Kiwi Bride

Oh My!

2009-03-09T22:26:00.006+13:00

I stumbled across this amazing wedding while searching for my theme colours - black, white & green.

It is truly gorgeous & I love it! Check out more photos from the same wedding here, and make sure you visit Don Reno's other amazing photos! Inspirational!

A Pilot's Dream!

2009-02-25T20:05:00.004+13:00

All I will say is wow! This wedding was featured today at my all time favourite blog Style Me Pretty! My H2B is a pilot and was quite enthusiastic upon seeing this wedding (a first!) unfortunately our hometown doesn't have a nice hanger such as this so we're out of luck, but what an awesome idea!! Loving the little details that went into the wedding!

Flowers Galore!

2009-02-24T23:29:00.007+13:00

So I was talking to a recent bride who enlightened me about buying wholesale flowers and then getting a florist to design the bouquets, which would save me (by my calculations) roughly $200. So, I stumbled across Downies Flowers which are located here in Christchurch and am seriously considering doing this! Because we are on such a strict budget we weren't going to have floral arrangements on the tables but if we can get flowers for about $100 for all tables (which is a stretch... but doable) then I just might! I'm a pretty crafty girl and am sure I can whip these up myself and leave my bouquets to the pro's!

Thought I would include some ideas of how to incorporate flowers (and perfectly DIY-able) without breaking the bank! Enjoy!

Wedding Gowns from China! Yes Please!

2009-02-16T18:40:00.004+13:00

I have been reading about wedding gowns from China lately and trying to find out what sellers are genuine and create good quality workmanship. From this, I have found many great recommendations for Milly Bridal. They have gorgeous gowns for around the $200USD mark (no kidding) aswell as bridesmaid dressed for (on average) $70USD. Best yet, they have the exact colour I want for my bridesmaids (a coral pink/orange colour)!

They also do custom made gowns at reasonable prices - they've blown me way already!
They are also on eBay here.

Here are some of these gorgeous gowns:

Reception Ideas

2009-02-15T15:47:00.003+13:00

I have quite set ideas about how I want the reception to be theme wise. The G2B and I discussed different aspects of it, but he isn't really into the event planning whereas I LOVE it so he's pretty much allowed me to come up with everything and he listens to me blabber on about my ideas.

So far I have a few ideas which I can share with you all, all of them are DIY-friendly (because I LOVE DIY projects) and cheap - have put them into a collage for your inspiration! Brief explanations to follow the image.

1. Love the idea of having wedding photos from my parents & grandparents on a table.
2. Lanterns of course!
3. Nice easy idea for cheap favour + incorporates name placing.
4. Lots of lighting, purchase tumbler glasses & tall glasses and put candles in.
5. Same again but with some long grass or flowers. Simple but quite effective.
6. The tree centerpiece, this is what I plan to have but a bit more decorative.
7. Like the idea of cut limes, possibly use in tumblers/glasses with floating candles.
8. Candles again, they use coffee beans I would use river rocks.
9. Love the idea of river/polished rocks and tea light candles amongst them.
10. Photos strung up on string.
11. Love this idea of decorating pillars with draped fabric or organza-style material.

My Wedding: Strapped for Cash

2009-02-15T12:25:00.007+13:00

I am all for saving money! Being a student and strapped for cash is hard when trying to plan a wedding. I have no idea if we're actually going to have enough for the budget I've set (since those small things like having to get the car fixed always seem to pop up) and I am silently praying we will be OK on the financial front.
My partner is a pilot and he finishes his instructors rating in April, meaning he is looking for a job and possibly has to move away from Canterbury. With that I would need to look for somewhere to live, commuting and of course the individual expenses on top of that. It's all too much to think about sometimes! So I have decided to re-do a "back-up budget" in case it all turns to custard and we just won't have the money we think we will. It's also actually not as bad as I thought either. We are quite lucky that my mother does catering, as she will be getting the food ready and we will be paying someone to come in on the actual day and heat, cream, wash and serve which will save a lot of money for us (and not to mention my parent's have offered to pay for the food which is fantastic)!
We had originally decided on getting married in the Kaiteriteri area as we both love Abel Tasman and I had done considerable research on the area and resources available there. That was turned on it's head when my grandmother flew off the handle a bit about having it "so far away" (it's 3 hours from the West Coast where they live) and then said about my grandfather who is very ill and can't travel far and how he won't be able to go. So, within 24 hours our plans we're all changed and my partner & I decided maybe it was best to just have it on the West Coast afterall and that way we could also invite a lot more people.
I will keep updating you all on how are plans are going, and how much it's costing us. For an idea, my original budget (doesn't include catering or rings) is about $5,000 - still very cheap even if you added on the catering. The "back-up budget" just halves the bridesmaid & groomsmen costs by having them wear $50 plain dresses (check out places like Ezibuy for specials) and the groomsmen wearing black pants, white longsleeve shirt and ties. This can take off between $500-$1000 of my budget (we have a wedding party of 12).

Anyway, any ideas please let me know!

DIY Centerpieces

2009-02-14T22:39:00.007+13:00

Gorgeous centerpieces are quite easy to make when inspiration is given! I am personally not having flowers on our tables due to the huge costs - plus everyone has flowers these days and since I'm known to do things quite differently to others I guess it's expected! My current thinking is I will have a "wishing tree" style centerpiece with lots of lights around it. Very inexpensive, the lights will be in either tumbler glasses or floating in tall glasses. Alot cheaper than buying actual floating candle ware and looks devine!

Check these gorgeous centerpieces out and be inspired!

Welcome!

2009-01-24T16:36:00.004+13:00

Hey there everyone & welcome to KIWI BRIDE!

If you have somehow stumbled across this blog, please bare with me as I am currently in the process of getting everything sorted and should be posting within the next few days (if not today)!