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The latest weddings and events created by As You Wish Events Ltd.

Feb 02 2017

Back to School Party

Author: Nadine Crozier • Discussion: 1 Comment

It’s a new year with new resolutions. Two of my main resolutions are to celebrate more (living a life full of gratitude regardless of my circumstances) and to blog more often too. That said, I thought a great way to start the year would be with a ‘Back to School’ party. As happy as I am to be back in the school routine, and having more time to myself, these weren’t our main reasons for celebrating. We were thankful for our summer holiday and that we have the privilege of good education here in New Zealand. We invited a bunch of friends and their kids over for a BBQ style dinner (I say ‘BBQ style’ cause we don’t actually own a BBQ) To my surprise nearly all of them came. Around 15 Adults and 20 children in total – never have we had that many children in our house at once. But we were prepared. We set up a few stations with various types of toys, had a movie playing and a craft table were the kids made tags for their school bags.

Then just to make it a little extra special I set up a drinks and dessert station. We simply used things that we already had in our house, and guests contributed salads and drinks so this was a very low cost party.

Back to School Party

The Drinks & Dessert Station

Back to School Globe

Back to School Apple and Globe

Back to School - Pencils

Back to School - Infused water

Back to School Cupcakes

Back to School - Party Favours

Back to School - Smarties

Back to School - Mini Bunting

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© 2017 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.

Nov 26 2016

Chalkboard Wrapping Paper

Author: Nadine Crozier • Discussion: No Comments
12 Days of Christmas Ideas 2016 – Day 11
Black, Gold and White Christmas Tree

Nothing says ‘Christmas’ more than a pile of stylishly-wrapped gifts carefully stacked under the Christmas tree. I love being able to take something that we would tend to take for granted, like wrapping paper, and turn it into a decorative feature. I also love wrapping paper that has a little more substance to it, so that you can actually use it without the fear that it will rip as soon as you touch it. Boxes are another strong favourite, especially for housing those awkwardly shaped gifts and thus making them easier to wrap.

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Nov 24 2016

Guilt-Free Christmas Cookies

Author: Nadine Crozier • Discussion: No Comments
12 Days of Christmas Ideas 2016 – Day 9

This year I decided to make some big changes to the way I eat in an effort to improve my health. For me this basically meant saying goodbye to refined sugar and reducing the amount of wheat based products that I consumed. While I can’t say I’ve been 100% successful all of the time I have seen some amazing improvements. With Christmas just around the corner I wanted to be prepared for continuing along this healthy path without missing out on the yummy treats that come with the festive season, so I set about creating some tasty recipes. These cookies are refined sugar free, gluten free and dairy free. I hope you enjoy them as much I do.

cookies

Guilt-Free Christmas cookies – with Pecans, Cranberries and Chocolate Chips.

 

Ingredients:
  • 2 cups Almond Flour
  • 1/4 cup Coconut Flour
  • 1 Egg
  • 1/2 cup Rice Malt Syrup
  • 1/4 cup Chocolate Chips (70% Cocoa or higher)
  • 1/2 cup Cranberries
  • 1/4 cup Pecans, chopped
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder
  • 2 pinches of Salt
  • 1 tsp of Vanilla Extract
  • 6 Tbsp of Coconut Oil, melted

 

Method:

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 180 °C.

Step 2: Add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl, making sure the coconut oil goes in last (if it is hot from being melted it can cook the egg). Mix together until well combined.

Step 3: The mixture will be a bit sloppy so set it aside for 5-10 minutes to give the coconut flour time to absorb some of the moisture. While you wait line a baking tray with baking paper.

Step 4: With wet hands roll the cookie dough into balls, no larger than a golf ball. It will still be rather sticky. Flatten each cookie slightly.

Step 5: Bake for 10-15mins. Cool on the tray for a few minutes then transfer to a rack and allow to cool completely.

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Credits:

 

© 2016 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.

 

 

Nov 23 2016

Christmas Table Setting – Rustic Elegance

Author: Nadine Crozier • Discussion: No Comments
12 Days of Christmas Ideas 2016 – Day 8

As another Christmas comes around, I again have had the pleasure of creating a holiday table setting. The inspiration for this year’s Christmas ideas was largely influenced by two very different styles, the rustic farmhouse look and classic elegance. I wanted to blend the two styles together to create something classic yet festive. The key elements in achieving this look were the careful use of the black and white gingham along with the white ceramic reindeer antlers.I had a great deal of fun putting this look together with big thanks to the following collaborators:

 

Nov 22 2016

Christmas Card Design – 2016

Author: Nadine Crozier • Discussion: No Comments
12 Days of Christmas Ideas 2016 – Day 7
card-design-lead-image

This Christmas season I decided to have a go at designing a set of Christmas cards. These were created with the help of Susan Wong, using Stampin’ Up products which can be purchased through her online store (the full list of products used can be found at the bottom of this article).

