Destination to Celebration: An Intimate Chinese Wedding at the Raleigh Hotel in South Beach Miami
Shanghai meets South Beach for a Chinese wedding
Happy Valentine’s Day to all! In honor of this day of love I wanted to share a wedding I designed for some of the most darling love birds. I love working with couples that are madly and deeply in love with each other and with their heritage, this was the case of Julia and Rendy. High school sweethearts that even work side by side, these two were so adorably young and in love and excited for me to plan their destination Chinese wedding. For the inspiration of this intimate affair we dreamed up the idea of 1940′s Bankgok with art deco influences with traditional Chinese elements. With that idea in mind, the art deco district of south beach, especially The Raleigh Hotel, in Miami was the perfect location!
For my first Chinese wedding, it was so cool for me to learn all about the traditions including the giving of gifts and Chinese tea ceremony which was so beautiful and respectful of their families.
This wedding was featured in The Knot Florida!! Thank you Matt of Our Labor of Love for your gorgeous images!
Event Design, Planning & Stationery by Alchemy Fine Events & Invitations
Photography by Matt Miller of Our Labor of Love
Ceremony Location The Spanish Monastery
Reception Location The Raleigh Hotel
Flowers by Karla Events
Home Decoration & Colorizaton to Celebration: Modern Parisian Event Inspiration
Gilded Modern Parisian Apartment Event Inspiration
As a designer that is passionate about interior design, art history and art I am constantly torn as to what eras and genres to be inspired by in addition to trying to create fresh twists to conjure up new ones. It’s like choosing what child is your favorite, what type of cuisine to dine on, or for me, red or white. I adore the femininity of the renaissance, the opulence of baroque and of course, the bold, clean lines of modernism, so when I came across this modern Parisian apartment featured in Elle Decor my jaw dropped and obsession began. With a name like Alchemy, you already know I’m obsessed with GOLD, so throw in some muted bone, soft dusty blue and a pop of poppy and I’m already designing the event.
To illustrate the inner workings of my imagination after perusing this interior design feature, here are some choices I’d love to play with for a modern Parisian fete! Blending more delicious modern decor items from Form Decor as well as some Parisian prints and some still life inspired flowers by Saipua that look like they fell out of a renaissance painting. Plus some amazing Marie Antoinette worthy Tory Burch heels for a ‘something blue’ for a bride to be.
Old Hollywood Inspired Persian Wedding at the Bel Air Bay Club by Alchemy Fine Events
A Colorful and Festive Persian Wedding in the Pacific Palisades - Part 2 Cocktail Hour & The Reception
Make sure to visit Part 1 on our blog to view photos from this Jewish and Persian wedding ceremony!
As soon as Jessica and Ilya said “I do”, a joyful spirit was in the air and it didn’t take long for the party to start. A traditional Klezmer band entertained guests as they made their way to cocktail hour in a naturally beautiful outdoor courtyard. An abundance of food, lively music and comfortable lounges allowed guests to eat, drink, converse and become instantly immersed in the festive atmosphere.
A Persian wedding is not complete without tons of food, so to really incorporate Jessica’s heritage, we had the pleasure of creating a Persian feast table overflowing with fruit and nuts for guests to pick at. This served as a gorgeous focal point and also as a teaser for the hot Persian buffet to come later on in cocktail hour. Guests definitely had full bellies and happy hearts!
For the seating cards, we created a stunning display of hand painted tiles that Laura Hooper Calligraphy wrote each guests name on in gold. They doubled as a beautiful take home gift for the guests.
For the reception tablescapes, we really wanted to intertwine the Persian influences with an Old Hollywood glamour flair. We did this by having Krista Jon create exotic floral centerpieces featuring a variety of vibrant and textured blooms upon mirrored boxes and eclectic vintage glassware. The tables were lined with jewel toned glass, vintage gold and brass mirrors and bowls of fruits and nuts to offer to guests. This was complemented by colorful mercury glass votives, as well as crystal pieces on top of bold patterned linens by La Tavola.
Laura Hooper wrote gold calligraphy onto mirrors to create glamorous table numbers.
For additional fun touches, we custom made lace napkin treatments with a large rhinestone button that many ladies ended up wearing as bracelets later on in the evening. We also had AV Event Design display a patterned wash on the ceiling in addition to the fuschia uplighting.
This gorgeously decorated, candlelit fountain looked spectacular as the sun went down.
For dessert, we had Vanilla Bake Shop create an all white tiered wedding cake that we decorated with fresh blooms for an exotic flair. Later on in the evening guests were surprised with ice cream sandwiches from the Beachy Cream girls for a delicious send-off treat.
As the joyous and fun-filled night was wrapping up, Jessica and Ilya’s family and friends sent them off through a sparkler lit tunnel to their Rolls Royce escape car.
This wedding was featured on Style Me Pretty here!
We also recently posted Jessica & Ilya’s rehearsal dinner on our blog which was also featured in Martha Stewart’s Bride Guide!
Planning, Design & Stationery: Alchemy Fine Events
Florist: Krista Jon
Photography: Luna Photo
Lighting: AV Event Design
Rentals: Archive Vintage Rentals
Calligraphy: Laura Hooper Calligraphy
Wedding Cake: Vanilla Bake Shop
Ice Cream: Beachy Cream
Linens: La Tavola Linens
Beauty: Fiore Beauty
Venue: Bel Air Bay Club
Home Decoration & Colorization to Celebration: Emerald Green Event Inspiration
Barnaba Fornasetti’s Milan Apartment: Emerald Green Color Inspiration
I have always had a fascination with designers who create with the ability to take push the realms of their creativity and execute whats exactly in their minds. This is how I feel about Fornasetti and his childlike introspective design direction combing illustrations of doll-like architecture, Victorian faces and Rubenesque forms. Recently featured in Elle Decor, Barnana Fornasetti’s Milan apartment inspires me from such a deep and slightly twisted and dark place it urges me to create Dali-esque settings in which to dine and celebrate in. With big, bold splashes of a rich emerald green (the new black!) as the palette to build upon, Fornasetti infuses elements of classical, modern and trompe l’oeil designs to create a one of kind environment only visible in the depths of his fantastic mind.
With desirous inspirations from Fornasetti’s home fresh in mind, I wanted to illustrate how I would interpret his genius into my designs for a striking and yet slightly studious atmosphere where I imagine guests would sip on St. Germaine cocktails, nibble on caviar and debate modern art while listening to house remixes of Cole Porter.
Form Decor rental furniture, rug & accessories, HER chair by Casamania, plates by Fornasetti, invitation by Alchemy Fine Events, turquoise napkin ring by Sur la Table.
The emerald green matte wall makes for the perfect palette to build upon with copper, gold and black mirrors and accessories.
