Board#192: Country Chic

Hello!! Did you all have a lovely weekend? After a crazy week last week with the launch of Issue 3 of {MAG}rouge, I gave myself the whole weekend off which was fabulous!! Lots of reading, movie watching, napping, lunching, walks with Charlie (including one unplanned one around the neighbouring properties when she went walkabout for an hour!! Panic and tears ensued I assure you!!).
Thank you so much for all your support and kind words over the magazine, it means so much to myself and the girls. I think it's had almost 100 shares on facebook which is truly phenomenal!! The next month will see me head down on Ruby & Willow. I have several new designs to photograph and get up on the site, and possibly a new blog design as well. Now that we're well and truly into winter I need to make the most of these cooler days to get things done!

Photos from top left; Cowboy Boots | Smitten Photography, Bride | Alison C, Tablesetting | Aaron Delesie, Cake & Table in field | Jose Villa,

Countryside Engagement shoot from Kate Grewal

Why hello there! Did you all have a lovely weekend? I must admit to having worked quite a bit of it, but I got SO much done that I really didn't mind. It feels great to start the week off with things already ticked off the list. We are on the downward slope for Issue No. 3 of {MAG}rouge and we have a few shoots coming up in the next few weeks and I'll be getting stuck into the design. I also have quite a few things in the works regarding the blog and hopefully some new invitation designs in the coming weeks!! I have to be honest, I kinda lost my mojo (hate it when that happens!!) there for a while but I think it's on it's way back!! Wa-hoo!! And of course starting the week of with such loveliness as this engagement shoot from Kate Grewal, well I can't help but be inspired. Although it does have me wanting to go and frolic in such sunwashed fields rather than sit at my desk!! Kate's done such a gorgeous job of capturing this and I'm thrilled to have her on the blog for the first time!

From Kate: Lara and Jason are the most adventurous couple that I have ever had the pleasure of shooting with. They sailed to New Zealand from Trinidad a year and a half ago, and have been loving their Kiwi life here ever since. They plan to have a Boho beach wedding in the Bahamas in 2013. When they are not on the water setting sail for their next adventure, you can find them riding at Tasman horse Rides in Helensville.

Blue & White French Country Dinner Party...

A couple of weeks ago my lovely friend Erin of Sparkle & Hay featured this shoot from a dinner party I recently styled and I thought I'd also share it on here today. It was a French style Raclette Party for a 50th birthday party, and I'm sure you've probably guessed but the fabulous rustic style macaron tower was beautifully crafted by the amazing Judit from Artisan Cakes, as well as the rooster cookies, and the stunning photography was by Jasmine from Sutherland Kovach. I just love working with these ladies!! We were going for a country vintage feel inspired by the amazing blue toile fabric. To keep it interesting I combined it with a ticking cloth for that quintessential French look. I love how the blue looks with the greenery (note the amazing rustic florals by Annie Oxborough) and the olives!! The invitations were printed on kraft to add a rustic appeal, and the menu's had guests names attached using my favourite item... mini wooden pegs. I even branched out and did some DIY for this shoot... I had a wooden frame (kindly made by Judit's husband I should add!) which I covered in foam, and then the toile cloth before tacking chicken wire to the back. This was used as a board with guest name tags on and would be fabulous as a seating chart option at a wedding. This was such a fun dinner to style and I  have since had my dining table set up like this I loved it so much!!

Country Day After Session by Jodi Miller...

I'm delighted to be featuring the work of Jodi & Kurt Miller on the blog today. I've followed their work for some time now... and of course if you're not familiar with the name, then surely you will have seen images of their own amazing wedding invitations? How sweet is this day after shoot? I love how Bee & Patrick have incorporated their pets into it. So nice to have a contrasting shoot to your wedding day photos. Be sure to head over to their blog to check our more of their gorgeous work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copper & Amethyst Shoot with Sutherland Kovach

