Beyond the Book

We haven’t been able to avoid the cute and creative ideas out there now for an alternative to the traditional guest book! Here are some of our favourites.

Finger Print Prints: These seem to be popping up at weddings more and more frequently now and it’s just because they are so dam-cute! Creating a sentimental piece like these ones is a great way to have your guests contribute to a creative piece of art work with sentimental value.

Girly Wedding

Typewriter Notes: Why not get a little quirky and set up an old type writer for all your guests to write you a little note of advice for married life (or just life in general). Another sweet idea would be to have them put it into a pre-made book for safe storage. We recently added a vintage typewriter to our hiring collection!

Bridal Bar Blog

Recipe Cards: Plan on cooking more home cooked meals in your married life? If not, wouldn’t it just be nice to have Aunty Joan’s famous Banana Bread recipe to keep anyway? Recipe cards are a sweet and quirky way to do so!

                                                               The City Rooms

Something special from home: This one is popular amongst the couple that’s homes are far apart. If you’re beau is from another country, why not have his family bring something of significance over to the wedding and have everyone write a note on it to keep? Some ideas include river stones, large leaves, and pieces of wood… This would also be a great surprise if you didn’t mention it before the wedding!

Emmaline Bride

Smitten with succulents

Lately, we have been smitten with succulents.

They have such great texture, and come in so many shades -  from grey to blue, green to purple, even orange.

Pastels,   Orange,   Purple,   Multi

They are so versatile in their appeal. Somehow they manage to work for weddings of all seasons. And somehow, they manage to look as casual, formal, rustic or elegant as you want. 

Here's just a few of the many ways to incorporate succulents into your day. 

• Bouquets. 
• Centrepieces. 
• Tiny potted ones for guests to take home as favours. 
• Boutonniere. 
• Cake decoration. 
• Place settings. 

It was so hard to choose just a few photos.. there is so much gorgeous inspiration out there!

TOP: Succulent Favours; Place-settings; Boutonniere; Centrepiece
BOTTOM: Succulent Cake; Silver Centrepiece; Wood Centrepiece; Bouquet  

Given that we live in one of the driest and most water-conscious states in world, these plants are also very practical. They retain water so require very little watering to flourish. And they also last forever - unlike cut flowers.
Come to think of it, this would have been a great option for our last post on 'alternatives to bouquets'. A fabulous choice for the eco bride. 

We really want to plant some of these in the garden now!

Bouquet Alternatives

Pod & Pea is not just about hiring and styling. We're also about inspiring.. giving you ideas to help personalise your wedding and make it pretty too. Which leads us to today's post.

Recently I was talking to a 'bride-to-be' friend who doesn't know if she wants flowers at her wedding. She was wondering what else she could hold on to, if not a bouquet. After all, it's nice to have something to do with your hands.. especially if you're nervous!
This is the kind of non-traditional quandry that I enjoy! I love an alternative bride, a non-traditional wedding, and coming up with different solutions!

I'm not sure why said Bride-to-Be doesn't want flowers (we just launched straight into a discussion of alternatives!). I adore flowers, but imagine people might be adverse to bouquets for budget reasons or allergy reasons or maybe environmental reasons? and of course just plain taste!
Regardless, I'm not here to judge - I'm here to inspire! Erica, this one is for you!

There's lots of unique ideas, so I wont feature the usual parasols or corsages or button bouquets that you have seen before as alternatives to bouquets (check out the links if you like though!). Here's some more alternative ideas.

Clutches are perfect and practical. They are ladylike and pretty, don't look out of place (seeing as though we always carry handbags!) and they would also be so handy on the day for holding lipstick, speechnotes, phone, etc. The thing I like about this idea is that they would also double as a gift for your bridesmaids.. you could get them all slightly different ones.

Oncewed

 The ones below from Adelaide-based Kitty Came Home are handmade from vintage fabric and come in gorgeous colours and patterns.
                         

Pinwheels are bright, fun and unique. Imagine them spinning in the breeze as you walk down the aisle!

Pinwheels from Etsy

Paper Flowers - How simply GORGEOUS are these giant paper flowers that were featured on Green Wedding Shoes yesterday?? Yes, they are made of PAPER... and the clever little bride made them herself!! Take that, allergies!

Pom-Poms - We hadn't thought about this ourselves, but we recently discovered Pom Pom Princess and she had this sweet idea. She made these little babies for some bridesmaids to carry down the aisle. They look cute and whimsical.

Books - If you're religious, a bible could be your thing.Or maybe you and your partner are the literary kind and have a favourite book or poet. That could work too.

The Dainty Woods on esty

Lanterns - if you happen to be getting married at dusk, lanterns (or sparklers or candles) would be  a lovely way to light your way down the aisle.

