Perfectly located between Northcote Point and Birkenhead is this fantastic liquor store. I am all…read moreabout the convenience of popping in to grab a bottle of wine or some ciders to share with my guests at a dinner party, rather than having to spend precious time travelling to the supermarket. This store has a huge selection of wine, which is fabulous- as you can never have enough wine to choose from really. Large fridges stocked with wine, beer, cider, and ready made beverages also. If you are looking for something a bit more refined to mellow your thoughts with the top shelf is well stocked with everything you can imagine. You don't need to pop to the dairy for juice, water or snacks either they supply chips, peanuts, and the like as well.

OK everyone; here's the reason parties sometimes are a dud; it's not because you're a bad host or…read moreyour friends are dull; it's because the lighting isn't right. Mostly, it's too bright, but occasionally it's too dim and nobody can see who they're talking to. Too bright and people will want to get away from it. If you want to sort your party lighting out, go to Party Direct, where you can hire everything you might need, including a LIGHT UP DANCE FLOOR. Yes. Pretty exciting right? These guys are also super helpful; I needed to hire some lights urgently, and they not only gave me a great price, they also pulled stuff out in the middle of moving warehouses. That's impressive; I can imagine most people would have just said it was too much trouble.

I met Amanda from The Vintage Table when I was sourcing vintage supplies for my wedding a while…read moreback. We've become firm friends and I am so happy to be able to give her a bit of promo for her amazing work which has been featured in magazines and at regular events around Auckland. Like me, her love of "nana chic" precedes the current craze and it's great that so many people now appreciate the vintage aesthethic and appreciate her beautiful stuff. The Vintage Table supply everything from glassware, china, antique birdcages, linens, cutlery and even the odd piece of furniture - all available to hire for your event. She also does High Tea, all-inclusive for a sophisticated way to celebrate a special occasion. Her collection is truly amazing and the service and pricing excellent (in fact, I reckon she could charge more!). I was like a kid in a lolly shop going through her things and deciding which bits I wanted to borrow - I would have taken all of it if I could but the favourite pieces I used were the glass bottles as vases and the tealight holders. Instant vintage glamour and perfect for my mismatched home-made-with-love wedding.

Askew is the epitome of designer goods: hand-picked items including children's school bags, Alessi…read morekitchenware, timeless gift cards, luggage, clutch purses, jewellery, moleskin notebooks etc... When I want a unique or quirky present, I always go to Askew. On the quiet, I have purchased a lot of secret gifts for myself too (love my kimono key ring). Great, personable service, who talk to you like a human being. Hurrah! Parking all around, open long hours. I encourage YOU to check Askew (Ponsonby) out if you haven't already...super stylish store that offers luxury, and you 'feel' valued! Quite uncommon in modern life.

A good selection of products if you are looking for an event or sports flooring solution. I have…read moreused them for some feature flooring for a massive sporting event and they provided competitve pricing and flexible delivery. Keeping flooring secure during events is always tricky, but they have some useful little accessories available to help with that too. They also offer a high quality of reusable flooring that would be prefect if you owned a venue full time rather than renting space for events as they come and go like me. John at Arena is really easy to deal with, quick and accurate communication and flexible enough to be able to deal with the ever changing nature of the events industry.

I've seen these lovely ladies painting everyone in their team colours at the Eden Park rugby games…read more They paint you in whatever teams stripes and the added glitter option, makes them really popular. This is all free at the rugby games which is awesome as it really helps you get into the spirit. No one trick pony however, Rainbow Rascals and their team of staff are also able to do full body paining, balloon twisting, offer magicians, clowns and other entertainment, and sell face painting supplies. A talented team, give Jane a call and she'll ensure that you or the kids at your childs birthday party / event look the best!

This is seriously one of the best professional face painting service around. Such lovely people…read moreaswell. No job to small or big. Jane (artist and owner of RR) did a belly paint on me while I was pregnant and it was such a relaxing experience did me and the painting was beautiful. I know they also does children's parties and corprate events and does a lot of event planning aswell. They are your one stop shop!

Wow. Last week was…read morethe first time I set foot inside one of these shops. I always thought the chain of Look Sharp stores were just another cheap dollar shop type place selling random junk. I went to look for helium balloons for my son's 1st birthday & I definitely went to the right place!!! The Albany store is massive from floor to ceiling with everything party related. I was really only there for balloons but was blown away by the size of the place & the amount of different products they had. For balloons alone there were probably over 100 different types of hellium balloons to choose from. Definitely worth a look, this store is amazing!

Increasingly today, we no longer have physical photos, but rather upload them onto Facebook albums…read moreor Instagram (with your favourite filter of course). I was recently at an event where there was a photo booth provided by Photo Booth Fun. You get four shots on your film and then two copies were printed off to keep (or I guess perhaps sometimes depending on the event the hosts may keep one for an album). There was an attendant at the booth to make sure it all went smoothly. I think these are a great novelty and would work really well at a big party, or wedding. They are something different and definetly a bit of fun. I can imagine some of the photos would get pretty entertaining, especially as the night wore on at some events! On their website you'll find all the information on the different packages available.