We love a whimsical table decoration and for garden weddings and events celebrating the great outdoors, Pink Frosting’s topiary place card holders really set off a table with style.  These gorgeous place card holders in the shape of a beautifully manicured topiary pot are one of my all time favourite place card holders.  When I came across these photos from Angela and Val’s wedding at Tracy Kimono’s beautiful wedding photography blog, I wanted to share them with you.

We’ve heard from so many event managers and brides that their guests loved these place card holders so much that they were taken home as an unofficial bomboniere favour as well.  I don’t blame the guests, who wouldn’t want one of these on their desks at work?

Happy Celebrating!

Kathryn

Yummy cookie favours are really one of my favourite ideas for wedding bomboniere.  Guests love a cookie and particularly one home-made and decorated with love and affection.  Our wedding dress cookie favours make a great bridal shower, rehearsal dinner or wedding favour for your guests and look spectacular as well as taste divine!  No guests will leave these scruptious favours on their plates!

To begin, you’ll need the 4 piece wedding cookie cutter set by Wilton at Pink Frosting.    You’ll also need a steady hand, disposable decorating bags and some extra cookies to experiment on before you get the techniques perfect.  Here is the Wilton how to adapted to help us Aussies:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon no-colour almond extract
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Makes: Each cookie serves 1.

Rose balls, kissing balls or pomanders are one of my favourite wedding decorations.  They’re superbly romantic and pretty – little tea roses studded side by side around a ball to create a mass of beauty.  I love them hanging from shepherds crooks down the wedding aisle, as a table decoration for your wedding reception, or hanging staggered from the ceiling, marquee or trees to create a romantic ambience for your wedding venue.

Australia’s number one online wedding shop now sells silk tea rose pomanders in cream or blush in two sizes.  I am so excited to now have these available to decorate Australian weddings.  I especially love them with our hanging glass candle globes – another versatile and beautiful wedding decoration.

Here are some beautiful inspirational images of how other couples have used rose balls to decorate their wedding day:

Ava Living uses colourful pomanders to decorate table settings;  Set Your Scene used kissing balls hung from shepherds hooks to make a pathway down the aisle;  I Do Wedding Services use pomanders hanging from an arch to create a spectacular outdoor focal point; Bliss Events Ohio use kissing balls to create a beautiful outdoor decoration at the edge of a verandah. 

Happy Celebrating!

Kathryn

DIY and CIY (craft it yourself) is so popular at the moment for weddings (and we LOVE it).  But it’s making some of our brides feel overwhelmed with crafting projects and creativity.  One of our lovely brides emailed me today and asked if we could make her wedding stationery look like she made it herself!  My heart sank for her.  Martha has alot to answer for!  While I love being creative myself and I am all for anyone making their wedding their very own, anyone who isn’t a creative talent or simply doesn’t have the time, shouldn’t feel compelled to stay up until the wee hours of the night for six months before their big day making paper flowers. 

Here are my pros and cons for designer wedding stationery and DIY, and most of these work for other areas of your wedding to0 – your wedding bomboniere and favours, wedding decorations, cake and so much more.

Designer Stationery

Pros

• You provide inspiration for a couture design or choose from an existing design created by a professional designer
• The designer will give you a hand with wording the invitations, wishing well cards and other tricky stationery pieces
• Once you choose your wording and guest list, you just email it off and it is all done for you.  No mail merge hassles!
• It’s the perfect solution for anyone who isn’t creative or doesn’t have alot of time on their hands
• You have the time to dedicate to other important areas of your wedding planning
• Samples are available for your invitations, so you can see what they will look like before you buy
• Designers are usually ahead of the trends, so you know you can create a design that is up-to-the-minute

Cons

• Can be more expensive than DIY
• Your range may not be completely unique if you are choosing your design from a catalogue
• After you’ve placed your order, if you make changes, you will probably be charged
• Your invitations will take time to be made and be delivered to you.

