YOU’VE GOT TO BE IN IT TO WIN IT! – GIVEAWAY BONANZA!

A Darling Affair 27/08/2015 0 Comments

Here at A Darling Affair HQ we wish that we could trade places with our lovely guests who will be at the fair on Saturday and sign up our names for the massive prize pool that is on offer at The Sunshine Coast Wedding Fair!

Our awesome vendors have been so kind enough to donate prizes that are genuinely something to get excited about and are not the run of the mill wedding giveaway’s.

If you pre-purchase your tickets online you are automatically entered into the draw. This means you don’t have to stand in line and write your name on our guest list and can enjoy more time chatting to fabulous wedding suppliers, listening to live music and stuffing your faces with delicious food!

If you choose the other option and sign up on the day, our friendly Darling Helpers will be there to help you! No problems at all!

We love that our prize pool isn’t one major prize for one lucky bride or groom to be – each are individual prizes which means more chances to win! We like to share the love around.

Here is the official full giveaway list for you to get excited about!
The Beauty Case, Trent & Jessie Photographers, Heavenly Blooms and Willow Tree Creative Services are all teaming up for a Lovebirds Engagement Shoot for one lucky couple. Package includes: hair and makeup, photography, flowers and concept styling. Valued to $1000.

Simply Style Co – CONCEPT CREATION & ON THE DAY STYLING PACKAGE – valued up to $1,250.00!

The White Tree – a free 3 piece band, valued at $2200!!!!

This is a line up of Male Vocals/Guitar, Bass and Drums. Their standard inclusions apply…5 hr call, feat up to 4 x 45min sets, full PA system provided

Kombi Celebrations – 3 hour champagne kombi hire package, valued at $750

Bohemian Brides – a Wear 5 ways dress

Coco Bride – $300 bridal illustration

TravelShoot – a $200 Travelshoot Voucher

Chase The Sun Creative – up to 80 calligraphy placecards or a welcome chalkboard both valued at over $200

Erin Clare Couture – 1 of 2 Chapel length veils, one in a Silk white colour the other is Ivory in colour valued at $175 each

Komoberi Bride – a Sterling silver and gemstone headpiece – value $129.99

The Ballerina Bride – are offering a Free Make up Trial!

Sass & Niki’s Wedding Hair – KEVIN.MURPHY Gift package from their styling studio to the Value of $100

Frankie & Mavis – a wedding tea towel by The Smith Collective. The tea towel is hand drawn with every detail to remember your day like the location, date and pictures of the lovely couple themselves, then hand printed in a colour of your choice. Valued at $75.

The Tuck Shop – $50 voucher for little boat espresso

Chef Favours – one of our handmade Taste Crates worth $50. A handmade timber crate with 6 Chef Favours included so it’s all six of their handmade delicious flavours

The Spoken Shop – XO board

L&L Co. Events – menu tasting for 2 people

Big Love Weddings & Celebrations – Name Change Kit.

A downloadable kit full of vital information & forms. It saves a lot of the time and hassle of changing your surname with all the agencies you need to.

Butter cups Cupcakes – a dozen cupcakes.

*Full T&C’s will be shared with the winner of the prize via the wedding vendor who has donated it.

** Winners will be announced the week following the fair.

THE GOLD COAST WEDDING FESTIVAL – WRAP UP

A Darling Affair 08/06/2015 0 Comments

The Gold Coast Wedding Festival was just amazing if we do say so ourselves.

It was the perfect weather for the end of Autumn as the industrial venue – Rabbit & Cocoon – is a market style set up with both inside and outside areas. The venue was filled to the brim with the most talented and incredibly friendly wedding creatives on the Gold Coast and beyond. It was set to be a fun night you could feel the anticipation growing in the air.

The bands starting cranking just after 5pm when our guests had knocked off work and headed to the festival to have a great night of wedding planning fun. The brides and grooms to be were cheerfully interacting with our vendors, some who are new to the scene and others who have been perfecting their art for years.

The wedding festival had loads of inspiration, colour, laughs and action with a mammoth fashion parade that was maxed out around the red carpet and orchestrated by The Beauty Case team and Interlaced Media. Our guests had eager eyes checking out the finer details of the beautiful gowns and tailored suits not to mention the models from Katz Management. The Fashion parade featured local and interstate designers. We are so excited that we have vendors traveling from other parts of Australia, like Suzanne Harward Designs, to be a part of the action.

With bellies filled with delicious food and drinks, guests and vendors mingled together like they had been friends from way back. The night went off with out a hitch and we couldn’t have been happier for yet another A Darling Affair event to go down in history as an ‘affair to remember’.

Special thanks goes to our ever so supportive and hardworking sponsor Hello May. We love that they come to our events and get to meet all you beautiful guests and their readers up close and personal. Also a HUGE thanks to When Elephant Met Zebra who works themselves to the bone capturing the wonderful night on camera.

