Look Book: Sitting on the dock of the bay

Over the last week we’ve treated you to a few sneak peaks of this collaboration with Patina photography. Its my pleasure to finally reveal the first of my editorial fashion shoots, shot by the talented Patina photography!

I was so honored when Michelle and James from Patina Photography asked me to do this collaboration. They are one of my favorite wedding photographers at Boomrock. I'm so lucky I get to work in a industry that allows me to meet such lovely talented people. I've had the pleasure of working with them on a winter wedding styled shoot in the past and we instantly clicked, so I jumped at the chance to work with them again!

Recipie: Sugar cured Wakanui beef chopstick w pickled ginger & cress

I've had some Chefspiration! Since working at Boomrock I have learnt so much about food & wine! I've decided to take on the challenge put to me by the amazing Mark Hartstonge! Mark is the resident head chef at Boomrock. Challenge number 1: To try and make his Sugar cured Wakanui beef chopstick w pickled ginger & cress canape. This recipe looks so fancy and is actually quite easy to make, and will definitely impress your guests! Jake and I put these to the test at a little dinner party last weekend and they went down a treat! 

We got married.......again!

Hahaha! Not really, but you may recognize the Bride & Groom below! Here's a sneak peek of the styled winter wedding photo shoot at Boomrock shot by the amazing Patina Photography. Boomrock Lodge is a unique cliff top venue with sweeping views across the Cook Straight towards the South Island. It is the most incredible venue for a wedding! Oh and did I forget to mention that I work there?! So if you know know any lucky ladies rocking a new rock be sure to send them my way! 

Look Book: Knit Love

It's officially winter time!! This is definitely my “everyday” look, black skinnies, an oversized knit cardigan and boots. Always comfy, always cute. In a lot of ways, a chunky knit cardigan is like your security blanket. It’s so versatile! Once you find that quintessential chunky knit cardigan, you’ll never want to part from it.

Dream come true.......

I am thrilled beyond my wildest dreams to share with you the exciting news that I will be joining the team at Boomrock as their Events & Wedding Coordinator! This is dream job of mine. I really wanted a career that would make me excited to wake up every morning. Being a hopeless romantic at heart, I’ve always loved weddings but planning my own wedding really made me want to get into the events and wedding industry.

Mango and passionfruit pavlova

I was feeling pretty confident on the weekend and decided to bake my first ever pavlova. I must confess I am one of those people who normally buy the pre-made one from the supermarket. I don't know why I didn't try this sooner as its really easy to make! Its true what they say homemade always taste best! Jake said quote: "This is honestly the best pav I have ever tasted". So needless to say I was super proud of myself! Just call me wifey!

Wedding Wednesday: Kids packs

I still have a couple more Wedding Wednesday's up my sleeve to share!  I really wanted to share this idea for all the brides out there that are currently planning their wedding and having their favourite “little people” attend. It’s such a great idea for the flower girls and page boys too! Jake and I had quite a few little friends that we wanted to share the day with. So I decided to do children’s packs to keep little ones happy and occupied for a toast or two! 

Feijoa loaf

Its feijoa season! This loaf is easy to make, delicious and perfect for morning/afternoon tea or the kids lunch boxes...or in my case hubby's lunchbox. 

Wedding Wednesday: Our first dance!

I'm back and I have a few more wedding moments to share with you all! Since family and friends read my blog, I couldn’t share some things that Jake and I wanted to keep a surprise. One of them was our wedding dance! Everyone can ‘shuffle round in circles’ but we wanted to wow our guests with an elegant, classic Tango Waltz......We decided to get professional help! The weeks leading up to the wedding Jake and I took some professional ballroom lessons.

Look Book: Chino love

Hope you all had a good Easter weekend! I spent mine just chilling out, I feel like I've been jet setting all over the place lately. It was nice to spend the weekend at home and get some much needed jobs done. It's been a bit of a look book hiatus lately.  I've been a busy lady! I got married!! Haha!... But with things starting to get back to normality I promise to share more of these.

Wedding: Reception & Details

It’s not often you have all of your favourite people in one room together. The wedding was a true celebration of love, a day filled with heartfelt moments, tears, happy laughter and an overall great atmosphere. I loved planning our wedding and all the finer details that we put into our special day.

Wedding: Sunset Ceremony

Fairy tales do come true…..

