It seems only fitting to post this gorgeous wedding, the week of their one year wedding anniversary.  We are so delighted to bring you an insight into a gorgeous South Australian Winter Wedding, held at Longview Estate, the Wedding of Emma and Darren.

Congratulations guys on your one year wedding anniversary and thank you so much for sharing with us, your beautiful love story and wedding!

 Tell us about your love story so far. How did you meet, what was the proposal like?

Darren and I met through mutual friends. We had all gone into town to celebrate a friend’s birthday when he was my night in shining armour that saved me from a tall drunk man who was being very unpleasant!! Darren stepped in and told the man I was spoken for and it wouldn’t be very gentlemanly to steal another mans lady, and being the gentleman he is he didn’t leave my side for the rest of the night, and ensured I got home safe.

A few months later we had our first official date, and we’ve never looked back since, and that was over 9 years ago now. We had an amazing love for each other, we moved in together after I returned from an overseas holiday, both of us knowing we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together.

6 months later we found out we were expecting our first child.

In March 2008 we bought our first home. We signed the papers on my birthday! It was an amazing feeling, something we had worked so hard for. The stress leading up in this time was huge, it was at the same time the economy had become quite unstable. Darren took me out to our favourite place for dinner, The Bridgewater inn. We talked, held hands, dreamed about our future, in our house. I knew it meant getting engaged and married was something that would be on hold until our finances could recover.

After dinner we went for a walk, we walked down and on the flat in front of the large water mill which was all light up and looked amazing. I turned around to see Darren on bended knee and he asked if I would be his wife. It was the most unexpected, beautiful moment, where time just seemed to stand still. it was an amazing joyous moment. We then went back to the place we had our first date, where we sat laughing the night away. 

Turns out he had asked my dad and my mum the night before if he could have their blessing to ask me to marry him. I had no idea, it was such a surprise, and im so glad it was. It made it even more magical and romantic being so unexpected!!

The ring is perfect. Its white gold with a brilliant cut diamond raised in the middle. It has 4 smaller diamonds on each side on the band. It couldn’t have been more perfect if I had picked it myself.

To this day I still catch myself starring at it smiling!!

All of our flowers (except the fresh flower petals and pink gyp) were artificial, and created by Ceri, from White Lies. (whitelies@live.com.au) I wanted beautiful romantic pieces that would last the day, and look great in every shot.

Ceri also used a stripped ribbon in the bouquets and buttonholes, giving them a unique appearance, which we loved.

The Gyp and rose petals came from Pride flowers onSouth Road.

Ceri from White Lies sprayed the Gyp a ballerina pink to match our colour scheme. It was perfect!!

Tell us about “The Dress”

I wanted something unique, something vintage but not dated. Something beautiful, but not over the top.

I didn’t want a strapless, but after trying on lots of different styles it seemed to be the most flattering.

I chose Maggie SotteroIreland, which as soon as I put it on, I felt like a princess. it was simple, classic and stunning.

Being a winter wedding I wanted something to keep me warm, and give the dress a more whimsical feel.

We had a tulle wrap made to clip on the inside of the dress, but the one the dress maker made was so small I couldn’t move my arms!! 2 weeks before my mum and I whipped up a bigger one, and added Swarovski crystals scattered through it.

We also had a blush pink fur wrap made for the reception which I just adore.

The Grooms Attire:

 The groom was fitted out in a beautiful suit by Peter Shearer at Glenelg. They were stunning black suits with a very faint grey pinstripe, with white shirts. Darren wore a white vest and white tie, and the grooms men more black vest and black ties.

Our son was the image of his dad in the matching white vest and white tie.

What special touches did you do to help make your wedding unique?

We did so much ourselves, but probably some of the most personal touches include instead of a signing book, we had our names and wedding date painted on a piece cut from a tree, which everyone signed the back of, which we have varnished, and on display in our home.

We had a ‘memory lane’ which was photos, a collection of memories, inspirational quotes and moments from our lives trailing up the stair wells on twine, adorned with vintage keys.

The photos dated back to some of the first ever a photo taken of our ancestors, and every person at our wedding was pictured on the lane. They all touched our hearts and have left foot prints in our lives, we wanted them to see we value each moment, no matter how small. And thank them, for helping us become the people we are today.

We had lots of touches, like send off sparklers, a live band, a candy bar, a photo booth, every where you looked, we added a small personal touch.

When I got to the top of the aisle and saw Darren standing there, I saw him catch his breath as he saw me for the first time. It was the single moment I can honestly say where I felt as if the whole world stopped, and it was just Darren and I standing there. Saying our vows was so very special, and it was hard to get all the words out. It was hard to think after all these years, our ups and downs, we were finally here, and I was finally going to his wife.