Thank you all for coming. We loved seeing your smiling faces!

We hope you found the perfect wedding supplier for your big day!

There will be more in depth details and images to come of who was at the event and what they do this week. So stay tuned xx

Show us your dance moves!

A Darling Affair 28/05/2015 0 Comments

What we love about The Gold Coast Wedding Festival is that at the venue Rabbit & Cocoon there is a fully equipped stage so we can all have a rocking good Friday night listening to some of the best wedding bands in the biz!

Vendors and guests can grab some food and watch the performers OR cut loose and let the music take control of their dancing feet. We also have a dance off competition that starts at 8:15pm. Yep that’s right battle on the dance floor or just shake your little behind to win a prize!

No matter what you decide to do, the main thing is you will be able to sample what it’s really like to have one of these bands perform at your wedding.

Get excited! Friday night is going to rock!

LARK MUSIC

Lark Music is a fun-loving band, with a big crush on entertaining and making your special occasion as perfect as you’d hoped for.

They are as excited playing what’s fresh as much as they are playing the classics and your requests. With a repertoire that features new mainstream faves, Triple J cool, soul, jazz, pop and classic rock – they’ll play the right songs to get you up the aisle and your guests busy on the dance floor.

VELVET MARTINI

Velvet Martini are an eclectic party band made up of some of the Gold Coast’s finest musicians. They are young, exciting, energetic and can create the right atmosphere for any Dance, Funk, Jazz, R’n’B, Acoustic, Lounge or Rock party.

They engage audiences with their class and perfect blend of vintage and current music. With an ever evolving repertoire and a healthy dose of spontaneity. Anything from a solo act to an 8 piece band is available on request.

HAMILTON BAND

Hamilton Band has only existed since 2014 and has already had major success in and around Brisbane’s wedding scene.

Lead singer Lai has an amazing vocal ability and energy that explodes from the stage, an energy that draws people to the dance floor. Combine that with discipline and hard work and you’ve got an A class band on your hands. They have been told by their clients that what sets them a part is ‘flawless vocals and joy in their performance’. They pride themselves on this as they are simply a ‘joyous’ group of people.

They love to tailor their entertainment to suit every event they perform at to ensure the guests have as much fun as possible. Lai likes to think that his afro is what makes Hamilton Band unique. You certainly won’t forget an afro like that.

Toe tapping musicians at The Wedding Fair

A Darling Affair 05/08/2014 0 Comments

At A Darling Affair HQ we take music very seriously and KNOW that is a big contributing factor to any event to keep it flowing rather than hearing the crickets chirping and awkward silences between guests.

J&R Music and Love Note surely wet our appetite playing some sweet tunes at The Wedding Fair.These music acts are soooo lovely, fun, vibrant and extremely talented. We really can’t stop raving about them. So we won’t:

Jess and Ryan from J&R Music are a real life couple who radiate love, warmth and fun. They performed at When Elephant Met Zebra’s wedding (the photographer who took our event photos below) and it’s like a sweet reunion at every wedding fair.

Love Note’s Angela is small in stature but belts out the most amazing vocals that she ALWAYS has heads turning in the crowd. She even had Hello May asking after her. Angela is one of our Sunshine Coast wedding fair’s committed return vendors and we just love her to bits.

So if you are after live music performers don’t hesitate to check out these amazing musicians.

So. Many. PRIZES!

A Darling Affair 16/07/2014 0 Comments

Image credit: When Elephant Met Zebra

This year’s Sunshine Coast Wedding fair is our BIGGEST and BEST yet! We’ve got more than 50 vendors spread out across the Chapel, the Hall and the Marquee at The Chapel, Woombye and lots of them are offering up awesome prizes and promotions on the day… seriously, just LOOK at how many prizes and promotions there are on the day!

MAIN PRIZES

Begitta – FREE wedding dress to the value of $1,500

Urbbana – $500 voucher to go towards a suit

MORE AMAZING PRIZES

With Love Stationery & Design – A grey linen guestbook and your choice of either notelet or advice cards in any colour

Wild Heart Weddings – Quick Start Wedding Planning Package valued at $500

Love Note – Personalised Ceremony Entertainment (Pre ceremony:To set the tone for your day we will play 20 mins of acoustic music while guests arrive. Ceremony: Live performance of 3 songs during your ceremony) Valued at $580

The Photo Booth Guys – Free Insta-Printer Hire valued at $580

The Curious Caravan – Win a $50 off voucher for the curious caravan event feature packages

Willow & Sage – A free E-shoot with 25 images high resolution print ready on USB along with a guest book for signing with 25 images inside

Cloud Nine Weddings – Free Wedding Ceremony Package (see Cloud Nine for details)

Confetti & Cake – $50 Gift Voucher

Kayla Marshall Hair – Free trial for a bride and one bridesmaid

JR Music – Voucher for $150 off your wedding entertainment package

Love My Food – Gourmet picnic for two (delivered) valued at $120

PROMOTIONS ON THE DAY

The Curious Caravan – Free babycino for the kids with the purchase of a regular or large cup

Coast Wedding Creations – 10% off all bookings made on the day and 7 days after the event

Made to Match Events – Receive complimentary hire of any Made to Match items of your choice when you book the “I’m Getting Married” wedding package valued at $300

Frozen Sunshine – Book a Frozen Sunshine package on the day and they will customise your sticks for FREE.

