A blog about all things Nigerian wedding/event decor related with relevant tips, ideas and advice. It is a spinoff of our main website www.christinescreatives.com
Thursday, 4 July 2013
Honoring and appreciating your parents on your wedding day
Honoring and appreciating your parents on your wedding day is one of the most heartfelt gestures that you can do, to show you your parents how much you truly love and appreciate all they have done to bring you to this point. Below are a few tips that your can incorporate into your wedding. Enjoy!
Image by The Sugared Plums on Etsy
1. During the ceremony,
have the officiant mention the names of any deceased parent or
grandparent, and how much they influenced and molded you to the
individuals you are today.
Had to share this wedding music video by Flavour ... Ada Ada.
Love, love this video! The bride and her ladies looked gorgeous, plus the traditional dancers, the decor, the traditional attires were all on point. As the song says "Better soup na money kill am!...". We love Nigerian weddings :)
It has been a very busy week for us, from designing and creating wedding event decor to creating wreaths and decorating a laying-in-state. It certainly brings with it a whole lot of emotions... From joy and laughter, to a more somber and reflective mood.
With every event that we design and decorate, we realize more and more how our services impact life events - Baby showers, birthdays, weddings, promotions, 'just because', funerals... It is these events that give us pause, and remind us that everyday is a gift and that we should appreciate and maximize every minute of it. we should celebrate life while we can, and not get bogged down by things around us that we have no control over.
We certainly hope that you live life to the fullest, so that when you look back on your life many years from now you can smile and say to yourself "I lived my life the best I could... I did my very best"
We hope you all had a great week, and hope you have an awesome weekend!!! Cheers!
So yesterday evening I attended a Google+ hangout hosted by a couple of big names in the wedding industry, including +HauteLook and +Nordstrom and it was such a blast! They addressed a lot of very interesting questions that brides have about planning their weddings including: pre-wedding diet routines, trending colors for 2014, and wedding cake alternatives (which i'll be discussing in this post). One of the things I've learnt over the years being in the wedding planning/event decor business is that typically the components of every wedding are generally similar - you just need to tailor the wedding to the environment, culture, religion and demographics of the wedding attendees and host(s).
With regards to wedding cake alternatives, one of the more common alternatives is cupcakes. Most people love the idea of individualised cakes for their guests, and the different look and feel of their cake table. In addition with cupcakes you don't have to worry about cutting a huge cake on site. Read more »
Seriously...How would you pick your Bridesmaids/Maid of Honor without causing drama? For a lot of brides, picking the ladies on their bridal train isn't quite so easy. There's family politics to consider, and there are friends who just assume they'll be on your train because you've know them since forever, or because they invited you to be on their train... yep! Here are a few tips that may (and i stress 'may') make selecting your bridesmaids a little easier: 1. Bachelorette party - Pick bridesmaids who will make it their mission to throw you the funnest bachelorette party ever! After all, it's the last time you get to celebrate as a single woman. Do not complain that 'no one has your time or cares' if you decide to pick ladies who are too busy or just don't have a clue - that's all on you dear! Read more »
Seeing as we have focused on bridal accessories over the last couple of posts, I figured it is only fair that we give the guys some real estate on here. Besides, yesterday was father's day... so they get special preference :) Below is an orange and green color palette for the groom. What do you think?
In our line of work we meet a lot of vendors - cake decorators, musicians, photographers, caterers, makeup artists etc. Some of these vendors have been in the industry for years and are professionals at their trade, while some are still honing their skills. Obviously, we always hope we meet other vendors on site whose work compliments our event decor so that the event looks beautiful, very well put-together and is an overall success!
On this post we will be featuring one of our favorite vendors - Syndy's Cakes, located in Abuja, Nigeria. Syndy's cakes is a high-end cake boutique that caters to brides who are looking Read more »
The smile on Ifeoma's face as she walked down the aisle with her dad to meet her love - Uyi was... priceless!!!
Ifeoma and Uyi tied the
knot in Lagos on June 1st, 2013. We are so happy and congratulate the both of them. Ifeoma
wore a beautiful form fitting lace wedding dress that flattered her
figure and flowed gracefully as she walked down the aisle. She carried a beautiful hand-tied bouquet
with multi-colored roses, and was accompanied by her bridemaids dressed in elegant orange dresses.
As you all know we LOVE! LOVE!! LOVE!!! weddings, and today we could not resist writing about a story we found on another blog (http://womeninwedding.wordpress.com/2013/05/27/colorful-nigerian-wedding/). Congrats to Gbemi and Yewi's for tying the knot in April, 2013.
Gbemi & Yewi's wedding in Dubai
What caught our attention about this wedding is the simplicity, creativity and class that you can see and feel through the pictures.
The bride is dressed in a simple lace and satin dress, Jimmy Choo shoes and is carrying a beautiful posy bouquet. You can tell it's expensive, but not overdone... she is simply classy!
