Inspiration at the ROM

Several people suggested that I “go to the ROM” while I was in Toronto. My answer was: “What is the ROM? It sounds a little dirty.” As it turns out, the ROM is the Royal Ontario Museum. It is not at all dirty and a really cool place to spend a couple of hours or a day.

The ROM has a lot of different themed galleries spanned across five floors that includes both world culture and natural history. When I was at the ROM, there were also several special exhibitions that took my breath away. (I don’t say this to non-wedding related things very often.)

The Warrior Emperor and China’s Terracotta Army exhibition showcases the Emperor who brought China to the World and the Warriors who guard his afterlife. I have always heard about the terra cotta warriors and learned about them in school. It wasn’t until I saw them in front of me that I appreciated the craftsmanship back in the days. (Like 3000 million days ago.) It really goes to show that you should always put forward your best work even if it gets buried right away. I bet the artists back then never thought their work would be showcased so many years later half way across the world.

The exhibition titled: House Calls with my Camera is a series of photos created by Dr. Mark Nowazynski, a Toronto doctor. He provides insights into the lives of four at risk patients and reveals the challenges they face everyday. Dr. Nowacynski’s photographs have raised awareness about the many complex issues related to aging. When I was looking at these photos I was able to feel the struggles the patients were going through and the photos had invoked the emotions of sadness and hope.

African artist, El Anatsui, titled his exhibition: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa. Anatsui had made a variety of wall sculptures from discarded bottle tops and wire. I never thought an ordinary bottle cap could take the shape of a square or look like a flower when used in a different manner. I also learned that art can take the form of different shapes - it does not have to be a perfect rectangle or square. Art also does not have to be perfectly flat - imperfections can sometimes make the piece absolutely perfect.

These exhibitions inspired me to apply certain aspects to my wedding decorations. I learned to always give my clients my absolute best work, even if it gets taken down in a couple of hours; through the decorations, I will try to invoke the overall feeling my clients would like their guests to feel at their wedding; and try not to obsess if a certain decorating aspect is not exactly how I had originally envisioned it, it’s imperfection may be exactly the thing that puts the design over the top.

Once again, inspiration is always around us! It is up to you what you do with it!

Inspiration All Around Us

I have been in Toronto, Ontario for the last week visiting family members. Most of them were surprised when I told them that I didn’t want to do any shopping. In disbelief, my family members urged me to go to Downtown Toronto to shop on Bloor Street. Not totally opposed to the idea, I went to Bloor Street yesterday. Bloor Street is full of luxury shops – all around were shops like Holt Renfrew, Gucci, Burberry, Escada, etc. Given that I couldn’t afford to shop at (all) of these places, I decided this was a good opportunity to learn how these luxury shops decorate their stores for the Christmas season.

I stood in front of Harry Rosen for a really long time before digging out my camera from my purse. As I was taking a picture, a random guy came up to me and asked if I would like him to take a picture of me in front of the Harry Rosen sign. I politely declined and told him that I was taking a picture of the tree in front of the Harry Rosen sign. He said “Oh” and quickly walked away. He probably thinks I am crazy. What captured my attention was the entrance arrangement. I love the colors, heights, and textures they incorporated. The arrangement has a mixture of fresh cedar and dried branches in a variety of shapes. The arrangement gave a winter feeling without it being the usual white and blue scheme. Lesson learned: You can have the same "winter" feeling using unconventional colors and conventional items.

Across the street at Tiffany & Co. workers were setting up some fresh cedar around the front entrance. What captured my attention was how they could attach the fresh cedar to the flat marble tiles. Not being able to figure it out, I walked (up to the crosswalk) and crossed the street to “investigate” some more. It turns out that the workers had attached little hour glass shaped metal pieces between the tiles and stretched a wire across the cedar. Lesson learned: It is not impossible to attach decorations to flat surfaces, you just need to be creative!

Once again, inspiration is all around us. Sometimes you will learn different color schemes, different use of textures, and different applications. Keep your eyes open, your camera close at all times, and don’t be afraid of telling people what you are really interested in (and taking a picture of!)

