Canyon Meadows Community Hall Wedding

 I met Cikiena through one of my former brides and current friend. Cikiena called me one night and said: "Monica! I am getting married! I need your help!" I was so excited for her and Iain. They are absolutely the cutest computer geek couple I know! Cikiena then told me that her wedding is in three months at the Canyon Meadows Community Hall. I think I did a pretty good job of hiding the panic in my voice!

With an arts and graphic design background, Cikiena already had her color scheme picked out. She wanted white, turquoise, silver, and red accents. She also loved one of my previous centerpieces decorated with keyboard keys and wanted to incorporate that centerpiece design into her own. Seven centerpieces were made in total and all of them were different heights and slightly different! Each centerpiece had a different message, such as "5201314." When these numbers are said in Mandarin, it means "I love you for a lifetime."

I truly had a blast designing this wedding for Cikiena and Iain. I wish them both all the best in the future as Mr. and Mrs.

~Monica

We had two different centerpieces to add a little bit of whimsy to the wedding. The succulent plants were very important to Cikiena because it reminded her of wonderful memories she had with her grandma. So sweet!

This was the head table centerpiece.  I hope "Iain Luvz Her" forever  and "Cikiena Luvz Him" forever!

Photo backdrop perfect for two computer geeks! Towards the end of the night, guests got pretty creative and took pictures with the "c" covered. Yup, you guessed it, there were plenty of pictures where the signed turned into "we licked."

This cute 8 bit flower vase was the inspiration of this wedding! So cute that I gave it to the bride and groom as a keepsake!

Here is the overall look of the venue! I think we transformed it perfectly!

Mercury Glass Wedding Decor

Mercury glass EVERYTHING is so hot in the wedding industry right now. They can be used in the forms of vases, platters, and/or candle holders. Mercury glass vases also works with a variety of colored flowers, transforming centerpieces from romantic to classic to rustic looks.

The one downfall is that mercury glass vases can be hard to find in bulk volumes if you want the exact same vase for all your guest tables. (A trip to all the HomeSense stores close to you may be necessary.) I would like to suggest that groupings of various styles, shapes, and sizes of vases also makes a stunning wedding centerpiece. This is also a current wedding flower trend as mentioned in a previous post.

If you must have the same centerpieces and are a crafty DIY bride, you might want to consider trying to make your own mercury glass vases. With a little bit of trial and error and a handy can of paint, it can be easily accomplished. A tutorial can be found at the Lovely Little Details blog.
The last picture on this blog is the DIY version. Looks just a great to me!

If you do decide to give this a try, I would love to see pictures of the final product. Do share! Good luck!

~Monica

Photo Credits: 1. Style Me Pretty 2. Style Unveiled 3. Blush Botanicals 4. United with Love 5. Kelly Maria

All in the Details

The focus of this picture is obviously the beautiful floral chandelier. But my eyes were drawn to the uplighting shields on the floor. Not only did the designer think of hiding the unsightly uplight cannisters, the shields also have an ivory damask pattern on it. Once again, it is all in the details when pulling together a flawless wedding look.

Wedding Tip: After spending over 100 hours planning your wedding, you might not see the big picture anymore. Go through your wedding ideas with someone outside your wedding party that hasn't been part of the planning process. This person will be able to tell you what doesn't quite make sense; what doesn't fit in; and most importantly, what won't work. You will thank this person later and should probably treat him/her to a drink for their wonderful insights!
~Monica


Photo Credit: Nisie's Enchanted Florist

Dazzling Dance Floors

Recently I had an email inquiry from a bride asking for help with her ugly standard dance floor. I shared a couple of suggestions with her and some price points. Here is what I suggested, in the order from less expensive to most expensive. Enjoy!
~Monica

Totally White Dance Floor. Sometimes the most beautiful things are the simplest things! The standard parquet floor can be replaced with an all white dance floor for less than $2.00 a square feet at local rental companies.



Monogramed Dance Floors. This is an excellent way to put your "stamp" on your wedding! If you can't have a custom made flooring (think huge sticker), you can have your initials put onto the dance floor with lighting! Check with your DJ for lighting options or a lighting specialist.




Use of Lighting Patterns. A lighting specialist will be able to project different patterns and colors onto the dance floor for something really spectular! The designs are endless! (Not sure if this one would be more expensive than the second. I think they are pretty close.)




Thinking Outside the Box/Square/Rectangular Dance Floor. If your venue and budget allows, why not get a round dance floor? Your guests will definitely notice and pay attention to this feature - even if it is only on the floor. Custom projects mean custom pricing!



Photo Credits: 1) In Tents 2)and 6) Karen Tran Florals 3) Ambiance Lighting Pros 4)Platinum Planning Couture Event Design 5) Constance Zahn 7) Events by Design

Balloons + Weddings

Recently during a consultation meeting, a bride told me that she absolutely does not want any balloons at her wedding. She said they were tacky and reminded her of children's birthday parties. Honestly, when she said "balloons" the first thing I thought of was the colorful balloons that carried the house from UP away. Back to reality, we were able to design a wedding for this bride without a stitch of balloons. No one is even going to be allowed to mention balloons.

After the meeting, I did some research to determine whether it is possible for balloons to be incorporated into weddings. I found a ton of balloon arches which made me cringe a little bit. I eventually found huge balloons from Geronimo Balloons. Here are some pictures of how these huge balloons can be used in wedding pictures. Stay tuned for ideas on how to incorporate balloons into wedding decor!











Photo credits: 1) )Pixar2) Style Me Pretty 3) Ohana Photographers 4) Wish Special Events 5)Brooklyn Bride

Happy Valentine's Day!

