What a wonderful afternoon we had a few weeks ago for my daughter’s 11th birthday. Last year she had her first ever birthday party, which was a spectacular Vintage Rainbow theme. This year, with a bit of encouragement from Mama Bear, she chose to have a horse party. She is animal crazy, and I love the idea of a rustic horse theme. Of course, to make it authentic, we needed to find somewhere to give the kiddies a horse ride. My expectations were blown out of the water by Jo and her amazing team from Seahorses Byron Bay. They provide up to ten beautiful horses for guests to enjoy. Even young children can groom and feed the horses before going on a spectacular ride along the glorious beach of Brunswick Heads.
When my beautiful young friend asked if she could come over to make flower crowns with my girls, two words immediately popped into my mind. Photo shoot. How could I let such an opportunity pass me by? Never! And as hubby and my two ninja black belt Taekwondo legend kids were off kicking butt in the UK World championships, I reasoned that this was the perfect time to bake and create.
Autumn is my favourite season. Actually, it’s a toss up between Autumn and winter. I Often walk past our lovely neighbour’s house and am always struck by the beauty of their deciduous trees which are one of the few signs of seasonal change here in our sub tropical climate. It just so happens that they also have a feisty horse called Mosey in a rustic paddock directly behind the trees. Each time I walk past I tell myself that one day I am going to set up a dessert table right in front of Mosey’s yard.
Is there anything in the whole world prettier than a tea cup? Sigh.
Right from the outset I knew I wanted tea cups to be a significant feature of this wedding. My beautiful Daughter-in-love is a huge fan of tea and loves to drink from a tea cup, so I had the perfect excuse and justification to hunt and gather some fine English pretties. Score.
The main dessert table for our son’s Vintage barefoot wedding was the centrepiece of the whole reception. I used three old doors as the backdrop, with doily bunting draped across them. I used my vintage yellow fabric to make panels for the glass door in the middle, which tied in with the Sweets table, bringing cohesion to the theme. I also used a gorgeous yellow chenille bedspread as the tablecloth. White wooden letters saying SWEET AS brought a touch of fun to the display.
At last I am so proud to share with you photos from my son’s beautiful Vintage barefoot wedding. I was honoured to have my desserts and styling featured in the March edition of the popular Party magazine Confetti Fair, and therefore needed to wait until it was published before I put the photos on my blog.
Easter has come and gone for another year. I had been planning this rustic Easter display in my head for months, gathering bits and pieces from all over my house like a little bower bird. I knew I wanted it set up in front of our chicken pen and had been meticulously watching the movements of the sun in our yard to ensure I had just the right light when I whipped out my camera. As it happens, I came down with the flu over the Easter weekend, so we had a very belated Easter egg hunt with our precious kiddies and their friends. They were all very gracious and didn’t seem to mind waiting an extra week for their Easter eggs.
Valentine’s Day is upon us! Last year when I created my inaugural Vintage Valentine’s Day party I had a simple revelation that this sweetly romantic day was the perfect occasion to celebrate in style by gathering a few ladies together to enjoy an afternoon of feminine beauty, fellowship and sweet treats.
It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you my Summer Boho New Year’s Eve party!! My absolute passion for bright colours found an unhindered outlet in this concept and design. As mentioned in my previous post, I wanted to break away from the traditional colour schemes usually associated with New Year’s Eve and bring a truer reflection of our lengthy Australian summer days to the table.
Wow! …is all I can say about the incredibly fabulous colour palette chosen by the stunning bride who ordered this cake. It has been almost 23 years since I had to make a colour choice for my wedding, and I hang my head in shame as I admit that I only got as far as …wait for it…….yes,
burgundy.
I know. There are no excuses for a colour like that. Ever.
My only concession , which my bridesmaid recently pointed out to me when I was lamenting the hideous colour scheme I chose for my wedding, was that we got married in the early 90’s, which is basically the tail end of the 80’s and burgundy was the hot colour of the Federation fad. Remember federation green….? SO I was actually right on trend. That made me feel better….sort of.
Anyway…oh if I could only do my wedding all over again! How many 80’s/90’s brides have made that wish?! My point being that this sexy shimmery hot pink would probably hit the top of my list. I adore everything about this colour scheme. Bohemian chic/ berrylicious/deep pinks/shimmers of gold….absolutely stunning. I have no photos of the bridal party, so the cake will have to suffice. But trust me when I say the whole wedding was brilliant. It was set to take place in a picturesque garden, but unfortunately rain forced us all inside. Let me say there was grief. I was going to set up the dessert tables under a sprawling tree, using suspended wooden slabs tied with crocheted ropes hanging from a branch to hold the cupcakes. I bought the most glamorous hot pink shimmery sequin tablecloth and the coolest deep pink 70’s brocade bedspread to use as another cloth over my tables. It was all set to look spectacular.
My heart went out to the bride. Actually, my heart broke for the mother of the bride. She had worked tirelessly preparing all the food, thinking through every detail and setting up every element of all of the food and drink stations. She is nothing short of a legend really.
And it rained. Far from the greatest disaster in the world, but right up near the top of the wedding disaster list. After a few tears, hugs and reassurance, we all set to work to whip up a sensational indoor wedding and reception at the same venue. All worked out well in the end, as it usually does. The bride, as I mentioned before, was like a shining angel. She was beaming and the whole occasion was a privilege to be a part of.
So without further ado, here is my Bohemian chic wedding cake, complete with gold paint and feathers. Thank you dearest Amy, for letting me be a part of such a wonderful day.
