Middle eastern events are amongst my favorite to do and that’s because I LOVE COLOUR…I love working with sexy shades of purple and pink, lush and exotic island  colours like yellow, orange and corals, and not to forget my favorite …ruby tones….where I use rich colours such as amethyst, and shades of green, with my favorite…EMERALD.

Below You will find some design ideas…Many are inspirational photos brought to my attention by my clients of what they would like to see Rias Designs do for their Special Day.

Henna: Every culture defines the henna night in different terms, but in giving you guys an introduction of the significance of the henna night, I will provide the example through a Arabic context. In Old Palestine, the henna night was a night used to prepare all the necessary wedding decorations and last minute arrangements. It was also a chance for the families to celebrate together before the wedding. The groom’s family would “sahij” or dance through the streets of the village until reaching the house of the bride. Once there, the family would mix henna together, which would then be used to decorate the bride and grooms hands (with the groom’s being merely the initials of his bride and himself), and then offer the bride her mahr (usually gold as it does not decline in value like other wealth). The families would then dance and sing traditional Palestine Music The Décor is always colorful, candles and lighting are a must.

Next I will display some gorgeous very VERY elaborate stage designs- often a traditional setup for weddings from countries such as Russia, India, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar as well as in the United Arab Emirates, with a list of clients from Royalties to VIP around the world.

With the picture below, you’r probably thinking why they have couches along the aisle…that seating is reserved for close family and elderly. I LOVE THIS LOOK

I Absolutely adore this stage (below) the crystal structure where the bride and groom would be seated as they are surrounded with thousands upon thousands of roses.                                                               

Take a look at the gorgeous wire chandelier accented with rose buds…LOVE!

GORGEOUS…love this victorian inspired setup!

So i saved the best for last, a custom designed stage by Ali Bakhtiar.

With over 15 years of experience Architectural and interior Design, Weddings and events Ali Bakhtiar Designs LLC is an International Company focused on high end projects for high profile clients around the world with offices in France and Dubai for its Middle East base and Asia, we have successfully completed International Projects in such countries as Europe, United Kingdom, United States, Russia, India, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar as well as numerous projects in the United Arab Emirates, with a list of clients from Royalties to VIP around the world.

Another Stunning setup by Mr. Ali…

You’re probably wonering…could this be your reality…. Yes it can. “Rias Designs make your dreams a reality”.

Many brides hate carnations, and the moment I suggest this flower they say “NO”…OMG that is such a  cheap, funeral flower…not for my wedding”

Carnations are flowers which are widely recognized by most people. They are classified as Dianthus caryophyllus, when translated, ironically means, “flower of love” or “flower of the gods”. There are approximately 300 species in the genus. Essential carnation oil in its absolute form is both rare and expensive. Many varieties produce a clove-like scent, and the aroma is said to be both uplifting and motivating. Not only are people attracted by their scent, but carnations also have an extended enjoyment period of anywhere from 7 to 21 days depending on the cultivar, harvest stage and flower food.

Personally I love working with carnations, but like everything else it has to be used in a certain way.  I would rarely use them within a mixed arrangement- large church or head table arrangements, but I LOVE using them on their own to create structured arrangements. I Love how Preston (one of my FAV floral designers) used white carnations to create these adorable poodles 

It was  gorgeous fall day and i was honoured to be apart of Aliki and Nick’s Special day.

After Nick finally popped the question to Aliki, the planning began, and after many months of planning, Nick and Aliki tied the knot on September 17th, 2011 at St. John’s Greek Orthodox Church, which was followed by a elegant and grand reception at the beautiful Liberty Grand, in downtown Toronto.

Our gorgeous bride, wanted to keep the evening simple, modern, but yet classy. Everything from the bouquets to the head table decor coordinated with the soft colour pallets accenting the Governors Ballroom at the Liberty Grand.

The theme was ivory and gold with hints of green. The chairs were wrapped with ivory rouged covers, accented with a ivory spandex band and gold broach. The tables were draped with soft crystal organza overlays, which were used as the base for our gorgeous centerpieces. The centerpieces filled with plump white hydrangeas, vendela roses and local white calla lilies. The beautiful arrangements sat on top of a 24inch pilsner vases, which were accented with crushed crystals and a LED light. The pin lighting pointing down on each table completed the look, giving this large space a more romantic and intimate vibe (for those of you debating on pin lighting…STOP the debate…LIGHTING is key and always needed).

While Aliki’s stunning bridesmaids carried a cluster of vendela roses, Aliki wanted her bouquet to be a a little different, so we decided to design a bouquet of long stem, imported, white calla lilies, which were tightly wrapped with studded aspidistra leaves and designed to be held on the side…STUNNING!

