After pitching a concept of a wedding in the south of France (Oh my God, can you imagine?!), Grant brought me back to reality and we decided to narrow down the search to the southern hemisphere.

I remembered an article I came across years before and began researching a location in New Zealand called Hawkes Bay. The country itself is breathtaking and New Zealand has special meaning for me as it is where my father grew up and I have extremely fond childhood memories there. Grant was just as enamored with the country when we traveled there a couple of years ago. So I managed to find a spectacular venue managed by a vineyard that we penciled in and were finally able to see for ourselves last week when we visited New Zealand to get the ball rolling on our plans.

I had seen every image the venue had of the location but when we saw it for ourselves, it just confirmed all of our expectations and we knew that we had found the perfect venue fit for us and our needs. A beautiful log building set amongst an incredible backdrop of a landscape you could only find in New Zealand. I deliberately tried to hold off making any decisions such as flowers or clothing until we actually saw the location because I knew that it would have such a big impact in our choices. That is, except for our photographer who we locked in without question a couple of months ago – more on that later

Within moments of being there I was able to envision exactly how the decor will look, the colour palette and all the other bits and pieces. So the Save the Dates have been sent, the location is locked in and we are officially in planning mode.

The images below was our view from our accommodation while we were in New Zealand last week. The hills look as though they have been draped in velvet fabric and had little white sheep and black cows dotted across the landscape. I am so looking forward to creating some very special memories in this spectacular corner of the world.

We have set the wedding date, found the location and now comes the hard stuff. All those details and plans. I am beginning to have a new found respect for my brides (or any brides for that matter) who plan a wedding from top to bottom. It is a daunting task and perhaps the wisest piece of advise so far has come from Grant in saying that so long as we have planned as best we can, nothing can go wrong. Its always in the preparation that things can be overlooked or missed, but if we prepare as much as possible all that is left is for the day to unfold naturally and for us, and our guests, to enjoy the moments we have crafted.

And so while we begin the planning stages I thought it might be fun, and perhaps useful for other brides, to see how we are crafting our particular day of days. So here marks that first post of what I am sure to be many which are going to be categorised under PLANNING!

There is still much underwraps as we finalise some details but I can tell you this. It is a destination wedding and it is in 2011. We will not be getting married in Western Australia or anywhere else in Australia for that fact, so it is going to be a challenge putting it all together remotely. I am so looking forward to it though. Our ultimate aim is that it is a celebration over a few days, not just the one day when the actual nuptials take place. A time for us to spend time with those that we care about most.

And so as I put down the cheese and cracker and get my workout routine together, beauty routine, find the dress, the shoes, his suit, perhaps the attendants clothing, create the save the dates and invitations, find a florist and a photographer, plan events for our guests over the weekend – we have a lot to do and just over a year to do it. Totally doable. Right?

This is a inspiration board I created a month or two ago over at Style Me Pretty. It is an awesome application that I highly recommend any bride use in the initial planning stages as it makes it so much easier to see what could possibly eventuate out of those thoughts in your mind. This is how I envisage our wedding. It will be interesting to see how it actually turns out I keep hearing Darryl Kerrigan when I look at the Chanel shoes, “Tell her she’s dreamin’!”.

Wish us luck (and pray for good shoes)

xoxo

I thought I would share some of my favourite sites for inspiration when planning your wedding. So many great ideas but when you start to filter through them all you will see a palette and concept emerging that is a true reflection of your style. I frequent alot of these as a photographer seeking inspiration, keeping up with the industry and concepts but when looking from the perspective of a bride its a whole new experience.

I’ll keep you up to date with the wedding planning once we have some things set in stone – I haven’t even selected a palette. For now I can definately say we are looking at mid-late 2010 and its going to be something really special.

Style Me Pretty has some wonderful inspiration boards and colour palettes submitted from its readers. I love these two – especially the bottom one featuring images from Jose Villa.

Something old, Something New is a great spot for those vintage inspired, “no two are the same” kind of items. How beautiful is the details in these two dresses from Lela Rose.

Polka Dot Bride is another great source for inspiration and real weddings. I especially love all the gowns she features – they are to die for! And she’s Australian too so alot of the products and features are local.

The Wedding Chicks have more great inspiration and concepts taking fashion to a wedding format. You could (and will!) spend hours here.

Southern Weddings Magazine is one of my favourites. It takes inspiration boards to another level and really helps you see how cohesively concepts can come together. Although it is based on weddings in the southern states of the US, they still transfer beautifully to the Australian lifestyle.