I love looking at visual merchandising displays, if you work in retail – I’m the one closely inspecting your windows instead of the wares in the store! (ok I look in the store too, but that’s another topic).

When we were in New York earlier this year, we spent some quality time in Anthropologie, I would have to say that it’s one of my favourite stores, not only for their gorgeous stock, but their displays were stunning.

These little lovelies were part of their window display when we were there, there were masses of them all set up on branches. On close inspection they’re made up of the old style ‘chatterbox’ paper fortune folds- remember those? Then glued to a paper lantern with a light inside – so clever and effective, would be equally as pretty as part of wedding or party decorations!

Doesn’t etsy always have the loveliest prints? i love this one from TypePoster. A perfect sentiment for the weekend. Have a lovely one. xx

It’s been a long stint between posts – tis the season to be busy! So I thought I’d start back on the blog today with a truly beautiful wedding to share!

There’s something special about classic black and white – so elegant and understated – and that’s exactly the wedding Alannah Rose clients Andrea & Matt created. The newlyweds chose the Alannah Rose “Fancy Face” suite in custom black & white- it worked so beautifully with the rest of their styling!

Andrea and Matt’s wedding photographs were captured by David Fowler and Andrea wore a white strapless gown with black sash by Simonelli Melbourne. The flowers were by Leigh Clark 0412 147 237 and Andrea packed a special Alannah Rose “Bride” pocket mirror in her beaded clutch.

Andrea and Matt married in Melbourne’s bayside, choosing the terrace at Sails On the Bay for their ceremony and the restaurant for their reception. “The terrace overlooked the water of Port Phillip Bay and we could hear the waves crashing during our vows.  After a week of dreary rainy weather in Melbourne we ended up with an absolutely stunning afternoon for our wedding and light streamed into the terrace during the ceremony, it was quite beautiful.” says Andrea

“Matt and I didn’t have a bridal party and I still believe this was the best decision ever made and what made the day so special. We actually got some real quality time together as a result. During photos we actually had a chance to chat, laugh and talk about the nerves, venue etc etc” says Andrea.

The couple ordered custom cookies from Polka Dot Cookies and placed them in glass jars. “Matt and are both modern and contemporary individuals and we love natural light and the ocean.  It was important to us to select a venue with lots of light and clean open spaces.

Sails the venue featured a number of mirrors and this ended up influencing our inspiration and style.  We added more mirrors to the venue and this added more light, enhancing the reflection of the ocean, added more space and also volume in terms of flowers light etc.  Mirrors and the use of mirrors became a real feature for the wedding as a result.

Allie at Table Art was simply amazing and helped design the style and theme to suit Sails on the Bay.” says Andrea.

Cioccolata Bella made the wedding cake while glittering mirrors kept the sparkle in the couple’s chosen theme. “In terms of style…..mirrors featured in everything. The venue has a long mirror running the length of the restaurant and there are mirrors as you enter/ exit the venue etc.  We then selected mirrors boxes to elevate our floral arrangement and enhance the volume of the floral centre pieces.  We used a mirror boxes for the cake, mirrors vase for my bridal flowers and beautiful beveled mirror frames to store signs for the wishing well and table numbers.  These have since been used as gifts post wedding.” says Andrea

Thanks so much Andrea & Matt for sharing your delightful wedding day with us! We are so honoured to have been a part of such a beautiful day xx

Ice cream + kids + parties = mess? You’d think so, but not with these clever darlings which I just love! Ice cream cone cookies, what a treat! … From Tradewind Tiaras.. just perfect for a pretty party theme!

As the school holidays come to a close, I can say we’ve done a lot of baking and enjoyed having our lovely collection of patty papers out to play with. How do you store yours? I love this clever cupcake container storage idea from Such Pretty Things, so easy and pretty!

Here we are back with more photo’s from Lexi and Will’s wedding taken by their photographer Dan O’Day. “We had some breathtaking shots taken around the rural landscape of Gundaroo. The colours were amazingly vivid, with a late afternoon storm providing a gorgeous backdrop.”
Lexi and Will held their reception in the stone stable & marquee on the property and used Flowers from the Garden for their flowers. “Gerry was an absolute dream to work with – the peonies for my bouquet were sourced from Melbourne at the last minute, and the green and white bouquets for the girls were exactly what I wanted! She also did a fabulous job filling our crystal vases, jars and bottles which we used for our centrepieces.”

“Will and I wanted our day to be unique, personal and memorable – for both ourselves and the guests. Many hours were spent creating handmade pinwheels (for our non traditional take on a seating chart) paper poms and bunting to brighten the reception. We opted for a Wedding Tree instead of a guest book, so our friends and family could “leaf” their thumb print and sign their name!”

Today’s client wedding is the gorgeous summer time celebration of Lexi and Will. Lexi and Will held their wedding outside Canberra in November last year and used the Alannah Rose Lime Tapestry wedding invitation suite to begin their day! Today’s wedding will be in two parts- there are so many lovely photos to show!