My Vow to Clients

At the end of a consultation meeting, I have had clients ask me: “What happens if you get hit by a car the day you are supposed to decorate my wedding?” I usually cringe and say “That depends on whether or not I died. If I didn’t, I would get one of my crew members to pick me up or pick up the decorations and proceed without me. If I did, my crew members would know fairly quickly and will be in touch with the clients to advise them that my day has started and ended poorly.”

All joking aside, I am never offended when clients ask me this question because they have every right to ask if I have a Plan B in the event I cannot decorate their wedding. (This is how I interpret their question.) They need to ensure that they will get their wedding venue decorated as planned with or without me.

I explain to clients that I have a decorating team that works with me. Once a client signs with me, I let my crew know of the wedding date. My crew then gets back to me who on their availability. One month before the wedding, I confirm with my crew members of their availability. Two weeks before the wedding, I have most of the decorating elements ready and packed. The Wednesday before the wedding date, an email is sent out to my crew outlining the time and location of the venue, and decorating elements that is required. A decorating to do list is placed in my office with my client’s contact information. My decorating associate knows of this process and can take over in the event something (horrible) happens to me. (Knock on wood.)

One week before the wedding, I also “prep” myself too. Here are some things I do to prepare:
-I file my nails really short so I don’t snag any décor fabric;
-I stop using hand lotion so I don’t get fingerprints on any décor items;
-I sleep at least eight hours a day to ensure I have energy for the big day;
-I stop eating carbohydrates, sugar, and junk food to prevent getting sick;
-I pop a lot of vitamins to prevent getting sick;
-I stop running by the Bow River in case I lose my footing, fall into the river, and break a limb;
-I stop using power tools to prevent cutting off any fingers. (I need all my fingers to decorate);
-I drive below the speed limit to prevent getting in an accident; and
-I stop driving on Deerfoot Trail to prevent getting in an accident because I am driving so slowly.

To my existing and new clients, here is my vow to you: "I vow to stay in one piece until the day after your wedding and I will ensure your wedding will be beautifully decorated by myself and my crew."

Happy Halloween!

Inspiration is always around us! In interior design, you can design an entire room based around a rug. Floral design can be based on the vase. Wedding design can be based on an invitation or the bride's dress. Keep your eyes open and have fun with it. This Halloween I found inspiration in my dear stuffed giraffe animal. Take a break from wedding planning and have a Happy Halloween!

Weddings to Help Find a Cure for Breast Cancer

When cancer touches a person you know it doesn’t just affect the patient, it also affects the patient’s family and friends. I had the unfortunate experience of being affected more than once. My mother did not survive but luckily my aunts did.

During this month of Breast Cancer Awareness, I contacted the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation – Prairies/NWT Region about an ongoing partnership project. The goal was to help newly engaged couples design the wedding of their dreams and contribute to finding a cure for breast cancer. I feel this as an opportunity to help couples and their guests make their wedding special, memorable, and meaningful.

Two pink themed “Pinky Swear Wedding Decorating Packages” have been designed for brides and grooms to begin designing their wedding. With each decorating package sold, $150.00 will be donated to the Foundation by Wishahmon-Wedding Creations. Additional information is available at the Wishahmon website.

As the leading national volunteer-based organization dedicated to creating a future without breast cancer, the Foundation works collaboratively to fund, support and advocate for relevant and innovative breast cancer research, meaningful education and awareness programs, early diagnosis and effective treatment, and a positive quality of life for those living with breast cancer. If you would like to make a donation directly to the Foundation, you can do so by visiting their website.

Pink Dreamy Wedding

Being the hopeless romantic I am I love to hear how couples first met. Ivy and Robbie definitely take the cake on their love story. For a short while, Ivy was taking the LRT to work from the Dalhousie station. Robbie was transferred to a specific worksite for a couple months and also took the LRT from the Dalhousie station. Robbie noticed Ivy right away and as the days went by, he knew he may not see her again once he was transferred to another job site and didn’t take the LRT from this station at this same time. One day, he finally made his move and introduced himself to Ivy. Hearing this story, my heart was melting. I asked Ivy what was her reaction when Robbie made the first move. Ivy said one word: “Creepy.” (I sat straight up after hearing this response.) Well, I guess Robbie wasn’t that creepy because they started dating and got engaged! (Robbie: I still think you are so brave!)

