There’s a buzz in the air!  January is always a favourite time of year for the Pink Frosting team because every day new beautiful products hit our warehouse and we gather around in anticipation as the boxes are slit open and the tissue is pulled away to reveal… the latest Pink Frosting gorgeous celebration accessories and decorations.   Today, new parasols hit the warehouse.  These glamorous Empress parasols really will take your breath away. 

The Empress parasol is gracious and regal and we can see it being the perfect accessory for the races, a garden picnic, a walk along the beach or of course on your wedding day.

With a wide curvacious canopy ending in a delicate pointed tip, this parasol gives your head and shoulders plenty of shade. 

Apart from being just simply glamorous, the Empress parasol features:

• – Canopy made from heavy cotton, NOT nylon
• – Ergonomically long shaft, rests comfortably on the shoulder
• – Polished curved bamboo handle
• – Quality durable steel frame
• – Good sun protection

Sigh.  No wonder we are in love!  The Empress Parasols are also an impressive price.  Just $55 and in stock now.

Happy Celebrating!

Kathryn

Frangipanis or Plumeria as they are sometimes known, are blooming everywhere around the coast of Australia right now.  The intoxicating perfume reminds me of my home near Byron Bay and summer holidays spent at the coast.  Casual, beachy and beautiful in every shade, frangipanis are the perfect coastal-theme wedding flower.  No need to be concerned that frangipanis can’t be chic.  They can!  Here are some of my favourite ways to use frangipanis to decorate and theme your wedding without resorting to cliches.

Image credits: Frangipani wedding cake, photo by Nicole Pearce.  Frangipani bouquet and aisle decoration images from Lindsay Van Roy Photography for Brett and Erin’s wedding.  Frangipani beach aisle by Aloha Island Weddings at Simply Chic Wedding Ideas.  Frangipani link ring by Stasita New Zealand.  All stationery by Alannah Rose at Pink Frosting.  All beach collection wedding accessories at Pink Frosting’s online wedding shop.

Here are our top tips for using frangipanis to theme your wedding:

• Bunch them closely.  Frangipanis in tight formation are simply chic.
• If you choose yellow frangipanis, your best colour choices for ribbons, accents, glassware, napery and decor is buttercup yellow, ivory, crisp white, black or sand.
• For table decorations, either scatter your frangipanis loosely around the table, lay one on each table setting for a contemporary chic look, or use beach buckets filled with starfish, sand and frangipanis (see the beautiful beach buckets by Pink Frosting above - we also used Swarovski crystal encrusted starfish to complement the yellow frangipanis).
• Frangipanis work beautifully with fluffy blossoms such as fully blown roses.  We’re not fans of frangipanis and other waxy flowers such as orchids, but they can look lovely together if you use a master florist.
• Generally, frangipanis don’t need foliage to complement them.  Think of the flower in its natural state - the flowers are clustered and the branches are fairly sparse.  Take your cue from the flower in its natural environment and don’t use leaves as part of your table decorations, aisle decorations or bouquets.
• Frangipani leis are so easy to create.  It’s a fun way to spend your night before the wedding with your best girls - simply use fishing line and a large needle to thread frangipani blooms.  A beautiful favour for your guests.

Happy Celebrating!

Kathryn

Monograms and motifs, black and white, small but spectacular, familial and familiar… the best of 2008 in weddings has been truly beautiful to behold.  With the year coming to a close, I am feeling nostalgic and want to celebrate the best of the past twelve months in weddings.  Here are my favourite trends for 2008:

Favourite Wedding Trend for 2008: Black and White

Black and white ruled the colour trend for 2008.  From the largest celebration to the smallest soiree, black and white immediately shouted sophistication and “now”.  Black and white was celebrated with stationery, decorations, centrepieces, bridesmaid gowns and black satin sashes across a pure white gown.  It’s a wedding trend set to continue to rule in 2009, which is wonderful indeed.

Favourite Wedding Trends for 2008:  Monograms and Motifs

Personalising your wedding day became another big trend in 2008 that we really enjoyed.  Having a motif or monogram for the couple created is a special way to celebrate your bond and can then be used throughout your marriage on your stationery, napery and linens.  A beautiful trend that will stand the test of time.

Favourite Wedding Trends for 2008:  Small but Spectacular

Well before the economic crisis made us all look at our budgets a little more closely, a big trend has been for a smaller guest list featuring only those closest to you and really go to town to create a luxury event for these most special guests.  Instead of spending $80 a head on 100 people, the trend has been to take that same budget and spend it on a smaller guest list.  Whilst celebrities don’t have the same budget problems that we mere mortals have, the ultimate example of this trend in 2008 was the stunning wedding of Ellen Degeneres and Portia Di Rossi, which also happens to be my favourite celebrity wedding for 2008.  It will take a really long time for a celebrity to top this wedding for me.  All images above thanks to Ellen’s website.

