Inspiration Boards
Marrying Far Away…
“Once upon a time, set ontop of the hills of the Hobbits Shire far far away, was a wedding ceremony…”
Hola mi amigos!¿ 😀
How was your weekend? C’mon, i had you confused for a second. Lol! I will be putting up two posts. I had noticed a particular colour trend for almost 3 months and I finally decided to do a post on it. The colour is Mint Green. Yep, that is the trending colour for this summer. Remember the Pantone® colour for 2013 is Emerald Green, so we are still in line. However, I diagress. This week’s post is for my brides who are on tight and heavily guarded budget. Lol! I bring to you, (drum roll, and trumpets sound)…Destination Wedding!
Until recently, anytime I had heard someone mention destination wedding, my first thought was, the person most be seriously loaded. Biased thinking right? Se la vie. 😉
I have a friend who had mentioned to me a while ago that she wanted to have a destination wedding. I asked why, and she said to avoid the hassle of unknown guests and family members and most of all to cut costs. I laughed, however I am seeing her point. I read an article online from a Nigeria couple who had a destination wedding in the South of France (no it was not Stephanie Okereke and Linus Idahosa’s wedding), and it changed my point of view about DW’s. So, in this post, I am going to re-highlight the points and add my own reasoning logic for you to embrace the idea of DW’s.
Some of you may ask the large invisible white elephant question, isn’t it expensive? Well, here is answer I believe any professional planner would say to satisfy any sceptics, “…If well planned, it will end up being less expensive, because you will make plans for what you need and only those you have budgeted for…”. I can not stress this enough to both my clients and friends who complain about them being on a tight budget, CUT DOWN ON YOUR GUEST SIZE!
Luckily, this is one of the many advantages of DW’s, it helps with downsizing your guests, and both you and your groom can careful pick guests that are of significance nd importance. With this, you won’t have the usual “mo gbo mo branch” crowd that show up uninvited to your wedding, this includes unknown and uninvited family members, the village community counsel of elders/chieves, either parents church/nasfat group/club members, who all end up coming with their own “supporters club,” or the displacement of the bridal party and the couples friends/colleagues from their reserved seating (another blog post for another day, hehehe), and let’s not forget the usual yet embarrassing hulla-ba-loo for wedding souvenirs. Oi!
Advantages of a Destination Wedding
1. They’re Virtually Stress-Free. How?
Hotels, Resorts and Sea Cruise lines around the world normally have full-time wedding coordinators on staff, who are also familiar with that particular country’s marriage license requirements. If you’re not getting married at a resort, you can hire a wedding planner in that locale who specializes in destination weddings, or you could contact your own wedding planner to start early planning arrangements with your travel agent and the hotel’s in-house wedding planner.
2. Family Drama Denied!
All forms scene-stealing family drama will be avoided. This includes a very large get-together of extended families and various business associates. Predictably, each set of parents have their own ideas. One set would like the wedding to be held in a prominent part of the city or location of residence because most of their guests, or social circle are residents in the area. This would a great avenue for them to show off to their friends and business associates. On the other hand, the other set of parents may have problems with the expense of a high society, over elaborate, typical Nigerian wedding. Most of the time, the parents tend to forget that the event is, first and foremost, about the two people getting married! This usually occurs when a certain family seems more financially buoyant than the other then they want to take control and make all the decisions, paying no attention to what the couple desire for their wedding. With a destination wedding, you the couple are in charge and you set the rules to your desires in your own chosen terrority. A bride commented on DW’s saying “…it would be nice to have both parent’s anecdotes families in good rapport, but what’s the point if they fight and snigger over trivial things about the our wedding?” – from The Knot.
3. Pay Less, Stress Less for Fun!
“The affordability of a destination wedding has many couples speeding off to the airport faster than you can say ‘I do.’ For instance, a couple can fly to an all-inclusive resort in Jamaica, get married, and stay for a deluxe weeklong honeymoon for a few thousand dollars, including lodging, meals, drinks, and airfare.” – from The Knot.
PS>> I did a small calculation of the figures they give in the article and then i converted it to naira for you to understand it better. An example; a wedding of 150 guests wedding may (emphasis on the word MAY. I didn’t say it WILL, I said MAY) cost about N 3.7m to which it can easily skyrocket to more than N 6.5m if your guest size increases — plus a few extra hundred thousands of Naira for a honeymoon. Do a comparison of costs for a wedding in your locale or aboard (aboard meaning outside of your country, FYI: Ghana is aboard).
To help ease the financial burden, many couples should opt to travel to a place where they can havee their dream wedding, have their honeymoon, and still have some money left over to start their new lives together. Hotels and Holiday Resorts offer great discounts for early and large group bookings. So you can speak with a travel agent to help with arrangements on special discount packages for your guests on airfares, transportation and hotel bookings too!
PS>> You don’t pay for your guests airfares, hotel accommodation or feedings. However, you both can decide on whom you both can afford to pay half if their travel expenses for.
4. You Are In Charge!
That’s right! You call the shots. Many formal/traditional weddings mean a lot for some couples, some may link them to the traditions and culture, some others want the experience to be different and unique, with a ceremony and location that reflect their individualism, and style.
LOCATION! LOCATION!! LOCATION!!!
Early selections of your dream wedding location saves you both time, money and unneceassary expenses while planning. There are many places on this beautiful world has to offer for your unique wedding, let’s start with the common and yet popular locations: Dubai (like Tuface and Anne), The Caribbean Islands, France (like Stephanie and Linus, to me whose wedding set a bar for Nigerian celebritity weddings. Tiwa Savage my eyes are waiting for yours), Italy, Spain, UK and US. For those who do not want to be too far from home, here are some African countries such as Ghana, Tanzania, Seyechelles, Mozambique, South Africa, Morocco, and The Gambia.