What a perfect couple, Breathe taking bride and a very handsome groom. May you guys be blessed with endless years of happiness, and we at Rias Designs would like to thank you for allowing us to be part of your special day. A special thanks to the beautiful photos shot by the very talented Richard Emmanuel.

Venue: Liberty Grand

Photographer: Richard Emmanuel (Website: http://richardemmanuel.com)

So i thought of using “BLING” as our inspiration and break out our brand new “BLING” collection, which arrived 3 days before the show. Upon our BLING arrival my whole concept changed and boy am I happy to have made that decision. Unlike many other exhibitors, many of my clients know when I do Canadas Bridal Show show I like to tell a story, to have a flow within my concepts, and this year I wanted to create something different. After many days of intensive research, my inspiration came from my Twitter background picture (if you havn’t followed us yet, don’t forget to follow us @riasdesigns).

Now that I had my inspiration staring right at me i got to work with the design. I originally planned to do a contemporary setup with acrylic pieces, white furniture, clean and simple, with the splash of colour from the vibrant pieces within my floral. Days before, our shipment arrived with our BLING collection and boy was i Happy. I ripped open some of the boxes, as the guys were unloading, super excited of the arrival and within seconds i told my wonderful team to start unpacking so i can get to work!

Within a couple hours, I starting playing around with a  new design, brought in some interior design elements and I had my concept. Our booth was a creation from my inspiration and research in Art deco design.

“Art deco  or deco, is anelectic, artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920sand flourished internationally throughout the 1930s and into the World War II era.The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial designs,fashion and jewelry, as well as the visual arts, such as painting, graphic arts and film. At its best, art deco represented elegance, glamour, functionality and modernity. Art deco’s linear symmetry was a distinct departure from the flowing asymmetrical organic curves of its predecessor style art nouveau; it embraced influences from many different styles of the early twentieth century, including neoclassical, constructive, cubism, modernism and futurism and drew inspiration from ancient Egyptian and Aztec forms. Although many design movements have political or philosophical beginnings or intentions, art deco was purely decorative.^“

“Architectural examples survive in many different locations worldwide, in countries as diverse as China (Shanghai), the UK, Latvia, Spain, Cuba, Mexico, Indonesia, the Philippines, Argentina, Poland, Austria, Germany, Russia, Romania, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India, Brazil, Colombia and the United States. In New York, theempire State Building and the Chrysler Building and Rockefeller Centerare among the largest and best-known examples of the style”

My outline of the Design created for Canada’s Bridal Show:

Inspiration: Art Deco Bling

Colours: Hot pink, shades of purple and white

Flowers: hydrangeas, mokara, dendrobium and phalaenopsis orchids and roses

Setup: Kings style head table, platinum and pearl furniture- accented with crystals, platinum tufted and soft fluff pillows

Booth setup at Canada's Bridal Show 201

Crystal Globe Set-Stunning Centerpieces

These Gorgeous crystal globes are not only stunning for accenting the head table but great for centerpieces-alone, with a wreath of flowers or with crystal pedestals accenting the base 9as in the picture), they are perfect for any setting.

Our beautiful 32 inch wired crystal globes are perfect for accenting the backdrop, the church or as a grand centerpiece…whatever you want to use this gorgeous piece for, be sure you will definitely drop some jaws.

Table Top setup with for our King style head table

Our beautiful crystal candelabra with our BLING flutes accented with a single orchid stem

Our Beautiful Manzanita tree with accenting Phalaenopsis orchids and cascading crytsal, Desigined within our Stunning 5ft BLING vase

And that’s it…our beautiful setup at Canada’s Bridal Show. I would like to thank my friend and excellent photographer Milena from MKG photography for taking these lovely pictures…thanks girl!

So i thought in doing Marissa and Anthony’s  decor we would do a vintage inspired wedding, but with a twist.

Colours: Chocolate brown, Gold and Ivory

Although the decor and flowers played a huge role in putting this theme together, everything else fell in place perfectly, with their vintage inspired wedding.

Marissa wore a stunning Enzoani lace gown in ivory from the Blue Collection. I Absolutely loved how everything was put together from her cathedral lace trimmed veil, crystal bracelet and tear drop earrings. The hair and makeup was perfect, very soft and elegant. The shoes…now here’s where the twists begin…Marissa decided against the typical ivory satin shoes…she went with with mocha coloured satin heels accented with rhinestones…SUPER HOT!

As for Marissa’s bouquet, I didn’t want to take away the beauty of her gorgeous gown, so i decided to keep it clean and simple, all in ivory and white accented with crystals.

The bridesmaids wore elegant chiffon tea length gowns. The gowns were in a mocha, while they held lilac roses with a mix of violet lisianthus…i suggested this contrast to bring in a little colour.

