CAN’T HELP FALLING IN LOVE

FEATURE

There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart. – Jane Austen

Love inhabits us all in one form or another, whether it’s with a friend or a lover, a feeling felt for a city, or a passion for life. Avenues speaks with three of our own – read about a flair for the floral, a passion for good food, and an engagement that tops all others. Love: we love to see it.

WORDS Joshua Brosnahan PHOTOS Susannah Blatchford

Everybody loves flowers, but Ginny Fagan has taken her floral adoration and made it into something beautiful.

Ginny took the plunge and opened her own floristry business, Charmed Flowers, nine years ago. At the time, completing a floristry course didn’t fit in with Ginny’s family commitments, so a correspondence course was the best solution for basic tools needed for floristry. In her own opinion, this has worked in her favour.

“I come from a big Cook Island and Māori whānau and we’re all creative.My mum is an accomplished sculptor and artist, and my grandfather’s beautiful weaving is displayed at Te Papa. They have both influenced my attitude to my craft. Looking back, I can see that being self-taught is what enabled me to develop my own distinct style and not be afraid to seek out and create my own unique way of doing things.”

May of last year saw Ginny add another string to her bow, with the purchase of a wedding and event styling and hire business, Cressy Lane. This allowed Charmed Flowers to expand its offering and become the first wedding and event styling, hire and florist business in Canterbury. Cressy & Charmed was born. Ginny describes the entire team behind the business as ‘creative and passionate’.

“Our days vary a lot; sometimes I’m in the studio creating bouquets and arrangements, other days we are onsite setting up an event or conducting consultations and hosting workshops – all the usual stuff that goes with running a small business.” COVID-19 has had a huge impact on the industry; however, the support Ginny has received from both clients and industry peers has been instrumental in her recent growth. Although it’s been a challenging time, she now has exciting plans for the future in place.

“Lockdown gave me the opportunity to develop an idea [of] using preserved and dried flowers.

I was unable to find preserved flowers for sale in New Zealand, so we decided to source our own, and create a unique range of ‘forever florals’.

“These flowers are amazing; they have the same vibrant colour as fresh flowers but can last for years and don’t need water. We’ve noticed a move towards dried floral installations being incorporated into interior design for both homes and business. We’re seeing them in places you wouldn’t expect to see flowers.”

There is a comprehensive range available to view in Ginny’s showroom. You can even send the Forever Florals nationwide.

When asked to sum up her venture, Ginny reflects on what makes the business unique.

“We are in the business of bringing joy. The reaction on client’s faces when they see our work is something the entire team truly loves to see. Seriously, we have been known to hide in bushes to glimpse our bride walk down the aisle. We are that invested!

“It’s been such a tough time for everyone, so now, more than ever, we need to find things to look forward to, no matter how small. Plan that dinner with friends, celebrate that milestone birthday, stay hopeful for the future, but most of all, just keep smiling!”

cressyandcharmed.co.nz

AS TOLD TO Joshua Brosnahan PHOTOS Richie Owen, Mt Hutt

KERRIE

We first met in Portugal. I was on my “I was totally surprised! The photo was taken sister’s hens’ do, and Ant was on his right at the perfect moment – although most of friend’s stag do. We arrived at the my friends thought it was a staged photo, but hotel to witness 20 Mario and Luigi characters you can believe me when I say I am not that good planking across the lobby floor! Over the next an actress. Richie (Mount Hutt’s photographer) few days, we ended up seeing their party often; captured the moment perfectly, so you can see either at the swimming pools or at bars. Ant my actual reaction in the shot. I was sorting and I ended up chatting a few times, and we the kids out to try and get a nice family photo, connected straight away. I managed to track which we don’t have many of. I turned around Ant down on social media, later on. We chatted to find Ant on his knee. At the time, everything for a while, which ended up with both of us seemed to go so slowly. I remember thinking finding any free moment possible to talk. He ‘What happens now? Do I take the ring? Does lived over 400 kilometres away from me, so he put the ring on?’ My brain just didn’t want meeting up wasn’t a simple task. Ant finally to work. I ended up taking the ring from the box travelled the distance, and we had our first and putting it on myself, and putting the ring on date! This date was the same day he proposed wrong. Right finger, wrong hand! This is classic nine years later, on the 15th of July. me, but hey – it all adds to our story.”

ANTONY

Last September, we boarded a plane of Mount Hutt! Who needs a white horse on to start our new lives here in New a hill in England when you can have a white Zealand. In the past, I had said that I mountain in New Zealand? would propose on the Uffington White Horse “After planning the trip, and having a ring Hill in Wiltshire England; mostly because we made, I had a flash of inspiration and wondered had never been there before, and the views if the moment could be captured by the Mount are apparently stunning. Then COVID-19 hit, Hutt media photographer. I went into the office, and that got me thinking that life was too and the staff pulled out all the stops. short to wait. We will have been together for “Moving here last October and leaving a decade in July 2021, which sounded like a all our family and friends was very hard. In good milestone to hit. To mark the occasion, some ways, we would love to get married I would propose to Kerrie. back in our hometown and have a big party

“And then a close friend and godfather to on a family farm, but then we really feel like our daughter passed away. It hit me like New Zealand is now home. Let’s be honest; something I’d never felt before. I needed to we have been waiting nine years and had bring forward the date by a year. So, [I] got to two children and moved to the other side of thinking, and then, it came to me – the top the world; there’s no rush.”

WORDS Kim Newth PHOTO Manu Rangimoekau

Social distancing may be the new global norm, but food that brings people together is high on the wish list for many local couples planning to tie the knot this spring.

This year’s wedding season is starting several months early for Canterbury caterer, The Social Platter Co. During level four lockdown, company director Manu Rangimoekau had feared people would turn away from the shared food option, but that hasn’t been the case at all.

“From the moment people could start ordering again, they ordered. Last season, we had 121 wedding bookings, and so far, we have booked fifty per cent more than that. We’re already doing weddings now – it’ll really start to peak from October onwards.”

The company is adapting to the current COVID-19 environment and has a stock of specially designed sneeze guards that can be used to protect food.

Manu says his passion for good food, shared with loved ones, goes back to being raised in a family that really appreciated baking and making their own tasty morsels. Homemade crackers, dip, and cheese balls were the norm every Christmas.

“It’s just something we’ve always done. We have our own special family dip, cream cheese-based with olives and sun-dried tomatoes – and another favourite was my salted caramel truffles. I grew up to be a foodie who loved entertaining.”

Manu’s mother predicted he’d wind up a chef. In fact, he studied accountancy and worked in a corporate role for 14 years before launching The Social Platter Co. in 2017, as an adjunct to a luxury bed and breakfast business that he and his partner had earlier established.

The idea for the new business came from a Brisbane-based friend who told them how social platters were taking off there. They were starting to catch on here too, but Manu saw an opportunity to take the concept to the next level.

“Right from the start, we decided to make everything ourselves, all our own breads, dips, and crackers and, of course, salted caramel truffles. In the weddings market, we like to think of ourselves as the good guys. It’s about sitting down with people and saying, ‘it’s your day and your food – what do you like?’”

They often get one-off requests for cherished foods. Manu recalls one couple asking for ‘Nanaimo Bars’ and ‘Oliebollen’ to reflect their Canadian/Dutch heritage. All dietary requirements are well catered for.

Beautifully presented stacks of cheese are a novel choice of wedding cake for some and Manu says they’ve got a range of great options.

“Just as some people prefer carrot cake or chocolate cake, we find there are people who love the blues and others who want gouda, camembert, and brie. The challenge for us is then to work out how the cheese is going to be stacked!”

thesocialplatterco.co.nz