Then for those who want the Nigerian experience, there’s, Lagos (Lekki town after the New Lagos Free Trade Zone, Akodo La Campainge Tropicana, Whispering Psalms Badagary, Tarqwa Bay, any of the private beach houses on Ilaje), Ogun State (Abeokuta), Oyo (Ibadan), Ondo, Cross Rivers (Calabar, Tinapa, Obudu Hills), Akwa Ibom (Uyo, Eket), Delta State (Warri, Asaba), Edo (Benin), Rivers State (Port-Harcourt, Bonny Island) etc. You can ask a travel agent or the local tourist board for a state, or your wedding planner, for information, brochures listing ceremony sites, Hotels, Resorts or Sea Cruise-liners in various International countries and Nigerian States. Recently, governments have began working to ease restrictions and attract to-be-weds.If you’re not getting married at a resort, you can hire a stateside wedding planner who specializes in destination weddings, contact a wedding planner in the town you plan to wed, or start early and do it yourself. Either way, you won’t have to plan an elaborate reception. Best of all? You make the rules! Feel free to wear white bed sheets, a sundress, or that hot pink maxi dress you’ve haf you eye on, or you both can wear shorts (even a bikini!), or go barefoot, or you both can go nude! ROFL!! Just kidding. The simple truth is if you have dreamt it, then you can do it.
5. It’s Simply Perfect!
It is great for “been-there-done-that” couples who are older, renewal of vow, or getting married again, and choose a destination wedding. This is because DW’s are simple, quiet and private. Either the bride and/or groom have done the Naija o wan bé – up scale society wedding before, or they both just want something quieter, less expensive, and with hassle this time around, or they may also just want to be someplace anonymous, without the watchful eyes and whispers of the home crowd.
6. It’s a Once-in-a-Lifetime Vaycay
At a typical Nigerian wedding, both you and your groom are on the go, meeting, greeting, thanking whomever that person is, kneeling, prosrating, and non stop smiling, wondering when will this all end. However, for destination weddings you are on vacation time throughout. As expected, you will be required to arrive a few days early (2-3days early), to fill out all the important and necessary paperwork, so that by the time your wedding day arrives, you’ve had days of relaxing fun, and sight seeing with your groom, family, and friends.This may just be the opportunity to spend a no-rush, quality playtime with family, and far-flung friends.
PS>> Before you make up mind completely about having a Destination Wedding, you and your groom should sit and discuss it between yourselves. Write out all the pros and cons and weight it. Don’t involve a third party just yet, unless you are both certain of your choice.
Here is a to do list I got from an article:
1. Pick out a destination with your partner so you can start to make plans.
2. The Weather Factor. It is important to know what the weather would be like at your desired destination spot at the time you want to get married. For instance, you don’t want to be saying I do during a monsoon or rainy season.
3. Prepare a realistic budget. Make adequate research on prices for accommodation, food & beverages, travel, cakes, musicians, photographers and other services that you may need. Because you will be going out of your comfort zone.
4. Arrange travel plans. Negotiate a good travel package for your guests with a reputable travel agency. Do not forget to include all important information such as names of your guest, hotel plans. If possible drop one of you invites with the agency.
5. Travel Insurance. Having a good insurance is very important. A good insurance policy will cover you for injury, medical assistance and also the in case of loss of property. It gives you the needed peace of mind.
Click here for more information about the above to do list article.
What more can I say? You can consult with your wedding planner or a wedding planner who specializes in Destination Weddings. They would be able to help you in making the necessary enquiries for your needs.
So, enjoy!
SOURCES: Google, Pinterest, The Knot, Our Wedding Story Nigeria
♥ J!
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Brides in Techni-Colours
Hi y’all!
How are you all doing? Been a long minute. Lol! My technological challenges started up again hence my long absence. I am tackling each issue one at a time, please bear with me.
The title of this post may give you an insight into what you are about to read. Hence the no feature image at the top. I am sure some would be wondering what colour analysis am I about to embark on. Lol! Just keep reading and you will soon find out.
Who remembers Jessica Biel’s wedding dress? For those who may not know, she is Justin Timberlake’s wife. Yay! If you still don’t whom I’m speaking of Google it!
Anyway, when I saw a few photographs of the wedding online, I thought the colour of her wedding dress was a bit off, I assumed the lighting of my laptop was the reason for her dress peculiar colour. However, I later realised that that was the colour of her dress, frost pink!
I did investigations, and I found out that my favourite fashionista and my style inspirationist (lol! New word.) Sarah Jessica Parker(SJP), of “Sex and the City” , had done the same thing when she got married 1997 to Matthew Broderick. She wore a black wedding dress.
Jessica Biel’s reasons, “I wanted the dress to be very romantic and feminine and a shape that I very rarely wear. I have never been crazy about all-white wedding dresses, for me at least. [Giambattista Valli] had created that same fabric in a fuchsia-and-pink combination for a dress in a previous collection, and I asked him if he could create that same pattern in a white combination, and he suggested pink. It was a bit of a leap of faith at the time, but it turned out better than I could have ever imagined. [Putting it on], I felt like I had made the right choice. I felt elegant. And it moved like a dream.” – source from The Huff Post
Let me bring this topic to home soil. There was an article a while back in Bella Naija on a popular Nollywood actress, Ufoma Ejenobor. When she got married, she wore a metallic silver wedding dress made by Frank Osodi.
This was her reason, ” …Because everybody wears white! Everybody has their unique picture of what they want their wedding dress to be like. I’ve been obsessed with “The King & I” and there was this lovely dress Mrs Anna wore, it was gold and green and I thought that was the most beautiful dress I’ve ever seen. My dress was made by Frank Osodi. He didn’t think the mix of gold and green would go well so he asked me to choose any colour and he would mix it with white. Because I wanted to run away from white, I thought of a colour that would contrast with white so we came up with metallic silver.” – from Bella Naija. CLICK HERE for full interview.
As you know I am a huge fan of colours, and in my own opinion wearing a coloured wedding dress is a ver bold, brave and exciting thing to do. If you are the non traditional type and you have the liver to pulling it off, take a cue from Nike and “just do it”! It is different, it is unique, and it says a lot about your individuality. Afterall, it’s all about involving your personal style into your wedding and creating fun memories for your wedding.