We had the most beautiful vanilla butte rcake cupcakes with vanilla butter cream frosting and blush pink dusting with hand made pink roses by Just Tickled Pink. They were beautiful. Exactly what we imagined!

Our theme evolved over time, it became very much a vintage Parisian love affair, with romantic and whimsical details. Darren didn’t mind if it was girlie, he just wanted MNM’s in the candy bar!

“Enjoy the planning as much as you can, it is a journey onto your new life together. Make sure it reflects both of you, spend money on the things that are important to both of you (for us that was food and wine, our lighting or focal decorative piece,  and entertainment) and save on the things that aren’t as important to you both.

And most of all, HAVE FUN!! It’s a beautiful, amazing time!! Enjoy it. xx”

Photography Credit : Elska Studios

Thank you so much for sharing your beautifully, romantic wedding with us and Happy Anniversary!

Until next time

Emma – THN

Today we are featuring an  beautiful rustic wedding, the wedding of Ashley and Justin.

Ashley and Justin’s love for one another was not the only thing that made this wedding a unique event. Both of them worked tirelessly creating personalised touches to stylise their wedding and make it uniquely and beautifully theirs.

The ceremony and reception were held at Highland Spring Resort (a vintage summer camp) and the main emphasis was to create an “antique-y and rustic” affair that was also fun!

Behold, a stylish and creative, uniquely beautiful wedding!

Ashley and Justin made all of their stationery and paper products themselves and even compiled a “favourite” play list CD as guest favours with an image from their engagement session with photographer Ashley Rose

Justin and Ashley opted for a First Look on their wedding day. The term First Look is used when a couple choose to meet in private prior to their ceremony.

Don’t they both have such beautiful smiles!

Congratulations Justin and Ashley on your recent wedding but also for creating such unique and fun wedding. The detail you both went to is quite simply mind blowing and I can honestly say that are thrilled to be able to share your wedding with our readers.  Ashley Rose, were are also so very delighted to be showcasing your gorgeous photographic work on our blog, thank you for sharing your beautiful images with us!

Until next time

Emma – THN

It never ceases to amaze me how lucky the Australian wedding industry is to have such a vast array of professional and exquisitely talented wedding vendors servicing it. One of the newest members to our growing community, Eventimaging Photography by Pete Thornton is certainly no exception. Pete is a very highly regarded Adelaide wedding photographer who also services Adelaide’s stunning Barossa Valley region. His modern and artistic  approach to photography has seen his work featured in bridal magazines such as Cosmobride, Barossa Bride Magazine, Wedding Style Guide + more.

It is my absolute pleasure to welcome Eventimaging Photography as a member of The Hens Nest wedding vendor guide and I can’t help but to share just a few of his beautiful images with you! I’m sure you will love them just as much as I do..

To see some more examples of Pete Thornton’s stunning wedding images, be sure to view Eventimaging Photography’s feature within our wedding vendor guide.

Lastly, I would just like to leave you with Pete’s catchphrase (which i love by the way), which is:

“There’s always another angle”

Until next time,

David – THN

I don’t think there is any secret that I’m quite fond of chocolates, cakes, tarts… WEDDINGS….. and gorgeously styled dessert tables! So when I stumbled my way onto the Cakewalk Desserts website, I quite seriously had to stop and catch my breath!

Andrea Smetona created Cakewalk Desserts in 2010 and it has quickly established itself as a leader in couture cake pops, pie pops and mini tarts! Andrea, having a design background provides well thought out lusht little treats just perfect for couples looking for something a little bit gorgeous and a little bit different for their wedding day.

If the below images aren’t enough to get you craving these gorgeous little sweets. As you cast your eyes over the below “eye candy” think about some of these delicious flavours that are available “Simply Vanilla, Haute, Chocolate, Red Velvet, Strawberry Fields, Triple Chocolate, Cinnamon Spice, Lemon Poppyseed, and Couture Coconut.  In addition, they also have 5 gourmet cake pop flavours which include: Honey-Lavender, Mochaccino, Tangerine Cheesecake, Mint Green Tea, and Chai Cranberry. Their pie pops and mini pies come in eleven scrumptious flavors including: “Cherry, Apple, Blackberry, Blueberry, Strawberry, Peach, Key Lime, Chocolate Crème, Peanut Butter, Pumpkin and Pecan.”

I adore that people are trying to create differently styled weddings and  events.  Slowly we are seeing a change take place where the “traditional” is not so traditional any more! Imagine a dessert buffet table, including a beautiful wedding cake (if not several) different tiered mini pastries, gourmet truffles, beautiful tarts and some of these decedent handmade beauties from Cakewalk Deserts!

We have been storing up a gorgeous collection of beautiful weddings to show on our blog and couldn’t think of a nicer way to kickstart June than by featuring the beautiful Adelaide wedding of Leanne and Nick

{Tell us about your love story so far. How did you meet, what was the proposal like?}

We met around 13 years ago but had not seen each other for years until running into one another at Grange.