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of styling a shoot with Hannah & Jasmine from Sutherland Kovach and Judit from Artisan Cakes, which recently featured on Style Me Pretty. The inspiration came from this board that I did some time ago, and really it was all about the gorgeous combination of the rich copper tones, with the pretty amethyst and lilac shades. Rather than the usual candy table I wanted to do something a little more organic and healthy and inspired by the stalls at farmers markets I filled burlap sacks with different nuts and dried fruits. Of course you still need to satisfy the sweet tooth to a point so it was interspersed with Judit's lovely sweet treats and the jaw-droppingly beautiful ruffle cake that she created for the shoot. It's actually quite a cost effective way to do it as well... bulk nuts and fruits are quite a lot cheaper than filling a whole table with candy and desserts!
I used one of my new designs for the stationery suite and as a little something different with the save-the-date invitations, Judit made it into a cookie!! Genius! Now tell me you wouldn't be a happy camper receiving an invite like that through the post? Our gorgeous model Je t'aime wore a beautiful lilac ruffle dress from Yvonne Bennetti, and the poor thing froze in the chilly winter air but it was worth it to get these stunning pics! Sutherland Kovach worked their magic once again, I was thrilled with how they captured the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Location | Matakana Country Park, Flowers | Kelly Amundsen from Flowers by Blush

Board#116: Appalachian Trail

OK right off the bat I have to let you know that the name of this board is possibly the most random I've ever used!! I was really struggling to come up with a name so I dragged the husband into the game (he's not bad... he's named several of my invites!), and we brainstormed for 10 minutes coming up with some ridiculously laughable names, and then he decided it looked like what he thought the Appalachians look like (despite never having been there... but now after googling it we really want to!). Anyhoo that's how this board got it's name so I apologise for those of you who know this area if this is way off the mark... can we please just go with it for today :-) And anyway surely the prettiness makes up for the name?

Photos from top left; Bouquet | Camilla Flowers by Allyson Magda via Style Me Pretty, Pumpkin Placecard | Twig & Thistle, Kraft Programs | Tec Petaja via Style Me Pretty

2nd row; Truck | Jose Villa, Pheasant Feather Centrepiece | Carrie Patterson, Boutonnieres | Elizabeth Messina

3rd row; Tablesetting & Cake | Jose Villa, Outdoor Table | Steve Steinhardt via Style Me Pretty

Board#115: Fields of Gold

Oooo this has me wanting to go and seek out a golden sunlit field like this one to go for an afternoon stroll in... isn't it just heavenly? If you've been reading this blog for a while you'll know that I have a thing for neutrals and texture and anything rustic so this ticks more than a few boxes for me. How incredible is that outdoor altar?

Photos from top left; Couple in field | Jeff Wallace via Grey likes Weddings, Mini Burgers | Martha Stewart Weddings, Riding Hat | Larissa Cleveland via Snippet & Ink
2nd row; Dining Table | Style Me Pretty, Shoes | Austin Gros, Outdoor Altar | unknown source
3rd row; Cabin | Max Wanger, Horseshoe | Union Photography, Blackboard | Hugh Forte via 100 Layer Cake, Bride | Jessica Claire via Style Me Pretty

Board#110: An Equine Affair

Now that I live on the land... (ha, that's a stretch... but I like to pretend!!) I love being able to look out from my front yard and see horses just up the road, and often I'll hear them naying (spelling?) like crazy in the afternoon. I've never been much of a 'horsey girl' if you know what I mean but they're such beautiful animals and we've now taken to weekly walks chatting to them (my husband takes great offence if they don't make the effort to come to the fence for the apples we take them!), so looking out my window and my neighbourhood kinda inspired this board. And I do love the idea of a wedding on a horse ranch with this kinda of rustic, tweedy, fall feeling. I only wish we had a little bit more of a proper autumn/fall around here.

Photos from top left; Model in riding room | Anthropologie, Riding Hat | Larissa Cleveland via Snippet & Ink, Model with horse | Anthropologie, Horseshoe | Aaron Snow via Snippet & Ink, Invitiaton | Hello Lucky
2nd row; Couple with horse & Horseshoe cake | Larissa Cleveland, Green necklace | Anthropologie, Mule | Jose Villa