. I'm quite sure there isn't a single soul that hasn't been touched in some way by such a devastating event. It's really quite difficult to even get the words out to convey the depth of feeling towards the families that have been effected for ever more by this. My heart goes out to everyone who's lives have been tragically ripped apart in the most saddest of ways. It feels very frivolous to be discussing things like the prettiness of weddings, or even acknowledging that on the other side of the world, we're having fabulous weekends, so I just wanted to add this little note in as I'm quite sure it's been on the minds of everyone, everywhere. My thoughts are with them.

I apologise for the photo fest this morning but I am literally mesmerised by the stunning colours in these photos from the fabulous Alixann Loosle. They're just magical and even though I've been yearning for summer for months, this actually has me looking forward to autumn (although not in too much of a hurry!!)... not that we get colours like this around here!

Wedding planner | Kasey Aune @ Harvest Moon Events, Reception center | Silver Moose Ranch, Brian & Tamaran Mooring, Announcement design | Minted, Bride & Groom's rings | Beta Gliphs, Flowers | Kasey Aune @ Harvest Moon Events, Catering: SuAn Chow from Chow Truck,  Cake | Carrie’s Cake, Bride’s dress | White by Vera Wang, Bride’s shoes | Miu Miu, Hair and makeup | Versa Artistry, Bridesmaid dresses | White by Vera Wang, Groom’s suit | Beckett & Robb,  Groomsmen suits: Black by Vera Wang

Bridal Shoot by Stephanie Sunderland

Hello! I hope you've had a fabulous week... mine's actually been really productive. I'm working on some awesome custom designs at the moment. I can see my Christmas break will be spent trying to do shoots of a lot of them... when hopefully the weather settles in summer mode! 

We don't see a lot of bridal shoots around these parts but these beautiful photos by Stephanie Sunderland might have a lots of girls rushing to book one in! Megan... the gorgeous bride with her beautiful freckles!!... met her Spanish fiance Carlos in College. Their wedding planning has been somewhat challenging due to Carlos still waiting for a Visa, and being apart for most of the time, but they're finally able to get married and it's tomorrow!! Wishing you both a wonderfully happy day!!

Rustic Barn Wedding by Ryan Ray

You may have seen this wedding over on Green Wedding Shoes a few months back, but it's just so perfect I had to reshare! And besides any excuse to feature Ryan Ray's work right? It seems that there's been a bit of a shift away from rustic weddings over the past six months, but I for one will never tire of them. I just love all the natural woodsy details... they're very much me! And this wedding really is a treasure... I mean the grooms outfits in the lovely warm autumn tones... and the tweed... LOVE!! And what else... the bridesmaids; beautiful! The brides shoes are adorable... and really the list goes on. Pure fabulousness. If you want to read more about their day head over to Green Wedding Shoes.

Photography | Ryan Ray, Ceremony venue | Squirrel Creek Ranch in Grass Valley California, Reception venue | Miners Foundry Cultural Center in Nevada City, California, Cake | Amy Ngai, Catering | Whole Foods, Coordinator | Roberta Runyan, DJ | Ryan Hernandez, Dress | Elizabeth Dye of The English Department, Shoes | ASOS, Flowers | Bride’s mother and a friend of the family

Board#218: Copper Tone

Morning all. Whilst we're moving (ever so slowly) towards summer here in New Zealand, a lot of you will be preparing for upcoming fall weddings in the Northern Hemisphere, or in the midst of planning for one in our autumn in 6 months. Rather than using a lot of warm reds and oranges, another option is to keep it neutral with plenty of texture, but still use very rich warm copper tones, with some burnt toffee and mocha shades. And of course a little pop of persimmon orange just lifts it a little. Extra yummy if you ask me!

Photos from top left; Tablesetting | Sarah Winward, Cake | Sprinkle Bakes, Pie | Souder Photography, Mini desserts | Lyla & Blu, Persimmon Centrepiece | Martha Stewart, Calligraphy on Leaves | Meagan Tidwell (photo Ali Harper)

Colourful Autumn Engagement Shoot by Vela Images

Ooo how I adore the colours of autumn and it's shown off in all her beauty with this scrumptious engagement shoot by Greta of Vela Images. 

