Create your celebration!

There is no secret at Modern Wedding that I adore weddings that use a lot of DIY. Being a craft-minded person, I appreciate the effort a bride goes to creating her own elements; I love seeing how unique each hand-crafted wedding is.
When I decide to make something (and much to partner's delight (ha ha), that is quite often!) I feel such a sense of achievement, so I can imagine how brides must feel seeing her creations at every turn - her guests admiring her work and enjoying her hard work.

Our new DIY magazine is now out, so you have even more reason to do it yourself! There are hundreds of great, easy projects, but today I want to show you one.
I love this Ornamental Leaves project - it is super easy and effective! As Christmas is coming, why not trying it out and using Christmas colours. You know the saying - "Practice makes perfect!"

What you will need (Enough to make three branches)
Twelve pieces of 22 gauge florist wire in 46cm lengths for central branch
Four additional pieces of 22 gauge florist wire for smaller branches
30 cm cotton fabric
Vliesofix
Pinking shears
1 roll green florist tape
Sewing machine and thread

 Easy steps

1. Download petal template
2. To make one branch with seven leaves cut out 14 petals in cotton fabric and 7 pieces of Vliesofix.  Fuse the Vliesofix between the two layers of cotton fabric following manufacturer’s instructions.
3. Trim the edges of the petals with pinking shears.
4. To make the central branch, wrap four lengths of wire with florist tape.
5. To make smaller branches, cut a single piece of wire into 10 cm lengths.  Cut 6cm pieces of tape and wrap around the wire.
6. To construct petals, place a 10cm piece of branch wire on top of the leaf about a 1/3 of the way down from the pointy end. With your machine set on a wide zig-zag stitch, sew over the branch several times being careful not to hit the branch with the needle. Repeat this process until you have made all your leaves.
7. To assemble, take your central branch and wrap the stem of your first leaf around one end of the branch. Attached the rest of the leaves at approximately 3 cm intervals (see image 1). Once all the stems are attached, cut a piece of floral tape and wrap the central branch again to hid the attached stems.

Tips and tricks that might help when using florist tape
The trick to getting a good result when binding your flowers with florist tape is to continually stretch the tape while at the same time using your thumb to smooth the tape against itself.  Be careful not to pull the tape too tight or it will snap. The tape has wax embedded in it and, if it is not stretched, it doesn’t warm up and stick to itself.  Work with small pieces – if a piece is too long, it will twist and bind up on you just like a bad piece of sticky tape. If you’re having trouble getting used to the tape, practice wrapping it around a pencil before using it for your project.

These gorgeous leaves would look good in almost any colour! A nice white and gold material might would look stunning! hmmm.... off to Spotlight I go:)

Good luck! Let me know if you think you'll use this and what colours you will use????

See you on Facebook!

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ModernWeddingMagazine

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ModernWeddingOz

K xx

Pretty and Pastel wedding

Merry Monday Modern Wedding brides!

While I have been sifting through the real life weddings that have been sent to me this morning, it occured to me that there is a major common theme, all the weddings are pretty. Now that may seem fairly obvious to you, it is a wedding after all. But rather than the stylish, sleek, minimalist weddings we have seen over the last few years, couples are getting back in touch with their girly side (maybe brides are taking over more?), we are seeing vintage, lacy details, crystal chandeliers, beautiful soft colours emerging from the more common black & white.
Inspired by this, I have decided to create a new inspiration board for a Monday afternoon delight. Pastels and pretty just seem to go together right?

From left to right, top to bottom: Butterflies Cake Wrap in Lavender, Butterflies Favor Box, Dots & Stripes Personalised Lollipop Favours, Light Blue Personalised Ribbon, Polka Dot Cupcake Cups, Miniature Size, Tiffany Blue Round Paper Lanterns, Wedding Theme Personalised Lollipop Favours, Aqua Personalised Ribbon, Rose Ball Candle in Gift Box, Silk Hand Fan in Blue with Bamboo Detail, Pink Personalised Ribbon, Personalised Mini Glass Bottle Favours

Incredibly all of these items can be found here. You can also find hundreds of other gorgeous items already categorised into neat themes! It is so easy to theme your wedding using this wonderful site! There are plenty of ideas to get you started as well.
Just some of the available wedding themes are: Contemporary Chocolate, Las Vegas, Winter, Blue, Black & White, Lace, Vintage, Garden, Love Birds, Cherry Blossom,  Green Chic, Red, Silver, Diamond & Pearls, Lemon Sorbet, Gold & Crystal, Fairytale, Chocolate & Strawberry, Frangipani and twice as many again!

If you want us to give you $100 to spend on the shop, all you need to do is enter our easy competition through Facebook. Good luck!

Are you theming your wedding? Have you found it easy to plan?

K:) xx

A beautiful love story

Happy Friday Modern Wedding brides!