Last year I did a post on “What’s your Style” (click here) where I quoted John Fairchild. He said, ” style is an expression of individualism mixed with charisma”.
BRIEF HISTORY ON WEDDING DRESSES
Wedding dresses have traditionally been based on the popular styles of the day. For example, in the 1920s, wedding dresses were typically short in the front with a longer train in the back and were worn with cloche-style wedding veils. This tendency to follow current fashions continued until the late 1940s, when it became popular to revert to long, full-skirted designs reminiscent of the Victorian era. Although there has always been a style that dominates the bridal market for a time, and then shifts with the changes in fashion, a growing number of modern brides are not choosing to follow these trends. This is due in large part to non-traditional and non-first-time weddings, and women who are marrying later in life.Today, Western wedding dresses are usually white though “wedding white” includes shades such as eggshell, ecru and ivory. Mary, Queen of Scots, wore a white wedding gown in 1559 when she married her first husband, Francis Dauphin of France because it was her favorite color, although white was then the color of mourning for French Queens. The first documented instance of a princess who wore a white wedding gown for a royal wedding ceremony is that of Philippa of England, who wore a tunic with a cloak in white silk bordered with grey squirrel and ermine in 1406. White did not become a popular option until 1840, after the marriage of Queen Victoria to Albert of Saxe-Coburg. Victoria wore a white gown for the event to incorporate some lace she prized. The official wedding portrait photograph was widely published, and many other brides opted for white in accordance with the Queen’s choice.
The tradition continues today in the form of a white wedding, though prior to the Victorian era, a bride was married in any color, black being especially popular in Scandinavia. Later, many people assumed that the color white was intended to symbolize virginity, though this was not the original intention. (It was the color blue that was connected to purity.) The white gown is in fact a symbolic Christening gown. It is a variation of the white surplice worn in the Western Catholic tradition by members of the clergy, church choirs and servers and the gowns worn by girls celebrating their first communion and at their confirmation and also by women making religious vows. Jews have gone to great lengths to follow these Western (Judeo-Christian) customs, whilst adhering to the laws of Tzniut. Today, the white dress is understood merely as the most traditional and popular choice for weddings.
Now, answer me this, do you see an average Nigerian parent agreeing to your choice in wedding dress colour? Lol! I can picture some parents I know ranting, screaming, sobbing and wailing in their native dialect, (please imagine this scenario in your mother tongue it’s funnier), “…this child wants to kill me oooh! You want to make me the laughing stock ehnn!?” , all in despair and aversion over your decision to wear black polka dotted dress for your wedding. ROTL!!
Before you embark on this BRAVE adventure for your wedding, you need to consider the pros and cons of this decision and a solid reason for doing so. This was a latter part of the article I read on Sarah Jessica Parker’s choice of wedding gown.
“SJP chose a non-traditional gown in a stark shade of black. Though her decision was a bid to escape unwanted media attention, the trendsetter now says it’s her biggest regret to date. In fact, if she and Broderick ever renew their wedding vows, Sarah says she’ll most definitely go for white. “I’d wear a proper wedding dress,” she said in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar. “Like I should have worn that day.” “
What to do …
1) you need to speak with a bridal image consultant. Reputable bridal houses have bridal consultants who can help you with choosing the proper tone or colour shade that will match your skin tone and style of your wedding. Not everybody looks good in fuchsia or red or deep purple.
If you are on a tight budget, your wedding planner (if you are using one), could serve as an image consultant or you could ask 3 friends, whom you trust their sense if style. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT ask more than 3 people, if not you are heading for great confusion. Too many mouths, thoughts opinions, ideas, and I feel’s, create confusions and bad decisions.
2) the idea of a second dress for your wedding reception fits in here. If you have already discussed with your parents, and they hadn’t liked the idea of a coloured wedding dress, you can suggest the second change of dress. With this you can go all out with style and colour(s), if it is within your budget. If not….let’s go to step 3.
3) in your white wedding dress you could add a touch of your colour into your dress. It could the colour of your bolero jacket or your sash around your waist that flows down or just a fancy bridal studded belt etc e.g..
In the picture collage, the ombre wedding dress is my personal fav, however not my colour but its lovely. It was designed for Gwen Stefani in 2002 by John Galliano. So, there you have it! Either ways you will still be the trending bride no matter what colour you decide to wear. Here are some celebs who didnt wear white at their own weddings
Enjoy!
♥ J!
SOURCES: The Huff Post, Pinterest, Elie Saab, Monique Lhuillier, Munaluchi. History from http://www.marryjim.com
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Poppy Red Valentine
“Love, is in the air;
Love, is everywhere…”
Happy Valentine’s Day people! Yes, its February, the celebration of love is here! Love is an everyday celebration, though Feb 14th was set apart for it especially. However, historically 14th of February wasn’t filled with love, laughter chocolates and gifts. It was actually quite gruesome! Lol! 😀
Nevertheless, I am not here to talk about the dark, gruesome, medieval times. I’m here to share with my readers, Poppy Red Valentine…
As we all know Poppy Red is one of the colours featuring this year, in Pantone Fashion Colour Report Spring 2013. I have done posts on Emerald Green (Click Green Christmas), Tempting Monaco Blues, and now its Poppy Red Valentine time… Remember, you can always follow me on Twitter @dewsofkeziah or like my Facebook page www.facebook.com/DewsOfKeziahEvents and drop a comment, I will make an effort to reply as soon as I can.
Pantone Fashion Colour Report Spring 2013 described Poppy Red as an exuberant a seductive, sensual and celebratory shade. They also went on to say that, Poppy Red is a knockout colour for dresses or a kiss on the lips (which we have to agree, e.g. the craze for rouge lip sticks etc. Lol). Pantone Fashion Colour Report Spring 2013 advised, every woman’s wardrobe and beauty essentials should include this spirited, true red.
The True Red
Red is a part of the 3 families in the Primary Colour Kingdom. Lol! Remember my stories on about the families of Blue, Redd, and Yellow? Anyway, Red is actually a warm colour, and a lot of males tend to pick red. Hmm I’m thinking your guesses are as good as mine, Lol!