Do It Yourself Stationery

Pros

• Saves you money as you aren’t paying for labour, which means you have more money to spend on other parts of your wedding
• You can create stationery completely unique to your wedding theme and style
• You have a sense of personal accomplishment as you’ve personally contributed to your wedding
• You get to control the budget and how much you spend on paper, embellishments and craft equipment
• It’s the perfect solution for anyone who is creative and has a great imagination
• You can make more invitations at any time, and make changes to your designs without incurring a charge

Cons

• If you’re not an experienced crafter, the process of cutting, pasting and generally making your stationery look professional can be time consuming and expensive, as well as frustrating
• It is very time consuming – don’t underestimate how much time construction and design can take
• If you aren’t creative, your vision may be difficult to achieve and make come to fruition
• DIY may not represent a saving if you need to buy all of the equipment from scratch and if you make lots of mistakes

I believe you need to make a decision about DIY versus Designer stationery based on your talents, time and budget.  Don’t feel pressured to do either.  Really, it’s up to you!

Happy Celebrating!

Kathryn

Bling, bling and more bling!  If you can’t flaunt your ice on your wedding day, then when can you?   We love ice and to get the run down on choosing the perfect bridal accessories, we’ve asked the experts to come up with this comprehensive guide.  Ice, ice baby!

• Engagement ring.  Ah! The (almost) essential wedding day bling! Normally switched to your right hand during the wedding ceremony, your engagement ring is put on your left hand after the ceremony after your wedding ring (with the romantic notion that the wedder is closer to your heart).
• Wedding ring.  The wedding ring is that one piece of jewellery that is essential to your wedding day!
• Tiaras and headbands. According to leading international bridal accessories designer, Justine Murray, who owns Justine M Couture and The Tiara Room, we’re seeing a shift from the full, heavy tiara to a more subtle soft headband or hair ornament/comb look.  “Elements such as shells, feathers, velvet, ribbons, filigree and organic pieces are being combined in very interesting ways to create something new and exciting.  Although silver colours and sparkle will never go out of fashion, gold and champagne colours are back in full force, at least for now!”
• Earrings.  From tiny pearl studs, to long shoulder dusters, earrings can be such an elegant feature. Ms Polkadot from Polkadot Bride suggests that brides wearing a necklace and tiara should choose smaller earrings.  “Too much of a good thing is always too much of a good thing!” she says. If you are wearing no other jewellery – go all out and be ornate as you like!
• Bracelets.  Perfect to add as a little extra glitz if you’re staying simple with accessories. A thick, bold sparkling cuff can make a bold statement with a simple gown, whereas classic pearls can scream old world glamour and looks beautiful with a more ornate lace gown.
• Necklaces.  From an ornate choker to a simple beaded creation, a necklace is a great way to make a feature of your décolletage.  Ms Polkadot suggests a bold necklace can suit a strapless gown while a simple strand of sparkle or pearls will add elegance and simplicity, allowing your gown to take centre stage.  “Perhaps you could wear a necklace incorporating your birthstones, or borrow a beautiful piece from someone special to add meaning to your wedding ensemble.”
• Watches.  A watch is an unusual wedding accessory choice, but may be a lovely touch – especially if the watch is a family heirloom or has special meaning to you. Try going for a metal watch with a dainty feel rather than a heavy leather band watch.
• Brooches.  A perfect way to bring attention to something you want to feature – on your dress or pinned into your hair a brooch can look modern or vintage, bold or feminine and dainty. For something different, the stones in your brooch could pick up colours of your bouquet or wedding colour palette.

Pink Frosting’s online wedding shop has a beautiful selection of wedding day jewellery for the bride and her bridesmaids which are an easy, elegant way to add the perfect finishing touch to your wedding day style.

Happy Celebrating!

Kathryn

The Pink Frosting warehouse has just taken delivery of the new range of wedding jewellery and bridal accessories from iconic Melbourne jewellery brand, Stephanie Browne Australia.  The new range is simply stunning and will no doubt grace the most stylish brides in Australia.  Some of our favourites include:

• The Art Deco Earrings which feature three drops of ice and pearls – gorgeous for brides with their hair off their face;
• The Karinska Bracelet which features an ornate crystal buckle and three strands of pearls;
• The Silk Feather Comb with pearl centre, which is the ultimate finishing touch to any bridal gown.

To celebrate, Pink Frosting is offering you 15% off any of our bridal jewellery, veils, cufflinks, bridal accessories until 15th August 2010.  All you need to do to take advantage of this offer, is use the code JEWELS15 at checkout when you place your order online.

Happy Shopping!

Kathryn

Anyone who reads Australia Entertains will know what a great fan I am of the Australian wedding blog, Polkadot Bride.  Ms Polka has created a phenomenon with her sweet ideas, quirky inspirations and beautiful writing.  I read Polkadot Bride every day and love to inhale all the beauty of Ms Polka’s vision.

