Wedding Dress | Wedding Ideas

What a time I had last week. I was lucky enough to stay at The White House in Daylesford, Victoria. Owned and decorated by one of my style heroes, Lyn Gardener from Empire Vintage fame, this gorgeous little house is nestled amongst some of the most beautiful countryside I have seen. It was cold and raining for most of the time we were there, the perfect excuse to spend long spells in front of the open fire, grazing on delicious local produce and catching up on favourite magazines.

This house is such an inspiration to me as a designer and stylist. Every corner has an interesting display or collection to admire. It was a direct reflection of Lyn herself - warm, inviting, generous and relaxed - everything a home should be.









We were so fortunate to have Lyn feature in our Gift Registry story this issue. She shared her tips and tricks on how to make a house feel like a home. Her insights give anyone about to embark on the fabulous task of registering for gifts a heads up on making choices that will last a lifetime.





Thank you Lyn for the most fabulous time.

Posted by Jane Cameron

I received an email from Sibella Court at The Society Inc announcing the new chalkboard paints from Murobond. I am L.O.V.I.N.G. the white - how fantastic is it! The possibilities are endless.





Posted by Jane Cameron

When Annabelle and I were last in Sydney, we walked past this amazing shopfront that really caught our eye - the Brad Ngata Hair Salon. Its terrificly tricky trompe l'oeil style panels (French for 'trick of the eye') and beautiful colour palette really got us thinking about the possibilities for not only upcoming photo shoots, but for wedding styling in general.







Designed by Sydney architect, Scott Weston, this salon is a clever mix of illusion and reality. Read all about Scott, and the Salon at the Design Files' excellent blog. It will surely get your imagination fired.

Posted by Jane Cameron

After making contact with a lost friend, Cath Connell, on the weekend, I was surprised to find out about her amazing new stationery business called Leaf. Cath has used her background in graphic design and paper marketing & sales to put together a great collection of products aimed at helping us record and celebrate our own personal stories.



One of the products, Girl Talk, is well suited to our wedding industry - "Gather the girls together and share your stories of love, life and fabulous shoes". The perfect idea for a fun hen's night.



Each pack of Story Starters comes with prompts to get the conversation flowing - 'The first time…', 'The most romantic…', 'In 10 years time…' - all guaranteed to get a party started.

I am in awe of Cath's achievement and wish her every success with Leaf.

Posted by Jane Cameron

Look at these nifty wire works from Debeaux Souvenirs in France. They would make really interesting talking points for reception decoration, especially if one spelt out the bride and groom's names. Luckily for us they ship worldwide via Etsy.


This one would be an ideal spot for guests to drop a handwritten note to the couple.


Papier mache hearts flutter inside a cage




They range in price from USD $36 to $110 plus shipping.

Posted by Jane Cameron

Earlier in the year I blogged about one of my favourite sources of inspiration - French Style and Decoration. Well recently I purchased the sister book English Style and Decoration and it is equally as interesting.


English Style and Decoration by Stafford Cliff, from $19.51 plus shipping at Amazon.

I was thrilled to find these early illustrations from Wedgwood - I think they are incredibly beautiful especially with the delicate handwritten notes indicating colour choices and design decisions. Derived from the Italian 'majolica' pattern of the sixteenth century, these two designs are taken from Wedgwood's archives from the 1850s and 1860s. Such fine examples of beauty in nature.


Shell Oyster Tray


Apple blossom flower pot

At Wedding Style Guide we are lucky to enjoy a wonderful relationship with Wedgwood - we often use their products in our magazine and they have been a valued advertiser for some time now. With a wealth of history that includes beautiful designs like these, no doubt they will continue to remain as popular as ever.

Posted by Jane Cameron

Today Issue 14 of Weding Style Guide goes on sale at all good newsagents and Borders stores nationally. It's an exciting day for us as we get to launch our new cover design. This has been a long time in the making and regular readers of WSG would have noticed a gradual transition in typefaces and layout to support this new cover design.

We consider WSG to be different from other wedding magazines and we wanted to reflect this in the cover design so readers would know at a glance there was something better in store - something fresh, innovative and unique.

Annabelle wrote in her editor's letter this issue "From the very beginning, our magazine was intended to be your magazine – the style guide from which you can create your own unique wedding. We do this by surrounding you with useful, practical and above all, beautiful inspiration".

With that in mind, we hope to inspire you with our new issue, our biggest ever - from cover to cover it is filled with interesting and inspiring articles. We do hope you'll enjoy it.



Our stunning cover photograph is by Sugarlove Weddings and the beautiful bouquet is by My Violet.

Posted by Jane Cameron

A little while ago I blogged about one of my all-time favourite inspiration books - The Grammar of Ornament by Owen Jones.



Imagine my utter disbelief at finding the original book, published in 1856, is available to view online at Octavo – another one of my favourite inspirations!









To see the pages as Jones himself would have seen them is really quite exciting. If you haven't already, do have a look at Octavo as there are many other historically significant books, each one documented page by page for viewing online. And if you simply can't live without one of these wonders, you can purchase a copy on disc to keep forever.

A truly incredible source of inspiration for anyone wanting direction in design or decoration.

Posted by Jane Cameron

I am a sucker for calligraphy through and through so imagine my delight at finding Emililies on the Etsy site. Based in California in the US, Emililies offers calligraphy-adorned rubber stamps, ready to make an impression on countless envelopes and stationery items. At USD$39 + shipping, this makes calligraphy accessible to everyone and a really affordable option for any wedding stationery.

There are many other options available including envelope addressing.







Contact them directly for pricing and shipping policies or visit their website for lots of fun and inspiring examples of their work including pdf invites and name logos.





Posted by Jane Cameron

Another of my favourite inspirations when I'm designing wedding stationery or planning a photo shoot for WSG is French Style and Decoration - A Sourcebook of Original Designs by Stafford Cliff. This book is so beautifully designed with many full page reproductions of French design through the ages.

With a total of 600+ designs every page reveals a different medium from wallpaper design, fabric patterns to tablesettings.





Available from Amazon for USD$20.57 + shipping.

I love this book so much I have just ordered the second book in the series - English Style and Decoration. No doubt this will be equally as inspiring.

Posted by Jane Cameron

Further to Emma's post you must have a look at the website for Bright Star, a movie from director Jane Campion. Not only is the website absolutely gorgeous, but it includes another folded paper love note designed by graphic designer Amy Merry for the movie.









Amy's website has many examples of her exceptionally beautiful work. I am definitely a fan.



Posted by Jane Cameron

I am very spoiled - people send me the most beautiful things. This little parcel arrived earlier in the week from Viola at Chewing the Cud. She must know me well as brown paper packages tied up with string are easily my favourite things! I can't go past kraft paper for a down-to-earth utilitarianism - it matches everything - and red & white striped twine adds a really special touch.



The little notebook has a quote on the front cover from Confucious - 'Wherever you go, go with all your heart'. What a lovely sentiment - this would make a great favour for guests at a wedding.

For more beautiful stationery inspiration do check their website as there are many more products to admire.

Thank you Viola.

Posted by Jane Cameron