Mini Weddings 🩷 Celebrant 🩷 Elopements

Perfect Bliss

This is the employment my soul delights in.

In the immortal words of Ferris Bueller…

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

My Funny Valentine

Stay and make each day a Valentine’s Day.

Pretty Woman

I watched a re-run of this last night. I’ve never actually watched the entire movie before. When it came out back in the 90s I was more into arthouse indie films – so I never really appreciated the cheesy chickflick beauty of this one up until now.

We all know the storyline… but the line from the movie which really resonated with me was when Edward (Richard Gere) is offering Vivienne (Julia Roberts) a compromise so they can keep seeing each other. But she confidently tells him “I want the fairytale.”

She wants her knight to rescue her and live happily ever after.

That’s what we all want really.

Love truly

I almost wish we were butterflies and liv’d but three summer day — three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain.
John Keats
to the love of his life Fanny Brawne, 1819

You can see the film version of this enduring love affair – the movie was made by Jane Campion and is called Bright Star.

If you live in Auckland you can step into a delightful garden called Butterfly Creek where you can watch the butterflies flutter-by.

The World's Most Beautiful Wedding Proposal

Celebrity Weddings | Dan Carter & Honor Dillon

The dreams of thousands of girls are dashed… Dan is tying the knot.

To be honest with you, I never saw the big attraction of Dan Carter – not on the field or even in his Jockeys.

But he started to appeal to me more when I heard he had been dating the same girl for the last 5 years!! That type of commitment says alot in this day and age. And lets hope he didn’t have any Mike Tindall moments in that time.

Plus she looks down to earth and not the usual bimbo type wag you’d expect.

So down to the ceremony – it was held at the luxury Lake Timara Lodge near Blenheim was conducted in the upmost secrecy, with guests reportedly told not to take photos and an aerobatic display booked overhead to prevent nosy media from flying over the venue.

The media black out was part of a deal with the Australian Women’s Weekly magazine which is rumoured to have paid around $50,000 for exclusive rights to the wedding coverage.

Dan and his new bride, former Black Sticks striker Honor Dillon, are now said to be looking forward to a romantic honeymoon.

Although a veil of secrecy surrounded the ceremony some details are starting to emerge through the cracks.

Dillon is said to have looked “stunning” in a ivory-coloured silk satin dress, with her face covered by a light tulle veil which trailed to the ground behind her.

The colour of the dress was said to have set off Dillon’s tan and with a plunging “V” down the back.

The front of the dress is reported to have been modest with a small V-neck and inch thick straps over her shoulders, while a figure hugging bodice opened out into an A-line skirt.

Kiwi singer Hayley Westenra entertained the gathered friends and family before the bride arrived, with All Blacks Richie McCaw, Ali Williams and former coach Graham Henry among the guests.

Dillon was led down a grass aisle to a lakeside altar , with guests seated on white chairs, where she was greeted by Kings College chaplain Warner Wilder, the Sunday Star Times reported.

The service sheet listed Dillon’s bridesmaids as Amy-Kate Snowise, Amber Edgar, Michal Wells and Jessica Bradley, and Carter’s groomsmen as Ben Jones, Jimmy Cowan, Doug Tausili and Simon Walsh.

The service including traditional hymns and Christmas carols and Carter’s sister gave a reading at the 45-minute ceremony.

”Honor and Dan came together as friends. Today they pledge not only their love, but also the strength, warmth and, most importantly, the fun of true friendship,” she said.

The party went on till around 1am with entertainment provided by a four-piece covers band and a lavish fireworks display.

500 Days of Summer

Maybe this should be a blog about pop culture? My inspiration seems to come from alot of movies…

Anyone who’s seen this one will agree it’s gorgeous. The love story, the graphics, the quirkiness – so cute.

Basically it’s all about a boy who has very romantic ideals – love at first sight, thunderbolts and lightning, that sort of thing (usually the kind of role a female plays in a romcom) and he falls for Summer – a girl who doesn’t believe in love. She’s basically a bitch until she finds love – but not with the gorgeous romantic boy.

It’s a story about being totally in awe of someone, giving your heart to them and having them break it for you. But finding the hope to move past the pain so you don’t miss other opportunities which could be even more amazing.

My favourite scene is the one where the boy has just had a blissful night with Summer – and as he’s walking to work he is so euphoric he could be dancing through the streets… complete with dancing workmen, a full marching band and the little bluebird of happiness!

Love…

Romeo & Juliet

We all know the Shakespearean love story/tragedy – whether you’ve seen it or read it, you can’t fail to agree it is the most legendary tale of ill fated, star-crossed love.

Last week I was checking out a bookstore sale and came across Juliet by Anne Fortier, it had an interesting cover (the pic on the right) so I picked it up. It was a story of danger, intrigue, secret pasts and of course, love. All giving the famous play tweaks and twists that make the story even more endearing (and not in ye olde English speak). Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop. Here’s a sentence or two:

There is lust, you know, and then there is love. They are related, but still very different things. To indulge in one requires little but honeyed
speech and a change of clothes; to obtain the other, by contrast, a
man must give up his rib. In return, his woman will undo the sin of Eve,
and bring him back into Paradise.

And this time… Romeo doesn’t “give up his rib” for nothing… they both live happily ever after!