For Love and Living // Brisbane Wedding Planner, Stylist and Hire
bespoke wedding planning, styling and hire service
For Love and Living are a boutique event, wedding planning, styling and hire service, artfully designing love-filled celebrations from the Gold Coast and Northern NSW to Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. Emma and her team create with intentionality, subtly weaving the story of each couple into the aesthetics of their wedding day, exploring the use of colour, texture and sound to evoke emotion.
We sat down with the lovely Emma from For Love & Living and chatted all things wedding planning and styling and her journey to where she is now.
Tell us how For Love and Living started…
I started For Love and Living in 2018 and prior to what I’m doing now, I did a degree in psychology and was working in the field for about 7 years and started feeling really burnt out. I created the For Love and Living instagram page as a creative outlet. It was purely just something for myself and I would post random photos of my house and homewares that I loved. It was a very organic progression. I noticed a gap in the market for luxury picnics and started styling picnics for people, then I got asked to do someone’s wedding and that’s when it just took off and I got really busy doing large scale events, predominantly weddings.
Inspired by the art of story telling, we deliver wedding designs authentic to each of our couples. With a style that is playful, effortless and discernibly romantic, igniting emotion, intimacy and unforgettable memories.
How did you learn styling?
With psychology we learn about colour and how colours go together and how they can make you feel certain emotions and how things in your space impact you and how you’re feeling. So, when I started styling, I already had a little experience, but in a totally different area. I feel like it really just came together in this seamless way.
When I did my first photoshoot I had never styled a table setting in my life. I literally chose items that I loved and that were in my own home and I just took them on the day and set them all up. I think that was a moment where I realised that I actually had some creative flare, it was a very unexpected experience. I didn’t actually realise that I was good at it at all.
What inspires you and what are you drawn to?
I grew up on a farm, so I’m very inspired by nature and I feel calm and centred when I’m outside. I just love how a breeze will come through the room and pick up a piece of fabric and it just completely transforms the space and makes it feel completely different.
I feel that your own personality has a lot to do with what you’re drawn to. I’m a massive introvert, I’m very quiet and I’m drawn to things that also have that kind of movement. I love soft fabrics, soft colours and things that are very subtle, I’m not a bright and bold, out there kind of person personality wise and that’s not the way I style things either. I’m very much drawn to feminine colours, gentle fabrics, texture and intricate details.
Why should couples book a planner and stylist?
I think firstly people should book a wedding planner if they’re time poor, because they say on average you spend about 200 hours planning a wedding and I have a full time job as a wedding planner, so that tells you how much time goes into wedding planning. If you’re feeling overwhelmed from the get go, I would suggest getting a wedding planner because it is a long process, about 12-18 months and the last thing you want to be doing is spending all of your time feeling really stressed and overwhelmed. You really want to enjoy the lead up to your wedding, not just the day.
If you’re really design focused, definitely get a wedding stylist, because again you can become overwhelmed with the amount of ideas that you might have, so your wedding stylist is your go-to and will help you condense all of your ideas.
Otherwise you might want to get both. A lot of wedding planners have packages that include planning and styling to help you streamline the whole process.
Featured Venue: The Calile Hotel // Florist: Bloodwood Botanica // Cake: Hansel and Gretel Cakes
When your wedding day is so thoughtfully crafted and emotive, you want to make sure every detail, every feeling, every moment is also captured as thoughtfully. We would love to chat to you about telling your story and capturing your beautiful, romantic wedding day.
