How to Make Your Own Little Easter Baskets

Our cute little Easter baskets

These cute little Easter baskets, inspired by Jane Lake of All Free Crafts, were featured among our Easter ideas in last week’s blog article. And as promised here are our instructions on how to make them.

Step 1: Begin with a square piece of card. If you wish your basket to have a decorative edge, now is a good time to add this. Then divide the card into 9 equal sections as shown and fold along the lines.

Step 1

Step 2: Cut along four of your folded lines and apply double-sided tape as shown below.

Step 2

Step 3: Bring the end pieces from the same side up so that the corners meet each other, then fasten in place using the double-side tape. Repeat this on the other side to form the basket. Once that is done stick down the inside flaps to strengthen the sides.

Step 3

Step 4: Take another strip of card to make the handle. Slide it in between the side flaps and fasten it in place with a staple. You could just use double-sided tape, but I found that a staple provided a stronger join which is better for carrying heavier objects.

Step 4

Step 5: Decorate your basket any way you wish. We gave each basket a colourful base with details on the sides of the handle which also hid the staples from view.

Step 5

These are such neat little baskets and they are so easy to make. If you have a go at making your own we’d love to see pictures of them – either send us your photo via email or upload them to Facebook or Instagram using #cutelittleeasterbaskets. Have a lovely Easter!

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© 2014 As You Wish Events Ltd. Want to use this article in your E-newsletter, blog, or website? You can as long as you include this complete statement: Auckland, New Zealand – Event Planner & Designer Nadine Crozier publishes the ‘As You Wish Events’ blog filled with secrets, tips and how-tos for planning your fabulous event. Get your exclusive inspiration, tips and tricks at http://www.asyouwish.co.nz. As You Wish Events is an event planning and design company based in Auckland, serving the Auckland region and certain areas of Northland.

Little Bunnies and an Easter Egg Hunt

We had a lot of fun putting this Easter party together. We hope you’ll find some inspiration amongst these photos for your Easter celebrations.

These cute little baskets were super easy to make.

I liked the idea of having a defined child-sized entrance way. The handmade paper bunting was perfect for this.

Sometimes an overgrown garden is a Stylist’s dream.

Dotted along the pathway were the bunnies guarding their nests of eggs, ready for the children to visit.

The bunnies and other characters were crafted from white cardstock and coloured paper accents.

The pathway led to a little table that was set for a special morning tea.

To set the party scene we hung a handmade ‘Happy Easter’ bunting banner and then set the table to match.

Instead of serving Hot Cross Buns, we thought we’d have a go at making some Hot Cross Bun cupcakes. Oh, so yummy!

As an additional ‘take home’ gift we put together these cute ‘little bunnies in a nest’ inside glass cupcake domes.

Check back next week to learn how to make these lovely little baskets.

All the best for your Easter preparations.

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A Fresh Look At Hot Cross Buns

With Easter just around the corner I have been on the hunt again for some great Easter ideas. Many of these you can see on our Pinterest page, click here if you want to have a nosey. For me every celebration has it’s essential things and if those things are missing I find myself questioning whether that celebration ever really happened. For example Christmas needs decorations and family, birthdays must have a cake and for Easter it is Hot Cross Buns (and maybe Easter eggs). I love a good Hot Cross Bun. The aroma of the spices bring back happy childhood memories and all the good feelings of being on holiday – so you can imagine my excitement when I saw all these wonderful ideas that take Hot Cross Buns beyond the toast then butter.

Yummy Hot Cross Bun Cupcakes – much quicker to make because you don’t have to wait for the dough to rise.

As seen on: BBC Good Food

These Hot Cross Bun, Pear and Toffee Trifles look mouth-watering. This is one I’m going to have to try.

As seen on: Woolworths.co.za

Microwave Hot Cross Bun in a Mug. Now you can have them any time – quick and easy.

As seen on: losebabyweight

Hot Cross Bun Loaf – instead of making the dough into buns, here they roll it with a tasty filling inside. Yum, yum.

As seen on: Williams-Sonoma

Hot Cross Bun - Bread and Butter Pudding

This is a great way to use up any leftover Hot Cross Buns after Easter. But I’m not sure I can wait that long. Definitely another ‘must try’.

As seen on: Amuse Your Bouche

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Inspirations for St Patrick’s Days Celebrations

With St Patrick’s Day coming up next week on the 17th of March, we thought we’d round up some inspiring ideas to get your party planning juices flowing. Here are our 5 favourite ideas.

This homemade shamrock garland will look great hung along your window sill or anywhere else you like.

