This is such an effervescent colour, it’s hard not to be inspired!

Combine with aqua and magnolia

-       With azure blue and sand or taupe

-       With orange and olive green

-       With pewter grey and magnolia

-       With pewter grey and touches of saffron yellow

-       With white, cream, magnolia and ivory and touches of midnight blue

-       With taupe and midnight blue

-       With Tiffany blue, magnolia and touches of milk chocolate

-       Roses, grevillea, waratah, kangaroo paw, poppies, red berries, gum blossom and gum nuts, grey leaved plants, NZ Christmas bush, Australian Christmas bells, dahlias, nemesia, tulips, fern fronds, variegated leaves

-       Toffee apples, cherries, raspberries, jelly candies, lollipops, candy canes, red jelly beans, Turkish delight, French macarons (built into a tower a la Masterchef Australia), red velvet cake

-       With glass candlesticks, poppy red crockery, vintage floral tablecloths incorporating red and spring green, large glass vases holding red poppies or red roses, spring green undercloth or napkins, white furniture all in a garden setting

-       Or keep it fun and casual – a school yard theme – red gingham cloths, lunch pails with your guest’s ‘lunch order’ (menu) tucked inside, vintage furniture, apples in buckets, little blackboards with chalk, a book to write ‘reports’ in – i.e. wishes to the bride and groom for their future, class photographs, toffee apples, popcorn, ice cream bar with a choose your own topping theme, red balloons, old books

-       With lots of white, and touches or hot orange and fern green in berries, flower arrangements, napkins ties, green glassware, trims

-       Consider a poppy red border design, beading or embroidery on white tablecloths, red napkins with the same design scaled down, in white

-       Red polka dots on shoes, ties, cakes, cupcakes, ribbon, crockery

-       Or red candy stripes as the basis for a striped theme – echoed in lollipops, candy canes, fabrics, red bordered plates, striped shirts or ties for the men, striped skirts on the bridesmaids with a little plain cardigan to tone it down, red shoes

-       A nautical theme using any of the above colour combinations

-       Old French linens, dark metal lanterns, moss covered urns, stone walls or floors,  metal chairs and French bistro tables, baskets with berries, red letterpress invitations

-       A bright red wedding dress

Red ball gown from rubypearl on Etsy, , matchbox from Brides, table setting from Martha Stewart Weddings, red chiffon flower hair pins from nomsa on etsy

Queenslanders just keep sending me such gorgeous  styled shoots, I can’t resist in sharing them with you! The lovely Carly of Queensland based CL Wedding & Events sent through this eco- chic styled shoot she was asked to do for Eumarella Shores Resort. Eumarella Shores is an eco friendly resort and sits on the shores of Lake Weyba.

The shoot has some stunning inspiration- perfect for a lakeside wedding (or even beside the beach) with simple, natural elements and a soft colour palette.

Carly says “The brief was to keep the style within the Eco Chic realms but without losing any glamour that every bride and groom wants for their wedding day.  We used recycled recipe index cards for the menus, recycled cardboard and twine for the place cards and hung a 3 metre twig ‘chandelier’ with 28 glass tea lights in place of ordinary lights . An antique type writer was used as the guest book and old novels with wooden letters were used as props. We kept the ceremony simple and intimate and let the stunning lake in the background speak for itself!”

Photography is by Calli B Photography, styling by CL Weddings & Events and flowers by Mondo Floral Design.

I love this idea of simple paper tags on the backs of chairs- special ones for the bride and groom are a great idea, but perhaps you might consider these in lieu of place cards? Especially if you have gorgeous chairs like these cream painted wooden ones.

Typewriters make such a fun statement and can become a great talking point for guests as they write their heartfelt messages for you.

I am a massive fan of succulents at weddings- who says you need flowers? Why not masses of succulents and green leaves? It looks crisp and clean when paired with white linens.

Simple lounge areas are also a favourite of mine – they promote intimate conversations and give guests a quiet place to escape the celebration together. Make them comfy with plenty of cushions and sweet touches.