The Knot

 Fans - OK, so this sounds typical and you may have seen it before.. but fans come in all sorts of designs, and can be really pretty! Like clutches, these serve a purpose if you're getting married on a hot day!

Intimate Weddings

Ruffled

Balloons - They're often the 'forgotten' decoration. So over-used at kid's parties and back in the 80s that we disregard them now. But there is something very pretty about balloons. Particularly giant ones! And they're cost effective too. We can imagine seeing these appear over a hill as the bride makes her way to her groom!

Wedding Bee

We know there are more ideas out there.. so feel free to share any that we've missed . I'm sure my bride-to-be friend would appreciate your suggestions!

SA Wedding Venues: Part 2

This week we are moving onto the Barossa Valley! There is certainly no shortage of beautiful wedding venues in this region; in fact, there are so many venues often the most classic and rustic ones can be forgotten about. My list of beautiful venues was long this week so I had to be brutal when narrowing them down. I cut the ones I am sure you have seen time and time again and decided on the venues that aren’t featured as much! So here you have them – Barossa’s finest wedding venues!

Grant Burge

Equally beautiful in Spring as it is in Autumn, the courtyard at Grant Burge wines always looks enchanting on a wedding day! The old stone walls and vine covered roof make you feel as though you could be at a destination wedding in Europe! The courtyard is often used as the location for ceremonies; however, it has hosted some elegant receptions as well. Take a look at their facebook page to see more!

Photo - Grant Burge Wines Facebook 

Seppeltsfield

Simply Stunning! This venue is so incredibility versatile! Firstly there are too many locations to have a beautiful ceremony I cannot list them all. Seppelsfield can cater for weddings with 10 guests to weddings with 500 guests. My favorite element to this venue is the gardens. They are never ending and I am sorry to have to say it again – so versatile!  I would love to attend a picnic wedding on the lawns here. Many of the essentials that are needed are already there, like picnic tables, ample shade under beautiful old trees, BBQ facilities, bar facilities, and clean toilets! Or if the picnic style is too casual you can have a full sit down in the ball room, or use the beautiful lawns to host a reception under a marquee. My best friend had her wedding reception here and it was fantastic. We enjoyed pre dinner drinks under fairy light lit big pine trees followed by a sit down dinner in a marquee (I have posted some of her beautiful photos below). If your wedding is in summer and you are expecting great weather, ditch the marquee all together and enjoy the stars! 

 

Photo - Seppeltsfield Website 

Photo - Total Travel

Gibson Wines

Ok, so this venue is my personal favorite! I want to invite all my friends there one day for a party to enjoy the atmosphere of this unique winery/cellar door. It is truly rustic and run by a bunch of fun-loving people. Personally, I believe an autumn wedding would work best here. A time where the surrounding vines would be all shades of reds and orange and the smell of the toasty wood oven pizza would fill the air.

Photo - Purple Palate

Pindarie

Pindarie was originally a sheep and cropping farm that eventually planted some grapes and opened a cellar door to sell their produce. The venue is located on the Western Ridge of the Barossa with views that can not be described as anything less than spectacular. They currently do not cater for weddings, but do how ever allow you to use the venue for intimate dinner parties. A small dinner party here might just in fact be the small reception you are looking for after an intimate ceremony. Take a look at their website for more!

 Photo - Wine Buzz

Photo - Everything Barossa

Collingrove 

Not exactly rustic, but certainly an extraordinary venue! This homestead built in 1856 has a magnificent eyre about it. The extensive gardens have played host to some beautiful weddings over the years. Like previous venues there are plenty of options when it comes to setting up a wedding reception here - depending on the weather. Check them out on facebook for some photos of recent weddings.

 Picture - Trip Advisor.

So, there you have it. The Barossa - not only are there some great venues on offer – there is plenty to keep your guests occupied over the whole weekend!

Happy New Year

Welcome to 2012.
Whether you believe in 'new year's resolutions' or not, you've got to admit that this time of year is a perfect opportunity for reflection on what has been.. as well as gearing up for what is to come.

For us, 2011 was a special year. As well as a few personal milestones, it's when we gave life to the baby that is "Pod & Pea". The decision to turn our passion into business, to join forces, to put ourselves out there - has been a big, fun, slightly daunting task so far. But we're already seeing the results and the potential... and we know that 2012 is going to be BIG! We feel inspired and excited and we can't wait to share the next step of our journey with you.

Below is a bunch of things we want to do in 2012. Some are personal, others are for Pod & Pea. In no particular order - here's some things we're thinking about for the next 12 months.

Do you have something you want to start, stop, or continue doing in 2012?

Today I'm leaving you with a snap from our NYE dinner party. This little scene was the centrepiece of the room, designed to sparkle in the candle-light and get everyone excited for the big countdown!