Ben & Phoebe's Beautiful Wedding

It was a wedding like no other.  It was the most beautiful party for the 2 most beautiful people you could ever wish to meet. 

They have been through more than you could ever imagine and this weekend was in their own words - 'the greatest of their lives'.

Everyone embraced colour for what was a divine garden party at Amileka - a seriously gorgeous private home at Federal in Northern NSW.   Even Brad got into the swing of things with his navy and white polka dot bow tie.



That's my mother in that gorgeous patterned dress and Jen's hot pink Josh Goot dress was STUNNING!!



The flowers were a hit.  This Dahlia measured about 12cm across!!

Phoebe wore Vera Wang...of course!!

We used lots of vintage blue and white vases mixed with old glass bottles, jugs and tea pots which came from family members for the table flower arrangements.  No new vases were purchased. Every single flower came from our garden.  It was my gift to my cousin and Phoebe.


Phoebe's divine mum, Meg made little bottles of chutney for each guest.  The recipe was her father's.  There were so many references to the importance of family at this wedding which made the day so deeply meaningful and beautiful.

The morning after the wedding Ben's mum and dad, my Aunty Jane and Uncle Rob, prepared a huge breakfast at Ben & Phoebe's beach house for all of the wedding guests.  It was so beautiful.  The tables were set with pretty tablecloths from B&S and fresh frangipani and hibiscus.  I have no idea how they did it after what was a huge night of partying.

There was no wiping that beautiful smile from Phoebe's face all weekend.  She is the happiest girl on this planet.

And as for my Brad, he finished up like this...absolutely tanked!!

Here's to you Ben & Phoebe and the wonderful life you have in front of you!!  We love you both SO much...
xx
Anna

Wedding Preparations

As I write this post I am preparing 8 large rectangular tubs with chicken wire inset into each tub ready for all the flowers I will be cutting from our garden very early tomorrow morning.  After the big harvest I will be loading the tubs into my car for the journey down to Northern NSW tomorrow ready for my cousin's big Wedding this coming Saturday.  We will be filling approximately 60 mismatched vintage vases with Dahlias, Zinnias, Daisies, Calendulas and Foxgloves all of which I have grown here at home in our garden.  You should see the Foxgloves.  They are amazing.  I will try to take some photos of them before they are all cut tomorrow. 

Here's a snapshot of some of the gifts wrapped at Black & Spiro today which have been purchased for Ben & Phoebe.  They were so kind to mention that B&S is their favourite store on their wedding invite and I must say they have some divine gifts coming their way!!

I won't be back here now until early-mid next week.  Hope you all have a great weekend!!
xx
Anna

Parties, Weddings, Installations...

Over the weekend I met a reader from New York at a party for my soon-to-be cousin-in-law.  She said that one of the things she loves about me is that I always let my readers know when I am going away from the blog or not going to post for a few days.  Well, I must apologise to her and to you as I seem to have been missing in action since last Wednesday with no such notice of absence.  I'm unsure where all of those days have gone to...

So, what have I been up to you might ask?  Well, I won't delve into every single detail however, here's a snapshot of a beautiful bedroom I just finished for a lovely teenage girl.  It was an absolute delight working with her and her mum.  I think she is the most polite, effervescent and happy teenager I have ever met. 

The day we installed the furniture into her room, I took her some dahlias from my garden which we arranged on her antique bedside table I found for her.  On the other side of the lovely upholstered antique French bed we placed a Stuart Membery chest of drawers.  I love the mix of furniture we chose for her room and I must admit I found it very hard parting with the antique bed.  However, I know she will cherish it and that makes me very happy!! 

I wish I got some better photos...I seem to be always saying that but I'm always in such a hurry.

This week is a very big and exciting week for my family as this Saturday my cousin is getting married to his beautiful fiance Phoebe at the most divine property in northern NSW.  We have family flying in from Canada, Sweden, New York, Holland and interstate.  Everyone is coming together which is just so exciting.  I have been given the lovely job of arranging the flowers for the tables.  I am using  the beautiful dahlias and zinnias from our garden which is very exciting.  I can't believe how many flowers we have.  It's quite amazing and so thrilling to be able to use my own flowers for my cousin's wedding.

Oh and tomorrow night is Chanel.  As an update to my post from the other week, Chanel called today to ask for Brad's last name.  Maybe they read my post!!xx

Anna

x

Perfect Party

I have actually posted this picture before...way back in my archives.  However, I thought I would re-post it for my cousin and his fiance as they are getting married in December HERE at this amazing property and I thought this could make for some good inspiration for them or anyone who is planning a party!! 

A Beautiful Tulle Skirt

Last week when we were re-arranging the shop Melanie spotted this girl who works in the shop next door to our shop wearing this fabulous tulle skirt. As Melanie is getting married next year we had to stop her and ask her the details. She told us it was the skirt from her wedding dress which was a vintage 1950's dress. We were in awe of this beautiful skirt and asked if we could take a photo so that we could swoon over it. When we were looking back at the photos we noticed she had paired the skirt with a silhouette t-shirt. How gorgeous is that!! I just had to share this beautiful outfit with you!!

Wedding Belles

A special friend of mine recently got engaged. I am so excited for her. I emailed her this gorgeous image taken at Lena Corwin's wedding as my friend has a golden retriever too {my favourite dog breed of all time}. This is what I said to her in the email...

"You MUST take Nellie to the wedding and here's a picture to get you excited!! We could tie lots of pretty ribbons around her neck...."

How cute is this picture??!! If you haven't already checked out the rest of Lena's wedding pictures you must do so....it's so delightful!

Mesmerizing

I am very taken with this beautiful, sensual and romantic image by photographer Ken Kochey. Isn't that lace to die for!!

Wedding Inspiration

I'm not about to become obsessed with weddings at ABT even though I absolutely love seeing wedding images, inspirations and ideas on my favourite wedding devoted blogs such as Snippet & Ink , Style Me Pretty , Toast & Tables and Elizabeth Anne Designs. So you don't have to worry I will definitely leave it up to these lovely ladies to inspire us on the wedding side of things but these beautiful images by Mallory Samson just made me smile. This wedding is in Nantucket and wow I don't think there's much else I can say except this is 'Absolutely Beautiful'!!

A Beautiful Bouquet

What a beautiful wedding bouquet via Mallory Samson Photography via Snippet & Ink!