Natural & White Dining Style

You've probably gathered by now that I love throwing different things together and playing with the styling and then photographing it. Outside of the invite design, it's just something I love to do and am really just experimenting with it all to be honest. I recently found this fabulous white sideboard unit for our dining room which is the perfect piece to display all my 'bits and bobs' on, and of course I have to play with different colour schemes on it. The plan is to change it up every couple of months with different colours/items, although I must say it seems to take me far longer to do in reality than it does in my head. Anyway this is how it started... all yummy and neutral, but it's recently been changed so I'll share those pictures with you when I get the chance to take them too.

Weekend Flowers

Almost 6 months after ordering them we finally received our new dining chairs which I was very excited about!! Love how they look in our dining room. And how pretty are these vintage toned hydrangeas? I am officially on holiday as of today (wahoo!!)... I have some posts ready for you but I won't be around!! Have a great rest of Easter and week! xo

A little journey down south...

We're side stepping a little from weddings today... thought I'd share some images with you of our little mini break away down south. Even though I've been down to Queenstown a few times before it had been a while and I was seriously in awe of how stunning our country is... and it was nice to finally show my husband this part of New Zealand. It's always nice to take time out and step away from the day to day of running a business and spending time in this beautiful spot is definitely good for the soul!

If money were no object...

... and time travel were a thing, this is how I'd be spending my (birth) day! Join me for a virtual journey...

We're starting off in the Maldives. I can't think of a better view to wake up to... it looks sooo relaxing not to mention warm! To be honest I don't think I'd want to leave this place but since I want a longer post that one image, we're going to!! {Source}

Next we're off to a little cafe in Salzburg, Austria; one of my favourite cities, where we'd drink coffee and eat delicious Austrian bakery treats... mmm Apfelstrudel! I'm a sucker for that quaint European charm so I'd definitely have to go for a stroll through the old town and down the river. {Source}

And as things are about to turn a bit chillier we may need to squeeze in a spot of shopping!

We're popping over to Iceland next... a country that's long been on top of my must visit places for it's jaw-dropping scenery. I'd go camera crazy for a few hours there before heading back to some warmth in...{Source}

 

Welcome to the Adriatic sea!! I've always wanted to visit Croatia as well so I thought I'd combine a bit of culture which a quick trip to the beach before heading of to sample...

the finest of wines in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The vineyards there are so stunning, and what better place to enjoy a long lazy lunch to reflect on our busy day of travel!

However it's not over yet! The day wouldn't be complete without a visit to a spa... and this tree house resort and spa in Bali looks like just the thing to rejuvenate me for the night! How amazing would it be to spend a couple of hours here getting pampered and rested up before heading out for a night of dining alfresco....

along the banks of the river Seine. I know... Paris.. cliche, but it's been a long time since I've been there and it's the first place I visited with my husband! And well.... it's Paris!

Phew I'm exhausted after all that travelling... even if it was only in my dreams! Hope you managed to get a few more stamps on your passport :-) Seriously though it's kinda nice to take a break from weddings once in a while... especially since my life has been immersed in them of late. Thankfully my super lovely hubby surprised me last night by telling me he's heading into work late so he can stay home and cook me breakfast!! He's a keeper I tell ya! Have a super day... reality or not xoxo

P.S. tell me what you'd change from the above... where would be your must visit destinations?

Happy Anniversary to us!!

I have to start this by saying I actually feel a bit embarrassed posting this...  (it's the reserved Kiwi in me!!) It feels a bit like standing on a street naked... like I'm exposing too much! But here goes nothing! Six years ago tomorrow I said I do to this lovely man and I'm beyond happy to say that I chose good... he's turned out to be even more wonderful than I thought on that day. We're celebrating a day early today as he is spending our actual anniversary with 12 other men on a stag do getting up to god knows what (so romantic!!), so when he called me yesterday and suggested he take the day off to take me for a picnic and a hike I was more than thrilled... and then to be followed by dinner out. So I'm signing off and switching off for the day and spending it amongst nature with my favourite person in the world. Yay!!

(p.s. honey you look SO young in this photo... I must have aged you!!)

Bear with me... this could take a while...

I know this is a wedding blog, but there's nothing wrong with injecting a little personal stuff right? And I'm so uber excited about it this I have to share (and I'm going to throw some photos in so you at least have some eye candy - albeit landscapes!)....