Nick proposed to me in the mountains near the wine region of Stellenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa in January 2010. We were visiting friends there and had a day out wine tasting and touring around together. At dusk we watched the sun go down over Cape Town and Table Mountain drinking French champagne.

{How long was your engagement?}
9 months

{Tell us about “The Dress”}

My dress was made by Alli Lynch at BETROTHED, Kensington. Pure silk with pressed mushroom coloured underlay. Layered skirt – I love a little frill!

{The Grooms Wore}

Charcoal Grey Munich suits by Peter Shearer. Shirt by Calibre. Shoes by RM Williams

{What special touches did you do to help make your wedding unique?}

I made all of my own wedding invitations, place cards, ceremony booklets and personalised thank you cards which were attached to little noodle boxes (bonbonniere). The bonbonniere was white chocolate and macadamia rocky road which my mum and Nick’s mum helped make. I hand painted the table numbers on little canvases and easels for the reception too.  I loved the personal touches as I am an Art/ Design teacher so for me it was like one big design assignment! We also made lots of fleurpoms and had them hanging in the long entry hall. These were all pale pink, bright pink and a more salmon pink (the main colours of my bridesmaids)…The other unique part was that my Dad had just restored his little Austin to take the flower girls to the ceremony in.

{Flowers}
I designed the flowers for myself, the bridal party, the ceremony and the reception. The bridesmaids and flower girls. They all had a different type/ coloured bouquet of roses each. I had a larger bouquet made up of some of each rose, green orchids, snap dragons and freesias.  For the church I had large vases of gladioli and snapdragons. We had big bunches of stocks on the tables at the reception.

{Did your wedding have a theme?}

Yes, pink blossoms and little birds. Our photographer may have provided you with some photographs to help explain this concept.

{Describe your cake}

We had cupcakes – gluten free orange and almond and also chocolate mud-cakes designed by Helen Murphy. These were decorated with buttercream and roses.

{What moment took your breath away?}

Seeing our beautiful friends and families there for us…and then seeing Nick at the altar.

{Do you have any tips for brides and grooms planning their wedding}

Take time out for yourselves in the weeks leading up to the big day. Enjoy every minute of the planning and preparation and do not be too upset if things are not perfect….no one will ever know!

We were so fortunate to have so many people join us from interstate, country SA and overseas including Malta and South Africa.

It was also important to us to include all of our very special friends and family so we had quite a large bridal party including three flower girls. We also included as many family members as possible in the ceremony.

Ceremony Venue Our Lady of Victories, Glenelg

Reception Venue The Shores Function Centre, West Beach

Bridal Gown Betrothed

Shoes Collection/ Myers

Bridesmaids Dresses Veronica Maine
– It was important to me that they all felt comfortable and wore a dress in a
style which suited them. I loved them being slightly different but similar
colours.

Jewellery – Zejtun – from Malta

Photography Eventimaging (Peter Thornton)

Hair Stylist L’indulgence

Makeup Artist Jess Bailey

Suits Munich – Peter Shearer. Ties by Country Road

Rings Mirena – Somerset – South Africa

Flowers – me!

Cake Helen Murphy

Wedding Stationery – me!

Music – We had a saxophonist, singer and guitarist at the ceremony (friends of mine) at the reception we had PRAWNHEAD a bluebilly trio play during the pre dinner drinks.
The band ENCORE played during the reception. They were all so entertaining!

Bonbonniere  - me!

It’s always great to hear from a fellow hen about all of the new things happening in their nest.

Our friends over at Hens.com.au, the country’s leading hen’s party planning website have recently introduced another great feature for hens, ahem, brides. If you are in the process of organising a hen’s party or know someone who is, hens.com.au are now offering gorgeous online invites (e-vites) to allow bridesmaids and brides to choose and personalise an invite, send it online and track RSVPs.

Below, Sucheta, Director of Hens.com.au outlines some of the great features of the new e-vites:

“This lastest free service on hens.com.au, which has an array of services, tips and ideas for the perfect hens party, means the site is now a one stop shop for planning the ultimate hens event.

Online invites offer the following:

• A choice of styles to suit all tastes
• An ability to personalise each invite and send online
• RSVP tracking
• Google maps to show the location of the hen’s party

Simply put they are a convenient and effective way of making every bridesmaids job a little easier.

At hens.com.au brides and their bridesmaids have the ability to choose their own style of party with listings covering all sorts of events -  from sexy, pamper, wine & dine and unique.  The event can be booked with advertisers online, invites designed, sent and RSVPs tracked.

Other services include hens gifts, a beautiful embossed hen’s party photo and comment book, hens party planning advice, and a range of games to play on the night”.

Until next time,

David | THN