I’m back people! After a bit of a hiatus (read: husband refused to keep blogging for me) I have once again been bitten by the blog bug. This time the catalyst was the Interior Design Show, held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on January 27th, 2012. I’m realizing that so many of the conventions taking place in Toronto are WELL worth the admission prices. Mind you, after I bought my tix, I figured out how to get free ones. Ick…but that’s another conversation – and I’ll loop you guys in before the next show if I can figure it out again!

‘Wondering what Interior Design has to do with special event décor? The answer is EVERYTHING! Trends are infectious. They transcend between all platforms; indoor and outdoor events, interior design, landscaping, textiles, you name it. Any knowledgeable decorator will tell you to get inspiration for your event décor from things you spot and love. If a gorgeous cupcake in a bakery window catches your eye, take a picture! Chances are you’d love to incorporate the frosting colour in your home. Likewise, if you love the print on a dress or wallpaper, you’d probably love it for your wedding invitations.

Here’s a rundown of some of the inspiration I took away from the show – and highlights of trends for 2012.

MORE of the same (Yay!): Don’t get the wrong idea. When I say “more of the same”, I do NOT mean to sound bored! I literally mean more crystal, more mirror, more feather and more lush fabrics…total winners in the pursuit of glam. What could be boring about that??

Bling is here to stay, folks – and no one is happier about that than me. Amazing crystal designs were presented at the show. I’m not just talking lamps. I’m talkin’ crystal buttons in upholstered headboards (to die for), floral arrangements with crystal embellishment, crystalized cushions….you get my drift.

As if the crystals weren’t enough, mirrored furniture is everywhere and super-hot. It really does give any room that va va voom factor. Not recommended for homes with small children …those who spend all their free time polishing fingerprints know what I mean. So, are you thinking “that’s old news”??….OK, but what about mirrored pillars and fireplaces?

Oh yes, they’re here.

Do you see what I’m saying about the power of “more”? Over the last two to three years, we’ve seen crystal chandeliers pop up everywhere. Now, the trend seems to be to “clusters” of chandeliers. And, of course…the trend is making its way to the tabletop too. Instead of a solo crystal global centerpiece, consider a trio that will make your guests drool – you can buy the globes yourself at home décor stores or rent from many decorators.

Finally, if you got through the last holiday season without seeing a feather Christmas tree, were you on an island for a few months? And if you took the plunge and bought one – don’t worry, your investment is safe! The trend isn’t disappearing anytime soon. Great news for decorators, too! Khazana’s peacock and feather boa-inspired centrepieces were some of our most popular creations in 2011.

Tons of great trends for this year, and I’m really happy that I got to make my first trip to the show. Thanks to Harvinder for the great photos.
Talk soon!

Wedding Season 2010 isn’t over but it’s time to start planning for next year.  We’ll be showcasing our designs and flowers at the 13^th annual Suhaag show at the Toronto Congress Centre.  Please come visit us at the show.  we look forward to meeting you.

Toronto Congress Centre

Show times:  11am – 7pm

For more information, please visit www.suhaag.com

We decorated the science centre this weekend.  Yes, as weird as it sounds it was an excellent venue for Nicole and Aniel.  The Bride is a high school Chemistry teacher and the groom has worked at the Science centre in the past.   Having a wedding is one thing but bringing two personalities and styles together in a unique way is another.  Makes the wedding that much more special and memorable.

The couple had a church ceremony in Brampton and after wards had a Hindu ceremony at the Terrace overlooking the forest at the science centre.  They wanted something simple for a mandap, so we did a fabric style mandap in hot pink, ivory and champagne.  The tent was bright green, so we swagged champagne taffeta and hot pink taffeta on the top of the tent.

The Creative couple made their own guest book since they both love playing scrabble.  CUTE!!!

Laboratory flask with flowers on the Receiving Table.

Loved this idea!!!

Periodic Seat Chart.  Now that’s thinking outside of the box.

Teejay my brother taking advantage of seeing the Science centre for FREE 🙂

Aneil the Groom was the teacher/coordinator for the electric ball.  He pulled some strings to have this for his cocktail hour.

After an eventful day, we’re ready to go home.  i just wanted to make sure the Cake table didn’t get knocked over.  It’s never happened…but never say never.

View from the Stairs behind the Backdrop.  Looking down at the round table for the Bride, Groom, Best man and Maid of honor.  Matching flowers, menus, orchids on the napkins and candles for a beautiful dinner catered by The HOST.

Backdrop- Simple but elegant

Fabrics:  Ivory Shear and Brown Pin Tuck fabric

Green Uplighing (Which you couldn’t see on a beautiful sunny day.  I’m sure it looked amazing at night.

Centre piece: White Lilys with two pink orchids

The Couple made a donation to a chirty as their giveaway.  Even the colors on the card matched the color theme.  The element card design was an excellent touch as well.

Beaker Vase with flowers.

Thanks to Aneil and Sonia we had the honor of working with the Bride and Groom.  Thanks guys for a great referral!!!

Ready to leave but Aneil (friend of the Groom) thought he would start dancing before the party actually started.   Kuldeep, my dad and i just posing in the picture in the background.  Harvinder our personal photographer always captures our funny moments.

Job well done Teejay.  Coffee break well deserved and thanks for wearing our T-Shirts 🙂

Bridal Bouquet- The Bride was wearing a white wedding dress and changed into a saree for the Hindu ceromoney and back to her wedding dress for the reception.  Her bouquet worked well with both outfits and also added wonderful touch of color to the headtable.