Miss Poppins – Book on the day to receive 50% off your booking

JR Music – 50% off your wedding package if you book on the day

Confetti & Cake – 10% off bulk order of 50 or more wedding favours with free shipping

AND – on top of this there are heaps of other promotions and prizes being run through our vendor stalls on the day… so make sure you visit EVERYONE to see what’s on offer!

How to be in the draw? Just bring your smiling face along to our fair on 19 July at The Chapel, Woombye – click here for tickets!

Introducing our MUSICIANS!

A Darling Affair 25/06/2014 0 Comments

JR MUSIC

In a nutshell, who are you and what do you do?

We are Jess and Ryan, a couple of kids at heart, who have a passion for music and we love weddings too, so we decided to start a business. Jess is the wedding singer and Ryan just does what he’s told.

What do you do in your free time?

Ryan works full time at a school in Brisbane and Jess is studying to be a high school drama teacher. We also really enjoy spending time with friends and family, eating good food and catching up on the latest episode of survivor.

If you were a colour, which colour would you be, and why?

This is a really hard question! But together we would probably be a light blue, because when we searched Mood ring colours on Google, it said laid back – Light blue!

LOVE NOTE

In a nutshell, who are you and what do you do?

We are an acoustic music duo. We write, record and perform “your” song, an original song created for your wedding or proposal. We also provide live music for weddings including acoustic romantic sets for your ceremony, cocktail hours, or dinner music and we can rock a reception.

What is it about weddings that you love so much?

As a passionate advocates for the personal touch I love that a wedding is a rare chance to express your heart in fine details and beautiful words. I love that it is a chance to experience a moment that has the power to transfer love to everyone present.

What I love most about weddings is that they are a celebration of life and love so far, loves future and all the wonderful people that have loved and supported you along the way. In that way it is also a chance to give back and to extend love to everyone you care about. A wedding can create a sense of something so much bigger than your matrimony. It is a day we are given the opportunity to create, share in, celebrate and honour love.

What do you do in your free time?

I love to treasure hunt recycled or handcrafted furniture and vintage treasures, love a good brie, wine and pinterest session. Mostly I just try to spend as much time eating with friends and family as possible.

Be sure to check out these talented folk’s websites before coming to visit them at the fair:

www.lovenote.com.au | http://jfweddingsinger.jimdo.com

Sweet Wedding Tunes!

A Darling Affair 17/04/2014 0 Comments

Sending you into the long weekend we are sharing some rockin’ wedding music!

The Gold Coast Wedding Festival had some fantastic music performances that took our event to the next level.

At a wedding you don’t want to hear the crickets chirping or awkward silences. You want to be partying late into the night with all your loved ones. Your night is the celebration to remember!

Cut A Rug

And that’s a wrap!

A Darling Affair 24/02/2014 5 Comments

Did you come to A Darling Affair – Gold Coast on Friday 21 February at Rabbit + Cocoon? If you did, then this news will be no surprise to you… but if you didn’t make it, then let me be the first to tell you how FREAKIN AWESOME it was! Seriously, we had the best and most amazing venue, vendors, models, and what a turnout!

Right from the beginning of the day when our vendors were putting in their hard yards setting up their incredible sites, the atmosphere was electric. We all knew something really special was about to go down. We had trucks, minivans, cars and caravans rocking up from 10am that morning and there were ladders, power tools, trolley’s and trailers filling up the amazing venue that is Rabbit & Cocoon.

Come 5 o’clock and we already had a line-up of people waiting for the gates to open. Our vendors had put the finishing touches on their incredible stalls and we opened the gates to get the party started! With a glass of bubbles or a beer in one hand and a totes-amazing A Darling Affair tote in the other (thanks Peachy Flamingo!), the crowds started visiting the stalls of more than 40 of the freshest and most creative wedding vendors on the scene at the moment. The crowds continued to flow through the gates all night.

Our awesome DJ, Aaron from Cut-A-Rug, provided the playlist for the evening and along with our live music acts including Sarah Head, the tone was set for a night of fun and frivolity!