As seen on: Hoosier Homemade

Adding an Irish blessing or two to your home décor is a great and simple way to embrace the holiday.

As seen on: Five Heart Home

This may not depict what most of us would think of when someone says ‘St Patrick’s Day party’ but adding a theme to a dinner party can be a lot of fun.

As seen on: Martha Stewart Weddings

I love these easy to make treats. Such a great idea for the young and the young at heart.

As seen on: Jessica Weible Blogs

Another tasty treat but this time for the adults. It fits perfectly with St Patrick’s Day celebrations, don’t you think?

As seen on: My Baking Addiction

For more St Patrick’s Day ideas click through to our Pinterest page here.

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Rustic Chic Barn Wedding {Soni & Ty}

Today we are featuring guest blogger, Natalie Bradley, a mentor of mine from the United States. This rustic country wedding is full of inspiration. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I have.

Soni and Ty’s wedding has that very popular flea market style wedding in an Athens barn venue. Pulling together antique and rustic details, Soni captured the look she dreamed about for their wedding day…. and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect! Soni worked tirelessly pulling together and creating all the special touches for their wedding day. We just pulled it all together and organized it for their wedding day so that they could enjoy their day with family and friends!

Thank you to Aleese Photography for sharing these beautiful images with us!

Rustic Chic Barn Wedding , flea market style weddings, barn weddings, outdoor UGA wedding, athens weddings, athens wedding, athens wedding coordinator, barn on belmont wedding, athens event planner, athens wedding planner

Thank you to all the vendors who helped make this wedding so wonderful!

Venue: Barn on Belmont

Wedding Coordinator: Natalie Bradley Events

Caterer: Williamson Bros Catering

Photographer: Aleese Photography

Florals, Cake, Details and Music: Bride and family

new nat signature

Athens, Georgia Event Planner & Designer Natalie Bradley publishes the “Soirée Secrets” blog filled with secrets, tips and how-tos for planning your fabulous event. Get your exclusive inspiration, tips and tricks at http://NatalieBradley.com. Soirée by Natalie Bradley Events is an event planning and design company based in Athens, serving Athens, Georgia, Lake Oconee, Northeast Georgia mountains, Central Georgia and select wedding and event destinations

Hashtag your Party

Photo credit: Brides.com

It’s been about a year since I wrote about ‘The Evolution of the Cardboard Camera’ and I think it is high time we update this further with the addition of the hashtag. For those who aren’t in the know, a hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by this symbol #. It is used on most social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, to group photos or messages of a similar topic. It also allows for that topic to be searched, which will bring up all the tagged items. With Instagram’s rise in popularity the use of the hashtag has become a great, no-cost, and easy way to collect photos from your guests. However having said that, it still requires a little planning on your part for this to work well – so here are a few tips to make your hashtag a success.

The first and most important thing to do is to come up with the hashtag you want to use for your special occasion. Think of words that are unique to you, like your name, nickname, the date of your party, the venue or a combination of these. If your hashtag is for a wedding consider adding words like hitch, love or weds into the mix. Whatever you end up choosing try and keep it short and catchy so your guests can remember it easily. Things like using only letters and numerals, and avoiding spelling mistakes also make it easier for your guests to remember and use properly.

The next thing to do is to test it out. Search to see if anyone else is using the hashtag you have chosen. Remember the key word here is unique. You really don’t what to be sharing your hashtag with anyone else, otherwise when you go to look for your photos you’ll have to spend hours sifting through other people’s photos as well.

This is a simple card we designed for one of our clients.

Once you have your unique hashtag all sorted and ready to go, the last thing to do is to tell your guests about it. Do this in as many ways as you possibly can. Put it on your save-the-date cards and invitations; mention it on your Facebook page or wedding website if appropriate; and then remind your guests again while they are at your party. This can be done through signage, little cards (business card size) and announcements from the MC/host. If you want to make it a fun and interactive part of your party, type up a list of shots for your guests to collect (e.g. a photo of you and the birthday girl or you and the bride and groom etc.).

So there you have it. I hope these hashtag tips will enable you to collect many great photos, helping you to build lasting memories of your celebrations.

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Blue & Gold Awards Evening

At the end of last year I was approached by a non-profit organisation to organise their annual awards evening. With their request for light refreshments, an ideal location with appropriate décor and a well organised programme we set to work at creating a formal occasion for all the guests to enjoy.