So a few days before Christmas last year, we put our house on the market. The next day it sold. We had three weeks to find somewhere to rent, pack up EVERYTHING and move (in a very busy wedding season!). All very quick. Then the hunt for the 'almost dream' house (we're not yet at the dream house stage) began. Now let me just say that for the real estate agent helping us find something, I am something of a nightmare. Fussy is putting it mildly... just ask my husband. I want the renovated villa/character bungalow by the beachside, in an area which is mostly a sea of hotch-potch designs, and new cookie cutter throw ups. Now no offence and each to their own, however the new dime a dozen builds just don't float my boat. The boxy rooms, low ceilings, upstairs/downstairs.....no thanks. I want wooden floors, single level living, large doors to throw open to the outside... and most importantly all within budget!
{View 150m up from the house - there's a llama on the other side!}

Asking a bit much?... I thought so! Told ya I was fussy! Anyhoooo...moving on, the day after we sold, the agent told us they had a renovated villa on half an acre in our 'dream road', literally on the outskirts of the city (5 mins to the beach, slight sea view, lovely country lookout, 20 mins non-peak to the city - perfecto). I walked in and knew instantly that it was 'me'. Well, 'us'. He'll have what I have kind of thing. (I may not necessarily have what he wants!) However the real estate agent jumped the gun. The house wasn't officially on the market - in fact the wife didn't even want to sell (totally understandable in my books), so for weeks we waited and waited until they were back from holiday and we could start the process.
{Perfect winter morning over the valley}

There were a tonne of things that had to fall into place, and just as we thought it was a lost cause, it happened, well... we got the chance to put the offer in, waiting with baited breath as we were sure it would be turned down, and yes it was, and then there were delays due to the property they wanted falling through again and again. This went on for a few months, back and forth, one minute they're selling, the next they're not. Then the day after we got back from holiday last month the agent called to say NO they definitely weren't selling. Boo-hoo! So we closed the chapter on that story and started looking in another part of town.
{Ok this is NOT our jetty!!}

Now let me just say that all along I knew this would be our house, I didn't panic when they said it wasn't happening, all the signs pointed towards it being ours. Starting with the fact that this time last year we were trying to buy the section next to this house, so when it came up it was simply fate. Are you still with me.... we're nearly there! Just six days ago the agent called (from the US on holiday) to say the vendor was being forced to sell and we had first offer. So to wrap the story up... after 7 patient months of trying not to get my hopes up, we're now all signed on the dotted line and the VERY proud owners of a lovely little house down a country lane but still close to the beach and coffee!!!
{A few shots from the local area... my new hood!}

And to be honest it actually is the dream house afterall. It is SO peaceful, has such a lovely feel to it, and I could literally roll around in the lovely grassy lawn kicking my feet in the air right now! Am I happy? You bet your socks I am!

Come fly with me....

Melissa over at The Loveliest Day has started a fab new series called Honeymoon Monday whereby she takes you on a journey through a couple's honeymoon. Perfect for getting a honeymooner's perspective on a destination - which often has quite different needs to your regular holiday right ;-) Like Melissa I'm passionate about travelling and whilst these days I don't get to do as much of it as in the past, a girl can dream right - and thankgod dreams are free cause today I'm planning quite the adventure. All vicariously of course, but as it's a special day for me (way too many candles to admit to!!) I thought it would be fun to dream up the perfect day if I could teleport myself! So come along for a ride with me....and let me know if you have any fun stops you'd like to add on the way.

First up I'd start with some early morning beach yoga somewhere on a fab beach... (ok so I'm not a yoga person YET but I so aspire to be so work with me here!)

Then I'd head to a hop over to Paris to a little French cafe for breakfast with the husband and a spot of people watching... (possibly a quick visit to Galeries Lafayette to choose my outfit for dinner and of course I'd have to swing by Ladurée to pick up some macaron's)

Next we're off to the Maldives for some spa and relaxation treatments, followed by a hour around the pool... (I just might start on the cocktails at this point)

For lunch I'd gather up the girls and have a leisurely meal at a rustic vineyard in Tuscany, sampling all the local fare...

To work off some of that local fare, I'd then take a gentle little hike up to the lakes around the Matterhorn in Switzerland (I'm in control of the seasons of course so it would be fall for this destination so just a sprinkling of snow on the mountains - I've sat in this very spot and it really does look just like this!)

Then I'm going to get my khaki's on and head to Etosha National Park in Namibia for a quick whirlwind safari trip and cuddle some baby elephants...

and because this is my dream day and it's a little bit longer than the norm I'm also going to squeeze in a bike ride or walk through these lovely fields in California (it's the Anne of Green Gables in me!), ending up with an antipasto picnic...

and to finish the evening off I'll be dining al fresco with the family...