Moving on!
Sadly, Red is usually seen on the negative as anger, danger (burning), temper, evil or devil, especially if your parents are the traditional spiritual type of Nigerians. Believe me, I have had clients, especially the bride’s Mother or Father screaming blue murder at their daughter for picking the colour Red.
On the other hand, in China, the bride wears red on her wedding day, and the door posts of her house is also painted Red. This is because Red is identified as the color of joy, prosperity, happiness, and fertility.
Red is also said to be the colour of Tuesday and it is also connected with the colour of blood, life, vitality, warmth, fiery heat, passion and lust. Red has a strong symbolism such as action, confidence, energy and enthusiasm. The Red rose symbolizes passionate love, thus its frequent use in bridal bouquets, and Valentines Day.
How to use Poppy Red in your décor
Poppy Red isn’t your everyday crimson kind of red, but with more softer hues, which gives an almost faded reddish orange outlook. Like every other solid primary colour, if Red it is not directed properly in its use, it can become overwhelming and turn into a “Red Hot Mess”!
So, when using Poppy Red(or any other shade of Red) as a single block colour in your event décor, let the colour be in splashes against another softer or calmer colour e.g white, grey or soft pinks. howvever, Red could also but combined with other solid block colours to create the WOW effect in your decor design, for example, black, blue, green, yellow, purple. I would give a colour combo palette of this colours when using the Pantone Colours for Fall 2013.
The Poppy Red inspiration board below will show you, and hopefully inspire you with ways you could apply the splashes of Poppy Red into your décor.
The last picture on the inspiration board (bottom right), has white table cloths with white square-shaped plates, stainless steel cutlery, clear martini glasses, all against a white background. The splash of red is featured as the table runner which goes across the table center, where the centerpieces are of various red bouquets, all placed in small cylinder vases, which have been wrapped up with red cloth ribbons. Small Red scented candles were set to accentuate the centerpieces.
The plate settings has red napkins, which are neatly folded into rectangles and placed in each of the white square plates. The chivari chairs, are all red with red seat cushions, with red circular Chinese lanterns hanging from above, all of different sizes bunched up together.
If you are going for something more contemporary style where the décor is flexible for weddings, social or corporate events, have a look at the inspiration board below and see how the Poppy Red can be initiated into the décor without overwhelming it.
I totally Love the centerpiece with the large single rose.
So that it for Poppy Red Valentine. Enjoy!
♥ ‘J!
PS: A quick Heads up, Pantone’s Fashion Colours for this Fall are out. You can click on the Pantone below to link you to the website.
Sources from:
- Wedluxe
- Preston Bailey
- Colour theory
- PANTONE®
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Tempting Monaco Blue
Hi y’all!
These rain flashes from the past week have been a blessing. I like it. Lol! Though, it seems like we’re in the rainy season, but not. Confusing, isn’t it?
By the way Valentine’s Day is about two weeks and a few days away. Any plans for that day, or is it going to be like any other day?
In a next few posts I’m going to talk about adding a little “Pattern” into your décor designs, ideas or inspirations for your next event. Are there any questions in regards to the “Sweet Turquoise Peach” post? Remember, you can always send me an email on dewsofkeziah@yahoo.co.uk or you can follow me on my Twitter account @dewsofkeziah or like my Facebook page www.facebook.com/DewsOfKeziahEvents and drop a comment.
In this post, I’m going to use one of the Pantone Spring 2013 colours. Yep! There will be no colour combos. However, I would talk about which colour compliments it and that makes it pop! And I would also be open to any comments or suggestions for colours that could or would be a good complimenting combo with it. This way, you can get your colour expert swagger on.
The post topic is a give-away to which colour I’d be using. “Monaco Blues”, sounds like a movie title, Lol!
Last year’s Pantone Fashion Colour Report for 2012 had a blue shade in it called Sodaite Blue, which has almost the same hue as the Monaco Blue in the Pantone Fashion Colour Report for 2013 as shown in the palette slide picture below.
I know, you can ALMOST not see the difference. I didn’t really notice their differences until I had to use Pantone colour palette numbers, CMYK and RGB to recreate the colours using my CorelDraw® software.
Getting to Know Blue and Its Hues
Remember Blue is a part of the 3 families in the Primary Colour Kingdom the families of Blue, Red, and Yellow (which I have mentioned as in past posts as a fearful lover to Red and Yellow, Lol!). In general, the colour Blue is said to be calming, committed, communicative, cooling, dependable, expansive sedate, serene and trustworthy. However, electric or brilliant neon blues, turn out to be an engaging colour that becomes more sensational, dynamic and exhilarative!
Using Monaco Blue for your event would be really cool. You can easily refer to Monaco Blue as Navy Blue, and to Sodaite Blue as Mid-Night Blue, by using these simple vocabularies to describe it to anyone, for better understanding. The Monaco Blue can be perfect as a single colour for any event. It gives an ambience of serenity, elegance, royalty, calming, and enriching depth into your décor. However, be warned, the colour Blue can be an expansive overwhelming colour, if not directed properly.
Where and How to Use Monaco Blue
This colour would be great for events taking place outdoors, also wonderful for beach weddings, ceremonies or corporate events.
“Anchoring Monaco Blue is a classic shade that offers both stability and depth to the entire palette. Combine Monaco Blue with Poppy Red and Linen, or Monaco Blue and Emerald for a fresh collegiate look.” Pantone® fashion colour report 2013.
You see the above quote right there, nails it. The pictures below are to give you an idea of how Monaco Blue with Poppy Red and Linen Nude, Monaco Blue with African Violet and Nectarine, Monaco Blue and Dusk Blue, Monaco Blue and Emerald Green or Monaco Blue with Lemon Zest and Tender Shoot colours could look like when combined. These are all colours of the Pantone® fashion colour report 2013. Click on the links to open new tabs.
If you are a Tommy Hilfiger nut or you have a thing for boats ships or the nautical world, the first Monaco Blue combo of Poopy Red and Linen Nude should appeal to you. These colour combinations can generally give you an inkling insight into using Monaco Blue on how to combine it.
