First International Job

I knew I wouldn't be able to keep weddings out of my mind during my vacation. My first and second day in Hong Kong was spent researching and attending a wedding fair for new ideas to bring back to Canada. After the first two days, I forced myself not to think about weddings and to really focus on relaxing. This "relaxing" was short lived when my friend asked me to be one of her bridesmaids and to decorate a staircase for her. I thought she was kidding, but she was serious. A bride does not joke about such things!

My friend told me she has most of the reception decorations covered already. The only thing left was a staircase that needs decorations. I gave her some ideas and went to buy some silk flowers with her. She said she will handle purchasing the rest of the decorations given that I don't know my way around and I am a tourist afterall.

The day of the wedding, I learned that this staircase is where my friend will be making her grand entrance into the reception hall. This was a very important element to the wedding design. I was provided some pink satin fabric, silk flowers, a pair of scissors, and a roll of tape. (Not exactly the kind of "tools" I am used to.) As I started decorating, I learned there wasn't enough pink satin to decorate both sides of the staircase. The groom came by and was really stressed out. He said he was sure he measured the staircase properly. He then asked me what he should do. I told him that he should have a seat and a drink. I will handle the rest.

In the end, we changed the design slightly and skillfully borrowed satin fabric from here and there to completely decorate two sides of the staircase. From this experience, I learned that you don't have to lug around a ton of tools to decorate. All of the staircase decorations were held on by tape, only tape! Check out the pictures of my first international wedding decorating job!