So are you still with me (I think my passport may have been filled up!)? I hope you enjoyed this little whirlwind adventure. Where would you go for your dream day?

And onto the stationery

Ok, so you're probably all wondering what my stationery looked like, given that is what I eat, sleep and breath for these days!! This was the very first invite I designed/made. I had never touched a computer graphics program at this point and didn't know my Illustrator from my Photoshop. When I first started out the business I used a lot of Japanese papers which I do still love, but use less of these days as I've learnt new things and my design has progressed along the way. So you'll see it's quite different to what I do these days, but I'm proud of it (although really wish I hadn't used that font....but what did I know back then!).

Real Wedding: MINE!

5 years ago today I stood before my best friend and promised to love him for evermore....and I'm very happy to say that 5 yrs in....I'm going strong with that promise! We both are. I was so lucky to find someone who constantly makes me laugh, loved and always, ALWAYS makes me feel like his no 1. (The fact that I 'let' him play golf whenever he likes, may help that!). Happy Anniversary honey....I look forward to the evermore with you x

So this feels a little strange to do this and put it out there but I thought I'd share some of my wedding with you. Now whilst I loved every second of our wedding and we had an amazing day (and week), I think if I did it now visually it would look quite different. I wasn't in the industry when we got married and had just returned from the UK so I planned the whole thing from there and returned shortly beforehand. Let me also preface this by saying I'm really not a PINK girl, so the fact that I choose pink is kinda weird to me. (It was actually more of a dusky pink than it looks in these pictures). It was a toss up between that and chartreuse green which for anyone who knows me knows that was far more suited to me. For anyone who's been reading this blog for sometime you'll know that I love, LOVE anything rustic and vintage, not too perfect, but I don't think I really embraced this to the extent I could have. I did DIY a lot....make all the table runners, had my parents save up dogfood tins for weeks (soooo glamourous!) to wrap in fabric and ribbon, made coconut ice for the favours, and of course this was my first stationery design.

I hope you enjoy this little peek into my big day......

Just had to share

Not wedding related but pretty all the same. This was what we could see from our lounge last night (and to be fair, with this fantastic summer, many nights at the moment in cruise ship season!). Stunning right. If I saw this anywhere else I'd be saying 'ooh I wish I lived there and had views like that' then I have to pull myself up and remind myself that just because it's uber familiar and it doesn't have the same mystery and intrigue as far flung foreign shores, it's in no way any less special. I am indeed a lucky girl....sometimes you just need a bit of perspective.

Just saying....

Now that we're in the market for new digs, this is the house I'm looking for. Just putting it out there. If anyone's seen it please let me know. Oh and preferably could it be in the area I want. Not hard to please AT ALL! (am I lovely husband?)

Cleansed!!

Well I should say cleansing!! I've decided that's what moving is all about...cleansing! Getting rid of the old, sorting out piles of paper work, decluttering and having a fresh start. I'm not quite at the end of this process but slowly working through. So, yes, cleansing and as everyone says, very stressful. I didn't think it would be too bad, and I think if I didn't have a home based business it wouldn't be, but with trying to move a lot of stock, and oodles of old jobs and samples there have been WAY too many trips up and down stairs (note.....next time, ask for help!) And of course in the middle of a busy season with jobs to get out it's not ideal. And then we come to my technical issues with phone lines and broadband. I won't go into the whole sorry saga (which sees me without a landline or fixed broadband for at least another two weeks) but I would like to thank Twitter for being a vehicle to sorting out my solution late last night. Thanks to a random frustrated tweet, the lovely Claire replied back and ended up sorting out my issue for me!! So awesome to have my own personal IT guru online at midnight....so to Claire, thankyou so so much for your help. Was much appreciated! Am glad you were up late!
Also a big thanks to my fab sister who has cleaned my old house thoroughly as I didn't have the time to do it....and I'm going to keep on as 'my assistant' for the week while I get back up straight once and for all (mark my words!!).
Back later today with this lovely Waiheke wedding....

Bad blogger!

Woah....have I been a bad blogger!! Sorry for the lack of posts lately. The problem with going on holiday is when you return, the catching up on emails, queries, getting jobs out etc, means the holiday is forgotten all too quickly! Busy, busy! So I'm pretty much up straight again now thank goodness. Promise to be back to it soon!
My busy few days was all worth it though as I got to laze around here for a week!!!