Transportation, now that should be obvious…yes you guessed it… Marissa and Anthony traveled in style…in a vintage off white Bentley

Ok now that we have the dress, accessories, makeup, shoes and bridesmaids dresses…I don’t think there’s anything else left…Oh yes the decor…I almost forgot!

Marissa and Anthony originally went with colours (mint green and chocolate brown) very few people chose, but they saw how different it looked and wanted to give their guests something to talk about.  They were not your typically cookie cutter couple and wanted things to be different. But after the sample setup, and after we put together some ideas and colours we ended up with a completely different idea…But i loved it…Vintage meets Vibance…

Large 9ft crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, crystal candelabras held a gorgeous mixture of vendela roses, white sweetheart roses, white lisianthus and accenting the arrangement were white ostrich feathers and dendrobium orchids. The tables were draped in chocolate brown raw silk. The chairs were covered in gold satin, while the knots of the chair covers were accented with gold cuffs and the tables were decorated with crystal table numbers and glass belmont changer plates

I love this Panoramic view of the entire room…Everything looks precise and perfect.

Everything looked perfect! Thank you Anthony and Marissa for allowing Rias Designs to be part of your very special day. May your new life with one another bring you nothing but years of happiness and love with one another.

Cake: Irressitable Cakes (I-cakes)

Hall: The Venetian Banquet and Hospitality Center

Video/Phot: Visions by David

1. Contest is open to all prospective wedding couples, residents of Ontario, 18 years of age or older, except employees and immediate family members (and/or persons domiciled with employees) of Rias Designs Inc. and affiliated companies, Fusion Couture and Irresistible Cakes (I cakes),
2. To enter, contestants must submit via email to Hooria@riasdesigns.com their love story and why they deserve to “Win Your Dream Wedding” by Rias Designs Inc. Must be no more than 250 words and must include at least 2 pictures of the couple. Excluded from the 250 words, each entry must include the wedding date, Venue and any other vendors already booked
3. All entries become the property of Rias Designs and may be used for any and all purposes and may include use of information on ballot in sponsor data bank and will not be returned.
4. Only one submission entry per couple will be eligible for a chance to “Win Your Dream Wedding”.
5. The chances of the entry being drawn will depend on the total number of eligible entries received.
6. Prize must be accepted as awarded with no cash substitutions in whole or in part allowed.
7. The approximate retail value of the “Win Your Dream Wedding” prize is a over Eight thousand dollars ($ 8000) credit toward a wedding package (the “Wedding” ) which includes the following: $ 4,000 credit from Rias Designs, for ONLY a wedding reception which is subject to availability*, Bridal Gown from Fusion Couture Bridal and Evening Wear $1500, Interior Design Gift Certificate of $500, Wedding Planning services $1000.00, Bridal Hair and Makeup $500.00, Cake from I-cakes $500.00.
8. Contest ends midnight on December 10th, 2011.

Centerpieces should look classy and elegant, not tacky. Now don’t get me wrong they work well for Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, Corporate Galas, Holiday Parties and trade shows, but I dont see them suitable for weddings. See some samples below…

They look fun and beautiful…but again not for a wedding. The only place i would consider using a feathered centerpieces at a wedding is maybe in the receiving on the place card table, as a presentation piece.

Now if you love feathers, and would like to incorporate them in your wedding theme, you can do this… but use them as a accents or as a accessory. For example:

• on your invitations
• menu cards
• rather then napkin rings- elegantly lay a d6inch feather ontop of your charger plate underneath a napkin
• within your bouquets
• on your signing book and even your pen

Now this is how i would use feathers at a wedding…

Flowers make a wedding, a wedding without flowers would make the room  look dry and cold…no matter how beautifully the hall is decorated or accessorized. These are events we did and some inspirational pictures we have used to create  a “feathered theme” wedding for one of our couples.

Marissa and Anthony wanted a very unique centerpiece, something that was traditional but had very elegant, but yet a vintage feel to it. This took a lot of research and i came across this, I instantly fell in love with it and so did they.  We used spray roses, vendela roses, white hydrangeas and imported white dendrobium orchids. This gorgeous arrangement sat elegantly on top of our crystal candelabras and then accented with gorgeous white ostrich feathers…OMG this looked stunning with her chocolate brown and gold themed decor at the beautiful Venetian

I absolutely love this…soft pallet of of antique and vendela roses and white peonies accented with strands of white ostrich feathers.

I LOVED THIS! A money box doesn’t always have to be a plain old box, personalizing a money box to your theme will complete the entire look and theme of your wedding.

So this is what i would suggest…keeping it simple, is the way to go.

I absolutely love these inspirational collages. Not only does it provide a wonderful starting point for any bride looking into a coordinating her wedding around a theme, but it provides wonderful ideas to detail often times overlooked by professionals within the business and brides.