Favourite Wedding Trends for 2008:  Familial and Familiar

The nod to family and the familiar was another trend we just adore.  Budget conscious, DIY brides and even those with unlimited budgets are celebrating family traditions, in familiar surroundings with casual aplomb.  Our favourite example of this trend was the real wedding of Nicole and Grant reported on Style Me Pretty.  The pizzas, the reception decor and the hand-made details really made this wedding a spectacular example of how amazing DIY can be.

Happy Celebrating!

Kathryn

Australia’s favourite wedding and celebration store, Pink Frosting, is on sale now with many of our amazing party, wedding and baby shower products below half price.  Stock is limited… first in best styled hostess!

Happy Celebrating!

Kathryn

Aaah, the holidays are upon us and as much as we love you, the Pink Frosting staff need to take a well-deserved break!  Here are our Christmas and New Year holiday trading hours:

• Monday 22nd December - 8.00am - 4.30pm
• Tuesday 23rd December - 8.00am - 4.30pm
• Wednesday 24th December - 8.00am - midday
• Thursday 25th December - CLOSED
• Friday 26th December - CLOSED
• Saturday 27th December - CLOSED
• Sunday 28th December - CLOSED
• Monday 29th December - 8.00am - 4.30pm
• Tuesday 30th December - 8.00am - 4.30pm
• Wednesday 31st December - 8.00am - 4.30pm
• Thursday 1st January - CLOSED
• Friday 2nd January - 8.00am - 4.30pm, resuming normal trading hours.

We will be accepting orders right through the Christmas and New Year holiday period - all orders placed on a public holiday will be processed on the next day our customer service staff are back in the office.  For urgent orders, please contact Kathy on 1300 855 633 during office hours, or please feel free to send us an email (info@pinkfrosting.com.au) or leave a message with our messaging service and we will answer your question as quickly as possible.

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas and a truly special New Year celebration.  Thank you for your support in 2008!

Happy Celebrating!

Kathryn

Are you the host of a big family and friends get-together for Christmas next week?  If so, you not only have your menu to think about, you also need to decide how to decorate your table.  Elaborate and traditional, or sparse and contemporary, Christmas table settings can be just about anything you like.  I personally prefer a twinkling, full table for Christmas; afterall, at what other time of year can you really let the bling shine like Christmas?

Choosing the perfect centrepiece for your Christmas table can take your party from so-so to so hot!  Whether your party is a full-scale formal Christmas dinner or a relaxed barbecue with a few friends, the centrepiece you choose will add drama, personality and scale to your event.

Table centrepieces can be as expensive as you dare, but there are alternatives to the dramatic and extravagant! Take inspiration from some of the newest ideas in table centrepieces.   Not all of them need to be red, green and gold either!

Straight from our event planning team at Pink Frosting, here are some simple and effective decorating tips and beautiful images to inspire your own Christmas table centrepiece.  You can see more of our tips on Christmas and many other celebrations at the Pink Frosting inspiration and planning pages.

Eclectic tables

Create a homespun feel for your Christmas event by dressing each table with different flowers, candles and place settings to create a real sense of personality. For example, this design works wonderfully with a vintage theme; combine mismatched crockery, jugs and candles with plenty of vintage-style blossoms to fill tables. Visit an antiques fair, your local flea market or (with permission!) your grandma’s cupboards to pick up plenty of vases and trinkets to add personality to your tables.

Monochromatic tables

The classic, crisp design of the monochromatic look is still the most modern tablepiece theme you can choose.  If the mod look appeals to you, choose a black and white backdrop and add splashes of Christmas colour for contrast, such as fire-engine red, moss green or ice blue.  Think about height, drama, the whitest of white blooms and plenty of black crockery on crisp white linen.  This look is never out of style.

Centrepieces from your own backyard

Take inspiration from your own backyard. Go outside and look at your backyard from a fresh perspective. Do you have twigs, greens, flowers and bark that could be used in a creative centrepiece? Take some pinecones, seed pods and eucalytus leaves and spray them with a splash of gold paint.  Or leave them bare for a very natural display.

Casting a glow

The warm glow of candlelight has always added romance to a room, but never more so than at Christmas.  Incorporate candles into your centrepiece decorations themselves.  Think tall, full arrangements of cherry blossom branches, hung with Christmas baubles and votives on ribbon or wire-like hangers. Or imagine tall cylinders filled with coloured water to match the Christmas party palette, and small floating candles flickering in each. 

Traditional Christmas decorations

It’s hard to go past Christmas baubles, wreaths and sprays for fabulous table and room decorations.  But the traditional Christmas colours of red, green and gold needn’t limit you.  Contemporary Christmas colours of teal, peacock, pearl and diamonds are instant winners and will make your Christmas party stand out from the crowd!