So there you have it, Monaco Blue. Enjoy!
♥ ‘J!
- Colour theory
- PANTONE®
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Sweet Turquoise Peach
Hi y’all!
This 2013 I will be adding some widgets to the blog as the year goes on, especially one called “I’m part of post a week 2013”. This will prompt me to put up posts once a week. So keeping my fingers crossed I intend to follow it through.
Also as I had announced last year, that some changes will be made to the blog. I have decided NOT to change the name of this blog. Lol! I will tell you about it some other time. However, the blog is being worked on behind the scenes by my meek self and my tech geeks to make this blog service you and I better. I would update you from time to time as things progress.
So how has the New Year been so far? With the weird flashes of rains that has been occurring, aka Global Warming. Hehehe!
In this post we are doing colour combos of Turquoise Blue and Peach, with highlights of gold. Thus the post topic: “Sweet Turquoise Peach”. Another common name for all shades of Turquoises is “Aqua” or Cyan for the lighter shades. It wasn’t until I began this blog that I found out that there were 2 types of Turquoises. There’s Turquoise Blue and Turquoise Green. They both pretty much explain their hues and intensity by their names. The palettes below show what I am trying to say.
From the colour palettes I’m sure you get the picture.
The chosen colour combos of Turquoise Blue, Peach and a touch of Gold are actual colours for a client’s weddings in April. Though they are not within the Pantone Colours for 2013 L, I will still talk about the lovely colour combination anyway.
These colours are sweet! And they can be used at any season of the year. Though they are spring/summer colours and are usually recommended for beach, tropical or nautical weddings, it doesn’t matter! If you love a certain colour for your type of event, use it! No matter the season, weather, or region.
Peach is from the family of Orange, which is birthed by the combination of Red and Yellow. In the colour palette of Tangerine Tango post, you’ll also be able to identify the colour Peach in its hues.
The inspiration board I made below should be able to give you ideas of how the turquoise blue, peach and gold can be implemented into your event(s).
Picking the Colour Flow for Your Décor
You could have the overall background to be just one colour with accents of the other colours to bring all the colours together.
For example; in the picture below, it shows the overall décor in Turquoise, with the floral centrepieces, and the couple gazebo, adorned with Peach and Pink flowers. The roof/ceiling of the tent/marquee has Gold stars scattered all over, and as an added advantage, the incandescent chandeliers or warm white, is giving off a golden glow consequently highlighting the gold stars.
Also, you could use Gold as the main colour as the overall décor design. Then your Turquoise Blue and Peach become added touches to the golden décor theme. Like the Marie Antoinette Gold themed décor picture from Wedluxe.com below.
In these pictures you can tell that the Wedding Style is Formal with a Modern twist. The tall French windows, the cutlery, the deep set gold chiavari chairs, the menu card design and the cute peachy pinky wedding favours with “Merci” written on them in elegant calligraphy. Hmm…breath taking, isn’t it. I’m sure it was.
Another way to give a flow to your décor colours is by using Peach as the main colours and using turquoise and gold as the décor centerpieces or table settings like in the Marie Antoinette in Peach reverse. Lol!
So there you go, Turquoise/ Aqua Blue with Peach and a touch of Gold!
♥ ‘Jumoke Abudu!
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Christmas in Emerald Green!
Merry Christmas everyone!
I have missed talking about colours, haven’t you? Well I have.
I began this blog this year with a post on Pantone Colour for 2012, which is (because we are still in 2012, Lol!) Zesty Tangerine Tango. I even got a really cool font for my invitation and stationer designing called “Tangerine”!
So, this post I’m going to announce to you, the Pantone Colour for 2013.
Drum roll please….
Emerald Green!
Coincidence with Christmas colour green? I think not. As a matter of fact, the season colours for winter (Harmattan haze for us within the West African region) are Evergreen, Red, Chocolate, Periwinkle (Sky blue), Silver and White.
Odd enough, where I am sitting in this café, I have spotted almost 5 people with a touch of emerald green on them. Cool!
The Beauty of Emerald
An Emerald is a pure verdant green coloured gemstone, which can be found in three main mines of Colombia, Muzo, Coscuez, and Chivor. An Emerald is regarded as the traditional birthstone for May, as well as the traditional gemstone for the astrological signs of Taurus, Cancer and sometimes Gemini.
Emeralds occur in hues ranging from yellow-green to blue-green, with the primary hue necessarily being green. Yellow and blue are the normal secondary hues found in emeralds. Only gems that are medium to dark in tone are considered emerald; light-toned gems are known instead by the species name green beryl.
History of Green
Lol! Remember the last story I told you about how Purple Delight came to exist?
Well, I am about to tell you a little story about Emerald Green.
“Once upon a time, there were 3 prominent families of the Primary Colours Kingdom, far far way. The families were Red, Yellow and Blue. They were the great descendants of White and Black…hang on? We know all this already.
So, Sir Blu had had an affair with Lady Yellow (I’m beginning to think this Blu guy is a major playa). This scandalous affair was the painful consummation of two soul mates that could not be together! Though Sir Blu was betroth to Lady Redd from when they were infants, Sir Blu and Lady Yellow had shared a great sired bond, which made them soul mates. They bore many illegitimate children of Greens.
Lady Redd had wickedly manipulated and schemed her way into being Sir Blu’s wife. Out of anger and vengeance, Sir Blu intentionally had affair with Lady Magenta, Lady Redd’s Twin sister…”
LMAO!!
Ok I’m sure we get the math behind this tale. Yellow + Blue = Green.
Like all colours, Emerald Green (Green) has its meaning, importance and value. Green is considered to be the color of nature, fertility, life. Green symbolizes self-respect, balance, learning, growth, desire to expand or increase, harmony and well being. Green is a safe color, if you don’t know what color to use anywhere use green.
It often symbolizes money (dollar dollar bill y’all! Lol!). It was believed green was healing for the eyes. Egyptians wore green eyeliner. Green eyeshades are still used. Friday is considered to be the day of green. Green jade is a gemstone that is a sacred stone of Asia.
