As you all know, there are gazillion things that need to be planned prior the wedding; therefore, usually 10 to 12 months are being put aside for the whole planning process.  Nevertheless, time may not be a luxury item that all engaged couples have.  In our case here, we were being approached by the mother of the groom six weeks before the wedding.  Yes, SIX WEEKS ONLY!  But that’s not it, the most nerve wrecking part is that the wedding took place on February 10th, which was two days before the Winter Olympics began!

If you are a Vancouverite, you’d probably know all hotels and restaurants have been fully booked at least a year in advanced for the Winter Olympics.  Given that February 10th is the full dress rehearsal for the international event, finding a decent venue was just extremely difficult.  But fear not, for I am the “wedding goddess”, whatever the clients ask, they shall receive.

The mother of the groom asked for having a nice hotel in downtown as the venue, and *BOOM!* I got them a nice banquet room on the 34th floor at the Hyatt Regency Hotel with nice mountain scenic view.  After finalizing the venue, I then worked with the catering manager about customizing the scrumptious gourmet buffet menu for them.  As the bride and groom were 3000 miles away in Shanghai, and the parents of the groom didn’t have specific vision for the wedding, I had to create all color combination and designs, make all the decisions, and hope to God that they’d like it.

Since the client wanted to have an elegant and luxurious style wedding, I decided to go for the purple/pink/silver color combination.  Given that it is an intimate wedding of 30 people at a mid-size banquet room, it is important to use fancy backdrop drapes to decorate the room and use gorgeous vertical floral arrangements to make a statement.  I had a blast playing with the room layout, designing the centerpiece arrangements, and organizing with all the other vendors.

It was a busy 6 weeks, but it was fun!  That again assures me how much I love wedding planning.  If I ever win lotto max, I’d quit my full-time job in a heart beat, and do wedding planning for free!

When it comes to weddings, flowers usually become a large part of decorations.  Whether it’s bouquets for the bride and bridesmaids, boutonnieres for groom and groomsmen, or centerpieces for the banquet tables, most couples simply think of flowers.

No matter you’re using roses or calla lilies, mums or gerbera daisies, the fact is that no guests are ever going to remember how nice your floral arrangements may look.  On the other hand, if you think outside the box and create some non-floral decorations, those unique touches will certainly make a lasting impression.

So…who makes a rule saying a bouquet needs to be a floral bouquet?  What if some brides have major hay fever or simply dislike flowers, are they out of luck then?  Fear not! Here are some gorgeous ideas of non-floral bouquets:

Moreover, who says bride and bridesmaids have to carry a bouquet down the aisle?  Why can’t it be balloons? Paper parasols? Lanterns? Elegant clutches adorned with flowers or a brooch?  It’s YOUR grand entrance, so make a statement out of it!  Choose something that is either close to your heart or relevant to the wedding theme, and let your personality shine through starting from the first step you walk down the aisle.

Sorry, I haven’t been writing the blog once a week as I promise again.  Yes, I’m a “slogger” — a blogger who is also a slacker.  The Chinese New Year, Olympics, and a couple of new clients have stole away from my blogging time.  Now that the post Olympics hangover is gone, I will keep the blog up again!