Tiki Theme Party

I´m often asked to style and decorate pre-wedding and post-wedding parties at villas as well as the wedding itself which is awesome as it gives clients (and myself!) a chance to get really creative and go crazy. Whether it´s the day before or the day after the wedding, the look can (and I believe should) be completely different so that guests feel like they are at a totally different venue altogether. Use a different area of the villa or if that´s not possible, be creative with the space. Often we create Moroccan styled events with chill-out areas decorated with colourful fabrics, lots of rugs scattered around, lanterns and cushions but sometimes couples want to push the boat out and create something really different as often in the UK or Ireland (where a lot of my clients are from) the weather doesn´t allow many pool parties so a Tiki Theme party for instance is a chance for some serious fun. 

The trick is getting the balance right between fun and funky and just plain tacky with this theme. One of the easiest ways to do this is with the colour palette. By choosing 3 or 4 main colours and using 2 of them in prominent places throughout the party will bring a unity to the event. For example use pink for the flamingos, and pink in your table decorations as well as in the lighting around the villa. Then use say, use turquoise for napkins and add a turquoise sugar rim to your cocktail glasses. Little bits here and there really do bring everything together and although it may not seem like it in theory using such bright colours at different sides of the spectrum, it really does work - trust me! And avoid those little paper umbrellas that folks used to put in cocktails. Nothing will ever make them look cool. 

Photo sources: Pink flamingos - getflocked.com, Cocktail - loveitsomuch.com, Chair - photographed by Corbin Gurkin, Totem pole sweets - birdsparty.com)

Pretty in pink wedding at El Oceano Beach Hotel

Happy New Year! This being my first post of 2014 I thought I would sweep away the winter blues and add a ray of sunshine with a pretty in pink wedding that we created way back last summer at the fabulous El Oceano Beach Hotel in Mijas. 

Firstly, El Oceano is a fab place whether the sun is shining or not. Right there on the beach with amazing views it was no surprise that Sarah and Paul chose this venue. I was contacted by Paul early on in their wedding planning to create an elegant setting incorporating Sarah´s love of the colour pink. That said, Paul didn´t want pink overkill so we used white as a base colour with touches of pink here and there. 

The ceremony was outside in the grounds of the hotel and honestly, no matter how many weddings we do here I am always blown away by how beautiful the views are. So with this in mind, the ceremony was kept elegant and fuss-free with beautiful flowers from Maxine4Flowers. 

After the ceremony guests were treated to an hour or so of relaxing in the sun while drinking cocktails and then were invited into the restaurant. Again with such amazing views Paul didn´t want to detract from them too much but still wanted to create a bit of a visual impact so we used tall martini glasses with crystals and lots of floating candles for their table centrepieces which we surrounded by more candles - loving the romantic look! - and pink and white petals scattered on the table. 

Thanks as always to David Toms for his fab photos and Maxine for the flowers.