How to pull off black and white...

Black and white weddings are all the rage, but there's a key to pulling off this classic combo with style. Want our secret ingredient? Use black and white as a pattern, but then pull in your favorite color to make the black/white pattern pop! Need inspiration? See below...

Tips for a Successful Wedding at Home

If this isn’t your first wedding, or your budget is on the outs, you may be thinking that having your wedding at home is your only option. If you’ve explored other possibilities, and a home wedding is what you want, we have some tips to follow to ensure HOME WEDDING SUCCESS!

Take it from Melannie & Ricardo who recently married on August 8th (8-8-08)… home weddings can be fun, as long as certain guidelines are met:

Tip #1- Unless your home looks like it was taken out of “Beverly Hills 90210”, keep your guest list small and simple. Close family members and those that would have been bridesmaids/groomsmen only. Trying to squeeze hundreds of people into a typical size home isn’t realistic and you’ll end up blowing your budget by having to move things out or renting a tent. For Melannie & Ricardo, they stuck to the essentials and invited the 42 people that meant most to them. Parents, siblings, close relatives, and a handful of friends.


Tip #2 – Don’t scrimp on the linens, table rentals, and florals. Just because your wedding is at home, doesn’t mean it has to include plastic silverware, plates, Costco flowers, and people sitting on furniture all around the house. Use an area of your home to be a blank canvas and build the couture wedding of your dreams!

For Melannie, we used her parents’ pool patio as her wedding ballroom with one long banquet table and several hi-top tables for cocktail mingling. We accented the color of her non-white fuchsia dress (Who says the bride has to wear white anyway?!) with fuchsia napkins, chair ties, and place cards and tied this together with Apple Green bengaline table linens and chair pads.

We brought in more of her favorite bright summer colors with mango oranges in her centerpieces, along with more fuchsia, apple green, and white flowers.

Also remember, just because you’re at home doesn’t mean you have to resort to your PC’s printer. For Melannie & Ricardo, we enlisted the work of Sarah Hanna, artist and calligrapher to the stars to finish off her intimate look with silver inked fuchsia place cards.

Tip #3- If you’re trying to save on budget, try to have your wedding on an off-day and not a Saturday evening. You vendors are more likely to cut you great deals to book business on an “off-day” because that’s just extra money in the bank for them. Most vendors would rather be working than sitting at home, so be bold like Melannie and Ricardo and say “I do” on a Friday. Don’t worry your guests will still be there! Remember, a small guest list means that these people are the most important to you, and they won’t miss you becoming a Mrs.! …P.S.- We hear that 9-9-09 is on a Wednesday next year.

Tip #4 – Don’t try to cook a meal or bartend yourself. There are plenty of great companies out there that can come in and provide a lovely meal and can keep the party going at the bar. By hiring a professional catering company, you will keep down your own stress, and your wedding will have a much more professional, and seamless timeline.

Caterers Tony & Onofere and their masterpiece Paella!

Tip #5- If you ask Melannie and her family they’ll reply, “Hire a wedding planner!” With all the money you save on location rental fees, consider putting this towards a wedding planner to help with all the details. Having a wedding at home can be tricky; especially when you’re the only person that understands the location. Enlisting help of a professional coordinator will eliminate wedding day phone calls asking where you want tables set up, and annoying questions about deliveries and time schedules. Plus, like Melannie, you may find a way to squeeze space out of places that you never thought possible.

Here we go!

First and foremost I would like to say thank you for visiting my blog and taking some time to read my thoughts. Growing up I always had a diary and this seems like the new millenia's version of a diary. Anyone who knows me knows that I love relate to others (hence all the stories!) and have open dialogue about life. Therefore, I anticipate this forum to be reflective of me and my personality. If you take the time to visit often I promise you will get to see a side of me that is very personal and candid.


Besides me gushing my heart ;) look forward to hearing about all things in the wonderful world of creative, unique, and illustrative weddings and events. I am always on the search for the biggest trend and interesting edge to throwing amazing fetes. I live by the motto "Anything is Possible!" Your dream wedding is only limited to how creative our minds will go. This blog will definitely take you to destinations you have never imagined...buckle up!


To start this journey off I think it would be of utmost importance to tell you, especially those who do not know me personally, about me and my family. I have been absolutely blessed to have an amazing and supportive husband (Sherman) and the greatest gift ever given to me, my son (Jordan). In the midst of my busy world there is always a calm that soothes my soul...the thought of my guys!

Here is a picture of us taken by the amazing Meg Baisden:



On my (few) weekends off, we are always on the go with Jordan; whom is a sports fanatic. This year Jordan will be 4 years old and loves to talk about his "pretend" little sister...do you think he's dropping hints? (Eyes rolling!) I am a huge believer that people naturally have talents that manifest into their livelihood and lifestyle. When I was a child I would dress up dolls and have pretend weddings (really). Well, I think my son was born with a ball in this hand. He knew how to make basketball shots on his mini-hoop before he could walk.

Enough about me (for now)! Come back for more as we submerge in the amazingly world of WEDDINGS AND EVENTS!!!

Remember to Always Celebrate Life!

-Sharia