Paper lanterns - budget with big impact

The simple rice paper lantern packs an enormous decorating punch.  Whether you’re decorating a dinner table or a dance floor, the rice paper lantern will dazzle and delight your guests. Rice paper lanterns come in so many sizes, colours and styles, and all are great value for money.  For a Christmas theme, you can’t go past red and gold.  Big ball lanterns start from as low as $6 a piece, so they won’t break the bank, even if you purchase them in bulk.  And the best part?  Paper lanterns can be packed down, stored and re-used for your next big shindig.

Back to your childhood

The oh-so-divine lolly table is becoming a huge hit for parties where guests fill up their own container with a selection of themed sweets, little gumball machines for each guest, or grandma’s favourite recipe cookies.  Christmas treats could include candy canes, mini gingerbread men, tiny plum puddings, wrapped bon bons and chocolates.  Delicious!

Balloons - the new chic

The hippest party planners from around the world are taking the humble balloon and making it the chicest decorating accessory of the moment.  Take giant bulbous balloons (at least 60cm) filled with helium and use them to decorate your room.  Secure with your floral centrepiece or in a vase of Christmas sweets for a truly whimsical look.  Cheap, beautiful and fun!

Happy Celebrating!

Kathryn

Christenings ought to be a celebration of the highest order.  We’re celebrating our new babies, their place in the world and the love and belief that will guide them.  Whether you are religious or not, the celebration of newborns with our families and friends is one of life’s truly blessed moments.

We spend quite a bit of time dreaming up lovely themes for Christenings and Naming Ceremonies.  When Sharnel at the gorgeous Brisbane-based The Cupcake Company contacted me about their amazing new blog and I found one of the loveliest examples of a Christening that I have seen for some time.  I wanted to share this with you.  Kudos to photographer Rachel Richter who did a wonderful job of both capturing the details and the magical moments of this special day.

Happy Celebrating!

Kathryn

Baby Shower and Christening cakes have never been more gorgeous.  I remember when the only option you had was a fruit cake with royal icing with a plastic baby bottle sitting on top.  Whilst this traditional baby shower or christening cake is still a wonderful retro option, it might be more your style to turn up the style and perfect the idea of a fresh, fun, decadent cake for your guests.  Think whimsical decorations atop colourful sorbet coloured icing with thick, muddy cake beneath.   Miniature cakes - whether cupcakes or single serve, fully decorated miniature versions of the “real thing” - are very much in vogue for any occasion, but especially the celebration of bubs. 

If you haven’t visited the new Pink Frosting baby shower cakes gallery, you should do so right now!  Even if you don’t have a baby shower or christening on the horizon - the pages of beautiful cake designs will make your mouth water and your creative juices flow!

Happy Celebrating!

Kathryn

I just found the most wonderful website filled with stunning table linens and table settings to inspire you to design a fantasy wedding reception.  Much more realistic than Preston Bailey’s fantastical creations, the table decorations and floral centrepieces from Wildflower Linen are perfectly “do-able” for the average bride.  Just a little imagination, plenty of inspiration and a wonderful florist is required!

Here are some of my favourites:

Vitally important in creating a fantasy reception is lighting (candlelight, fairy lights, directional lighting), colour (most of these images use variations of one colour - monochrome is a great place to start when creating a colour theme), flowers (fresh seasonal flowers - either super high or super low on the table), and high quality linen (of course!).

One thing I have learned as a event stylist is that you really can’t not have chair covers - unless the chairs at your venue are really special (which happens so rarely).  If you are spending many thousands of dollars on your reception and flowers, it is a real mistake to forego chair covers to save money.  Your chair covers will make an enormous difference to how elegant and styled your event will feel.

Happy Celebrating!

Kathryn

I love this time of year.  Everyone is in the festive spirit, there’s a party to go to almost every day (sometimes at breakfast, lunch and tea!) and you can ham it up with fun partyware!  Yes, I love red, white, blingy partyware.  Mini peppermint candies, candy canes, funky little Santa motifs and bling-bling Christmas trees - oh so appealing!  It makes you want to party, doesn’t it?

To spruce up your Christmas drinks, corporate Christmas BBQ or kids Chrissy party, grab some of these fun designs.  We’ve scoured the globe to find the funnest, most funky partyware for your Christmas party and here are some of our favourites (all available at the PInk Frosting online Christmas Shop):

The key is to find a few fun decorative partyware designs and pair them with plain but deeply coloured decorations such as lipstick red paper lanterns and emerald green honeycomb centrepieces.  Pure Christmassy bliss!  Let the champagne flow freely…

Happy Celebrating!

Kathryn