Roses are Red

What's in a bouquet? When it comes down to what flowers to choose for your bouquet it can be a very hard decision. There are so many fabulous choices!

We think sprigs of lavendar is a sweet alternative to tradtional bouquets ... or olive branches mixed with contorted willow makes for a unique bouquet. We admit however that it can be hard to go past a beautiful bouquet of peonies (if you're fortunate enough to be wed in the season) or of course David Austen roses, ranunculus and the list goes on ....

Amy Osaba Event. Floral. Design. puts together some amazing flowers! Her style is often a twist on the traditional and a whole lot of fun! You can tell she truly loves the creative process and the results are amazing! Sadly for us Amy is based in the States, so whilst we may not be able to employ her creative genius, we can still have fun looking at her creations and take inspiration. Here are a few ....

All images are taken from Amy Osaba Event. Floral. Design

It's the little things ....

All those gorgeous, thoughtful touches do get noticed on your wedding day. All those details that you've agonised over, thought and re-thought come together on the day to complete the magic. We've seen so many beautiful touches to weddings be it in the decor, gifts to the guests, props for photobooths etc which provide so many picture perfect photo opportunities! Just like this one of Melissa & AJ's Wedding taken by W. Scott Chester Photography.

How absolutely fun are the pink flamingos??

Shoes, shoes glorious shoes!

Deciding on a pair of wedding shoes can be quite a tricky process. Do you go for a pair in soft cream, ivory, white or natural? Or do you go bold and make a statement, be it a pair of shoes in buttercup yellow, burnt orange, electric blue and so on. The next step is to consider embellishments say jewels? sequins? frills? Then you need to think about whether you want them teeteringly high or are you more of a ballet flat kind of bride? The list goes on!! Decisions, decisions! We've collected a few images below that we thought would get you thinking!

First two images: Erin Hearts Court & next three images Paper + Lace

Picture Perfect

Sometimes you come across an image that just makes you want to dive in and become part of the celebration! This image courtesy of Martha Stewart makes us want to do just this! Love the hanging lanterns, the outdoor setting and of course the Tiffany Chairs!

Lady Melbourne

Lady Melbourne is a fun, sassy, smart blog on all things fashion. Phoebe is the editor of the Melbourne based blog which focuses on the stylish offerings of her blog's namesake (Melbourne!) intermingled with trends from further afield.

To help Lady Melbourne celebrate her 4th birthday, Ava Madison coupled with Gorgeous Cosmetics and GlamOz have joined to offer a fantastic prize giveaway. Readers of Lady Melbourne's blog have the chance to win a gorgeous Ava Madison dress of their choice, that  is you get to choose the colour/size/length etc as well as beauty and accessories from Gorgeous Cosmetics and GlamOz.

Does this sound like a pretty fabulous give-away? We think so. For further information on the competition and details on how to enter, please visit Lady Melbourne's blog post http://www.ladymelbourne.com.au/2010/07/700th-post-happy-friday/

Images: Ava Madison

New York Wedding

We think it would be fair to say that we're just a tad in love with JP and Kris Ann's wedding shot by the very talented Jessica Claire. What's not to like about this wedding? The wedding took place in Saratoga Springs, New York and everything was so beautifully designed, decorated and put together. I think you would all agree!! We love the use of the Tiffany Chairs, the candles, glass hurricanes and the flower arrangements....  Pure joy! For more drool worthy images from JP and Kris Ann's wedding, along with an abundance of other beautiful weddings head over to Jessica Claire's website. Happy Friday everyone.

Birdcages & weddings

Bride + Groom hire and sell a variety of white and black ornate birdcages, all very sweet. We've found that some of the smaller cages are a perfect modern twist on 'wishing wells' - functional and decorative at the same time! We're also noticing a popular trend to use birdcages as centrepieces and thought we'd post a few photos for inspiration!

Images: Mints Flower and Sara France

Matilda Bay Wedding

A palette of snowy white and soft greens provided a beautiful backdrop for Catriona and Josh's wedding. Married earlier this year at Matilda Bay, the gorgeous couple put enormous thought and effort into their wedding day which reflects in the room set-up and decor.

Photographer Michelle Dean was kind enough to share some of her beautiful images that really showcase the reception. I love the look of our White Tiffany Chairs, Ornate Birdcage & the green pear on each guest's plate - such a lovely touch!

Photography: Michelle Dean

Wedding Planner: Cathrin D'Entremont Weddings

Flowers: Flower Talk WA

Veune: Matilda Bay Restaurant

Dessert & Candy Bars

Let's just say we like a good dessert bar at weddings .... ok we love a good dessert bar at weddings!! Which is why we are avid follower of Amy Atlas's Sweet Design Blog. So many good ideas, so creative & so much fun!

Having had our own experience devising candy bars we know how important it is to devise a concept for the bar and follow it through - be it a colour concept ... say pink & white (think marshmallows, muststicks & meringues) or perhaps a particular theme - say carnival - caramel popcorn, fairy floss & icecream cones. Yum! Whatever it may be, enjoy the reasearching - we think it is imperative to taste along the way!!!

Amy Atlas created a fantastic candy bar for Martha Stewart Weddings Magazine 15th Anniversary late last year, which we thought we'd share with you.

Images: Mel Barlow and Elan Documentary

We ♥ Tiffany Chairs ♥ Mason Jars ♥ Paper Lanterns

It's always exciting when beloved items from our store start popping up in weddings around the place.

We've collected images from  recent weddings who have hired our Tiffany Chairs & Mason Jars (the jars are such an effective way of dressing a table & our wired jars look so lovely hanging in trees). We also love the look of our White Eyelet Paper Lanterns suspended at all different heights - great indoors and out!

All of these weddings just look so pretty!

All images courtesy of Paper + Lace Photography

Bridesmaid Style File

It can be a very hard decision what colour to choose for bridesmaid (b.m) dresses! The dresses we stock have such great colour palettes to choose from, that it can at times, be a bit overwhelming! However it is important to go for a style & colour that not only you love but that your b.m's love and feel good in too.

Popular colour trends at the moment are soft pastels of mint, pale pink and whisper blue moving into the slightly darker pink hues of cameo, quail and dusty pink. Perfect accompaniment to summer wedding bouquets of peonies, David Austen roses and ranunculus.

Here are a few photos of b.m's wearing Alexandra by Ava Madison in Quail, courtesy of Elise Gow Photography.

Winter Wedding

Shanelle and Martin's wedding was a beautiful winter celebration! Married in June this year, the historic venue of Briars in Bowral NSW proved the perfect place to host an intimate and romatic wedding.

Dressed in Harvey & Ella, Shanelle looked absolutely gorgeous and was a delight to deal with! Shanelle ordered her dress through Bride + Groom and chose Sophia in Natural Silk Georgette. You may recognise the design of the dress, which Shanelle personalised, electing to go from a one shoulder design to having straps on either side.

Thank you for sharing your photos with us Shanelle and Martin, Emotiva Photography captured the essence of your day perfectly!

Harvey & Ella Dresses: Real Wedding

We always love sharing real weddings with you, this time it's one featuring bridesmaids wearing Harvey & Ella. We haven't posted many photos of Harvey & Ella and I have managed to get my hands on a couple of beautiful weddings to share with you. The first wedding I'm posting is Melissa and Nick's who were married at Nick's family home in Brighton, with the reception at Middle Brighton Baths, Victoria. Melissa wore a gorgeous gown by Mariana Hardwick and the bridesmaids were of course in Harvey & Ella!

Thanks to Tania Savage Photography for sharing the photos with us, they are just gorgeous!