Log In / Register Type the characters you see in the picture below. Luxury Accommodation in the Swan Valley "The Novotel Vines Resort & Country Club” welcomes you to enjoy the picturesque beauty of the Swan Valley. Our luxury resort in the Swan Valley Perth, boasts 103 resort rooms and 54 condominiums accompanied by restaurants and bars. You can also enjoy a number of award-winning wineries. Established in 1989, our golf course is rated as one of Australia's best golf resorts that is bound by native bush, wildlife and has a proud history of hosting international tournaments. The Novotel Vines Resort is also known for our range of romantic wedding venues in the Swan Valley! From decorations to menu planning, we offer complete wedding services at prices to suit your budget! Show your Mum your love this Mother's Day... Secure your mini break for the Easter four day long weekend! Fancy your chances of nailing a Hole-in-One putt just 40 meters from the hole?
Limited edition full golfing membership special!We are a boutique decor and furniture hire, floral and event styling company based in North Brisbane, serving locations across South East Queensland. We offer a range of simply beautiful decor including wedding arches, vintage props, tiffany chairs, vases and candle holders. So if you are a DIY bride, event planner, stylist, photographer, florist or simply a dinner party host, we are here to help you create that bespoke “look” that reflects your, or your client’s, unique style. Or let us do all of the hard work and do a complete, beautifully styled set up and pack down of your wedding or special event, including floral design with our trained florists. Please browse our catalogue or our blog of styled shoots and real events for inspiration. If there is a particular item that you are looking for, please don’t hesitate to ask as we may know exactly where to find it for you. We would be delighted to be a part of your special day and we look forward to hearing from you.
Wedding and Event Stylist | WHEN you break it all down, it looks like madness. A mass of people, all dressed head-to-toe in white, descending on a location that is neither advertised nor publicly announced. Not only do they bring their own food, but tables, chairs, glasses, silverwear, china, decorations and napery.Eating is done on cue, and dancing in unison, before everything is packed up and taken away as in some dream sequence where you ask yourself: “Did that really happen?”Think Picnic at Hanging Rock (without the rock) or a Moonie mass wedding, and you have some of the visual cues for Le Diner en Blanc (The Dinner in White), a flash-mob feast that’s now a global sensation.Since its beginnings in Paris in 1988, the whimsical pop-up picnic has spread to more than 65 cities worldwide, with tens of thousands of participants.From Sydney to Singapore, Israel to India, a merry band of bleached brothers and sisters are throwing themselves wholeheartedly into this napkins-without-borders friendly feast.
Now it’s Perth’s turn to trip the white fantastic with a Diner en Blanc scheduled for March 20. Already netizens have been busy registering their interest in attending the elusive 1500-seat soiree.“There are huge numbers on the waitlist, which shows people really want something like this,” local Diner en Blanc host Sue Enright said of the 4000 hopefuls trying to secure an invitation.It was in January last year when Enright “fell in love”.Sipping a morning coffee and reading the paper at her Mount Claremont home, the veteran event planner saw a picture of Diner en Blanc in Melbourne — 800 joyous revellers, tapping into a bygone era of elegance and glamour. I loved the theatre about it, how people activated beautiful spaces in their city and made such an effort to get all dressed up,” said the mother-of-three, who jumped online to research it.“It was not just another event, not just a party, more a social phenomenon.”This led her to Montreal and the global event’s co-founder Aymeric Pasquier, a former TV director with a contagious joie de vivre and penchant for parties.“
My pleasure is to connect people,” Pasquier, 41, said in a French accent as thick as a brie. “With Diner en Blanc, I can do the same thing I love to do in my personal life, but on a large scale.”The back story is that when Pasquier was just 14 his family returned to Paris from a two-year sojourn in Tahiti.His father, Francois, a socially savvy real estate executive, was anxious to reconnect with his friends. An idea dawned on him.“He remembered being stuck in traffic in Paris one summer and seeing an old couple park their car on the side of the road,” Pasquier said.“In all the mayhem, they took out chairs, a folding table and had this dinner. It was a quiet affair with a candle on a table.”To recreate the impromptu roadside repas, François invited all his friends to a picnic.As his garden was too small to accommodate 300 guests, he suggested they gather at the Bois de Boulogne, a giant emerald oasis in Paris.Everyone was asked to bring their own table, chairs, meal and a friend, and to wear white to stand out from other people in the park.“