Timing has been crucial for Peter and Jessica. They met on New Years Eve '06/07 in Taupo, New Zealand, through a mutual friend only moments before midnight. It was a chance meeting in every sense, with professional sportsman Peter only in town for a few nights, and Jess's friends having drawn Taupo out of a hat of destinations hours earlier, that afternoon. They went their separate ways before fate intervened again, a few weeks later. Peter broke a finger, forcing a 5 week break from the hectic cricket season, and next thing you know an unlikely relationship started, that took them all round the world.

Fast forward 3 years and they returned to Taupo for a romantic weekend to end the '09/10 cricket season. In the preceding weeks Jess began plotting, and with Peter's guard down, blinded by brunch and a thrilling Huka Falls Jetboat ride, she delivered the most romantic wedding proposal possible, popping the question on a private jetty on the banks of the Waikato river, at Huka Falls Lodge.

With their upcoming wedding having a vintage chic theme, they wanted their love shoot to have a similar feel, so chose old school props from On My Hand that fitted the theme. The Autumn colors and Jess's natural sense of style were a perfect fit for the Art Deco theme and after seeing their photos from Vela Images, can't wait for their big day to arrive.

Board#150: Teal & Sunshine

Morning all! Did you all have a nice weekend? I'm not entirely sure what's happened to spring around here as it's kinda chilly still and very rainy!!! Bring on the warm summer days!! They can't come soon enough for me. But because it's still a little cool and a lot of my readers will just be heading into fall/autumn I think this board kinda covers all bases. I think this is quite the lovely palette for an autumn wedding as it steers clear of the usual deep oranges and reds we often see. Not that I don't love those too... cause I really do, but it's always nice to see something unexpected. And adding a touch of warm yellow into this palette just lifts it and adds a bit of brightness to it. Hope you have a great start to the week! K xo

Photos from top left; Model in rowboat | Stephanie Williams for Ruche, Bouquet | Ken Keinow via Style Me Pretty

2nd row; Seed Packet | unknown source, Bride | Jose Villa for Rue Magazine, Bottles | , Escort Card Display | Jose Villa

3rd row; Tablesetting | unknown source, Ceramic horse | Jose Villa

Board#148: Coral & Mustard

Wow, what a slack blogger I've been!! I think this has been my longest silence yet!! But I missed you so thought I'd better pop in before the week was out! I've just been so overwhelmed with things I needed it to take a back seat whilst I did my best to get up to speed with the day job. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has these moments in their business. I'd love to hear how others of you out there cope with incredibly busy schedules... have you just learnt to say no? I think that's something I need to learn... in a hurry! Any tricks for time management? I'm all ears!!
I know the colours for this board look quite summery but I think they could also be carried over for an early autumn wedding. It all depends on how you use them. Bringing in different textures will differentiate between a summer and autumn feel. Make the most of the beautiful foliage around at that time of year and incorporate it into your bouquet and decor. And of course having a cute floral umbrella on hand like this isn't a foolish idea with the unpredictable weather during this time of year.

Photos from top left; Coral & Mustard dresses | Stephanie Rausser, Stripy bowtie | Anna Kuperberg, Yellow shoes | Sara Grey

2nd row; Coke bottles | TerraDawn Photography, Lamps | Macs Ale House

3rd row; Bride with umbrella | Anahi Navarro, Chair | Souder Photography, Suit | unknown

Cider Orchard Inspiration Board

Morning lovelies... did you have a nice weekend? This is a board I did many a moon ago but have never shared on the blog, and as many of you are heading into the deliciousness of fall soon, and many others will be starting to plan fall weddings, I thought it was as good a time as any to share it with you. I have yet another super busy week ahead of me, so I'm hitting it hard!!

Photos from top left; Cider | Eat, Drink, Pretty Blog, Tractor | Etsy, Couple in Orchard | Jill Thomas

2nd row; Rattan Cake | by Jose Villa, Cowboy Boots | Jeremy Harwell, Chocolate Scarf | Tickled Pink Knits, Couple with bike | Allyson Magda

3rd row; Mustard Shoes | Ruche, Autumn Scene | Duston Todd, Couple in Orchard | Jill Thomas

Board#140: Hearts of Plaid...

