It's All About Family - Kate and Isaac

After meeting at a charity committee meeting and a subsequent six year relationship, Isaac and Kate were engaged and then married on the 20th March 2010 at the picturesque Coriole Vineyards in McLaren Vale, South Australia.

The proposal was anything but predictable when Isaac gave Kate a gift on their six year anniversary. Kate could see from the way the gift was wrapped that it was a book and so felt a little disappointed. However, little did she know what Isaac had in store. The book was a Lonely Planet guide to New York with a message inside saying "Happy Anniversary...the tickets are booked!" Four weeks later they left for New York and Isaac proposed in Central Park!

When planning their wedding, Isaac and Kate opted for something simple and classic. A black and white palette was used to highlight this theme. Flowers were kept to a minimum as the gardens at Coriole provided beautiful blossoms in abundance. Kate and her bridesmaids carried Lisianthus and Singapore Orchids and had a couple of arrangements provided by The Wedding and Flower Room.

The simplistic theme was also reflected in Kate's stunning dress which she found at Jenny and Gerry's Bridal Centre in Adelaide. Kate chose the material for her bridesmaids dresses, who were then able to choose any style of dress they wanted to compliment their figures. The boys got their suits from Myer.

Family was a huge part of Kate and Isaac's day with all of their immediate families involved in some way. Kate was given away by three sets of parents; her parents, her step-parents and Isaac's parents. Isaac's brother was his best man, his sister gave a reading, Kate's sister's were her bridesmaids, her step-brother and his girlfriend sang a song and her other step-brother, Peter, made the cakes as his wedding present to the happy couple. The cakes were spectacular fruit tarts and the photos look amazing. Her youngest step-brother wasn't involved in an official role and only arrived from Tasmania on the wedding day so slipped into the role of "gentleman dance host" very easily.

Photographing the wedding was Ben McGee, a first time wedding photographer who originally came from a travel photography background. The proof is definitely in the pictures with these stunning and candid photos showcasing Ben's talent. Kate and Isaac used some creative thinking by having an original 1960's vintage photo booth. The guests took as many photos as they wanted and these provided the wedding keepsakes. Kate loved the original black and white photos from the photo booth.

Kate and Isaac's day really reflected their personalities from their non-traditional vows to not having an MC at the reception which was a deliberate choice that really worked. Things just "happened" they didn't need to be announced or fan fared although Kate says her step-father did wander around ringing a bell when it was time to sit down for dinner! They were even joined by one of the dogs that lives at the winery, Lentil! He walked down the aisle with the bridesmaids and sat at Kate's feet when she arrived at the top of the aisle. How cute!

All in all a gorgeous day that was drawn together by love and romance. Kate and Isaac reflect that their favourite part of the day was having all of the people they love in one place. The wedding ended with the pair catching the bus they had hired from McLaren Vale to Adelaide with their friends. They hopped off the bus two blocks from their newly built home and walked hand in hand together in their wedding regalia to open the door to their new lives awaiting them.

Until next time...

Lea

xxx

Being Compatible with your Partner - It's In The Stars!

Do you read your stars every Sunday? Trying to get an idea on what the week ahead holds for you romantically, financially or socially. How many of you used to do compatibility tests in high school with the person that you had a crush on?

Have you ever considered getting a compatibility report between you and your partner or perhaps an astrology report on your child to discover their possible life potential?

Let me introduce Elizabeth Ball founder of It's In the Stars.

Elizabeth's grandmother first introduced her to astrology when she was 12 years old, letting her read her 1940's-era books and within a couple of years she was checking how compatible her friends were with the boys they liked.

Elizabeth started writing fun astrology articles in the university newspaper, later writing the monthly horoscope column for The Nippon View magazine for ex-pats in Japan for three years. She worked in publishing and marketing but continued to do study and write about astrology, never considering it was possible to turn her passion into a business.

When a good friend became engaged, Elizabeth created a compatibility report as a wedding gift. The bride and groom were thrilled, showing it to their friends and family. One couple asked her to create one for their anniversary, and a report for each of their two children. She then realised that beautiful astrology reports would make unique gifts for most gift-giving occasions.

In September 2005, Elizabeth created her LoveStars and BabyStars reports, launching her website in December 2006 at Its in the Stars, and her fun gift news blog, Gifts by the Stars in March 2009.

