Waiheke Island Inspiration Shoot by Vela Images

Hello lovelies!! How was your weekend? We spent a successful one in the garden getting some new things planted... got some lovely hollyhocks in, star jasmine all along the fence line, a gorgeous climbing rose and some other goodies... can't wait for them to all start flowering... although the jasmine already is and smells amazing!! I'm definitely no green thumb... but thankfully have parents who are and are very happy to help out!! And it's certainly a very satisfying feel when you're done!

We're starting off the week with a whole lot of Waiheke Island prettiness in this collaboration between Sophia of My Waiheke Wedding & Events, and Greta of Vela Images. Sophia is planner extraordinaire over on Waiheke, so if you're considering a wedding on the lovely island (I got married there myself so I'm a huge fan... feels like you've completely escaped Auckland!!) get in touch with her to start off on the right foot. She shares a little about the shoot and the appeal of Waiheke...

Waiheke has long been a favorite for weddings, and there is nothing better than discovering that gorgeous vineyard with stunning sea views... which is what you find at one of our latest venues Casita Miro. Offering that unique mix of Spanish/Tuscan surroundings, rustic décor, rambling gardens, olive groves, Cyprus trees and wonderful rolling vines, this place is truly something special! It’s always a delight finding venues for our clients, and then putting together their special day on Waiheke Island...now more than ever there is such a selection to choose from, and we’ve built an amazing team of talented professionals to help create the full package. Our venues are beautiful canvases in which to produce amazing occasions, and it’s such a pleasure working with the community of talented vendors we have both here locally and from Auckland. Waiheke Island allows guests to drop into that relaxed holiday vibe, which is felt almost instantly as one steps off the ferry! With over 30 local vineyards and a wonderful array of private venues available it allows couples to choose venues that suit their own style and look. Waiheke is big on character, and is a location well suited to those that like to enhance the personalised elements of their wedding. It was a pleasure putting this shoot together with Greta from Vela Images, and we look forward to sharing more from Waiheke soon! 

Styling & Shoot Coordination | My Waiheke Weddings & Events, Photography | Vela Images, Dresses | Kelsey Genna, Cake | The Cake Parlour, Hair | Amanda Sands Hairdressing, Make-up | Island Beauty Venue | Casita Miro, Onetangi Waiheke Island, Flowers | Wildflower, Stationery & styling | Amanda Wright Studio Hire | Figment Outfitters, Jewellery | Lindi Kingi

Waiheke Island Wedding by Jo Wickham

What a nice way to start off the day... oogling over this stunning bouquet! Isn't it gorgeous? Created by Enchanted Rose Styling on Waiheke Island, it has the perfect composition in my books! Likewise the brides bouquet with it's trailing ivy. I love this type of unstructured look. Brodie & Simon got married at the gorgeous Mudbrick Vineyard and had Jo Wickham on hand to capture the day, with Sophia from My Waiheke in charge of styling. Beautiful photos Jo... thanks so much to you and the lovely couple for sharing with us!!

Golden Harvest Shoot by Allyson Magda

This beautifully yummy golden harvest shoot was created by the combined talents of Allyson Magda, Antonia Christianson Events and Be Inspired PR for the current issue of {MAG}rouge. With the stunning vineyard backdrop, the gorgeous shimmery bronze tablesetting, and the prettiest bouquet of yellows, it's a recipe for magic!

The stylist Antonia says "I was inspired by the richness of the bronze linens that we used for this romantic elopement. I immediately knew when I saw the linens, along with the warmth of the west coast sun, that this would be a great starting point to design a harvest inspired elopement. I loved the way that the golds, bronzes and chandelier above the table were so rich and brought all of the details together. We kept the bride fun with her sock bun, statement hair piece and short dress!"