Our wedding day was absolutely perfect. It was everything I imagined and more! The moment the tractor arrived to pick us up from the cottage everything started feeling very real. I was about to marry the man of my dreams! I loved the tractor ride down the road to the venue. I remember trying to take everything in…the beautiful sunset forming on the hills, my maid of honour saying she had butterflies in her stomach, the boys getting excited and my mum trying to hold back the tears. I was about to walk down the aisle to my soon to be husband!

Wedding: Bridal Party

How stunning was my bridal party!? You would think that this was a styled photo shoot with models! Haha! We had so much fun doing these photos. Kate, our photographer took us to a few different locations and the lighting was just perfect! These photos take our breath away. To say we love them would be an understatement! We honestly can’t stop looking at them! Here are a few of my favourites. 

Wedding: First look

Meeting Jake for our first look was one of my favourite memories of the day. Throughout the day the weather wasn’t the greatest and there was a light drizzle just before we were set to do our first look. Five minutes before I stepped out of the cottage the rain stopped and the sun came out! These images reminded me of the butterflies I felt in my stomach as I walked up behind him and the way Jake excitedly kept saying “Can I turn around now?!”. 

Wedding: Getting ready

Alright y'all, let's get the party started! I wanted to begin with our getting ready photos. For a girl, getting ready is one the funnest parts of the day! Having your main girls with you while you get all dolled up and pampered whilst sipping on champagne is always a highlight!

If I could offer one piece of advice for your wedding day, it would be to make sure you give yourself enough time to get ready.

Those little moments with the women in your life, will come to mean more to you than you ever imagined. So you don’t want to rush them. Family and friends were involved in every aspect of our wedding. We are so lucky to know such talented people. My long time friend Ashley did my hair and also one of my dearest friends Leo did my makeup. They did such an amazing job…I truly felt like a princess! 

Our Wedding!

I’m so thrilled to finally be able to share our wedding photos with you! Our wedding day was absolutely perfect. It was everything I imagined and more! Looking through our photos makes me so emotional. It was so hard to pick which photos to share - there are so many! I decided to break my posts up into sections, to highlight the different parts of the day. 

Here’s a little sneak peak! To get all excited! 

Honeymoon in Thailand

I am writing this “officially” as Mrs Carlson!

I can’t wait to share our special day with you. It was everything I imagined it to be and more! It really was the happiest day of my life! I felt and still feel like the luckiest girl in the world to marry Jake! The day was just perfect! So much to share with you all…the first being our amazing honeymoon trip to Thailand!

Wedding Wednesday: Last post before I become Mrs Carlson

The day has finally arrived! After spending months and months researching, planning and organizing…Jake and I will officially be Mr & Mrs Carlson! 

I'm so excited about marrying Jake, a man who has been the best boyfriend, fiancé, partner I could ask for. I can't wait to walk down that aisle and say, "I DO!" in front of all our family and friends. Thank you all for reading, loving and supporting us. You all are so awesome and wonderful and it means so much to me and Jake! OK now off for some beauty therapy. I am sooooo excited….I don’t know how I’m going to sleep! 

Wedding Wednesday: Bridal Emergency Kit!

Listen up Brides, this is for you! As picture perfect as we all imagine our wedding day to be, the truth is, there will always be hiccups along the way. So prepare yourself the best you can by building your very own Bridal Emergency Kit! Below is a list of the necessities but you can add your own items, you may want to add a pair of contacts or an extra copy of your vows. 

Behold the Bridetastic, emergency kit that I have put together for my wedding! 

Look Book: Daisy

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Its time to get out your summer dresses! No matter the season, I'm a big fan of floral dresses. I always try to buy things that can work throughout all the seasons. And as long as you have a good pair of tights and some outerwear, you can make floral print and bright colored dresses work during the fall and winter too. This dress is one of those dresses you can chuck on weather its down to the beach, coffee in town with friends or just picking some daisies.

Wedding Wednesday:.....Nothing says it like flowers!

First post for 2014!! 

I hope you all had a lovely xmas and new years with friends and family! I can't believe it's 2014!! It's finally here! Our year! I am getting married next month! I still have so much to share with you! 

Okay, I love flowers. If I could have fresh flowers in my home 24/7 I would. Actually a lot of times I do! When choosing the florist for our wedding....It was easy. I knew straight away who I wanted. My favorite florist in Wellington....Scent! I collected some photos of bouquets and floral designs that I liked and took them into Ingrid at Scent, as well as some photos of the venue to give her an idea of the look and style we were going for. I knew their rustic yet modern style would match perfectly for our wedding.