“I’d describe our wedding as Springtime Shabby Chic - we carried the colours of spring green, latte, ivory and soft pastels throughout the wedding, with eclectic and sweet touches.” says Lexi. The couple were married at ‘Grazing’, Gundaroo NSW “The ceremony was held in the gardens with the reception in the stone stable/garden marquee”

For her wedding day, Lexi wore a Demetrios dress purchased from Nouveau Riche,. She chose Alan Pinkus shoes as her “Something Blue”. “I loved seeing the smile on my soon to be husbands face as I walked down the aisle, and a moment we stole alone during our location photos, where we finally had a moment to stop and say “wow, we really did this.. we’re married!“”

“Take a deep breath, don’t let little things trouble you and have fun! The day will pass by so quickly, and weddings filled with smiles and laughter always make the most wonderful memories. Little things may not go 100% according to plan (like the weather!) but in the big picture, it doesn’t matter.”

Lexi and Will chose Dan O’Day to be their photographer- check back this afternoon, we’ll be sharing more of his photographs of Lexi and Will’s wedding day!

Chocolate? You’re my weakness.. I think we might just be making this simple but delicious kit kat cake (from Made In Melissa’s Kitchen) for our next celebration.  So easy and so yummy!

Isn’t this peach and black Valentino number just beautiful? Found via Buscut, It has such feminine detailing while still being ever so stylish- as only Valentino can.

As promised! More beautiful photos from Sharmini and Lee’s wedding! Such a beautiful reception too, I know you’ll adore these images! I can’t resist sharing their sweet proposal story with you today either!

“At home on our balcony. Thursday evening has always been our favourite night of the week and we often head out for dinner and drinks. Lee had made a late booking at our favourite restaurant and suggested we open a bottle of champagne at home first. We were due to fly back to Perth the next day for the Christmas break so I thought we were just starting the Christmas celebrations early. We took the bottle of champagne out on the balcony and Lee got down on one knee and surprised me with a gorgeous proposal and beautiful ring!”

Below: Sharmini and Lee held their reception in a marquee on the grounds of the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club who also catered the wedding. “Being a summer marquee wedding, I wanted everything to be light and fresh.. The swagging from the roof of the marquee and the low hanging chandelier over the bridal table created such a wonderful, intimate atmosphere. I really wanted it to feel like we were having an intimate dinner with our closet friends and family. Rebecca Grace did an amazing job on the flowers and used orchids, hydrangeas and roses all in a whites and shades of purple with some pinks thrown in. The room was so monochrome with the white swagging on the roof and the walls of the marquee and the white tiffany chairs that the little touches of colour really stood out.

We also had a gorgeous mirrored bar put it next to the dance floor which really set the room off and created lots of light. It was also great place for guests to mingle next to the dance floor.” Sharmini says

Above: Sharmini and Lee used Natural Art by Rebecca Grace to style the reception, which featured Alannah Rose Le Boutique Suite seating chart, menu cards, table numbers and candy buffet signs. The tables featured “Crystal vases on mirror on half the tables and Lantern & Mint Julips on the other half with orchids, hydrangeas and roses all in a whites and shades of purple with some pinks thrown in. . Once again with the room being so monochrome, we really wanted them to add small, bright bursts of colour which we achieved with the striking purples and pinks Bec mixed together.” says Sharmini

Thank you Sharmini and Lee for sharing your stunning wedding with us! x We are so thrilled that we were able to be part of your wedding day xx

For more of their beautiful wedding take a look at the current issue of Bride to Be Magazine.

I’m so excited today to share a beautiful wedding of some of our clients today! Sharmini and Lee chose our Le Boutique wedding stationery suite in black and white for their Perth wedding day. The bold black and white fit right into their colour scheme “Our theme was Old Hollywood Glamour. The colour scheme was predominately black and white, with touches of different shades of purple.”

Natasja from NK Photography was able to capture simply beautiful images of the wedding “Tasj photographed my brother’s wedding and did such a beautiful job we knew we just had to have her for our day. She is also so lovely and completely relaxing to be around.”

Sharmini walked down the aisle to a the sounds of String Quartet. “Seeing each other for the first time as I walked down the aisle. The string quartet were playing ‘Fields of Gold’, it was such an overwhelming moment, an emotional  culmination of joy and excitement.  Fortunately, we had 5 verses (!) of amazing grace in which to compose ourselves and settle the nerves and excitement before either one of us had to say anything.”

Below: The flowers at Christ Church Claremont where Sharmini and Lee married were stunning shades of white “All white.  We wanted it to look fresh, simple and elegant. Included 16 orchid garlands for the pews and the front door. Roses, lilies orchids and candles on the front table as guests arrived at the church.” All flowers were by Natural Art Flowers by Rebecca Grace.

Above: Sharminio’s bridesmaids wore elegant french navy gowns, one shouldered in silk georgette from Sana Boutique Claremont. “The colour looked amazing on all three girls and the style suited them perfectly. I wanted something soft and feminine but still striking. The French navy worked perfectly.” says Sharmini

I have much more of this sweet wedding for you later today so check back soon! x

How fun are these polka dot candy jars I found on Amazon? Perfect for a pastel inspired party or perhaps on your own kitchen counter? The cake style pedestals make them much more fun than regular candy jars.