We are so lucky that our friends at Cinemedia have shared with us a recent project they have just finished. The setting for their stunning cinematography is the quaint surrounds of Berrima and Bowral (New South Wales). 
A laugh here, a playful slap there; A swinging love song and a romantic scene right out of a fairytale - the guys at Cinemedia have done a fantastic job of showing off the couples fun personalities and also documenting their love story. Absolutely beautiful!

Presenting the gorgeous newly-weds, Jessica D'Archangelo and Carlos Rahme.
They were married at St Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Berrima and held their reception at the stunning Centennial Vineyards, Bowral.






A big congratulations from Modern Wedding!

If you have a video you're proud of let me know! We love a good love story here at Modern Wedding and love to share stories with past and future brides.


If you haven't entered our weekly competition yet - there is still time to grab $100 to spend at the Modern Wedding Shop.  Enter now!

Don't forget to swing by Twitter and Facebook to say hi.

K:) x

Video by Cinemedia

So you want to make your own wedding cake?

Cake from Sweet Art

As a keen baker, when my husband and I got married, I wanted to make my very own wedding cake. I thought that it would be fun and it would mean a lot more if the bride made the cake themselves. I wanted a red velvet cake and none of the wedding cake makers that I spoke to would make one.

Cake by Cakes N Things

I was lucky that someone slapped some sense into me (not literally, I would not have appreciated that).

I have to applaud any bride that survives making their own wedding cake. In my life, I have made two wedding cakes: one for a relative's wedding and the other for a friend's wedding. Both times, I came off the experience with my nerves frazzled seemingly beyond repair and a firm resolve never to do it again. Until of course a sweet talking bride friend of mine asks me. I can never refuse despite all instincts not to. I was lucky in that both cakes survived the trip to the reception venue-transport is of course the part of the wedding cake process that proves the most difficult for the cake maker and the part in which if long transportation times are involved, they step away.

Cake by Alexandra Pellegrino in Canada

When I first called a wedding cake maker for quotes for our wedding cake, I was surprised at how expensive they were. We had a relatively small wedding-it was either invite a cast of thousands or make it more intimate and exclusive and we went for the latter inviting just 65 guests. So we figured that the cake wouldn't have to be an enormous one and our jaws dropped at the prices that were being bandied about. Couple this with the refusal of all of them but one to make the red velvet cake and that is how I came up with the idea of making my own. Lucky I ran out of time and we had one cake maker that was willing to do this.

So do you still want to make that wedding cake? OK I have some tips for you:

Choose a cake to suit the weather. The very first wedding cake that I made was an almost disaster. The bride and groom wanted cream cheese icing for their cake. All very fine except that the reception venue was not air conditioned and they were getting married in the scorching heat of a January Summer. I later learned that cake makers can sometimes refuse to use buttercream or cream cheese icing in these conditions so keep that in mind.

It took three hours (not including baking time) to get to this stage! And this is just the layer underneath the icing!

A wedding cake is all about construction. A two tier wedding cake is very heavy and is made up of a dense cake, namely a fruit cake or a chocolate mud cake and it is sandwiched together with a lot of icing and/or ganache.

The start of the cake

Ever taken a peek into a wedding cake? It isn't your ordinary kind of cake. The bottom layer sits “glued” with ganache to a silver board which has a wooden board and a thick wooden “dowel” rod glued to the centre. The cake is impaled onto this. But the fun doesn't end there. The second cake tier is also heavy so we need to take the pressure and weight off the bottom layer by using thinner wooden dowel rods for the second layer to rest upon.

Transportation, which I touched on earlier can be a nightmare. But if you make your cake sturdily and the weather cooperates then this can be done without tragedy striking. And just be sure to use a lot of non slip mat!

Surreal moment: I actually did this!

And if that hasn't frightened you enough and you are still determined to make your own cake, then allow me to point you in the direction of some of Australia's top wedding cake makers who also hold wedding cake making classes. I recently attended one with Faye Cahill and have attended other classes with Planet Cake and Patisse and they were both superb. At Faye's wedding cake class, we spent several hours just getting the ganache to be a perfect smoothness -and that was just he layer underneath the final icing layer! I understood at once why wedding cakes cost the amount of money that they do and gained a new appreciation for them.

And if you time it right, there might even be a class around the date of your wedding. Wedding cakes once made in these classes last for around seven days. The only catch is that these wedding cake classes take a whole day, and a week before your wedding is when you are likely to be very busy. But with these experts to hand to help you you can have a wedding cake that you will feel proud to say that you made yourself.

If you're interested in other DIY ideas, Modern Wedding has a whole bunch for you in our Modern Wedding Cakes magazine as well as our world first: the new Modern Wedding DIY magazine.

The croquembouche that I made at the Patisse class

So tell me past, present and future brides, what kind of cake did you have or do you want?

And if you haven't seen this yet, check out our competition where you can win a $100 gift voucher to spend at our Modern Wedding shop! There are all sorts of goodies and all you have to do is choose your favourite item!