Event Highlights:

We were very pleased with how the table centrepieces came together and really liked that we could incorporate their logo into the design.
The mini brownie trifles in shot glasses where another favourite, not just of ours but of everyone’s – super yummy!
Because a number of guests had children we organised an onsite babysitting service. Karitane babysitting service provided us with two wonderful ladies who did a fantastic job, all we had to do was organise a few activities.

A big thank you to Travis from Forgiven Photography for sharing with us these beautiful photos from their special occasion.

Vendor Credits:

Co-ordinator & Stylist: As You Wish Events Ltd
Venue: CityChurch Waitakere
Catering: As You Wish Events Ltd
Décor Hire: As You Wish Events Ltd and Covers Decoration Hire
Equipment Hire: Carlton Party Hire
Babysitting Service: Karitane Babysitting Services
Photography: Forgiven Photography

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Here Comes the Bride

Our Favourite Wedding Processional Songs

Photo credit: Michele M Waite Photography

For any wedding there will always be a number of songs to be chosen. Just to name a few, there is the first dance, the recessional and for during the signing of the register. But if one was to be named the most important I would have to say it’s the processional. This is the song that signals the beginning of the wedding and heralds the arrival of the bride and her maids.

I often say to my clients that this should be a moment where anticipation is built up to the grand reveal of the beautiful bride. You don’t want to rush this moment. All the guests and most importantly the groom want to have time to take it all in. Having the right music that suits both you and your wedding’s style will enhance this immensely.

There are so many songs out there that trying to find the right song can be an overwhelming task. Here are a few tips to help you sort through the endless options.

Think of songs and artists you like. There may be one among them that could work for you.

Find a song that has the right tempo – not too fast or too slow. If you can easily imagine yourself walking down the aisle as it plays in the background, it could be the one.

Listen to the lyrics as well as the tune. Sometimes couples chose songs with lyrics that aren’t quite right for a wedding. If this is the case either find another song or find an instrumental version. Instrumentals can be a great option.

If you like a particular song but the tempo isn’t right, search for other artists who have covered the song. You might be pleasantly surprised by what you find.

Lastly, with many songs lasting 4-5 minutes and most processionals only lasting 2-3 minutes, at the most, you are likely to only use part of the song. This said, always listen to the whole song when you make your choice you may find that the middle or the end of the song is just perfect.

I hope that helps, but for those who would like a little more direction, here are our five current favourites. From the classic to the contemporary, I hope these inspire you.

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Pastels, Lace and Burlap Wedding Décor

I recently had the pleasure of working with a lovely couple to create the wedding of their dreams. Next to co-ordinating the actual day, my next main area of responsibility was the décor. When we first met, the couple expressed their love of the outdoors. This was evident in their choice of reception venue, the beautiful Markovina Vineyard Estate. They also brought along pictures of their favourite décor ideas which showed a love of softly toned flowers and the rustic look. So from there we went about clarifying the overall style and bringing it to life. The bride was a lover of D.I.Y so it was a truly collaborative process.

A lot of time and effort went into sourcing and creating from scratch just the right pieces for this wedding. So much so, that part way through the design process I felt it necessary to bring in Adam, from WonderFerris, to specifically photograph all our hard work.

We really enjoyed bringing this design to life, and hope you will enjoy looking at the photos even more.

For the Blog - Page 006 Thank you to these vendors for their part in making this dream a reality …

Wedding Co-ordinator & Stylist: As You Wish Events Ltd
Ceremony Venue: St Columba Church
Reception Venue: Markovina Vineyard Estate
Florist: Bethany Gardens Florist
Décor Hire: As You Wish Events Ltd; Covers Decoration Hire; Centrepiece; and Creations By Morris
Lighting: La Lumiere
Cake: Sweet Bites Cakes
Photography: WonderFerris

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5 Fun Guestbook Alternatives

The story goes that hundreds of years ago when a couple got married all of their guests were required to sign a book or ledger as a way of testifying to the reality of the marriage. Of course over time with the introduction of marriage licences, and the need for only two witnesses, this became unnecessary – yet the tradition of the guests signing a book remained, serving more as a memento than anything else.

As with many traditions there will often come a point where people begin to question why – and wedding guestbooks are no exception. Many couples will tell you that theirs ended up in a box somewhere, or if you are like me on a shelf gathering dust, only to be looked at once in a blue moon. So it only seems natural that people are saying goodbye to the book part of the tradition and applying the written memento part to items of more relevance.

I think it is a beautiful thing to see couples creatively consider items that represent themselves as a couple and that can be enjoyed in the years to come. So without any further ado here are 5 fun guestbook alternatives that we hope will inspire your choice.