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to make your own ‘Joy to the World’ card:

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Nov 18 2016

Chalkboard Nativity Set

Author: Nadine Crozier • Discussion: No Comments
12 Days of Christmas Ideas 2016 – Day 3

nativity-set-1

Having seen a few chalkboard doll’s houses on Pinterest I felt inspired to apply the concept to that of a Nativity scene. For those who celebrate a faith-based Christmas you’ll know how hard it can be to find a Nativity scene that can endure little hands – so this handmade wooden beauty is ideal. In fact it’s designed for interaction as your children can draw their own scenery. And if the Nativity isn’t really for you how about making a version suited for Santa coming down the chimney.

nativity-set-4nativity-set-3nativity-set-angel-roof

We’ve had so many positive comments about these that we are now making them to order and selling them in our Etsy Store.

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Credits:

 

© 2016 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.

Nov 16 2016

It’s A Heart Thing

Author: Nadine Crozier • Discussion: No Comments
12 Days of Christmas Ideas 2016 – Day 1

It's A Heart Thing

For ten years I have had the privilege of being in the profession of helping people celebrate. Sometimes it’s weddings, sometimes it’s birthday parties and sometimes it has been ‘just because’. While I love doing this, I’d be lying if I said I’ve never wondered why we go to all this effort for what is usually only a few hours of entertainment. In fact, to be honest, I’ve thought about this quite a lot without any answers – until recently.

 

‘… I honestly believe that it is good to celebrate.’

 

I was talking with my ‘Bestie’ and for some reason that day it finally dawned on me. It’s a heart thing! I don’t create memorable celebrations just because it’s my job, I do it because I honestly believe that it is good to celebrate. Each celebration stems from a heart that is thankful and when thankfulness overflows, one just can’t help but want to share it with family and friends – so that they don’t miss out on feeling that way too. After all, researchers have proven that thankfulness is key to our health and  happiness. So armed with this revelation I’m planning to make thankful celebration an even bigger part of my lifestyle. I want to make a habit of taking time to acknowledge the day-to-day successes and amazing people that often get overlooked in the busyness of life – mini celebrations if you will. I invite you to join me in this. Next time you get a pay rise, why not open a bottle of bubbly and toast your success? When you get invited to someone’s house take a hostess gift to honour that person for opening their home to you. And this Christmas why not acknowledge those you’ve done life with throughout the year with a little gift.

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Credits:

Want to see more of this beautiful table setting? You can on Day 8 of our ’12 Days of Christmas Ideas’ Blog Series

OR

Subscribe to our new mailing list by clicking here and you’ll receive our ’12 Days of Christmas Ideas’ magazine, with all the details, for FREE!

© 2016 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.

Jun 09 2016

The Wiggles Party

Author: Nadine Crozier • Discussion: 1 Comment

Occasionally, I will be asked to assist with only certain aspects of a party. In these cases the client is usually very keen to do most of the work themselves but wants to be coached through the planning and/or decorating process. And that was the case with our recent ‘The Wiggles’ themed party. The family and I sat down together and (with all my experience at their disposal) created a plan, divided up the tasks and created a programme for the night of the party. On the day I came in to co-ordinate their setting up team. They also hired me to take care of a few décor pieces that they really wanted, but were beyond what they felt they could achieve.

The party was a great deal of fun. Along with the BBQ dinner we served Hot Potatoes and Fruit Salad (two of ‘The Wiggles’ favourites). There was dancing and a lot of helium balloons. A real family friendly evening. Here are a few snap shots of the results:

The Wiggles Drinks Station

The Wiggles Drinks Station

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May 12 2016

Snow White Party

Author: Nadine Crozier • Discussion: No Comments
Snow White Themed Birthday Party

Vibrant colours and apples of all kinds were at the heart of this Snow White themed party we recently created. My niece was celebrating her 5th birthday and this theme was her specific request. Inspired by Disney’s Snow White we had a lot of fun creating this brightly coloured princess party that had a strong woodland flavour.

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Mar 31 2016

Pretty Pink Princess Party

Author: Nadine Crozier • Discussion: No Comments
Pretty Pink Princess Lead Image

Princess parties have to be the most common theme we have requests for, and even though we have done this theme many times each one always turns out slightly different. While I didn’t have a professional photographer at this party, I did take a few snapshots on my phone and since they turned out reasonably well I thought I would share them with you.

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