This Blog Has Moved...

Almost exactly three years old to the day (here's my very first post),
the time has come for this blog to move to a new home.  
It has outgrown this site and has slowed to a grind under the
weight of the 460 blog posts and 69,732 visits. 

So here is the new location - be sure to add it to your blogfeeds!

krystaguille.com

See you there soon!

Sneak Peek; Cassey + Sean... {wedding}

Cassey + Sean didn't let a bit of rain get in the way of their big day yesterday.

When I commented to Sean that he looked like the happiest man alive, Cassey, also smiling from ear to ear, laughed "And so he should!"
 

Love it - you're in for a blissful married life if this is your attitude! Here's a sneak peek for you...

Wedding season, here I come... {personal post}

Wedding season officially kicked off for me this weekend.

After a decedent off-season break of three amazing months full of travel and good food and friends and family time, I'm back into it! 

I've been to the Kimberley and Pilbara Regions, to Sydney and Melbourne and Bali and Bremer Bay.  Also squeezed in my first ever 12km fun-run and my first time surfing at a mother-daughter surf camp.

So, I was all refreshed and pumped up for Sean and Cassey's wedding yesterday - sneak peek coming soon.

Here's to a fabulous wedding season with fabulous brides and grooms!

 

 

The Hewson Lads... {family portrait}

This little man made me smile.  He had the most infectious giggle - and look at those eyes hunting out Dad.   

What a special connection!

And here is his very handsome and charming big brother...

 

Quietly determined... {family portrait}

Cute in canola... {family portrait}

Can't wait to edit today's two family portrait sessions taken on farms near Broomehill and Katanning.  Here's a sneak peek...

Amanda + Jeremy, Maitraya Private Retreat, 30th March 2012... {wedding}

This couple are a bit special to me.

Amanda + Jeremy were one of my very first bookings when I launched my business back in 2009.   And their engagement party was the perfect event to cut my teeth on with such a great bunch of relaxed and welcoming bunch of the couple's family and close friends - Amanda + Jeremy are both very close to each of their families so their celebration was a truly happy event.  

It was this incredible warmth and love that made Amanda + Jeremy's weddings day so heartfelt and genuine too.  There is no doubt that both families were so thrilled to be witnessing the joining of these two special individuals.   

It was a wedding full of huge smiles and many tears of joy...  so much love!

I had no doubt in my mind that Amanda was going to be a stunning bride - but I was still blown away on the day -  as was her groom!  Here's the story of their magic day in their own words....

_______________________________

  

Theme?
We went with a classic, elegant Black & White theme mainly so that it wouldn’t date in photos and it was a theme we both liked.

Bride’s Dress?
My Dress was from Tuscany’s in Perth.   It was the only dress I kept coming back too and retrying on - every time I said I knew it was the one! Plus it’s the only one that got my mum tearing up!   My shoes were from an online boutique and my Georgini earrings were a wedding present from my husband to me to celebrate the day.

Hair and Makeup?
We had the lovely Kylie from Morgan-Annie and Gorgeous Lynette from Jewel Hairdressing do our hair and make-up for the day.

Florist?
Hot House Flowers created my bouquets and flower arrangements. The girls were fabulous, I took in a few photos of what I liked and of course half of the flowers were out of season so the girls did a fantastic job matching up flowers and designs to create the most beautiful bouquets!

Locations?
Ceremony - Maitraya Luxury Private Retreat as one of our anniversaries Jeremy was working for DEC on their land close to Maitraya and we went up there for a evening picnic and were inspired by the view!   

Reception - Emu Point Cafe as we had breakfast there a few times, loved the atmosphere, loved the food and the Cafe was only just renovated and was perfectly decorated already which meant less for us to have to worry about and as a bonus, when we approached Kate & her staff they were so friendly, so accommodating, anything we asked they made it happen!  You can’t ask for more than that!

Celebrant?
Linda James was great in that she is professional but heartfelt at the same time! She has great selection of poems, and vow wording to chose from or is more than happy to have you write your own.

Special Touches?
We had a ring ceremony with our vows -  all of the family members held our rings and gave them a blessing for our future. It was very special.  I had my mother’s feather brooch from her wedding day put on my bouquet to bring her into our day.   We also had a photo of my grandmother (who passed away) on display with a candle burning throughout the ceremony so that we could have her involved in our special day.  

  
Did everything go to plan?
I think we were so lucky in that everyone we dealt with for our wedding, suppliers, venues (photographer!) were so lovely, so accommodating and really do care about the customers that they have.  There’s not a thing that we would change - everything and everyone was perfect.  The only hiccup was one of my accessories broke as we were about ready to get into the cars and go get married! Luckily we had some dear friends as drivers and they were able to pick up some super glue on the way!  Other than that everything was wonderful and went to plan!

Memorable moment?
I think for both of us, the moment your eyes meet as your walking down the aisle, seeing each other all dressed up and knowing that today you start your new journey as husband and wife!