A beautiful way to spend the day don’t you think?

Don’t forget to head over to our specialty blogs today- we have some nifty little posts going up, including our Sydney features editor Ms Floral’s report of the Amsale NYC Gala event she attended over on Polka Dot Wisdom! Read it here

Photography by Calli B Photography

Love it or loathe it – this purple is an attention seeker!

Combine with different shades of lighter purples and magnolia and touches of green

- With soft yellow and grey green, burgundy and charcoal

- With royal blue, navy blue and lavender blue

- With deep teal and pearly grey

- With white, pale mauve and touches of hot pink

- With pale pink and silver grey

- With sage green and touches of deep red

- With magenta and wine colours and charcoal grey

With wine colours and plummy brown

- With saffron, caramel and touches of sage green

- Silver, pewter, crystals, marquesites, platinum,

- Flowers could include pure white flowers of any sort, larkspur, delphiniums, Queen Anne’s lace, sea holly, limonium, violets, dark red leaves, grey succulents, pansies, irises, dark purple lilies, lilacs, hydrangeas

- A champagne coloured wedding dress caught at the waist with an intricate amethyst and wine coloured crystal brooch, bouquets of purple, caramel. champagne and green orchids, pick up the green in the maids dresses with purple shoes for all, black suits for the men

- Magnolia tablecloths, purple napkins, champagne coloured plates, purple wine glasses, twigs, shells purple interiors, pearly finishes on dishes, cutlery handles,

- Hanging from the ceiling above each table, a flower arrangement incorporating the flowers used in your bouquets, on the tables purple candles of different hues, tiny purple and green boutonniere sized arrangements around each napkin

- Lots of glass to add light and sparkle – in plates, glasses, vases, candelabras, chandeliers, crystal drops looped amongst flowers, around lights, amongst the table decorations, mirrored tabletops

- Lanterns hung in groups – metal, paper, glass, hung amongst the spring blossoms of a wisteria covered pergola, or on the branches of a jacaranda tree

- Groups of paper flowers either in pure white, or in your bouquet colours. Hung from the ceiling, surrounding an archway, at each place setting, or even as your bouquet.

- And last but definitely not least – base your wedding theme on violets or pansies – tiny vases of them everywhere you can cram them, tucked into your bouquet, as fresh fragrant favours for your female guests, sugared violets on your cake, cupcakes or decorating your dessert

Placecard from Brides, Sergio Rossi Chi Chi pump from Neimen Marcus, hair flower from Triple7Custom on Etsy, ribbon from Pink Frosting.

Photo by Elizabeth Messina via Kiss The Groom from Sasha Souza Events

Empty picture frames are a fun and simple idea for adding pizzazz to your wedding décor.

Find them at outdoor markets, garage sales, vintage shops – it doesn’t matter if they are a little the worse for wear. Collect them in all sorts of finishes and paint them in your chosen colour – all white would look stunning, or all distressed metallic. You might feel that a mix of colours would look good and fit in with your overall design. Leaving them as they are could add to a vintage, casual feel.

Hang them on a wall showcasing the various sizes and patterns of the frames. Use as they are, or tie hand stamped messages with twine onto the frame. Lie them on the tables and use as a frame for miniature pots of flowers or other natural elements for centrepieces.

Photo by Dana Grant via Green Wedding Shoes

Tiny frames could be placed at each setting with the guest’s name,  or a larger one in the middle of the tables could also look elegant. Use to put your menu in, a list of guests sitting at that table or a verse that is special to you.

A larger frame placed on the entrance table with small bags of sweet treats with the names of your guests and their table number attached could double as a favour for your guests.

Photo by Erin Hearts Court via Once Wed

Prop up a particularly pretty frame and arrange a cascading bunch of flowers, or twigs and seed pods behind it. Other elements could be included – such as vintage containers and fruit – think of the Dutch Masters paintings for inspiration.