One by one, guests stood up and spoke about who they were, and what they had been doing for the past two years. It was really friendly and not meant to be an event,” Mr Pasquier said.So successful was the Parisian picnic, it became an annual affair.By 1991, it had grown to 1200 diners and the park had been replaced by an iconic space, the Pont des Arts, a pedestrian footbridge.With large public gatherings being illegal in Paris, covert action was needed to keep authorities at bay. Overnight, Dîner en Blanc’s secrecy laws were born.“For almost 10 years, it was a game of cat and mouse with police. Twenty-eight years later, it’s still illegal to organise such large gatherings in the city, but there’s a good spirit and communication each time the police arrive ... always too late,” Mr Pasquier said with a laugh.While it may look effortless, there’s nothing laissez-faire about the rules governing Diner en Blanc.Each event is run like a finely oiled machine, to uphold the reputation of the brand, and maintain its true origins as a spontaneous gathering of friends, and friends of friends.
Official city hosts (there must be three, and passionate ones at that) are vetted to make sure they have the experience and know-how to execute such large-scale events.Guests are to be respectful of their location, and completely clear the site of rubbish before they leave. The location is kept secret until the last minute to avoid gatecrashers and preserve spontaneity. And anyone who does not respect the rules receives a penalty far worse than any legal infringement — they are blacklisted from future dinners.“It’s not for everyone,” said Sue Enright, who is proud to be part of the international family now, along with her event co-hosts Nicola Roszak and Lisa Reynolds.“There is a certain group who say, ‘I can’t be bothered taking my own table and chairs’, and there are others who say, ‘I can’t wait! I have already organised my table decorations and everything’.”Others have gone to great lengths to savour the flavour of a night of mystery, degustation and caprice in Dîner en Blanc style.
There’s a Dîner en Noir (Dinner in Black) in the US city of Philadelphia and a rogue Dîner en Blanc in Paris, which went pear-shaped last year with diners at The Louvre removed for bad behaviour.Pasquier laughs off the copycats.“You become a well-known brand, you start having copies, so it is a sign that we have this reputation, and people are inspired by all the ideas,” he said.Food maven, blogger and author Lorraine Elliott is a fan, having attended two dinners in Sydney — one at Bondi Beach and the other that brought together 4000 people to sup at Centennial Park.“Perth has a lot to look forward to,” Elliott said.“The first DEB is very special. I remember the bus taking us past different locations, and all of us wondered where it would let us off.“The presence of thousands of people dressed in white descending did bemuse and befuddle some. There is a slightly surreal element to it all, and everyone is in a good mood.”While rules dictate food should be inspired by French cuisine, expect some distinctive West Australian touches come 5.30pm on March 20.Margaret River wines will be available online — all alcohol must be ordered in advance through the organisers — and local gourmet food hampers from Ultimo Catering can also be pre-ordered.
Entertainment will include performances by students from the WA Academy of Performing Arts and there will be an Art of the Table contest from the major sponsor, Edith Cowan University.Just where Perth diners will congregate is anyone’s guess. Sue Enright is playing tres secret squirrel, but she does admit she’s spoilt for choice in such a scenic city, and there will be a “Plan B” in case of inclement weather, as this is a rain or shine event.Unlike Paris, locations must be secured through official channels.“Why it works so well is because it comes from the inside,” Pasquier said. “People are not spectators. They are actors of their own evening and create something magic by this formula.”So what does his father, now 73, think of it all — a man who has never made a cent from his little picnic that has become a big deal around the world?“He’s happy that so many people are embracing it,” Pasquier said.“I feel he is proud, which drives me to continue to organise these events around the world.”