weddings
TAMING THE GUEST SIZE Part 1
Hi ya!
How are you all doing? Good I believe. Whatever way it is I Celebrate You!
Any English literature student wouldn’t think twice as to who, when, what, and where my post title came from. Well, I am certain that the famous William Shakespeare play, “Taming The Shrew”, has no relations to this post, but I am hopeful a little link may be derived. Loll!
This topic says a lot, and it has been a festering peeve in my mind since the day I ventured into the world of events. However, I do strongly advice readers the sensitivity of this post, so I beg of you, to please read with an open mind and with ultra-super shock absorbing caution. Loll! :D. Also there may not be any pictures put up in this to stimulate the urge to carry on reading.
I asked a few close colleagues in events, what their opinions were about having a large crowd at events they had attended or managed. 3 out of 5 had quite a lot to complain about, 1 said she was indifferent and the other person said she rather enjoys it (odd).
In this harsh economy crisis worldwide, where everyone is tightening their spending purse, and taking to account of every last N 1.00, whilst singing constantly to everyone’s hearing, “there’s no money oooo!” Why are there still Nigerians, having colossal, enormous, and gargantuan, proportions of at their events? They usually range from 1000 to 2500 and above. The main culprits are usually the singers of “there’s no money oooo!” Here are some of the experiences from friends in the events industry I had spoken to.
**Theirs names, venues, and places have been changed for strictest confidentiality.
“Jumoke, it was the next thing to a horror movie, true! The annoying things is that we planners get blamed for the clients’ atrocities.”
Meet **Jaime. Jaime had a client who had set everything for guest size of 500 people. The bride and groom made a exigency plan for an extra 150 people, should in case their guest size expanded. However, the couple got MORE than they had bargained for. Jaime said she was in the restroom at the venue, to freshen up after ensuring the venue was set for the arrival of guests.
“Jumoke, which was how one of my assistants burst into the restroom saying, ‘J the community has arrived!’”
Jaime said, she was confused, and went out to see and understand what her assistant was fretting about.
“Jumoke that was when I saw two 18 seater buses filled with women and a few men, all clad in bright red geles, red double wrappers and white puffed armed blouses, chatting loudly and bouncing into the venue.”
Jamie said that by the time the bride and groom had arrived from the church, not only where there no more seats inside the venue, there were crowds of people were hovering outside at the foyer and the main entrance. Food, drinks, sweets, and all edibles had exhausted. Even contingency backups were gone in a hearts’ beat. Trusting Nigerians, a small squabble had begun at the food stations. Jaime said her main concern where the couple, their parents, and the couple’s friends, and they were all fine.
Jamie and her assistant did a guest size estimation and realized that there were approximately over a 1000 plus guests, as opposed to the 500 to 650 people the couple had prepared for.
My sympathies to Jamie. Let me give my own personal experience with dealing with “unplanned and not informed” large guest sizes.
I coordinated an event for one my mum’s close friend some time ago. I have known this aunty since when lost my front teeth as a kid. I was told my aunt that it was going to be a wedding reception for 1000 people. The venue was quite tight, in terms of table setup for 1000 guests, inclusive of food stations and desserts station in the venue. I found out that the hall is meant to seat only 800 people, banquet style, comfortably.
As you can imagine and guess rightly, the venue was filled to OVER CAPACITY! Mind you, while I was being harassed by disconcerted, flustered, rude, insolent and annoyed guests, to find seats for them, the venue manger called me aside and informed that their last reserve of standby 1000 chairs and 100 tables are all in the venue, and I should please kindly inform people that there were no more seats. Aka, NO MOR SHEIR AND TEBU!
Can you imagine that? Here’s an interesting conversation I overheard with the bride and a friend in tête-à-tête while I was dismantling the wedding cake after the reception.
Her friend: “Your people plenty o.”
The bride: (bride laughs) “I don’t even know three quarter of the people here!”
Hmmm….comments anyone?
An event planner friend of mine told me this “Nightmare on Elms Street” house of horror wedding (all in her words), she “supposedly” “tried” to plan and coordinate a while ago.
Event Planner’s Code Name: 009 **Jane Buns (ROTFL!!!):-D
Jane Buns said that the bride came to her on recommendation from a friend in the UK. The bride was based in the Canada, however both parents of the couple are here in Nigeria. The brides’ parent are in Lagos and the groom’s parents in Ibadan, Oyo state. Jane said when she first met the bride, she was all smiles and teeth, seemingly naïve yet funny, and stingy. I told Jane that smiles, teeth, and stinginess should have set off red flags. Her problem with this bride was that the family were not up front about their budget and financial constraints for the wedding preparations, which made planning difficult and boiling point annoying (as Jane said).
The brides mum had insisted fervently on having a guest size of 1000 people and also having a venue on The Island to accommodate the expected guest size. All these proposed on the most minuscule budget ever. Another Red Flag. Though the bride and groom had initially asked for the wedding to take place at their place of residence, Canada, the bride’s mother disagreed to this plan. So, the couple opted for Lagos, and asked for a guest size of 500 people, because the groom made it known that his extended family and friends were not up to 200 and were not the party type. Again, that was disapproved by the bride’s mother.
Jane said what really rattled her chains was that after she had successfully solicited and haggled with 2 prominent venues on the Island for the traditional ceremony and the white wedding reception, at almost near redundant ridiculous prices, the expected 1000 people guest from the bride’s mother did not match up!
“Jumoke, enraged cannot describe how I felt at the events!” not only was the groom correct about his small nonparty animal family, the bride’s invited guests were less than 300 on the day of the traditional ceremony, and less that 500 on the day of the white wedding reception.
She said it so bad that, for the traditional wedding, once the all formalities and the ceremony was over the groom’s family left. Once they left the whole place became void, only handful of the bride’s family and friends were present. For the white wedding reception, Jane said that the hall seating arrangement was split into two, groom’s side and the bride’s side. 5 tables on each side of the hall were removed to accommodate the caterers and make shift for tables and chairs that didn’t have table cloths and chair covers on them. Yet, the groom’s side only occupied about 15 to 20 tables on their on side. Jane then describe hall as ridiculous because the groom’s family were placed at the entrance, so if you were a guest, you would enter and notice that half of the hall was scanty while the other side was just as sparsely populated also. Hmmm…
I don’t want this topic to drag on, so I will; end it here, and continue in part two of taming the guest size.
Enjoy! ♥ J!
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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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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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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!
I Love 9ja Owambe 