Customers order LoveStars and BabyStars reports as personalised gifts for anniversaries, babies birthdays, Christmas, christenings, engagements, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day and weddings. Today they are bought through more than 25 gift websites in Australia and New Zealand.

Elizabeth loves helping couples to understand each other with their LoveStars report and helping parents to discover the potential and personality of their children.

"Parents are amazed how accurately their BabyStars reports describe their children from a very young age, and love finding out what their children might be like. And the couples are thrilled to get such a fun and fascinating perspective on their relationship, which helps them understand each other better" said Elizabeth.

For more information visit www.itsinthestarsonline.com.

Enter our competition! Willow Tree Creative Services are excited to be giving away one of Elizabeth's BabyStars reports along with an Invitation Design Package for the winner to use on an upcoming party or event provided by Willow Tree Creative Services! Invitations will be customised and tailored to your specific event. Prize includes design and assembly of up to 50 invitations.

All you have to do is enter our Beautiful Birthdays photo competition. Head over and become a fan of the Willow Tree Creative Services face book page for more information. Good Luck!

Until next time...

Lea

xxx

Vows in the Vineyard - Taryn and Jeff

An elegant and modern wedding day set at Oceanview Estates Winery on a gorgeous day in April 2010.

Taryn and Jeff first met at a volleyball competition and then later saw each other again at their local video store where Taryn was working. Taryn said "Jeff was very clever not to propose when I was really expecting it, so he did the very cliché proposal and popped the question on Valentine's Day night over a beautiful seafood feast at home, by candlelight. He totally took me by surprise because I never would have predicted he would do it on Valentine's Day as it was too obvious!"

The gorgeous couple employed the services of Lea from Willow Tree Creative Services as their wedding planner who helped them come up with the timeless and classic black and cream colour scheme. From the two tier black and cream cake from The Icing Place to the gorgeous cream and tulips and black berries in the bride and bridesmaids bouquets supplied by Bouquets with Bling.

When asked why they chose the winery for their ceremony and reception Taryn says "both Jeff and I are wine lovers and a friend of ours owns Oceanview Estates Winery. The natural bush setting and vineyards provided such a romantic setting, and we could have our band BenJam playing and not worry about upsetting neighbours or nearby restaurants. It was perfect and still only half an hour to Brisbane."

Taryn purchased her dress from Exquisite Bridal Wear and Accessories at North Lakes and her bridesmaids dress from Diana Ferrari.

Taryn reminisces that her favourite part of her wedding was "the reception of course! Great wine, great food, great company, great music, lots of dancing and of course her wonderful husband by her side! What more could a girl ask for?" She also has fond memories of the great friends who got up and sang special songs for her and Jeff. Taryn and Jeff's wedding song was Norah Jones "Come Away With Me", one of the couple's favourite songs.

No wedding is complete without a funny memory being made and Taryn and Jeff's groomsman certainly helped the situation by dropping the wedding rings! Because they were married on a rotunda the ring actually fell through the timber decking into the lake! Everything turned out for the best though with the ring being salvaged.

As a keep sake for themselves Taryn and Jeff asked all the guests to sign a large canvas photo of the two of them. They wanted something they could look back on and treasure the memories. They didn't want something that would end up in the cupboard never to be seen again. Their canvas now sits in their lounge room on an easel that Taryn's grandfather made and they love looking at all the beautiful messages people have written.

Thank you Taryn and Jeff for sharing your day. Photos were skilfully taken by Base Photographics. May your married life be all you dream it to be and more.

Until next time...

Lea

xxx

The Rise and Rise of the Wedding Dance Spectacular!

We all know that weddings are steeped in tradition and these traditions have been around since the beginning of time. Whether tying tin cans to the back of the 'getaway car' to ward off evil spirits or the bride wearing something old to assure a happy and fruitful marriage, many age-old traditions have budded from such superstitions.

The tradition of the wedding dance or bridal waltz has always signified the start of the feast or the wedding reception and the start of the happy couples life long union together. Most cultures have some form of dance in their wedding traditions but have you noticed the ever growing trend of making an entire performance out of your wedding dance?

From performing Michael Jackson's "Thriller" dance at the wedding reception or recreating the last dance from the movie "Dirty Dancing" where nobody puts Baby in the corner, there are so many fabulous performances that go on around the world at weddings every weekend and most of them end up online to entertain us.

Here are just a few to entertain you or perhaps even inspire you for your big day.

Enjoy.

Lea
xxx