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)

Board#168: Creme Caramel

Happy Friday!! I'm delighted to say that the sun has made an appearance over Auckland the past few days and has been welcomed with open arms!! I went to the beach a few nights ago and it was swamped (well by New Zealand standards... probably equivalent to a winters day in California!)... families picnicking everywhere, people swimming, full of the joys of summer... twas great to see! I even managed to shoot a couple of invitations suites finally (2 down, 22 or so to go!!) so I'll start to share them on the blog just as soon as I can. Maybe tomorrow.

So for those of you who read Postcards & Pretties this board may look a little familiar since a couple of days ago she posted a board that is remarkably similar.. even using a couple of the same images! When I saw Chris's board I messaged her to ask if she'd somehow taken a peek inside my computer and/or head since I put this together weeks ago!! This happens so often with us it's uncanny. We'll very often say the same thing or be about to feature the same thing, but as they say great minds think alike and since her wonderful blog is one of my very favourites that can only be a good thing right? So today we're doing our first team shoot for Issue 2 of {MAG}rouge which is very exciting!!! It's coming along nicely with some amazing contributions lined up! I hope you have a wonderful Friday planned whatever you are doing :-)

Photos; Gold headpiece | Lo Boheme, Cake | I am Baker, Bride | Polly Alexandre, Favour Jar | Michael & Anna Costa, Honey in glass | Fresh New England, Cupcakes | Rachel Peters via Style Me Pretty, Creme Brulee | Chris Court, Bride | Adam Barnes, Pears | Fresh New England, Kraft Programs | Tec Petaja via Style Me Pretty, Fall scene | Pottery Barn

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#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

North Carolina Fall Wedding

You know how sometimes you can just look at at image and you're instantly transported to your happy place... well that top left image put me in mine! Honestly, being in that photo would make me as happy as a pig in mud! And we all know how happy that is! So first up a huge thankyou to Billy & Rachel from Hyer Images for making my day with that and sending in this gorgeous fall wedding. Kara & Joey were heading down the track of a large wedding until they realised it just didn't fit with what they really wanted which was a small intimate celebration. With only 15 of their nearest and dearest to witness their moment, it also means that it's a relaxed affair where everyone knows each other and there aren't the same time restraints. Probably a photographers dream right? They chose Hawkesdene House, a stunning mountain retreat... which I have to say I really really want to visit!

Click here to see a stunning Mexico wedding from Hyer Images we featured last year.

How gorgeous is that table set up, with the miniature pumpkin place settings?