Planning/Design | Antonia Christianson Events, Photography | Allyson Magda, Photography Produced by | Be Inspired PR, Stationery | Azulsahara, Bridal Gown | Jenny Yoo, Accessories | Lo Boheme, Floral Design | Camilla Svennson Burns Couture Floral and Event Design, Wedding Ring | Diamond in the Rough, Cake | Cupcakes Couture of Manhattan Beach, Hair/Makeup | Rhonda Johnson, Venue | Hammer Sky Vineyards, Paso Robles California, Sparkling Wine | OneHope Weddings, Linen | La Tavola, Napkins | Custom made by Antonia Christianson Events

Waiheke Island Wedding from I do Photography

Today's gorgeous Waiheke Island wedding from Jody Lidstone of I do Photography, is actually another of my super lovely clients, and coincidentally she also had her stunning cake made by my {MAG}rouge colleague Judit... arranged way before we even began working together. Since I'm a little under the weather and having trouble forming sentences let alone typing them (fuzzy head!!), I'm going to let the gorgeous bride Caroline do the talking for me...

Gus and I met at Otago University and had been together for about 6 years when he (finally!) proposed to me on a holiday to Sydney in the middle of 2010. We wanted a reasonable amount of time to plan and wanted to get married in the summer so started planning for a wedding in the summer of 2011/2012. We were pretty relaxed about the location of our wedding (although preferred the North Island as that’s where we and most of our guests were located) so started researching wedding venues using the internet. Once we had narrowed down our possible locations, we visited a few and finally decided on Mudbrick Restaurant on Waiheke Island.

One of the highlights of the planning process was meeting all the suppliers who were so passionate about their chosen field. The most vital aspects of our wedding for us were to have as many of our most important friends and relatives present and to treat them to a lovely weekend while creating lifelong memories for ourselves. While we didn’t have a theme per se, we used the colours and design from our invitations from Ruby & Willow to tie the various aspects of our wedding together.

Our photographer and her assistant captured all the special moments of the preparations and then continued on with us to our ceremony and reception. The girls and I were treated like royalty as we were transported in stunning vintage cars10 across Waiheke Island to Mudbrick. We walked up the aisle to ‘Feeling Good’ sung by Michael Bublé towards my husband to be, the groomsmen and our amazing celebrant11. The ceremony was full of amazing words including a poem read by my sister; but the highlight was making lifelong promises to each other in front of the most important people in our lives. Many guests had travelled from outside of Auckland including my Grandma (who had just turned 90!) from Wellington and family and friends from Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia and around New Zealand.

The speeches were a highlight of the evening with Gus, his brother Ken and my father Andrew speaking words that had the audience crying one moment and laughing the next. The cake cutting was followed by our first dance to ‘How Sweet It Is’ and the dancing continued with music provided at first by our band and then later by Ken when he took over as our DJ.

Photographer | I Do Photography, Venue | Mudbrick Restaurant, Stationery | Ruby & Willow, Flowers | Blush by Kelly Amundsen, Cake | Artisan Cakes by Judit Meron, Brides Dress | Kate Dowman, Bridesmaid’s Dresses | Trish Howell,  Groom’s suit | Working Style, Groomsmen’s suits | Frank Casey, Transport | First Class Classics

* I do Photography and Blush by Kelly Amundsen are some of my fabulous sponsors.

New South Wales Vineyard wedding by Christine Pobke

Pete and Siobhan were high school sweethearts, having met in a Business Studies class at the age of 16. Ten years later they celebrated their wedding at the gorgeous Margan Family Wines in New South Wales, Australia with the lovely Christine Pobke (who's due to have her bubba any moment now!!).

The weather had been touch-and-go in the week prior to the wedding. On the day itself, clouds loomed ominously but an hour before the ceremony they gave way to brilliant sunshine and the wedding came off without a hitch. Siobhan and Pete tried to personalise their day as much as possible, from the handmade wooden directional signs at the front of the venue, to the ceremony program fans and signature cocktails. They handmade favours for their guests - the ladies received pocket mirrors featuring a rose pattern and the gentlemen each received a pair of cufflinks with their initials. A photo booth, complete with props, was also available for the guests, with one copy of each photo pasted into Siobhan and Pete’s guestbook with a message.The photo booth was a real hit, with the photos getting crazier and crazier as the night went on! The couple really enjoyed choosing, and working on all the details and loved seeing them come together on the day.

You can see this complete feature with vendor credits in the latest issue of {MAG}rouge