During our consultation, Ivy and I hit it off right away because we both love the color pink. Ivy even said she wanted the groomsmen to wear pink, but couldn’t ask them. I offered to tell the groomsmen for her! Robbie had to step in once in a while to scale back the amount of pink that their wedding and to put his foot down on the pink groomsmen idea. Ivy wanted a very dreamy wedding. She had over 100 pictures to show me what she liked. My job was to work these ideas into their venue. The wedding reception was at the Silver Dragon Restaurant. If not the first, this restaurant is one of the first restaurants opened in Calgary. I think almost every Chinese person in Calgary has attended a wedding at the Silver Dragon Restaurant at least once. Given it’s familiarity to everyone I knew I had to design something that was different, unexpected, and dreamy.

This wedding was the most challenging wedding I have done to date. There were so many factors that complicated the wedding design. Here were my main challenges:

1)The biggest challenge was the size of the venue. This of course, could not be negotiated. Ivy and Robbie had booked the entire venue for their wedding. They were told that the venue can accommodate 320 guests. However, with only 245 guests, the space was still very limited.

2)The second challenge was the amount of time allowed to decorate the venue. I was originally given two hours to decorate. I ended up using three hours and brought a crew of 15 people. I would have been able to do more decorating if given five hours. The reason for the lack of time is because it was a Saturday and the restaurant needed to stay open for a long as possible for dim sum time.

3)The third challenge was all unexpected the day of the wedding. There was a dispute between the rental company and the restaurant staff regarding how big the head table staging should be; how the dance floor should be placed; chair covers wouldn’t fit on arm chairs; the cake came early; and the booze could not be found. Nonetheless, I became Little Miss Bossy Pants and made a lot of executive decisions that day.

Here are some pictures of Ivy and Robbie’s wedding. I will highlight all the details of their wedding in another post as this one is getting way too long.

Pumpkin Themed Wedding!

I think everybody agrees with me when I say that not all of your Facebook “friends” are actually friends you keep in close contact with. When I got a Facebook message from Randi on some random day, I was so surprised that she remembers me! I believe I actually said that out loud! I was so happy to hear from her and to learn she is engaged and getting married to Bill. When Randi asked if I could meet up with them to discuss their wedding décor plans, I happily said I would love to meet up with them and to catch up on the last “blank” number of years.

When I meet up with Randi, I noticed that some things just didn’t change. She was still a foot taller than me. (Okay, a LOT of people are…) What I did learn is how crafty Randi is or has become! She had so many great ideas and had handmade a lot of the décor items. She truly made my job easy. I just had to design and put together her wedding with all of the wonderful décor items she made.

Randi and Bill were going to have a pumpkin themed wedding at the Cochrane Ranche House. To this day, I still don’t know if they both like pumpkins or if only Randi does. Short of calling me a nerd, Bill didn’t say much about the décor. (His exact words (looking at Randi) were: “I guess you weren’t the only nerd in school.”) Assuming they both loved pumpkins, 40 full sized pumpkins and 10-20 smaller pumpkins were purchased for the decor. They also made pumpkins with sparkles. (This description does not do the pumpkins justice. Please refer to the pictures.) The centerpieces were wrought iron pumpkins with a pillar LED candle inside. All of the place cards were also small wire pumpkins. Needless to say, the venue was tastefully exploded with pumpkins. Here are some pictures!

BT Photography

I love what I do! I love meeting new clients, helping them to design a wedding of their dreams, and decorating on the day of the wedding. There is only one aspect of my job that I don’t love - that is missing out on the actual wedding. I always arrive at the venue before the wedding to decorate and return after the wedding to take down all the decorations. At the end of the night, I sometimes get to see my clients and have the opportunity to give them a big hug to congratulate them for tying the knot.