And of course there is our twitter and facebook pages where you can say hello :)

Lots of love and cakes,

L
xxx

Faye Cahill
http://fayecahill.com.au/

Planet Cake
http://planetcake.com.au/

Patisse
http://patisse.com.au/

Yellow Fever

The champagne and canapes flowed last night at the Strand Arcade in Sydney, where Mondial Neuman celebrated their 50th anniversary in the diamond industry. Being inquisitive at heart, and fond of shiny objects, I made a beeline for the display windows of Mondial by Nadia Neuman - this year celebrating their first birthday. I won't lie, I was looking for the coloured diamonds, those stones of dream and desire, collection and celebrity. Imagine my surprise when, alongside the stunning pinks, cognacs and champagnes that I was anticipating, was something completely unexpected...

Like a sparkling ray of summer sunshine they caught my eye. At first I wasn't certain they were actually diamonds, the colours were so incredible. From a shade like soft straw and Sauvignon Blanc, to deeper gold and ochre, intense canary yellow, even one truly breathtaking lemon-lime tinged stone, I was immediately infatuated. The colour of happiness, joy and hope:  a yellow diamond ring is fresh, vibrant and alluring. And best of all, more attainable than some of its rarer coloured counterparts. What better way to celebrate your engagement or decorate your wedding band?

 

All rings from Mondial Neuman and Mondial by Nadia Neuman

 If you're a fan of coloured diamonds, the 50th Anniverary Pink Diamonds Exhibition at Mondial Neuman in the Queen Victoria Building, Sydney is a must-see this week. Due to popular demand, the largest gathering of pink diamonds ever opened to the public in Australia has just been extended until Sunday 14th November.

If you've got Yellow Fever or you're Tickled Pink like me, tell us about your search for the perfect engagement and wedding rings! Leave your comments or stop by our Facebook & Twitter pages and say hi:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ModernWeddingMagazine
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ModernWeddingOz

For information on selecting an engagement ring and more stunning sparklers check out www.modernwedding.com.au
 

Enjoy! :)

R xox

Fabulous giveaway!

Have a Very Merry Modern Wedding!

Ever since we opened up our Modern Wedding store three years ago, happy, blushing brides have been saving their precious time and leg work by buying their goodies at our very own store. The shop is brimming with goodies such as  wedding bomboniere, parasols, decorations, cake decorations, stationery, gifts, jewellery and veils, ceremony accessories, theming ideas, hens party supplies and more. I'm constantly marvelling at the lovely goodies that our clever buyers find from all over the world.

So for a bit of fun and because we know that everyone loves a giveaway, we are giving away one $100 voucher a week to spend at the Modern Wedding store for the next four weeks! You could spend it on whatever you heart desires such as:

Left to right: Diamond Ring Wedding Toasting Glasses,  Two Section Wine Carry Bag Wedding Party Gift; Silver Coloured Jewel Hair Comb with Pearls; Pearl & Crystal Jewellery Set

All you have to do is:

• Comment on this post and tell us what your favourite product on the shop is and why (25 words or less) and become a fan on our facebook fan page (http://www.facebook.com/ModernWeddingMagazine).
• We will post your answer on our facebook fan page and the entry with the most facebook "Likes" wins the $100 voucher to spend at the Modern Wedding store!

And because we know that weddings are a collective effort you can get your bridesmaids to enter – there are heaps of fabulous products on there for hens parties and bridesmaid jewellery and accessories.

The winner will be announced on this blog on the 19th November.

Good luck!”

K xx

Don't forget to swing by and say hi:)

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ModernWeddingMagazine

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ModernWeddingOz

Calling all creative brides - WORLD first!

We are celebrating this morning at Modern Wedding, our World first DIY wedding magazine went on sale on Friday and we have been flooded with emails from happy brides! We knew it was a fabulous idea but it's fantastic to hear that you think so too!
If you haven't yet got your copy, you can buy it online or pick it up at your local newsagents.
I am so proud of the team here for producing such a stunning, high quality mag - there are over 250 ideas and projects, and if you are a crafty minded person like me, you will love it! If you are still searching for your creative inspiration - you will definitely find it in the Modern Wedding DIY magazine - there are projects for EVERY level of craftmanship!

I just love this chic, welcoming and stylish picnic style setting for a garden wedding. There are heaps of aspects (that are ridiculously easy to make) that all come together to create this ideal setting.

Yes, we even cover jewellery! A step by step guide on how to make these beautiful vintage style earrings, and others. If only I had the neck to carry these off - I love them!

Love, love, love this bag - fill it with stockings, feet cooling gel and padded shoe inserts - A perfect gift for your wonderful bridesmaids!

There are so many fabulous ideas in this magazine! Even if you are not a crafty bride, there are some easy, yet effective projects that will truly impress your guests!
Let us know what you think of the magazine and if you DIY  send us a pic and tell us how easy you found it.

Are you planning on doing some DIY for your wedding? Past-brides, did you take on any DIY projects?

Make sure you swing by our Facebook Page and Twitter to say hi!

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ModernWeddingMagazine

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ModernWeddingOz

K:)

P.s. - we have big section on the website dedicated to making your own!