When Charisse first shared with me her vision for her wedding, I was immediately hooked. She wanted to veer away from the usual pastels and chose blue & purple instead. I was a bit worried that the mood would be a little too dark, because we would be using two dark colours. But, it turned out really great!
We used crystals, tall trees and mood lights to transform the place into something truly magical. I personally oversaw the mood lights, which were placed at the stage and at the foot of 4 crystal trees. I insisted they change from blue to white to purple, and at a slow barely discernible rate, so that the effect was very subtle. And truly magical!
The gowns were tricky because we had to be careful matching two dark colours. I personally went and chose the cloth for her. I chose galaxy chiffon which is soft cloth with lots of twinkling on it just like silver dust, magical! And two-toned taffeta, which is hard-stiff cloth that changes colours depending on how the light hits the cloth.
Maynard was a refreshing change from my usual grooms. He was very hands-on and had a lot of helpful insights. Based on his suggestion, we made some last-minute alterations to the gowns which made them look even better. He also chose the vases and style of the flowers for the church aisle stands. He is the only groom I've ever met who gave input on flowers and gowns. (And I can't count the number of brides who come to me crying because they feel their grooms don't care about the wedding details.) Kudos, Maynard, may your tribe increase!
Charisse was also great to work with. She was one of the coolest brides I have ever worked with. I never saw her stress about her wedding. Not once.
There were so many blessings for their weddings. The last surprise turned out to be the best of all. Initially, we all wanted the Radisson Blu Santa Maria ballroom but, due to some constraints, we settled on the Nina ballrooms instead. Then, three weeks before the wedding, they gave us a special rate and we were able to move to the Radisson Blu Santa Maria ballroom after all. We were all so excited!
Their wedding day and also the preparations leading to it was very special to me, because although my brides know about Jed through my facebook posts, I seldom bring him to work. I still prefer to be professional about work. But, with Cha, I didn't have that limitation at all, because she was a close friend of the family.
Jed went with me when I made the floor layout. He was also at the food tasting and had very helpful feedback: "Mommy, why is there no cheese on their spaghetti?" which delighted Maynard very much.
Jed was also a guest at her wedding. He enjoyed the kiddie table very much and guided the younger kids at it. He was mommy's special helper, because I told him to watch the kids so they don't play at the stage while the reception was going on. He did great.
Here are the photos. You can see how handsome Maynard is and how lovely Charisse is! And how magical we made the place!
For the Maynard & Charisse's wedding, we also brought in special mood lighting effect that transformed the venue. Here's a video below to show you the lovely lighting. Note the changing lights on the crystals trees, from deep blue to plush purple.
More photos from Cha & Maynard's wedding here.