“Most often associated with brilliant, precious gemstones, the perception of Emerald is sophisticated and luxurious. Since antiquity, this luminous, magnificent hue has been the colour of beauty and new life in many cultures and religions. Also the colour of growth, renewal and prosperity, no other colour conveys regeneration more than green. For centuries, many countries have chosen green to represent healing and unity. Symbolically, Emerald brings a sense of clarity, renewal and rejuvenation, which is so important in today’s complex world. This powerful and universally-appealing tone translates easily to both fashion and home interiors.”” – Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Colour Institute.
What colours mix with Emerald?
Well, thanks to Pantone Fashion report, here are the colours for spring 2013!
Remember my last post on Green and Yellow Mix? In that post, I said green and yellow were best friends. And I still stand by it, because you can see lemon yellow in the colour palette. Plus, the compatible colours I mentioned in that post can also be seen in this colour palette. The colour before the Lemon Zest Yellow is “Nude”. Yup! Nude colour is back, especially for lip sticks and lip glosses. Lol!
The names of the shades of green in the palette are, Emerald, Greyed Jade, Tender Shoots (don’t ask). The other colours are African Violet, Dusk Blue, Monaco Blue (navy blue, right?), Nectarine, and Poppy Red.
The tips given in Green and Yellow Mix (click here) would also apply when using Emerald Green and any other colour. With Emerald Green, because is a strong verdant colour, I would suggest using colours that are softer, or lighter in shades. Pastel colours would mix wonderfully with Emerald Green. I have also taken the liberty of doing up an Emerald Green wedding inspiration board, with lovely Elegant Emerald Green pictures.
However, should in case you decide to make your entire event Emerald Green alone, (without it looking like, your guests have been lured into the evil forest), and the colour of the walls at your selected venue seem to be at odds, may I suggest using lights. See the picture below.
All you have to do is instruct your décor designer, to cover the walls with a darker fabric, like navy blue (not black), then have drape green fabric over it, then strategically place the green coloured lights in areas with the green fabric has been used, and voila!
Do check out Real Wedding features. I have finally put up the post on a real wedding I had spoken about in an earlier post What’s Your Style. Also in real wedding features, I would put a newspaper article about a wedding Dews of Keziah coordinated on the 29th of November and the 1st of December, 2012.
Remember Jesus is the Reason for EVERY Season! Till then, have a Blessed and Very Merry Christmas!
:* Mwahh!
♥ Jumoke Abudu! Yes that’s my name. Lol!
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It’s Wedding and Party Season!!
“…It’s the Season for Great Parties,… tralala la la la la la…”
It’s Wedding and Christmas Parties people! Aren’t you excited? You better be!
Testimony: For the last 3 to 5 years Christmas time used to be miserable for me. I used to find myself drowning in depression. However, beginning of this year I prayed and told God that no matter what may come my way, I would make the best of every Christmas from this year forth!
So, this jolly season, I will bring you “Colourful” glad and stunning tidings from the world Magical of Events. Lol!
Also, here is some important information I need to pass on. I would be doing a MAJOR Re-Branding of this blog, up to the point of name change. However not to worry, it will still have all the juicy tit bits of colours, different colour combinations for various event styles and colourful information as regards to whatever event you are attending or hosting!
This is most definitely going to be a November – December to Remember! Mwwaah! :*
♥ J!
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What’s Your Style?
Hola mi amigos!
For the past few weeks, I have been experiencing technical difficulties with my internet and laptop. The issue has been temporary solved; however please bear with me with irregular posts, until it’s all sorted. Good things come to those who can wait. =)) Lol!
Thanks!
While I’ve been waiting for my technical gadgets to get fixed, I took my time to think about what my next blog was going to be. Colour combinations, colour palettes, and colour schemes are on hold, for now (if I can help it), and I’m starting a series on, STYLE! 😀
I hope this would create an awareness on knowing what style best suites you, and your wedding or any other social event you have coming up. I wouldn’t describe myself as a fashionista or a stylista. In fact I’m not. I can hear my sisters laughing. However, I do have an eye for fashion and style and I love it!
Hmm…What is style?
I went hunting for its meaning, that would have a suitable relation to an individuals’ personal fashion sense and I stumbled upon this quote and I created the feature image below.
Weddings have various types of styles, which are all dependent on the couples’ individual or combined styles, or the bride’s style alone.
In Nigeria, I realised that very few brides, actually put their personal style into their wedding. Their complains are always, “the décor is expensive,” or “my mum won’t allow it.”
The style of any wedding should not be limited to just Christians alone. You can be a devoute Muslim and still have a very stylist wedding!
Gist: I have a friend who is getting married later on in the year (i’m praying she doesn’t kill me for this). When I asked her details of her wedding, and she initially told me hadn’t a clue on what to do, so she let her mum handle everything (this usually the norm in a lot of cases). She happens to be the only girl of four children. I can see some of you shaking your heads saying, no J, that’s not an excuse.
However, if you knew her well I like I do, you’ll understand where she’s coming from.
As we spoke a little further, I joking mentioned how my sister said she wanted a bouncing castle at her wedding and no high heels were allowed. My friend agreed with having the bouncing castle, and asked if it would be weird if she had it with a pop-corn stand and a cotton candy machine.
Guess what? She wasn’t joking. So I asked her to suggest it to her fiancé and her mum, and hear what they had to say.
So what type of wedding styles are there? Here are the popular ones:
- Classic / Formal
- Casual
- Romantic
- Vintage
- Whimsical
- Modern / Contemporary
- Beach / Garden
Classic / Formal Wedding
This is perfect for those couples who value elegance and tradition, or a bride with a “prim and proper” lady personality. The classic / formal wedding style comes with an elegance, sophistication, grace and style. It can often be perceived as a very expensive wedding. However, if you are on a tight budget, just make sure that your choice of dress, hair style, accessories, bridal party, and the decor of the ceremony and reception venues are classy and formal.
The picture above is a classic over the top Nigerian wedding.