Bride maid’s Bouquets.

Our team did a great job setting up but hats off to the Bride & Groom.  They really brought everything together very well.  From Outfits of the Bridal party to the colored paper used for the seating charts.  Everything was perfectly coordinated.

Congratulations to Aniel & Nicole.  Best wishes from Khazana creations.

Winter Suhaag Show 2010

Toronto Congress Centre

February 07, 2010

This year was the first year we went with deep colors for the show.  We weren’t sure if we should set up a booth with clean lines and soft colours as always or do something with a lot of bright colors.   I feel doing dark colors can sometimes compete with your outfit and the wedding party.  But with purple being a hot color this year for outfits and brides maids, doing colors dark or lighter than deep purple would be a great idea .  For the Winter 2010 show, our color palette was Aqua, Red and Gold.  All three colors would look amazing with Purple when used properly.  Having too many colors in your backdrop will bring more attention to the backdrop and not the Bride and Groom.   Take a look at the pictures from the show.

Aqua Glitter Fabric with gold shimmer Taffeta fabric, Gold Satin, Red and Aqua Crystals, Rain drop Candles and mini chandeliers

Sqaure Martin Glass with red sweet heart roses and aqua crystals

Tall Vase with aqua and red feathers with red sand

Vase with Aqua orchid kissing ball

Vase with one stem of White Cymbidium Orchid and Red sand

Vase with red princess ball and Aqua crystals inside the vase

Vase with Aqua Orchids with stones

Freedom Red roses with clear crystals and Aqua ribbon

Bouquet with beautiful cream Roses and Red ribbon with Gold embellishments

Accessories:  Mini Gold Chandeliers and Red Crystals

Booths Decorated at the Suhaag Show:

Jamayz – Custom bridal,South Asian evening and party wear, Unique Designs in Mississauga.

Sherbano- Trendy clothing

We used basic soft White shears for their booth to ensure that the clothing was the focal point, allowing the designs to  shine and not the decor.  The booth looked amazing with the simplistic layout of the  mannequins and the lightness of booth decor. This drew clients in to stop and have a look and will leave a lasting impression.

Ethnic Empire- Men’s Formal Wear

We used Black and Red  to create a striking  booth design for Ethnic Empire – Men’s Formal Wear. The colours worked well for two reasons, one they carry the company’s colours through helping to brand the booth and second it creates a backdrop which  allows the clothing to standout.   If we added more Red and a little less Black the outfits would have blended into the background. The Red touches of fabric at the base of the mannequin is just the prefect amount of Red to create the desired effect.

We would love to hear your feedback on colors for 2010.

• The Date is set- check
• The Venue is booked – check
• The Wedding card is picked – check
• The outfits are picked- check

NOW comes the fun part- choosing the reception decor. We all dream about  our wedding and want it to be magical and memorable.  What better way to make the night last in you and your guests memories than with fabulous wedding decorations.

Picking the right colours to match or coordinate with your outfit is key to making an impact and in creating a theme and flow. A handy tip when meeting with your decorator would be to take a piece of your outfit like the lengha, dupatta, or your blouse. Countless times I have met the bride and groom to finalize everything and a few weeks later the outfit from India arrives-its not the right shade-eight out of ten times the Bride and Groom always change their colours.

You don’t have to match with the decorations but take into consideration having splashes of the colour throughout or pick colours that will compliment the colours of your outfit. This will make you stand out and shine!

This is a picture from my wedding.  Whenever I went to weddings I always noticed the groom’s side always matched with Burgundy and Gold and the brides side would be left with wearing boring colours like Cream and Gold. When picking my lengha colours I kept in mind that my husband side was going to wear Burgundy and I didn’t want to be left with the basic Creams and Gold for my wedding party and family. I added Orange and Aqua stones in the embroidery of my Red lengha and used those colours for my side of the family for the ceremony.

My younger brothers wore  Orange and the older guys wore Gold kurta’s accesoried with  Aqua duputta’s and a Orange boutonniere.  This helped tie in the colours of my Lengha with the Wedding party

My three sisters wore elegant Aqua Salwar Kameez suits with Orange embroidery, another great tie in!

My little beautiful flower girl wore the same colour as me with Orange crystals on her suit. I would  have loved for her to wear a mini version of my lengha but she was too small at the time.

Our wedding party was outstanding troopers. It was 8 degrees the day of our wedding and a night  after a big snow storm. With no jackets and sandals we took some great pictures outside in a fresh snowfall.   As you can see all the men wore kurtas with Gold and Burgundy dupattas and my bride’s maids were wearing Gold with Aqua dupattas trimmed  Orange and Gold fabric matching my lengha.

The Reception Outfit

My wedding reception lengha was a unique combination of Ice blue, Pink and Lavender. Our wedding theme was Winter Wonderland (Ice blue, Silver and White) My husband wore a Grey suit as I thought black would be too dark with my outfit. His tie was Lavender matching only my outfit and nothing else. Something to keep in mind is YOUR not the decoration. So when your picking the colours for the hall make sure everything matches with the colours you picked for the hall not your outfits. I was wearing three different colours but they were not all used in my backdrop or hall décor, i only picked a few key colours.  As a decorator you could imagine I wanted to do everything under the sun and have everything ever invented at my wedding.  Not possible so-I made a little rule for myself- when I was shopping for decoration supplies and accessories my rule was: If it’s not Silver, Ice blue or White I can’t buy it. So whenever I picked up something to buy, I said this line over and over…if it fit my criteria I was allowed to buy it.

Pictures of the wedding décor: