Elizabeth Messina photography

I was in awe when I came upon Elizabeth Messina's photography on her blog Kiss the Groom~! (Which is oh so stunning as well!) I want to take portraits like she does.. they are so vivid and full of life and emotion. This sepia portrait embodies the couture bride.

Fairy tale bridesmaids..

I love love these "Birdy and Me" illustrations by Kelly Smith~! Such inspiration to start drawing again! She has beautiful pencil drawings accented with watercolors.

I love the soft, natural beauty of the girls with the flowing fabric and feathered hair pieces.



Aww and my dream wedding dress~! So sweet.

Check her out on etsy where you can buy prints of these girls and many more.

DIY mason jar lanterns

I've been thinking about our twilight reception lighting and stumbled on these delights. They are porcelain lanterns cast from actual mason jars. It gave me an idea.. what if you just took actual mason jars and painted the inside white. It would somewhat opaque but would probably still allow the candle flame to glow. I may try this out soon~! You can buy these in pairs for $90 on etsy.com from alyssa ettinger design shop. Photo by Jen Sliker.

A treetop reception in Aotearoa

Recently my Kane and I were looking through a book of amazing tree houses architects have designed all over the world. He then showed me a little wonder in Aotearoa. The Yellow Tree house restaurant designed by Pacific Environment Architects in collaboration with Yellow Pages.

It is a childhood dream of living in an enchanted forest. It's organic shape is similar to a spiral seashell, a butterfly cocoon or even an onion!

Unfortunately no reservations are being taken at the moment but around 2,000 people have had a chance to visit it. It is being taken into consideration now to re-open it to the public.

A perfect venue for small intimate weddings! It seats 18 people in the tree house with the catering facilities and restrooms at ground level. It is just south of Honey Centre in Wartworth.

A 60 meter wooden walkway weaves above the forest floor to the restaurant.

View http://www.yellowtreehouse.co.nz for ongoing updates, blog, video and still footage with live web cam images.
Visit http://www.pacificenvironments.co.nz for more information about the architects.

lunaphoto

One of my favorite photo blogs is lunaphoto!  Awesome photography team Mike and Paula Luna are based in San Diego, California but also do destination weddings.  Here's some sweet photos they have taken recently.

Bridal bouquets

So I have been thinking about my wedding flowers lately.. mostly the white ones.. Here are some options other than the ranunculus bouquet above.


Calla Lily
Meaning: Magnificent beauty
Best For: Bouquets and arrangements
Scent: Lightly fragrant
In Season: Spring and summer
Price Range: Expensive
Floral Fact: This large tropical flower is very popular in weddings.


Orchid
Meaning: Love, beauty
Best For: Bouquets, corsages, and boutonnieres
Scent: None
In Season: Year-round -- almost always imported
Price Range: Expensive
Floral Fact: This exotic flower comes in a variety of colors and sizes.


Peony
Meaning: Bashfulness, the American spirit of ambition and determination
Best For: Arrangements
Scent: Lightly fragrant
In Season: Late spring
Price Range: Expensive

*photos and text by theknot.com

Beautiful bridal hats and combs

I feel like I should change by blog title to The Etsy Bride! I've been swooning over these gorgeous hair combs and bridal hats to accessorize a birdcage veil. Very vintage with a feel of being royalty to them.



Popular materials are flowers, extravagant feathers and swarovski crystals.

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Oh la la~! xxoo