The Freshest Wedding Inspiration | Magnolia Rouge

Follow Friday #10

Today I’m tickled to introduce Kate from the blog Magnolia Rouge and from the stationary company Ruby & Willow to you all. And if that weren’t enough, Katie also has her own wedding magazine: {Mag} Rouge. (Cute as a button, huh?). You’ll LOVE her inspiration boards, and right now, I know all you mountain brides will love {MAG} Rouge’s current Nature Issue (Issue #2). But Kate also just posted a sneak peek of the cover of Issue #3: a dreamy looking bride with a crown of wheat and romantic curls shot by Elizabeth Messina. It’s on her Facebook Page, check it out now.

What I Love about Magnolia Rouge

The focus. I tend to gravitate to bloggers who are really really good at a few things. For Kate, it’s her inspiration boards and real weddings. You know exactly what you’ll get on her blog. No surprises there. So when I need some fresh inspiration that has lots of romantic details, I’m over on Magnolia Rouge.
The Magazine. Like many of you, I’m addicted to magazines. I have a closet full of them. The layout of magazines is so rich and inspiring. {MAG} Rouge is like the Martha Stewart Weddings or Real Simple Weddings of digital magazines. You won’t find prettier weddings!
Kate’s Attitude. Kate’s got a lot of projects she’s juggling. She’s publishing a blog and a magazine, while simultaneously running a stationary business. Yet, she remains upbeat, positive, happy and humble. When I’m feeling grumpy or stressed, I go to Magnolia Rouge, look at the amazing content, read the lovely prose, think of all the work that goes into each project, and remind myself to pull my head out of my ass 😉

What You’ll Love about Magnolia Rouge

The Inspiration Boards full of fresh color palettes and ideas. You’ll find palettes you’ve never dreamed of and ideas (like using texture as a theme) that will make you see your wedding in a new light.
Romantic and Classic Real Weddings. I’m not much for using the word “swoon” (anymore…hehe…) but all of the thoughtful details, the gorgeous flowers, and the organic colors and shapes take my breath away sometimes. Kate’s are some of the loveliest weddings and boards of the web. And she works with some of the top wedding professionals in the world, ehem, Elizabeth Messina! Um, yeah, we’re swooning now 😉
Fresh invitation designs. Um, did I mention Katie is also the owner of Ruby and Willow? And even if you don’t live in New Zealand, you can still order a Ruby & Willow Invitation suite on Etsy. You’re stoked!

From Kate

My blog is known for: My Inspiration Boards

Tell us about your blogging routine: I’m not much of a routine girl (much to my husbands dismay :-). At times I am up putting a post together late the night before it goes up, and at other times I’ll work on a week’s post at once. It usually depends on how busy I am with my Ruby & Willow work.

How did you come up with the name for your blog: Had a brainstorming session, putting several words together and I simply liked the sound of Magnolia Rouge together.

How did you get into blogging? I have a stationery design company (Ruby & Willow) and noticed we had no blogs here in New Zealand at the time, so thought it was about time someone started one.

Trend I’d never try/publish/do: Trash the dress shoots. Nothing whatsoever against those who do just because it’s simply not my thing.

I would splurge on: Travel…. over and above fancy jewelry and handbags I would rather travel and have amazing experiences.

Personally, what was/is the most difficult aspect of wedding planning? My wedding experience was pretty smooth sailing and didn’t involve a great deal of stress. We both have small families so the decisions on who to invite weren’t difficult and our parents let us do our thing.

But from being in the industry observing my clients, I think the most difficult thing is trying to please everybody… and by everybody I mean extended family members who feel they have a say. I have so many brides come to me for stationery and I can see what they like gets overruled by what the mother wants to have. I have to hold my tongue instead of saying, “Um, excuse me, who’s wedding is this?’ I know it all gets a bit trickier when parents are paying for the wedding, but the stress involved of trying to please all parties can take over all the fabulous fun that planning your big day should be about. Making sure that Aunt Maisy is happy cause her kids that you’ve met once in your life can attend with partners, shouldn’t be giving you sleepless nights… in my humble opinion 🙂

If you could only choose one key wedding detail for your wedding, what would it be? My husband 🙂 Without whom none of the details would matter!! hehe. Over and above that it would have to be the photographer for me personally, to document such a monumental day.

Other things you didn’t know about Kate:

I love wearing perfume… I wear it every day even if I’m not going anywhere.
When I’m not blogging I’m walking my new pup, Charlie!
If I didn’t blog, I’d have a lot more time on my hands 🙂
My instant pick me up is a soy hazelnut latte, good magazine, and some me time on the couch.
The secret to great marriage is deep respect for each other, open lines of communication and a great friendship.