QUESTION: Which recent Nigerian wedding that you have been to in the last 5 years, do think or feel, can be described as a Classic Wedding style?
Casual Wedding
This style of wedding can be described as a simplistic or dressed-down, with a laid back ambience, or an understated elegance, without any of the typical splendour, glamour and display of an over the top wedding. This could be described as casual elegance. It has a more relaxed easy going approach which is still stylish yet elegant and sophisticated in all essence. However, it is not extreme.
This type of casualness permits a carefree aesthetic, as well as the opportunity for the couple or the bride to express their personality, and style.
This can be considered as a perfect failsafe Nigerian wedding style, especially for brides, like my clueless friend. Lol!
Romantic Wedding
Every wedding is romantic! No matter how rigid, laud, tacky, minimal, small, big, or over the top, all weddings have elements of romance in it.
Weddings are celebrations of two people, and two families. It is the proclamation of love that is uniting these two individuals. These love stories can be celebrated spiritually, or through the aesthetics of the reception venues used, or literally, like during the bride and groom thank you speeches. Every romantic element, cheesy or not, work out well for a romantic wedding.
The dress, heart shapes, flowers, butterflies, love birds motif, pastel colours, romantic songs or music, venue décor, etc. This is where your wedding planner or venue decorator, has to get real creative, especially when there’s a cut-throat budget.
SPOLIER ALERT => Speaking of romantic; I’m so glad to inform you all that “I ♥ 9ja O wan bé”, would be featuring its first Real Wedding! Yes! And it’s a romantic wedding style. Stay tuned.
Vintage Wedding
For a Vintage Wedding style, think of old-fashion flair, with old perfume bottles, vintage cars, iconic old movies like; Gone With The Wind, or Roman Holiday. Ok, hold on, let me bring it closer to home. Think Lagos back in the 1950’s. Or look at the image feature below, that would help.
Vintage has a lot of French laces, Cameo’s, pearls, bird cage hats and hair pieces, frills, feathers, cropped hair styles, sheath long and short dresses, roses, gloves etc. No wait, please don’t wear gloves. This is Nigeria, where most of the time the weather is humid, dry or hot. Even if it’s rainy season, stay away from gloves! Its a HUGE no no!
Vintage styles date as far back as the early 1960’s to the 1900’s. A lot of Nigerian event decor designers, would know this type of style as Old Hollywood. Yes that’s what I’m referring to!
If your reception venue comes with a chandelier, good for you! Use muted, neutral, pastel colours, lots of candles and foliage, because less is more! This would create a romantic atmosphere that dates back to simpler times. Why not ask your reception décor designer to create that cosy feel using neutral colours, like the picture of a reception décor my company did sometime last year.
Whimsical Wedding
This type of wedding style is mostly based on themes. This is great for creative couples that both share a passion for or common interest for something.
For example: Books, Colours, TV show, Movie, Cars, Food, Art, Culture, Various Seasons in the Year etc. This type of wedding style is meant for everyone to relax and have loads of fun! Below is an Indian themed wedding in Nigeria, with the bride and groom dressed accordingly. As I later found out, the groom is a friend’s cousin. Lol! small world
Modern/Contemporary Wedding
Modern/ Contemporary weddings is another way to have a great party, instead of the stereotyped classic/ formal weddings. Modern/ Contemporary weddings make Classic/ Formal weddings that look very stiff and boring! This type of wedding encourages the use of vibrant colours. At the beginning of this post, remember I said colours were on hold? I couldn’t help it! Modern / Contemporary wedding styles are all about CRAZY COLOUR COMBOS and CREATIVITY! I’ll call it the 4 C’s. Check out the colours below.
See this colour combination, Blue and Green, I LOVE IT! The next is Black, Pink and White colour mood board.
Nigerians do well with modern/ contemporary weddings. In fact, I think a lot of weddings recently in Lagos, all have a twist of modern/contemporary and whimsical styles meshed into one. For example, Stephanie Okereke and Linus Idahosa’s Magical Wedding, though it wasn’t done in Nigeria, but you understand what I am saying.
The really cool thing about Modern/Contemporary styles is that the can be used for other events aside from weddings. Like, Cocktail Parties, Birthday Parties, Corporate Events, Corporate Product Launches, Company Branding, etc.
Beach / Garden Wedding
Right now, we are smack in the middle of Raining Season. If you are bent on having this style of wedding, please look towards the months of February to May. The reason being, the months of October to January are usually Harmattan Haze months, and the weather is usually uncomfortable, with it being cold and dry at the same time.
Sometimes, there are flashes of rain. Personally, the months of February to May is our summer time and would be more favourable.
A Beach/Garden wedding has a lot to give: it’s fun in the sun, and has a magical backdrop. This would add ambience, natural décor scenery, and view to the whole event. They both sing the loudest for flirty dresses and colours, which rise from bright and catchy to soft pastels.
Your décor would be minimal, because it’s outdoor surrounding would do most of the complimenting. The dressing for the bride should or could be light and flirty. High heels at the beach is a BIG, “Oh no you dint! Gurrl, what chu thinkin’?” Why not buy rhinestone flat sandals or flats, or slippers, this would be perfect for the beach.
For the Garden wedding style, if you have wood flooring assembled on the grass, a medium heel sling back open toe sandals, would be advisable, or pretty ballerina flats. For your wedding souvenirs, pashminas, scarfs or sunglasses are great ideas.
Phewww! That was long. Please fill free to participate in the questions I asked. It is just a way to create dialogue and interaction between myself and my readers.
Next post, “That Body, That Dress”,…till then kisses.
♥ J!
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Green and Yellow Mix
Hello Everyone!
How are you all doing?
I’d like to express my condolences to the families of the June 3, 2012 Dana plane crash. That was a sad Sunday, which dealt a hard blow to me and a lot of my friends. May the faithful God we serve, be our strength and comfort, and may the souls of the departed be welcomed with Joy into ever loving arms of our Heavenly Father, in Jesus name. Amen.
I had promised some time ago, to do a colour combination of green and yellow. Thus the title post.