Here we are facing another wet and wild week... even if the sun is shining right this minute!! If your from around my parts I'm sure you'll totally understand my being just a little fed up with the weather... sunny for 5 mins, outside taking photos, step inside and the clouds unleash and it's thunder and lightening!! Crazy I tell ya!! I'm actually quite big on a good rainy day but seriously enough is enough!! Unfortunately the outlook for this week isn't much better, rain, storms, hail etc. On the plus side it did mean I could just knuckle down and make some serious inroads on the website... the downside means that I'll have to delay some of the new designs until the weather is good enough for me to shoot. Nothing wrong with dragging it out though right :-) It's my birthday week this week, and my husband can never wait to give me my presents, so I received a couple early yesterday... more to come later in the week apparently so I'm sure that will get me through!! Have a great Monday xo

Photos from top left; Plaid shirts | Tec Petaja, Couple | Tanja Lippert, Hearts | Christine Meintjes

3rd row; Flowers | unknown source, Plaid skirts | Tec Petaja, Heart | Gina Zeidler

4th row; Couple at cabin | Max Wanger, Apple Tart | Ellie Miller

Board#139: Twilight Treasure

Don't the colours of this just leap out of the page at you? Well they do to me... something about that image of the apple butter top left just makes me happy. Not sure why? The colour, the cute labels, the twine, the old family scales... perfect. It all has that lovely late autum afternoon feeling to it. And that's a magical kinda light which makes for a truly enchanting time to get married. So your guests may have to rug up a little to stay outdoors for the ceremony but you can make it inviting and cosy for them by providing wraps and blankets... it will only add to the ambiance. I am busy busy trying to get my new website up (I this this might be the most drawn out website plan ever!!!). I'm sooo happy with how it's coming together and hoping for a launch around this time next week... I fear that may be wishful thinking, but surely in the next couple of weeks at least!! I hope you have a wonderful Friday planned!!

Board#119: Pumpkin & Artichoke

I'm holding on to the last days of summer for dear life and whilst it's still beautiful out there and lovely and warm right now, there's no denying there's a change in the air. The light has that early autumn look to it, in the shade it's just that much more cooler. Having only been in our house for five months, I love seeing it with fresh eyes in each season... it's actually amazing how much of a difference I notice with the different light, where it falls in the house now as opposed to a few months back. I can't wait to get some big trees planted so we have lovely Autumn foliage next year. Everyone keeps telling me how annoying it'll be with leaves all over the driveway but I don't care... I want lovely bright colourful leaves everywhere!! This board to me is early Autumn... not quite into the rich reds and yellows that late Autumn brings, still with that hint of summer freshness.

Board#114: Wheat Fields

Like most people around the world I have been glued to the TV this weekend in utter shock at the devastating images we're seeing coming out of Japan. After our own local tragedy in Christchurch only a few short weeks ago, I had reached saturation point of reading and watching about it as I found it so upsetting, however I feel guilty at even thinking or saying that as the people suffering through it don't have the option of simply turning off the TV or closing the paper... they're in a living nightmare 24/7. For the first time in months on Saturday I simply didn't have it in me to put a post up, it just didn't feel right looking through pretty pictures that seem so frivolous and trivial as such a time as this, and inspiration has certainly been hard to come by over the past few days. I know everyone goes through times when they're not feeling inspired and sometimes it feels as though it won't come back but I'm sure it will in it's own good time! Thankfully I have a few backup posts which takes the pressure off :-) I hope that despite the catastrophic world events, this brings a little sunshine to your day! Sending all my thoughts out to those in Japan.

Photos from top left; Model in field | Rebekah Westover via Ruffled, Books & Pipe | Shannon Nicole Smith via Ruffled, Love letters | Helen Norman, Bride in leaves | Dixie Pixel via Be Inspired

2nd row; Bikes | unknown source, Cups on tray | Sunday Suppers, Metal Hearts | Jose Villa