Major highlights of the night included our four interactive fashion parades, made all the more enjoyable by our incredible models who were more than happy to join in the fun with the rest of our guests getting their pics snapped at our photo booths. Thanks again to The Brides Market, Begitta, Bohemian Brides, Urbanna, The Beauty Case, Elina Valttila and our super amazing models!

The piñata smash was another highlight of the night! Guests lined up to take a hit at the incredible piñata supplied by Party Pony.

And finally – the annual Dance Off was a huge success, with guests getting their dance on IN THE RAIN to win $300 off a DJ package with Cut-A-Rug.

By 10pm when we closed the gates, none of us could wipe the smile from our faces. The evening was a huge success and we had received so much amazing feedback from Brides and Vendors, without whom, this event wouldn’t have happened.

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, we have the BEST vendors, venues, models and Brides any Darling could ask for… thank you for being so amazing!

To see a little video wrap up, check out this sweet little video from When Elephant Met Zebra: www.whenelephantmetzebra.com/ada

Thank you to the super talented When Elephant Met Zebra for all of our official event photos.

Introducing our MUSIC VENDORS!

A Darling Affair 12/02/2014 0 Comments

CUT-A-RUG

In a nutshell, who are you and what do you do?

Cut a Rug – wedding DJ and sushi aficionado. I rock weddings.

What is the most awesome thing you’ve seen at a wedding?

Watching a groom ride his BMX around the dance floor for a while and another happy couple crowd surfing were pretty awesome.

What do you do in your free time?

Eat sushi. Drink coffee. Compost. Not necessarily in that order.

SARAH HEAD (SINGER)

What is it about weddings that you love so much?

Weddings are magical! I absolutely love being able to be a part of a couple’s special day and to share in their joy, happiness and celebrations!

For me, creating the perfect atmosphere through music is pivotal. I love being able to make memorable moments on such a special day – whether it’s a relaxed ambience from live dinner music or flushing out great aunt’s famous dance moves on the dance floor.

What is the most unique thing you’ve seen at a wedding?

I recently sung at the wedding of a lovely Scottish bride and Aussie groom and instead of cutting a cake, they had a Quaich ceremony, where the couple drank from the two-handled cup. Sharing a cup was seen as a sign of trust between the people drinking from it, and was a lovely unique way of starting their lives together!

I’ve also seen some fantastically choreographed first dances, and a memorable father-daughter dance which was a mash-up of a range of songs with set moves (such as Grease & the chicken dance), where both the bride and her father broke into the actions in perfect synch. It was hilariously entertaining!

If you were a colour, which colour would you be, and why?

If I were a colour I would be aqua, because life couldn’t possibly be dull if you’re the colour of the sea! It’s calm, peaceful, enduring, happy and creative – everything I love about life!

To hear more about these groovers, head to their websites:

www.cutarug.com.au | www.sarahhead.com.au

Celebrating With a Celebrant

A Darling Affair 18/06/2013 0 Comments

Our guest blogger today is Benjamin Carlyle – Civil Marriage Celebrant.

He is an awesome celebrant and we know you will love his little article. It had us chuckling away. Please enjoy:

“A Celebrant is definitely a multi-tasking creature indeed! They are there, guiding you along the path of pre-wedding amble, giving directions at the crossroads and ultimately directing the flow of your wedding day ceremony.

A good Celebrant was a Ninja in a past life with the ability to foresee issues before they rear their ugly heads. With swift and deft strokes all manner of trouble can be aborted before Aunt Mary even bats an eyelid. We will console the emotional Groomsmen, sail over the seas of awkward moments with banter and charm, defend the Bridal party from falling props and even move the clouds and rain out west just long enough to bathe in sunshine.

A Celebrant will provoke ideas that suit your style and with a splash of colour here and a unique ritual there, a beautiful ceremony will then be formed. Each moment in your ceremony should resonate with your vision for your journey deeper into the land of love. If you decide to incorporate rituals, they should represent your qualities and strengths, with your own unique blend of words and style. Wine Box and Water rituals are quite popular at present.

Great celebrations always come with a soundtrack that sets the mood. Personally, I attribute the wedding ceremony to that of a song, so if you like Country then dang it, lets get our boots a stomping, Hillbilly style. Let your imagination run free!

The paperwork trail of getting married is not as complicated as it seems but the correct documents are key to making this a success. It’s a beautiful moment in your ceremony when you sit down to sign your marriage certificate, all the pressure is now lifted and a giddy sense of excitement and frivolity fill the air.

The right Celebrant for you will have the resources and abilities that will suit your style and personalities. Ask the hard hitting questions to discover if you connect to your Celebrant, before you commit to just ‘anyone’ marrying you on your special day. Always chose a Celebrant that is confident, has experience in public speaking and has the ability to trouble shoot when the dog runs the wrong way with the wedding rings tied to its collar.