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that I am a hopeless romantic. I love hearing about people’s love stories, reading romantic novels, and watching sappy romantic movies over and over again. One thing that I don’t “love” is how “love” is always associated with (tons) of big red hearts. I cringe when I walk pass stores with an overload of red hearts used as decoration. However, I do believe red hearts can be used as decorations tastefully. Here are some pictures of a dessert buffet with a heart theme. I know it is not the main focus, but I love the simplicity of the backdrop. (I have tons of envelops left over from a project and I just might do this in the future! Stay tuned!)

Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone!







Photo Credits: Hostes with the Mostess via Just call me Martha

Wedding Trends 2012

I am a firm believer that brides should have the wedding of their dreams exactly how they imagined their special day. However, that said, if a bride doesn't already have a favorite color and doesn't know where to start planning their wedding color scheme, design, and decor, they can check out the wedding trends of 2012 for inspiration. Remember that trends don't have to be followed exactly and in full! Here they are!

Last year’s Royal Wedding inspired a lot of the wedding trends for 2012. The biggest trend that is making a comeback is a formal black tie wedding. The glamorous look is back and everything wedding related is all about grand elegance.



Classic wedding colors are also a huge trend this year. Pale pinks, champagnes, and cream colors are working their way back into wedding color schemes. New neutral colors such as oyster grey and pale gold are also moving from the fashion runway down the wedding aisle.



Pale neutrals do not mean a bland boring wedding decor because patterns are getting bolder. The use of floral or custom prints is becoming a wedding classic, much like the black and white damask a few years ago. Patterns are appearing from wedding invitations to wedding decor.



Candelabras added instant elegance to any backdrops. It is a huge plus if the venue already beautiful candelabras but if your venue doesn’t, don’t let it stop you from renting one (or some) for your venue or outdoor wedding ceremony!



Rustic weddings are stronger than ever. These weddings are not held at your typical hotel venues rather rustic barns with lots of charm. There is lots of warmth through color schemes and ambient candle lighting.



Photo Credits: 1. Style Me Pretty 2.,3. Karen Tran 4. Bridal Snob 5. Green Wedding Shoes

Best Bridal Booth at Wedding Fair

Last weekend I designed and decorated a booth at the Wedding Fair for my fellow vendor and good friend, Ivy Su of Ruby Woo Wedding Couture. Ivy’s business is to provide brides with custom made wedding gowns for $1000. Brides can either go online or meet with Ivy in person to design the wedding gown of their dreams. The possibilities are endless and I truly believe Ivy can design any wedding gown for brides.

The booth design had a red and floral theme. 150 red paper roses were handmade. The roses were also adorned with black butterflies throughout. We added lace and crystal draping to make the booth very feminine. The Ruby Woo sign was also custom made for this event. We wanted brides to see the Ruby Woo logo from far away. We opted not to have any tables in the booth because Ivy had models in wedding gowns that day. The booth was a huge success and lots of brides came by and made appointments with Ivy on the spot. In addition to the success, the Ruby Woo booth won “Best Bride Booth” at the Wedding Fair!

Check out some pictures of the booth and Ivy's gorgeous dresses!

Top 10 Colors for 2012

Determining a wedding color is easy for brides that have always had a favorite color. For brides that don't have a favorite color, love all colors the same, or feels that their favorite color might not work for their wedding, this might be a harder task.

Putting myself in the shoes of the brides that fall into the last category, I proceeded to do some research on the top 10 colors of 2012. I think that brides can pick their fave colors from paint chips or fabric swatches. According to the Pantone Fashion Color Report Spring 2012, these are the top 10 colors:
Provocative Tangerine Tango - an enticing juicy orange.
Solar Power - radiates warmth and cheer.
Fanciful Bellflower - a distinct ornamental purple.
Cabaret - sensual and intense rosy-red.
Sodalite Blue - a classic maritime hue.
Cockatoo - a tactile blue-green.
Margarita - a piquant yellow-green.
Sweet Lilac - a pinkish lilac.
Driftwood - blend of beige and gray.
Starfish - warm summer neutral.

Although these colors are not your usual "wedding colors," this might be the time to make a huge statement at your wedding and really wow your guests! If these colors are too out of the ordinary for you, I hope these colors at least inspired you to see what other possible colors are out there! Stay tuned for more color options and combination suggestions!

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!

Pink and Purple Wedding at Hotel Arts

Isadora and Andrew’s Hotel Arts wedding reception was the first time I got to incorporate black into the wedding design. A lot of couples shy away from black because it can make the room very dark, is a very cool color, and sometimes a little harsh. In addition to the black, we also incorporated the colors, pink, purple and white to soften the color palette.

In order to keep the design modern and clean, we had white chair covers on all the guest chairs to brighten up the room from the black table cloths. We also had half of the tables with a pink theme and the other half with a purple theme. The pink themed tables had pink chair sashes and pink centerpieces. The flowers from the centerpieces were repurposed from the ceremony vow flowers. The purple themed tables had purple chair sashes and purple hydrangea centerpieces.

Because Isadora and Andrew were both computer “techie” people, I made custom centerpieces for them from old computer keyboards. The centerpieces spelled out phrases such as “soul mates” and “laugh always.” This was almost an impossible task! I needed to get 17 grey computer keyboards and I tried to maximize the amount of phrases I could get with a minimal number of “e’s” and “a’s.”I was pretty much playing scrabble with computer keys. I really don’t think anyone wants to challenge me to a game of scrabble now. I am pretty good with it.

The most memorable thing for me was when Andrew told me that he didn’t even recognize the reception room when he walked in. He thought he was in the wrong room, so he walked out! I truly hope that I was able to help make some great memories of Isadora and Andrew’s wedding for them too!