Recently, I started asking my clients who their wedding photographer is. Feeling a little “left out” of the wedding, I would check the photographer’s blog weekly (sometimes daily) to see if my client’s wedding pictures have been posted. (A big sorry to all the photographers that I have been checking on. I think I really messed up your stats on google analytics.)

Since I am snooping already, I thought I should share the pictures with everyone that reads my blog. Here are some pictures taken by Brian and Amy from BT Photography of my clients, Huong and Steve, on their special day. I love these pictures of Huong and Steve. They looked so happy on their wedding day. I absolutely wish I was there! (I always do!)

Purple Ribbon Gala

Doing a good deed always feels good.

The day before I was supposed to go decorate the Purple Ribbon Gala, my allergies were in high gear. My nose was runny, chapped and red. (Move over Rudolph, Santa has a new helper with a brighter nose.) My eyes were red and puffy. In summary, I felt like my face was going to fall off. Saturday morning, I woke up to find my nose looked perfect, my eyes looked clear, my skin looked flawless, and I even felt slimmer! I felt great and was ready to head off to the M Bar downtown to decorate for the event.

The Purple Ribbon Gala was organized by a six lady team named “Cougars in Training.” These ladies were: Angela Jackson, Judy Ng, Britt Gee, Britt Mahoney, Lindsay Harder, and Brianna Gee. All of the proceeds raised at this event benefited the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada. When I got to the venue, I was so shocked by the amount of work that they put into the event. They had a silent auction room with over 50 items in there. (I am guessing, the room was packed, they probably had even more sponsored gifts in there.) They had purple balloons to celebrate the survivors and silver balloons in memory of those that lost their lives to Leukemia or Lymphoma. Pictures and inspirational stories of survivors were also placed throughout the venue. Of course, there were also lots of opportunities to make donations to the cause.

After the initial shock wore off, I started to think how my decorations and flowers can add to the already amazing space. When Britt Gee contacted me, she suggested decorating the front entrance table and possibly the auction table. Before decorating a venue, I usually get more information about the size of the tables and the type of décor that is desired. However, knowing that these girls were already really busy, I just packed up double the amount of décor that I thought I would need. In the end, I decorated the front entrance table, a special section of the auction room, two side tables, and the DJ table. I also put together nine simple floral arrangements for the event. For this event, I didn’t go over the top with the decorations because the fund raising aspect was the most important.

In addition to donating my services to this event, I also donated the rental of my cupcake stand, floral arrangements and a wedding planning gift basket for the silent auction. Here are some of my (absolutely) non-professional pictures. Despite breaking out some kung fu stances, I still struggled with the lighting at the venue.

Of note: Britt Gee called me after the event to let me know that they raised $7500. Congrats ladies!

Boxing Themed Wedding

My friends know how to get me excited when introducing a new store to me – they just have to put a wedding spin to it. The first time I was brought to Bass Pro Shops, I was told: “You can do research for when you do a hunting or fishing themed wedding.” Not one to argue right away, I did find a good range of fishing line to use for my wedding projects. When I was brought to Camper’s Village, I was told the same thing: “You can do research for when you do a camping themed wedding.” This time, feeling a little like I was being played, I spoke up “Are you kidding me?” My friend simply said: “Last year, you didn’t think you were going to do a boxing themed wedding either.” I really didn’t have anything to say to that cause I knew it was true. (By the way, Camper’s Village has an awesome area in the store with lots of stretchy fabric!)

The first time I met Rita and Steve at the Art Gallery of Calgary to design their wedding ceremony, the gallery had a different exhibition. Three months before their wedding, the gallery had changed their exhibition to “Mixed Signals: Artists Consider Masculinity in Sport.” In summary, the new exhibition was very masculine. As a result, I met up with Rita and Steve again to consider redesigning the wedding ceremony to inject some femininity in it.

For this wedding, I included a lovely purple aisle runner instead of a white one to add some color to the room. Because I absolutely adore the chairs at the Art Gallery of Calgary, I tied the chair sashes in a feminine way but didn’t cover too much of the chairs. I love figuring out new ways of tying chair sashes! This one came to me that day at the last hour. (Next time I need to think faster as the wedding party had started to arrive as I was finishing up.)