Favourite photo?
I love the photo of the bridal party down in the paperbark trees at Nanarup. We are busy having a kiss and the others are all around us. The photo is beautiful and it captured the sentiment of what was happening - everyone was so happy and romance was certainly in the air!

 

The party?The reception at Emu Point Cafe was fantastic - we had so many comments on how the food “was the best wedding food ever”, we made sure we catered to the hungry guys as well as the ladies, there was even two whole trays of food leftover!  We had signature cocktails and drinks.   Kate, Keryn and her team were so obliging of our every desire.   They set up and packed up for us which helped so much with the timing and being able to relax on the day and just enjoy.

Baby news?
We are expecting out first bub on the 8th of February 2013. We were very fortunate that we conceived straight away and cannot be more excited to meet the lil' munchkin in February!

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Lou + Rob, Xandadu Winery, Margaret River, March 2012...{wedding}

Perth couple, Louise + Robert, chose Margaret River for their wedding location.  Having shot the wedding of one of Lou's bridesmaid's in Denmark in 2010,  I was delighted to travel across and see lots of familiar faces.

I don't think there was a moment during the entire day that Lou and Rob weren't smiling from ear to ear.  There was so much happiness at their wedding day.

And what is even more impressive is that Rob + Lou have their own business and LOVE working together too!  They are obviously a perfect match!  So you can imagine how thrilled I was to learn that their gorgeous couple will soon be parents.

Congratulations Lou and Rob!

Here's their wedding day in their own words....

________

Location? 
Xanadu Winery, Margaret River.   We loved the location, staff, food and wine. The staff made the lead up to and our wedding day so much fun.

Theme?
We were really driven by the beauty of Xanadu winery and the rustic, relaxed feel. Outside we wanted to provide a lounge atmosphere that blended in with the natural beauty of the Winery.  And inside we wanted the WOW factor with different style table cloths and mountains of flowers!

Hair + Make-up?

I really did not want to transform myself or the bridesmaids into people who you couldn’t recognise, I wanted everyone’s natural beauty to shine through!   Hairdresser Carly Poppas, she was fabulous - everyone loved their ‘do’ and she was great company helping everyone to remain relaxed and calm.  

Hendra Widjaja is THE Artist for eyes!  Hendra manages to make everyone’s eyes look amazing I also LOVE the air brush makeup! Its so light and doesn’t feel like you have stuff caked on your face. My husband really dislikes makeup and Hendra is the only person I know who can make you look and feel amazing without taking away the glow of your natural skin.

Shoes?
Carmen Stefans, these were my something old - I have never been able to find a better or more comfortable pair!

Jewellery?
My something borrowed and something blue was my great aunt’s sapphire ring and my earrings were Designed by Danielle Campbell

Bridesmaid Dresses?
We wanted the bridal party to be comfortable and love their outfits as much as we did, so went shopping with each and bought an outfit they liked and which suited our Natural/Relaxed theme. The dresses came from boutiques: Willow, Adam Heath, Sana

Groom & Groomsmen?
Groom's suit from Parker and Groomsmen's from Saba

Florist?
Wayne Stubbs - he has definitely left every guest with a lasting memory of a beautiful and unique venue!
 

 

Celebrant?
John Young was fabulous - so professional. He has many wise words and also was able to bring much humour to the day. 

Vowels?
We thought that as they are the most important words we will say to each other the least we could do is remember them without the celebrant providing prompts!

Favourite photo?

The photo of us kissing at the signing table and pretty much all the other photos! Krysta did an amazing job and really captured the essence of our wedding. She was also an absolute pleasure to work with and have as a part of our wedding journey.

Memorable moments?
Bride - Arriving at the venue 15 minutes before the Bridesmaids and Dad pulling a bottle of champagne out of nowhere for us to drink whilst we waited. He is always prepared!
Groom - Xanadu staff served the boys pizza and wine tastings whilst we waited for a very late bride!

Did everything go to plan?
More or less, all the planning went out the window and we left it to the control of the professionals to tell us when we needed to do things. We were too busy enjoying ourselves to worry about any changes to the plan. I guess we could do this because all the people we hired to help us we trusted could do their job and would take care of what we had requested.

Special touches? 

We tried to include good friends and family as much as possible, we did things such as naming tables after farms in the family and having friends act as the chauffeurs and pick up the bridal party and drop off to the venue.    Even our gifts for guest were personal -   the gentlemen received pickled yabbies caught and peeled by Rob and his family and ladies received homemade chutney cooked by my Mum & I using my great grandmothers recipe.

The party?
Venue: amazing!
Food: amazing!
Wine/Champagne: amazing!
Staff: amazing!
We could not fault Xanadu in anyway!  We had such a fun night and from all reports so did our guests….and the staff!

Thanks to Helen for her assistance on the day.  Here's some more from Lou + Rob's wedding...