Polkadot Bride has relaunched their site today with a gorgeous new look and brand new features which will make visiting the site even more exciting and inspiring.  I adore the new Honeymoon section (even though I am not a bride, a girl needs inspiration for glamorous holidays), Polkadot Wisdom which is filled with brilliant tips from some of the world’s most creative and innovative wedding vendors, and Polkadot Made which contains brilliant DIY ideas for brides and anyone inspired by pretty homemade goodies.

Congratulations Ms Polka! We adore your blog and look forward to many more moments of “ooh ahh” bliss to come.

Happy Celebrating!

I am a delighted wedding stylist today!  The new personalised wedding aisle runners at Pink Frosting’s wedding shop have me swooning and dying for an opportunity to test them out.  These luxe wedding decorations are the not only stylish, they’re completely unique to your wedding day as Pink Frosting personalises them with your choice of design, colour and with your names and wedding date.  Now that’s a wedding ceremony photo opportunity if I’ve ever seen one!

Aisle runners to decorate your wedding ceremony have become a beautiful way to define the entrance for your wedding service.  Whether in a church (to cover up an unstylish carpet) or outside to define the pathway the bride and groom, bridesmaids and other attendants will walk down to make their vows, a crisp white aisle runner is a great decoration for your wedding day.

Personalising your aisle runner with your names and wedding date, a design of your choice, custom colours and a message of love for your wedding day makes a statement about the bride and groom and also serves as a gorgeous backdrop for your wedding photographs as you make your vows.

Some advice:  we always recommend that you  secure the aisle runner so they don’t bob up and down.  The personalised aisle runners at Pink Frosting come with an adhesive backing which means you don’t need to worry about this, but other cheaper versions don’t so you’ll need to arrange some pebbles, pegs or other security measures to ensure that the aisle runner stays put.

Another tip: Don’t use a cloth or plastic aisle runner over fresh grass or sand unless it is backed by plywood or something solid: Your and your maids’ heels will go right through it into the soft ground beneath – yuck.  We recommend that you use some carpet or plywood underneath to make sure the aisle runner adds a perfect decorative touch and doesn’t sink into the ground!

I just adore these new personalised runners and can’t wait to see lots of great photos from our brides with these stunning ceremony decorations in the foreground.

Happy Celebrating!

Kathryn

Mastering the art of wording your wedding invitations needn’t be stressful.  I’m a real fan of invitation wording that reflects your personality and style – just like the theme of your wedding as well as the style of your celebration.  Tradition certainly has its place and if you’re holding a black tie or traditional ceremony and reception, it pays dividends to pay homage to wedding invitation wording traditions; however, if you’re a non-conformist and you’re hosting a fun, casual celebration with a modern twist, go to town with your wording and make it a reflection of your special day.

Here’s our guide to wedding invitation wording…

At its most basic, here is a guide:

Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Durand
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Sophie Lynn
to
Jeffrey Lautrec
son of
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Lautrec
Saturday, the fourth of December
Two thousand and eight
at two o’clock in the afternoon
Fox Green Country Club
2621 Hunter Avenue
Melbourne, Victoria

Many couples consider it archaic to address everyone as a Mr. or a Mrs, so you may drop the prefix in favour of “Oliver and Lucinda Durand” and “Michael and Jessica Lautrec”. 

You may also choose to relax the request line to suit the casual style of your wedding.  In this case, pen your invitation with “pleasure of your company” or “invite you to share in the marriage of”.

If you are hosting the wedding alongside your parents, you may wish to save space with something like:

Sophie Lynn Durant
and
Jeffrey Lautrec
together with their parents
request the pleasure of your company at their marriage
2pm, Saturday 4 December 2008
Fox Green Country Club
2621 Hunter Avenue
Melbourne, Victoria

Whether parents names are included on the invitation or not, remember to thank each set of parents for their support with a toast at the reception.

If your family relationships are complicated, don’t worry.  The key rule to follow is that the person (or people) listed on the invitation should be the host (or hosts) of the wedding reception. If divorced parents are co-hosting the event, they may both still be listed, though preferably on separate lines.

Still confused?  The Knot has a fantastic wording wizard with every possible combination to help you get your invitation right.  Or try Verseit.com, which features an array themed wording samples, including seasonal, holiday, cultural and even Shakespearean invitations!

More Wedding Invitation Ideas & Inspirations >>

Happy Celebrating!

Kathryn