When designing a wedding for my clients, not only do I try to design a wedding that they want, I also consider the lasting impressions of my client’s wedding – which are their wedding pictures. For this particular wedding, I asked Rita and Steve if they wanted to create a backdrop at the front of the vow area to cover up a picture of a sweaty and half-naked boxer. I told them that if we didn’t, this boxer will be in all of their wedding vow pictures. Being the awesome clients that they were, they just laughed and said it will make the wedding that much more memorable.

Although Rita and Steve’s wedding was not really “boxing themed,” that is how I am going to remember their memorable wedding. I can’t wait to see their wedding pictures!

Humanity First Fundraiser

A couple of weeks ago, I got a Facebook invitation to attend a fundraiser to support the flood victims in Pakistan through the charity organization called Humanity First. My friend, Anila is one of the organizers of this fundraiser. Although I will not be able to attend the dinner, I have donated a wedding planning gift basket for the silent auction. I hope that my small contribution will add to the funds raised at this event.

The fundraiser will be held on September 19, 2010 (Sunday) from 6:30pm to 9:00pm at the Commonwealth Hall. The address is: 3961 – 52 Avenue NE. The program for the night includes: An Indian/Pakistani dinner, Humanity First awareness presentation, live and silent auction, and light entertainment. Tickets are $70/person or $490 for a table of eight.

If you too are interested in making a small (or large) contribution, purchasing tickets for the dinner, or donating a silent auction item, please contact Anila at anila.umar@gmail.com.

Remember every small contribution adds up to something great!

New Decorating Services

In hopes of assisting more couples with their wedding decorations within their wedding budget, we have expanded our services again! This time we are offering custom backdrops for clients. There are currently three different backdrops available: A backdrop with the client's name; A Chinese double happiness sign incorporated into the backdrop; and a custom backdrop in the client's wedding theme.

Check out our "Shop" page on our website, www.wishahmon.com for additional information!

Baby's Breath

I firmly believe that “baby’s breath” is going to make a huge comeback soon. It has been the loyal sidekick to roses for too long. Baby’s breath gets such a bad reputation. It is also often labeled as cheap and tacky. However, this is so untrue. It is inexpensive and can be unique and whimsical. Baby’s breath has a very airy feel to it and it can be trimmed to a perfect (almost) anything shape. You can’t do that with too many flowers.

Now, you might say that this blog sounds a little bit like a rant. However, I am just hoping to help brides open up to the many possibilities of the baby’s breath. I was able to convince one of my brides to use the baby’s breath as one of three centerpieces. I don’t usually “convince” my clients of a specific flower but I truly felt that the baby’s breath would work well with her laid back and simple wedding décor. Below is a picture of my bride’s centerpieces.

Cochrane Ranche House

I have known my childhood friend, Hilda for almost three decades. (We were young when we met, not that we are old!) When she told me that she got engaged, I was so happy for her. Hilda and I, both have over ten years of art education. We are almost polar opposites when it comes to art and design. I love bright colors and over the top designs, while Hilda loves subtle colors and understated designs. When designing her wedding, I had to keep in mind of what she loves.

The design process took longer than usual. Mostly because of long distance communications and we kept finding better ideas for her wedding. Hilda’s wedding ceremony and reception was held at the Cochrane Ranche House. The venue was very open, bright, with lots of warm tones and wooden elements. Her colors were yellow, white, and light green. She wanted a relaxed, simple, and pretty wedding.

Hilda’s wedding has been the most stressful wedding for me to date. It was stressful not because of all the different elements to her wedding or the size of the wedding, but because I wanted to provide her the perfect wedding. Two elements that made Hilda’s wedding extra special was the fresh greenery ceremony arch and the custom silk leaf head table backdrop. (I hand-pined over 120 leaves on this backdrop!)

At the end of the night, Hilda and her new husband, Kevin told me that their wedding was absolutely beautiful. I was happy to hear they loved how their wedding looked. I was most happy that my childhood friend is now happily married. I wish them both a wonderful future together.