Remember the Primary Colour Kingdom of far way? And its distinguished families of Red, Yellow, and Blue? Lol!
Green happens to be a love child of Blue and Yellow, thus making it a secondary colour. Yellow is one of the prominent families in the Primary Colour Kingdom of far way. Personally I think Green is best friends with Yellow. This is because in colour wheels they mostly placed juxtaposed.
Green is said to be an earthy colour, because you can identify it with nature, like trees, foliage , grass etc. It can be categorised as a colour of new beginnings, nature, wealth stability, growth, fertility, renewal, abundance etc. Yellow is often considered and associated with hope, courage, and sunshine. It can also be said to have a sense of happiness, cheerfulness, brightness, and energy giving of colours.
Green is never just green alone in “Aso Ebi” (Friends/Family uniform) colours. It’s usually type or shade of green. These are the popular/common shades of green used in for Aso Ebi in Nigeria, they are;
- Olive Green
- Mint Green
- Bottle Green
You could confuse a simple person if you said your wedding colours were deep mustard yellow and rich foliage green. Lol!
In simple terms that means, bottle green and dark yellow. Don’t go saying fancy names, like canary yellow or sunbeam yellow, you’ll confuse them. It’s either yellow, light yellow or dark yellow. You can almost (if not never) find colour combinations of green and white as weddings colours, only during Nigeria’s Independence Day Celebrations or some political rally or significant federal occasion.
When you combine green and yellow, you get a lime green/lemon green or lemon yellow colour combination. That’s one of the many beauties of green and yellow, they complement each other very well.
How to Mix Green Yellow
Sometimes, using just green and yellow, as your wedding colours may seem a bit too much in terms of brightness and its over powering ambience. You can calm down the bursting brightness by adding a softer colour to the mix. In the above inspiration board I made, the lemon/lime green table setting has pastel pink flowers that gives the brightness a more subdued welcoming feel, like this colour palette below.
Also, when using Green and Yellow for a garden wedding reception décor, choosing a darker shade of green or softer shade of green, would help compliment the natural foliage you have in the surrounding, with a touch of yellow and white, would pull it all together.
Unless your wedding is in the middle of the Saharan Desert or the icy tundra lands of Siberia. Hehehe!
Other colours to compliment Green and Yellow mix it
Remember my earlier post on Zesty Tangerine Tango?
Well, the Zesty Tangerine Tango and its shades of oranges to coral and peach mix very well with Green and Yellow!
A few décor tips
TIP 1: if you do decide to have your colours as green and yellow, and as an afternoon garden wedding reception, I strongly suggest letting your décor should be with touches of green and yellow, with a white base background colour.
TIP 2: if you decide to have your wedding reception in doors, and the wall colours are either cream, off white (ivory) or white, I suggest the same thing as TIP 1. It is with this that the use of LED light effects would be very handy.
Tip 3: when your décor is minimal, it is your chosen colours that will make beauty of the décor to pop!
I do hope all these random ramblings of mine make sense. Lol!
♥ J!
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Purple’s Delight
Hello!
In my last post, I spoke about mother’s day. I don’t know if anyone noticed the shades of pink that was involved in the inspiration board? Hmm…I guess not. Not to worry, I’ll refer to it soon. I also mentioned in my last post that I was going to talk about the love of Purple by two friends of mine. i have come to appreciate the colour now more than ever before. So, I here by dedicate this post to my dear friends “FahLily” and “Mizez Smalls”, the true lovers of Purple’s Delight!
So let’s start with a brief story of Purple.
Once upon a time, there were 3 prominent families of the Primary Colours Kingdom, far far way. The families were Red, Yellow and Blue. They were the great descendants of White and Black. One day, the families of Red and Blue decided to arrange the marriages of both their children, Lady Redd and Sir Blu. Lady Redd and Sir Blu had beautiful PURPLE children.
Now, Lady Magenta (Lady Redd’s Dark twin sister), was Sir Blu’s secret lover, however she was banished to live in a tower by their father, The Duke of Red because she was pregnant with Sir Blu’s babies!
Lol! I’m sure everyone is probably laughing their heads off, but I do hope you understand the theory behind the story, with the colour palettes to give a clearer understanding of the different hues that can be generated from combination of red and blue, and blue with magenta. I will talk about magenta another day, promise. But right now, it’s all about PURPLE!
In Nigeria, when you are told that the colour of the day for an event is Purple, its majorly associated with gold or silver. Purple is categorised and associated with royalty, nobility, death, Lent, Easter, Mardi Gras, upper class, poison, friendship, passion, wisdom, rage, sympathy, wealth, sophistication etc.
With the above Purple colour palette, those shades of purple are usually confused as shades of red and pink. Trust me, I didn’t know either until I researched it. FYI, there is no burgundy in that family of magenta and blue purple, burgundy IS NOT related wine. They look alike, but don’t share the same combinations. In that family they have, mauve (which could also be called sangria), plum, wisteria, iris, wine, lilac, lavender, and indigo. Where’s violet I hear someone ask. It’s the last bottom box to the right in the colour palette of red and blue purple.
I also went searching for colours that could be mixed with all the shades of the purple family and I ended up registering to a colour lovers community called COLOURLovers, lol. I also found a blog with colour theories that helps with deriving colour themes from fabrics and general surroundings.
Now here are some purple shades mixed with OTHER colours other than the usual, gold, silver, and lilac.
I love this combo! Notice the difference in the shades of purple? See this inspiration board below.
Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, purple and orange are lovely together!
Wow! With all these colours popping everywhere I’m excited! Here is a link to the Knots wedding site, where i played around with purple pictures for a clients inspiration board. http://www.theknot.com/inspiration-boards/Gallery/Details/99080
I do hope you like these colour combos. I’d love to hear from you soon. *kisses* and have a lovely week.
♥ J!
- http://www.colourlovers.com
- http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/02/08/color-theory-for-designer-part-3-creating-your-own-color-palettes/
- http://www.theknot.com/
- http://www.myweddecorations.blogspot.com.
- Wikipedia
I Love 9ja Owambe 