Paint the town red

Red. It's such an emotionally intense colour - obviously the colour of love. Red always draws your attention - so bold and so bright...

It's such a great colour to use in weddings - it can be everywhere... from your stationery, flowers, cake, bridemaid dresses, shoes, right down to your lipstick.

There are so many different shades - brick, blush, burgundy, crimson, flame, fire engine red, maroon, rose, rouge, ruby, rust, scarlet, tomato... the list goes on and on!

Don't be afraid of it. Its bold for a reason, it's meant to draw attention - so get inspired and see whether it's something you could incorporate it into your colour scheme...

Lucy.

Secret door, London, Cocoa Berry save the date, Flower bird cage, Shoes, Book, Lonely leaf, Heart

New Design ' You -&- Me'

I'm not really sure if I'm allowed to say this or not but... I actually really like this design. It's bold, and striking, pure typography, clean lines and lots of white space - all the things I love.

This new design uses the beautiful shape of the ampersand and its surrounding spaces - created from various cropping sections.

The giant striking ampersand (&) signifies the two people in the marriage and the coming together of the two families. The '&' links together the two people in this wedding.

Modern and effortless - 'You & me' will make for a fab new design. Shown here in a deep navy, but would work in any colour combo. I can imagine this looking stunning foiled in silver or gold.

'You & Me' will be coming to our off the rack section in the coming months but is ready and waiting to be ordered!

Until next time. Bye!

Friday eye candy

Just because it's Friday... And, you are welcome.

All things lace.

Lace. It can be truly beautiful. It's been around for centuries and it comes and goes, in and out of fashion over the years.

It's fair to say that it will be definitely be around for the upcoming wedding season and we have the beautiful Kate Middleton to thank for that. The hype has calmed down a little now since the 'big' wedding but the beauty of lace can most certainly be seen in a number of areas.... at Cocoa Berry we were approached by a gorgeous client who was incorporating lace into the theme of their wedding. We designed some lovely 'lace like' invitations for them and as you can see from the images I've put together below, it can be used in numerous ways...

Lucy.

Dress, Flowers, Cocoa Berry Stationery, Earrings, Cupcakes, Headband

In the spotlight - Victor Bridesmaid Dresses

Today I wanted to talk Bridesmaid dresses... if you haven't already ticked this one off your list, you've got to check out the wonderful dresses at VICTOR.

The very talented Kelly does made to measure dresses designed especially for your bridesmaids who are wanting something stylish that they can wear again. Yes, WEAR AGAIN ! All the styles are available in a large range of fabrics and colours which can be matched to your wedding theme. You can choose straight out of her collection, develop you own ideas or personalise a design by adding your own unique details. Kelly offers a free personal consultation, so give her a call on 09 5509468 or visit her website www.victornz.co.nz

Lucy.

New Design 'Mosaic'

Hello Interweb, our friends and loyal Facebook followers! Today we are showing YOU a new design we have been working on. Before we get to that, I just want to apologise in advance for the kind of blerk photos. I tried my best.... but hey, its winter, there is NO light/sun and waiting for the sun to peep out behind a cloud so you can get a half average shot is hard work. So thats pretty much why each photo looks like it was taken on a different day.

Anyway, enough about that.

This design based on the pattern of a greek tile, has been named 'Mosaic' (see what we did there) It's a pretty wee design with lots of pattern and texture. Shown here in a Persian Blue and Ash Grey. You can see this design working well in the table stationery (menus, table numbers, place settings etc) - with similar matching china or even incorporating tiles into the actual table arrangements.

Mosaic will soon be on our off the rack section on the website. So watch this space.

C h a r l o t t e

The house with the green door

I love the colour green. And not just because my new surname is Green. It's just been one of my favourite colours over the years...

We find a lot of clients come to us wanting to incorporate Green into their colour scheme and we love using it in invitations. In fact, the photo in the bottom corner shows a small glimpse of my wedding invitations. Thank you sister. Green has always been considered to be the colour of peace and ecology... did you know that it actually soothes and relaxes us mentally as well as physically? Me likes.

Lucy.

Dress, Shoes, Door, Vases, Ring, Cocoa Berry Invitation

NZ Weddings Magazine - Issue 37, Winter 2011

We here at Cocoa Berry just ADORE the cover of the latest issue of the NZ Weddings Magazine - delicious colours indeed! They're calling it Modern Elegance... yum.

There are so many great articles in this quarter's issue - including how to win your dream dress! Lots of yummy details pages of how to put all your colours together (see our Cocoa Berry Blossom design circled below) and 783 must haves.

One new addition to this particular issue is the FREE 36 page Grooms's guide too - at last, something for the boys to read though - you're just going to have to pop out and buy this one and let the inspiration begin...

In the spotlight - Kumeu Valley Estate

Kumeu Valley Estate is set out in Waimauku on Old North Road and is the 2010 winner of both the Wedding Wise Top-rated vendor award and the People's choice award.

I've been out and met with the lovely Annette Simpkins and have seen just how perfect this venue is for a wedding.

When you first enter the estate you'll see the beautiful bell tower which is a one of the many fantastic photo opportunities in the surrounding area.

They have an immaculate courtyard with luscious lawns and a stunning indoor area, which is perfect as a wet weather option.

A number of our clients have been married out at Kumeu and have told us just how wonderful it is!

Flirty Friday

Enjoy your weekend! Go kiss a little... or a lot...

The original photo, titled "The Kiss," shows a soldier kissing a nurse in Times Square at the end of WWII. Photo courtesy of Alfred Eisenstaedt.

Follow the yellow brick road

Summer. It seems like we have a long way to go before we see any of that wonderfully warm weather... however, it's during these winter months that brides and grooms can get underway with their wedding planning. If you're thinking about colour schemes for your wedding, yellow can be a beautiful colour to incorporate. It adds such a bright, fresh perspective and denotes happiness! And as my fingers start to turn white typing in this very cold room, I suddenly feel warmer already....

Dress, Bunting, Iceblocks, Flowers, Cocoa Berry Invitation, Door, Cake

Stationery Showcase - Heavenly Henna

Hello Interweb. Today we wanted to showcase a design based on the beautiful and intricate patterns of Henna.

Shown here in a brick red and cream, make for a warm and inviting combo. Based on a traditional pattern but with a modern twist makes this design a celebration of culture.

This design is an adaption of our off the rack design 'Indian Ink'

Imagine these designs piped onto your wedding cake... that would be a show stopper for sure.

All photos by the amazing Yvonne Liew

In the spotlight - The Vintage Table

Vintage. It's a word you hear a lot in the wedding industry. This fast growing trend for weddings seems to have come from the love of nostalgia and looking back into the past. This popular theme works so well for weddings and allows people to be really creative...

I had the pleasure of meeting the oh so lovely Amanda and her oh so lovely company The Vintage Table. They are the latest supplier to join The Boutique Bride. Amanda hires out all that gorgeous vintage china and tablewear that we all love so much!

Her collection includes vintage china trios, tiered cake stands, hollow-stem champagne saucers, glass candy jars, silverware and cutlery, vintage vases, tea lights, candelbra and embroidered linen.

This sort of stuff is wonderful for weddings, but also other occasions too. I went to a christening recently (gorgeous little Matt) and my friend Meredith hired everything from The Vintage Table. So I've seen it all first hand, it's just lovely!!