handiwork

we have completed the pennant flags for the car! horah. they are bright and fun. much like my husband-to-be.

Birdies.

Mr and Mrs Birdy - finally completed!

Wedding Ring Shots

Vintage Photo Shoot

The awesome Yuriy Manchik (Seattle based photographer who happens to attend Mars Hill church) and his gorgeous fiance had a vintage photoshoot which I think is rather cool.

A visit to Waiau

This afternoon we made a trip out to Waiau Estate - the venue for the wedding. I am reminded again how stunningly beautiful it is there. And always so still - the massive surrounding hedge seems to block any wind - which is nice, although a cool breeze would be a relief on a hot day.

There are so many decisions to make! What way should the ceremony face, what should we use to mark the aisle - on the ground and on the inside chairs, what should we use as an 'alter' - a dresser? the mantelpiece we painted? just a simple table?, how will we set up the photos we want to print and put in frames to give guests a better idea of who we are (we are aware that a lot of guests may barely know either of us), where should our big WEDDING signs go, is it too much to have props around the place to give it a personal feel, what should our menus look like, what should we use the chalkboard for - seeming as writing the menu isn't as practical as I initially thought...

Hmm!

So, back to the drawing board. I haven't done any research for AGES! It's both inspiring... and demoralising..

A plain white aisle runner. A cute dressing table.
Also, this photo is nice. I would like to return to the ceremony area with the boy after everyone has moved into the reception area for canapes. Stunning dress, i love the fullness in the bodice..

White petals make a nice aisle. Natural - so will disintegrate, but squashed petals isn't such a nice thought. I can imagine trying to walk really lightly over them to avoid damage. Is that stupid? And where does one get tons of rose petals from?
An alternative way to use the chalkboards we painted. Perhaps one can have a list of the available juices, wines, beers and coffees.

I like the ribbon. I don't know how it would actually work, but the idea of the ushers untying the ribbon just before the bridal party arrive is cute. I think people would get annoyed that there is a ribbon blocking their way to the seats..

That's enough for today.

Vintage wedding in the woods.

Just thought this was one awesome wedding. Love the mismatch feel and the woodiness of the outdoors. Its worth reading what the bride wrote about it all - so many little details.







Oh i feel there is so much to be done until all our little details are sorted...

Photography

How awesome is this collection of photos made into a film. I want to know who the song in the second half is by...

Jessica & Tad - Wedding from LemonLime Photography on Vimeo.

Stoked...

.. on the idea of marrying this boy.

Invitations...

.. are out! Nice and early.




We are so stoked with the final result! Elliot Norton did a fantastic job. The hands are ours - photo taken by mum. The envelopes are hand constructed and lined with a vintage wallpaper pattern that was printed onto thin paper. Each envelope was sealed with a round sticker that coordinated with the lining. The two parts to the invite, as well as the name tag, were handsewn together (by me!) and tied with a small bow, in thread that matched the colour of the lining. The tags were cut from recycled paper (like the envelopes) and each name was hand scripted. A massive thank you to Rachel for the ongoing creative ideas and hands-on help, and also for the freshly squeezed juices that kept us going :D

(Excuse the terrible quality of the photos.. must blame the low light, and a rush to get photos of them before posting!)

Looking forward to your repondez. Feel free to write a wee note!

:)

A Weekend of Labour

Okay, so I didn't get to finish the sign I was routing, but Jesse and I did paint one new one! Here's a peak..



But on a more exciting note, we have scrapped our 'vintage dresser' idea and decided to look and see what we have in the backyard.

A fireplace surround.



Hours of scraping and heat-gunning has brought out it's beautiful, yet slightly rotten, wooden structure.

Wait and see what is to become of this :)

This weekend...

If the only things I achieve while at home this weekend are our wooden wedding signs, then I will be happy. I will surely post photos on completion :)

Happy long weekend! Bake something yummy. Tell someone you love them. Go out of your way to make a stranger feel special. Create something new. And enjoy the sun :)

Ceremony Decor...

.. that I love.









I think the mismatching rustic feel is beautiful. The dryness, the sofas, the tomato and vinegar stand, the wildflowers stuffed into antique filing cabinet! The rug! The old piano, the kettles, the door. What a setting!

for.the.kitchen

I have a 21st tonight, and a kitchen tea tomorrow :) What a fun weekend. I found these very cute teatowels, with a handtowel I matched to them. Now there is no confusion over which is for the hands, and which is for the dishes!


