French Style

Another of my favourite inspirations when I'm designing wedding stationery or planning a photo shoot for WSG is French Style and Decoration - A Sourcebook of Original Designs by Stafford Cliff. This book is so beautifully designed with many full page reproductions of French design through the ages.

With a total of 600+ designs every page reveals a different medium from wallpaper design, fabric patterns to tablesettings.





Available from Amazon for USD$20.57 + shipping.

I love this book so much I have just ordered the second book in the series - English Style and Decoration. No doubt this will be equally as inspiring.

Posted by Jane Cameron

Thoughtful Stationery

Erica from the lovely blog Thoughtful Day also has a great stationery website that she launched soon after her own wedding after loving the process of designing her own stationery. She does custom work like the gorgeous stationery below that she designed for her own wedding and also has launched her Melodie collection which is a mix and match stationery design where you choose the colour you want and the design with lots of matching bits and pieces - my favourite being the matching rubber stamps and welcome tote bags!







The custom stationery Erica designed for her own wedding (above) and the mix and match stationery (below)











Posted by Emma Henderson

Fun Tote Bags

These 'Design Your Own' Jonathan Adler monogram tote bags would make such a nice bridesmaid gift. You can choose your design and colours to suit your wedding theme or design them to suit the personal style of your bridesmaids. The bags cost $125 USD + postage.





Posted by Emma Henderson

Off the Cuff

How cute is this neck cuff that I found on Etsy from Being of Love in Hong Kong. The La Nina choker is made from cream chiffon and tulle. At only USD$32 + postage it would make an affordable way to pretty up a simple dress.





Posted by Jane Cameron

The Good Oil

For the last six months I, along with an increasing list of celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Salma Hayek and Deborah Messing, have been using Moroccanoil. I have say it's possibly the most fabulous product I've ever used on my hair. I have very fine, blonde hair and find it needs to be well maintained to avoid breakages and to encourage growth. Moroccanoil has truly done wonders for my hair and I will go out of my way to suggest people try it. The Argan Tree, found growing only in Southwest Morocco and added to the World Heritage List in 1999, produces a kernal which is crushed to produce Argan Oil, a powerful antioxidant, UV protector and free radical neutraliser, rich in vitamins that strengthens and increases the elasticity of hair. Not only good for hair, Argan Oil has been used by Berber women in Morocco for centuries as a skin protectant and for medicinal purposes. Imagine what it can do for your luscious locks in the lead up to your wedding!!


Moroccanoil treatment AUD$49.50

Recently Moroccanoil released three new products containing the wondrous Argan Oil - Moisture Repair Shampoo & Conditioner along with an Intense Hydrating Mask. I sat down with Andrea Garvey, Moroccanoil's Brand Manager, whilst she was visiting from America and discovered that not only will these products do wonders for ANY kind of hair, purchasing them means you're also helping communities in Southwest Morocco trade Argan kernals and oil through fair trade practices. Andrea has herself seen the difference these products have made to her own hair, after (like me) she had a disastrous salon experience. I've been using these products for a month or so now and love them all. I'm hooked! Visit www.moroccanoil.com to find out all the info and to find a stockist near you.


Moisture Repair Shampoo & Conditioner (250ml each) AUD$28.95 each


Intense Hydrating Mask (250ml) AUD$44.50

Posted by Emilie Harrison

Takes the Cake

If you're a cupcake fanatic, you may love the new range over at Urbanic Paper Boutique in the US. They have a number of different designs - each one cuter than the last. I love these two...





They would make a sweet addition to any bridal shower.

Posted by Jane Cameron

Goodbye Summer, Hello Comfort Food

So, summer is over (insert sad sigh) and autumn has arrived with noticeably cooler mornings. This means one thing, hearty comfort food! I am a soup fiend in the cooler months and yesterday I celebrated the first pot of homemade tomato soup made from the most delicious cherry tomatoes fresh from our veggie garden. My sister Edwina is quite the chef and rich, hearty meals are her speciality. I recently received a copy of the new Country Style cookbook Country Chefs and thought it'd be right up her alley. The book features stories and recipes from Australia's best-loved country chef's including Stefan Manfredi, Stefano de Pieri and South Australia's very own Maggie Beer. If you're planning an autumn or winter wedding this would be a great book to get some menu ideas from. There's nothing quite like sitting down to a hearty meal with family, friends and nice wine. Ahh... one great thing about winter! A couple of recipes that really took my fancy were Stefano Manfredi's Prawn & barley stew, Patrizia Simone's Asparagus & taleggio cannelloni and Annie Smithers Braised lamb shoulder on white bean & tomato stew. Delicious! The cookbook will be on sale in Australia on 29th March for $39.95. Visit www.countrystyle.com.au for release details.



Posted by Emilie Harrison

Mellow Yellow

Yellow's always such a popular colour for weddings. Whether a key colour in your design, or used for accents, it's a warm colour that will always put a smile on your dial. So many products are available in yellow and I'm loving these gorgeous pieces of stationery from our favourite New Zealand stationery designer Ruby & Willow. Kate Holland, desinger at Ruby & Willow, offers great alternatives to incoporating yellow into your stationery suite. I simply love the yellow and navy combination. So chic! Visit www.rubyandwillow.co.nz to discover Kate's truly gorgeous stationery.







Posted by Emilie Harrison

Bright Star

Further to Emma's post you must have a look at the website for Bright Star, a movie from director Jane Campion. Not only is the website absolutely gorgeous, but it includes another folded paper love note designed by graphic designer Amy Merry for the movie.









Amy's website has many examples of her exceptionally beautiful work. I am definitely a fan.



Posted by Jane Cameron

So Very Vera

Vera Wang may be considered the Queen of the wedding dress but I have to say she's doing pretty well in the stationery department. I LOVE these gorgeous Alencon Blue Lace square wedding invitations. Alencon lace is a French needlepoint lace in a pretty floral design on a sheer net background and is very commonly used to create beautiful wedding gowns. If you're using this lace for your gown it might be worth considering following the trend right through to your stationery. How chic! The square Oyster white folder opens to reveal your wedding invitation wording and each card comes with a single matching envelope. They cost USD$562 for 50 invitations but right now, if you purchase 75 or more invites, you'll receive 25 for free! Perfect timing! Visit www.verawang.com or www.williamarthur.com to shop online.


Front view


Inside view

Posted by Emilie Harrison

Shape Up

Ever since shapewear was introduced there have been sighs of relief from women everywhere. Shapewear has made it possible for women of almost every shape and size to wear those more figure hugging and sexy pieces. Body Wrap, a collection of seamless and sophisticated pieces, offers adjustable cup sizes and immediate results, creating the illusion of a slimmer, firmer figure. There's a great selection of pieces in the collection and are so comfortable you'll forget you're wearing them! Visit www.bodywrap-shapewear.com to find out how you can feel even better on your big day!







Posted by Emilie Harrison

DIY Heart Invitations

These DIY origami invitations that Amy from the blog Eat Drink Chic sent out for her engagement party are amazing - the amount of time she must have spent on these certainly show her dedication to having the most perfect and unique invitations. Amy said that the most time consuming part of the process was hand stitching the translucent paper pockets. Well done Amy for thinking outside the square and creating something very personal - we can't wait to see your wedding invitations!







Check out Amy's blog to download a template to make these origami hearts.

Posted by Emma Henderson