The bridesmaids are all
wearing bright colored dresses that complement each other and
carrying a single rose. Absolutely no fuss, and definitely classy. We are definitely loving the this wedding already!!! Read more »
So you were selected as the
honorary event planner/host at your workplace; you planned the perfect
event - food, drinks, decor, music, theme - the whole shebang. Everything on
point! You are super proud of yourself and pat yourself on the back!
You can see everyone's enjoying the live band while chowing down on the 3
course meal, all of a sudden you hear one of the guests shriek "Ewww.... there's a fly in my drink!" What do you do? (a) size her up and down, then
decide whether or not she's V.I.P enough to deserve your attention (b) pretend
you didn't hear a thing - after all you are only the event planner/host and not the 'help'? (3) be the perfect host and get one of the servers to
replace the drink... for real, how would you deal with the situation?
There are a few things to consider when it comes to event hosting etiquette. Regardless of the type of event - cocktail,
gala, workshop, barbeque, luncheon - it is your responsibility as the host to ensure that
every guest (regardless of VIP status) is adequately taken care of.
Obviously, it is fine to assign specific servers to VIP guests, however, you need to
ensure that your other guests are not neglected.
If you are planning/hosting an event soon, below are some hosting etiquette you could consider for your next event:
Ensure all your guests have food and drinks within a reasonable period of time. The last thing you
want is people complaining about not having enough food and drinks at the
event
Ensure alcoholic beverages are put away at least 1 – 2 hours
before the event ends (this reduces the risk of people driving home intoxicated. It’s
your party – you set the rules!)
Mingle – make sure you are available to your guests, and that you
are moving around and making small talk. Do not hangout with only one group of
guests, that could make other guests feel less important
Make sure everyone is having a great time! Introduce guests who
may have come alone to other guests. This will ensure no one feels left out
One last thing, make sure the music volume is at a comfortable
level so people can hear themselves when they chat at the tables, and those who
feel like dancing can also dance.
Now that you have these 'perfect-host' tips, how would you respond to the guest who found a fly in her drink? :) . Have a great time
planning/hosting your next event and enjoy the video below! Cheers!!!
Do traditional weddings trump white weddings? - culturally that is...
Some people are of the opinion that traditional weddings trump white weddings when it comes to its cultural depth and richness. No doubt, each type of wedding has it's place in our society. While the traditional wedding is more about the fusion of two families, the white wedding is about the creation of a new nuclear family - in the presence of God and man.
Traditional weddings are typically preceded by the
families meeting for the introduction ceremony, so that elders on both sides of the families can be introduced to one another. It then progresses to the actual traditional
wedding ceremony where the groom formally asks for the bride's hand in
marriage. With the traditional wedding you experience a culture of respect, responsibility and love. More and more, couples are getting married
inter-tribally, and the choice to fuse our cultures helps us appreciate the richness and diversity that we possess as a people. We are truly blessed as a nation! Read more »
Live abroad but planning to get married at home (Nigeria)?
Do you live abroad but want to get married at home? Congratulations!!! You've just decided to plan a destination wedding!
Destination weddings are fun - especially if you are going back home to get married. You get to leave your home-away-from-home to get married in an environment that is exciting, different and culturally rich. Planning a wedding from a distance may seem a little challenging, but if well planned is usually well worth it. You get to re-immerse yourself in the local culture; the people, the language, the food, the clothing, the music... ohhh the music - the Nigerian music industry is growing by leaps and bounds! Absolutely love the video below - "Obi Mu O by Obiora Obiwon"
Since you are so far away, you'll probably have very little control over most parts of the wedding planning process - and may have to rely on friends and family to help you with a lot of the running around.
However, you can still be involved by clearly communicating your vision for your Read more »
Revlon Entice 190 - My new favorite nail color :).
The original topic I wanted to blog about today was "Celebrity bouquet look a-likes". I planned to look for nice Nigerian celebrity wedding bouquet pictures online, was going to compare them to pictures of wedding bouquets made by Christine's Creatives, and then write about how to plan a Nigerian celebrity wedding on a budget... Wellll that didn't happen now did it? I started my research for wedding pictures, and celebrity wedding after celebrity wedding, all i could find was major DRAMA. Kai!! From stories of Nollywood stars who married other people's husbands, to a Nollywood actor who was planning a 'secret' second wedding - without the knowledge of the first wife (*Akiyesi God is watching you in 3D!). Seeing as I couldn't find any drama-free Nigerian celebrity, I figured I would write about my new favorite nail color - Revlon Entice 190! Read more »
Nigerian traditional wedding cakes are a thing of beauty and sheer creativity. The detailed work that goes into telling a story through a Nigerian traditional cake is astonishing.
From ankara prints, to traditional gourds, beads, clothing and even people - Incorporating traditional cakes as part of a traditional wedding adds color, richness and depth, while also acknowledging the Nigerian culture.