And no wedding organising for me this weekend. Except to take the completed invitations to mum to be addressed and posted. Horay!

Things to find...

1. A basket for the old bike. To take to Nicci Goodin.

2. The shoes!

3. The perfect ribbon for boutonnieres. Jesse and I are making them - like this and this ----->

4. More decanters.

5. The underwear.

6. A way to fix the invites together before putting into the envelope.

7. Something wonderful, personal and spiritual to write for my vows.

8. Something interesting to write for my speech.

9. An old rustic dresser. And some sweet paint. (Of course finding the perfect one like this wont be so easy...)

10. Time to hang out with Jesse!

Our invitations have been sent to the printer!

This is muy exciting news for us!

Elliot has done the most wonderful job and we are stoked. His beautiful wife happens to be a lovely friend (and also incredibly creative!) who spent hours with me hand making each of our 70 envelopes. They are made from brown newsprint constructed from scratch.
We printed this beautiful vintage wallpaper pattern (which is the overlay on the invites) onto paper and lined each top flap of envelope. Every envelope has a different colour.. here's a sneak preview.


I wonder what colour you will receive :)

Kitchen Tea

My girlfriends threw me a kitchen tea!

It was so wonderful.

Think.. china teacups (enough for 22 people!), cupcakes, brownie, mini sandwiches, jam slice, tiers, pretty dresses, lovely ladies, kind words, cute wife-y games, poems, shared recipes.. and presents! Lot's of them! People were so generous I couldn't believe! I imagined Kitchen Tea parties were for bringing along one vege peeler, a set of measuring cups, or a can of cocoa... but boy oh boy were we blessed! I wish I had photos of everything. Now we have enough things to fill a kitchen! Frying pans, cupcake sets, recipe books, a handsewn peg apron, a pizza-making set, every baking utensil you could want, mini tongs, a cake slice, M&M brownie-in-a-jar (that was exciting) serving dishes, a knife block, measuring spoons and cups, muffin pan and a flan dish. And more!

I wore a cute floral dress, borrowed from Rachel. This is my attempt to photograph myself in my little bedroom.. with my camera propped up on my drawers. Yes, I used self-timer to photograph myself..
Hm.

my first stalk

So I may have become a little obsessed with Stephanie Fay. She's a San Diego based wedding photographer who was behind the camera for the photos a few posts down..

See it's strange.. I am not one to enjoy reading about people I will never meet, or following famous people. Or really following anyone except my nearest and dearest, for that matter.

But the mix of Stephanie's incredible photography skills, the fact that she has the job I could only dream of, her views on life and God, that she too is currently planning her wedding, the striking photos she manages to have taken of her, and that her and her fiance are beautiful.. all thrown together brings me to find her blog captivating! It is the sort of situation that if I didn't generally despise the idea of 'Twittering' (following someones every move and thought) so much, I would consider following her. Now that is extreme..

On a similar note, I cannot help but feel slightly envious when I read wedding blogs set in America. I know I am generalizing.. but from everything I have seen, they just do things so freaking well! Massive wedding showers.. always a rehearsal dinner with a theme, catering and a wonderful, specially purchased dress.. impeccable weddings with detail galore, and photographers/videographers who capture the day with perfection. Is it that they have a massive budget? Or do American's just have a culture of doing things well? Or is it simply that only the big and bold weddings feature on webpages so it's easy to think they're all insanely awesome? Perhaps we can blame the fact that they have access to wayyy more services than we do here in little NZ..

As much as I would adore a wedding with even half as much detail as some, or style even half as awesome as people like Stephanie, or photography skills that could actually be considered skills... I really can't complain with what I have, and who I am. This wedding planning has caused me to become to selfish, so 'wanting', so inward focused. In the end, I don't want my wedding to be any bigger or bolder than it is going to be. It is one day. It is a special day. But at the end of it, I want to come away with a couple of nice memories, and a tall, blue-eyed, handsome man for a husband.

"Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things..." Col. 3v2

A-door-able?

Ok so who wants to build a doorway for our wedding...

I am drooling...

Nothing like an indoors wedding outside. I am actually in adoration of this..

This same wedding had tons of ridiculously cool things.

Birdcages for table centerpieces..

So the men's shoes don't necessarily have to be identical...


Drinking out of jars? Juices of all flavours?
I dream of such details.

More on the Stephanie Fay Photography blog