Last week we had the pleasure of meeting with Naomi from the Ambassadors Hotel. What a pleasure it was to experience the old world charm and elegance of their Balcony Ballroom with the natural light pouring in through their conservatory that looks out over King William Street.

The two open fireplaces, mirrored panelled walls, timber floor boards and crystal chandeliers provide the perfect backdrop for weddings, engagements parties and so many other types of events! And those arch walkways!!!

And then there is The Thrift Shop Bar…right up our alley! The amazing pieces they have found and how it has all been put together is stunning! The focus of this bar is on Australian produce and did you know that they are the only bar to have Australian ONLY spirits…how cool is that! We will definitely be back there soon.

The Ambassadors Hotel – 107 King William Street, Adelaide SA

The Thrift Shop Bar – Waymouth Place, Adelaide SA

At the start of this year I decided that there were 2 things I wanted to do for myself in 2015 – learn floristry and calligraphy basics. So when I saw Brick + Mortar Creative advertise Jess Matthews ‘Introduction to Brush Lettering Workshop’ I knew I had to do it….and now I am obsessed!

The more creative, casual side of this style of writing is much more suited to me than the perfection of calligraphy, so was meant to be that I was one of the lucky ones attending Jess’ workshop. I am excited to be able to incorporate this more into By The Oaktree through chalkboards, place cards and any other hand written work required. I can’t wait to make some more posters and greeting cards too!

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Next up is ‘The Science of Styling’ with Megan Morton’s The School, which I am over the moon about attending and meeting her.

(Images Source – www.theschool.com.au)

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And finally I will get to learn all about beautiful flowers with the lovely Liesa from Fleur De Lys Flowers.

(Image Source – www.fleurdelysflowers.com.au)

Will keep you posted!

gathered. (with a lower case g and a full stop!) is the thought baby of myself (By The Oaktree) and Susie from Love Cherish Adore, based on the notion of ‘gathering’ people together for a new kind of market experience.

Highlighting the amazing local talent that we have here in South Australia and boosting our local  economy, our first market this Christmas is coming together quite nicely, if I don’t say so myself!

Held in the magical setting that is the Queen’s Theatre, our guests will be able to find everything they need for their loved ones this christmas across multi price points for women, men + children.

gathered. will showcase some of SA’s finest local produce  from food to wine + coffee + ice blocks of course! We have some great workshops and cooking demonstrations lined up along with some attractions to keep the kids busy while you shop!

Applications are still currently open for market stall holders, so if you have wares to offer and you’re operating from within our lovely state then drop us a line at hello@gatheredsa.com

Keep an eye out for updates on the market via our Facebook and Instagram pages where we will soon be showing off our lovely exhibitors!

Mark it in your diary now…

gathered. 

December 12th +13th 10am – 4pm

The Old Queen’s Theatre, Playhouse Lane, Adelaide

Entry – gold coin donation

The biggest appeal of a DIY event? It’s creative and cost saving, right?

Creative, most definitely! You can find endless projects online these days, especially with inspiration from Pinterest and Instagram. DIY allows you to add your own personal touch to your event — and if done well, it can produce amazing results!

However, the biggest consideration for DIY is the cost. That’s the main reason why people opt for DIY — to save money.

So, I now write to you as a bride who did everything DIY for her own wedding. We spent SO much time and money sourcing paper, fabrics, vases, jars, chairs, crockery, glassware and so many other vintage pieces to create our own unique wedding. At the time we thought DIY would be much cheaper than forking out money for a wedding planner and hiring all the decorations and wedding pieces ourselves.

My husband and I knew we wanted to do it ourselves, but we were faced with 2 options. We could either buy everything and then try and sell it all afterwards (to get our money back). Or, buy everything and start our own vintage styling business afterwards, hiring out everything we bought for our own wedding.

We chose the latter and this is how By The Oaktree started. In our case, it worked out very well for us, because it was a business expense. But from experience, I can tell you that it was a costly exercise — time consuming, expensive and required a huge amount of storage space.

So, does DIY REALLY mean you save heaps of money?

By the time you pay for materials, spend time working on projects (this can be days or even months), and possibly making some mistakes along the way, it actually doesn’t end up much cheaper at all. Unless you’re a DIY wizard with magical powers, DIY weddings, can actually make your wedding planning more stressful and time consuming.

My advice, as someone who has been there; leave it to the professionals. Let them use their knowledge to help you create a beautiful event that you can enjoy the lead up, as well as the actual event, whatever that may be!

I hope that helps, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me,

Jenna xx

Wedding fairs have such a great vibe, but not as much as Love Cherish Adore. We are always excited for the next fair where we can showcase more of our vintage hire pieces and styling talents and are very excited to be apart of their first Fleurieu wedding fair at Chapel Hill Winery.

The venue provides the perfect backdrop for the fair and is simply stunning…the view in itself will sell this place to you!

Since we’re at a winery, there will be complimentary wine being served plus canapes so you can sample the high quality of food served at Chapel Hill.

The Brides Diary will be giving away complimentary magazines which fit nicely into the Love Cherish Adore goodie bags.

All of this PLUS the amazing Bridal Boot Sale where there will be so many treasures on offer!
The Love Cherish Adore fairs are our only choice and we love creating new concepts each time.

So come along and enjoy the day, with all of the amazing things on offer and vendors to speak to, you are bound to kick start your wedding planning in the right direction!

Entry is just $5 and you don’t need to buy a ticket! See you at the fair…

30th August 10.30am – 3.30pm 

Chapel Hill Winery