I absolutely love this setting, these colours are so bold and rich!

Colours most popular for this theme are ruby tones:

• eggplant or aubergine
• teal
• gold
• chocolate brown
• navy blue

For this wedding we beautiful luxe taffeta tablecloths with eggplant napkins. The Chiavari chairs were gold with a ivory cushion and the decor of the backdrop was done in eggplant velvet draped in ivory sheer, with up lighting (Girls up lighting is a MUST!) to enhance and brighten the backdrop.

The centerpieces were STUNNING!- We used dark purple lisianthus, which sat between the the plump white hydrangeas giving the centerpieces that pop of colour. Purple stock and peacock feathers gave the top of the centerpiece that extra fullness, while exotic blue dendrobium orchids and cascading crystals completed the look at the base of the centerpiece, which then sat on top of a beautiful clarinet vase.

 Details are the key to enhance any decor- whether its a small intimate dinner party or a wedding for 500 people…detail is key! So what do i meanby detail..? Details are all those little things that can make a world of differnce. For example the pew accents, menu cards, bridal head piece and so much more…take a look at what i mean below…

So whatever the theme maybe don’t be afraid to step outside the box, take suggestions from your designer, but always have some of your ideas into how you think your wedding should look like..

I’ll leave you guys with a pictures of how the room looked like for our peaock inspired wedding….one word…STUNNING! It left not only my bride and groom in aw but the guests were blown away.

The Gorgeous bride and the bridal party with her First Dress-A stunning, classic Princess gown in tulle and french lace

Kim's second dress...OMG this was my Fav

The entire wedding had a black and white theme, and thousands of white roses were incorporated into the decor. Black and white fabric draped the entire room, while stunning black linens draped the tables and black spandex rouged chair covers covered the chairs…oops I almost forgot about the BLING…and we know Kim loves her Bling! The covers were accented with crystal cuffs, while  gorgeous crystal chandeliers hung between the white fabric draped along the ceiling. The tables were adorned with hanging arrangements with clusters of white roses, dendrobium and phalaenopsis orchids.

The Gorgeous Decor

The stunning cake---it stood 6ft Tall

The duo chose their cake — which cost an estimated $15,000 to $20,000 — on a July visit to Hansen Cakes in L.A. It was reportedly modeled after Prince William and Duchess Kate’s royal wedding cake. Wow that was a show stopper…I hope it tasted as good as it looked!

So now that you guys have read my blog on Kim and Kris’s wedding, you can do it to…and your first stop should be to have a consultation with Rias Designs, where we can show you our exclusive line of wedding centerpieces, wedding backdrops, specialty linens and chair covers, chiavari and tufted chairs and so much more to make  your day extra special.

Congratulations Kim and Kris and All the Best

So lets start with a spring couple, Brain and Vanessa, what a sweet couple and what a pleasure to work with. So when I met Vanessa and Brain we were swaying back in fourth with differnt ideas, and then we thought of doing something very fresh, to fit both their personalities and the season. Considering it was a spring wedding we decided to incorperate lush, rich colours such as fuschia, orange and purple.

The Very Handsome Groom and Stunning Bride...

Although, most assume white, ivory and champagne, are the appropriate wedding colours, now don’t get me wrong, I adore using these colours, but i also like stepping outside the box and using lush, exotic colours.

Check out some pics from my beautiful couples gorgeous wedding at The Paramount Conference and Event Venue and also a big thanks to Richard of Richard Emmanuel Photography.

Ravel and Circus roses accented with the variegated pit provided a stunning contrast against their coral dresses.

Vanessa carried a beautiful bouquet of orange and fuchsia roses, mango coloured calla lilies and white cymbidium orchids. The bouquet was wrapped in ivory satin and a string of rhinestones completed the base of the bouquet.

So for the decor…We used white satin linens, gold chiavari chairs and crystal pedestals with a gorgeous arrangement of oranges lilies, white hydrangeas, purple dendrobium orchids, orange and fuchsia roses. Vanessa completed the decor by making cute truffle boxes as her favours, which added that extra punch of colour to the tables. Oops i almost forgot the very cute orange and hot pink gerberas Vanessa added on the napkins…

The backdrop and head table were draped in white sheer, purple and pink up lighting provided by the venue washed the walls, giving room that extra added glow. The head table was accented with crystal candelabras, pedestals and votives, providing the room with that little bit of bling.

I Abosultly loved this cake, it was so FUN! The colours went perfectly with the theme and to give the cake table that extra punch, I decied to cluster a garland of fully bloomed hot pink and dark purple carnations.

Brain and Vanessa You guys were a pleasure to work with and I hope we were able to bring your vision to life….Congradulations and all the best.