Fun at the Food Show

We had a great time at the Auckland Food Show earlier this month. Thank you to everyone who stopped by our stand. We really enjoyed meeting lots of our customers and look forward to seeing lots of you in store soon too!

  

Check out the cake!

Thank you to our friend Janine from Temptation Cakes for providing a fab cake for us again this year, it was a lovely complement to our fruity party table. Here's the link to their website so you can check out more of their amazing cakes & get in touch: www.temptationcakes.co.nz

A big shout out & thank you to our helpers:

Trish aka The Baby Coach who specialises in helping families deal with the challenges that new babies bring by providing expert advice and strategies for all things baby related. You can find out more about the services Trish provides over at www.babycoach.co.nz

Emma from Bumble Beads who is a regular helper on our expo stands. Emma makes handcrafted glass beads (lampworking) and beautiful jewellery from her beads as well as semi-precious stones, shells, pearls and crystals. Pop over and check out her facebook page to see some more of her work: Bumble Beads

And of course thank you to all the Pixies for helping at the show and keeping the shop staffed during the show too!

And last but definitely not least, to Mr Pixie who carries all our boxes & helps with set up & pack down :0)

Party deco trend: tassel garlands

One of our favourite party deco trends are paper tassel garlands ...
the soft, floaty look of a tissue paper tassel garlands can be a stylish addition to any celebration!

They are great used outdoors as they look especially lovely when the breeze catches them (check your weather forecast first though!)

mint tassel garland

rainbow tassel garland

Stunning across the front of a candy buffet table & fun to use as part of your photo backdrop 

pink tassel garland

Pretty to hang across a window

mint tassel garland

Or why not tie to your pinata for an extra slash of colour?

watermelon pinata

And don’t just save them for a party … pop one up in the kids rooms across a wall or hang from the ceiling

pastel tassel garland

You can also use them with giant helium filled balloons, just knot each tassel to the string so they don't all slide to the bottom! or you can purchase pre-made balloon tassel tails

balloon tassel tail

The balloon tails look great with pinatas too

silver heart pinata

If you've got any other ideas please let us know! just comment below :0)

Giant balloon love!

We have been having lots of fun over the last month with the introduction of helium filled balloons at our retail store. We've always sold balloons but we can now fill them too :-)

Our favourites are definitely the life sized 'air walker' balloons ... here's some pics of some we have filled over the last few weeks and here's the link to all our air walkers: air walker balloons

    

 

  

While these giant balloons certainly make an impact if you want something smaller we can help too as we have a wide range of foil and latex balloons in stock. We're currently expanding our range so if there is anything specific you're looking for just let us know. 

Here's a few recent additions to our range:

   

  

Foil balloons

  

            36" latex balloons                   printed latex balloons

 

Number & letter foil balloons

We also now stock the little 5" latex balloons which are great for displays. We've got some in our window at the moment as bunches of grapes which look really cute :0)

plain coloured mini balloons

Here's the link to view our full range of balloons & decorations: shop for decorations  These are all available online and in store.

Tips for finding a great wedding venue

Welcome to our very first post in our wedding blog series. Over the coming weeks we will have lots of guest blog posts from industry experts sharing their tips for your special day.

In this issue of our wedding blog series we have asked Dominique from Functions & Events to share a few of her tips for finding a great wedding venue ...

Find out exactly what is included in the venue hire, or package price – and get it in writing

Some venues do not include charges such as staff and linen costs, and have it hidden in the fine print, which you might not realise until too late. These hidden charges can really add up. If the venue doesn’t include these charges in the price, don’t be scared to ask for a quote for the cost of staff/linen, so you don’t end up with a fright when you get the bill.

Venue: Five Knots

BYO beverage doesn’t always make the overall cost cheaper

Venues that offer BYO beverages will often mark up the cost of the food and/or venue hire, so the final cost might end up being a lot more expensive than a venue that is fully licensed. Plus don’t forget to factor in the risk of having to try and guess how much beverage you will need to buy, and the cost of purchasing this into your venue comparisons.

Venue: The Dominion

Beware the cost of a dance floor!

Dance floors can be really expensive to hire in, so try find a venue that has one already, or has one in-built.

Venue: Five Knots

Don’t assume because it’s in the photo that it’s included in the price

Just like in Real Estate many venues will stage the venue to make it look good. Ask for photos of the room showing only what comes included in the venue hire/package price so you know what the room is really going to look like. Don’t forget to find out how much all the extra decorations cost – they add up quick!

Venue: Five Knots

Find a venue with a team that you trust

Having a venue contact who is friendly to deal with, and has ideas to make your day special, and who you are confident in, will make all the difference on the day.

If you want to know more, or would like help in finding a fabulous reception or function venue contact Dominique from Functions & Events on dominique@functionsandevents.co.nz or 09 528 6463 – her service is free!