Hello, BellaNaija Weddings fam! Before anything else, allow us to say “prepare to be blown away”! Love is truly magical and when it comes to the celebration of love, a lot goes into bringing that magic to the fore. Today, we’re drooling over the breathtaking Decor at Shahida and Muktar’s Northern wedding dinner.

The lovebirds had a “Crazy Rich Asians” themed wedding and it speaks pure magic. We spoke to the wedding planner, Exquisite Luxury Events, and event designer, Alveena Events on how they were able to pull it off. So, as you drool over the amazing decor, you get to read all about how this movie-like wedding was brought to life!

Enjoy the photos and our chat with the planner and decorator below.

Talk about a grand entrance!

Let’s hear from the planner, Exquisite Luxury Events

What was the inspiration behind this concept?

The beautiful Bride loved the movie Crazy Rich Asians which made that the inspiration of the decor.

How were you able to pull it off?

We were able to pull the bride’s inspiration off by working with the very talented Alveena (A luxury decor company based in Abuja). Alveena carefully designed and sketched each part of the venue (walkway, stage, etc) to match the inspiration, and created a unique concept. After several meetings, we all knew this was it!

What was the most difficult part about putting this together?

The most difficult part was her dress and the water! It was a whole Production! We worked back and forth with the stylist, Lavish Bridal designing an outfit that will work with the flow of water. All in all the whole event came together beautifully because teamwork truly makes the dream work! And we appreciate everyone on the team.

A lot of thought also went into the walkway and seating arrangement

Now, the Decorator Alveena Events gives us the full details on how they pulled this off.

When you were presented with the theme, what was your first thought?

It was an ecstatic feeling when we were approached with the theme by the bride’s sister, having done the theme before, we saw it as a chance to recreate it in a better way. The whole enchanting vibes that came with the movie, the surreal feeling of walking in the water.

What went into setting up the Decor?

A lot went into the decor, 8 months of planning, creating and importing bespoke materials, sketches, production, logistics etc. We see event decor as a form of art and just as we have different approaches to art /painting, like Abstract art, Expressionism, Cubism, Surrealism, etc. We took a ” realism ” approach for expressing the theme with some modern elements to permit more aesthetics and functionality. We engaged a chandelier company in China to produce specific sizes of gold plated bird cages, bespoke Chinese lanterns, and some flowers were created just for the theme. We also created a lot locally; the cavelike backdrop, metal fabrications etc. The florals are a mix of synthetic real touch flowers and fresh plants and flowers.

We also had the challenge of getting the bride to walk in the water without getting her dress messed up, electrocution or flooding the hall. After back and forth with the fashion designer, we decided she was going to walk in the water on her way home, and surprisingly excited guests waited till about 3.30 am for the bride to walk in the water and the funny part, everyone couldn’t wait to take their turn in the water. The child in everyone surfaced as they gleefully waded through. Also, we had several deliberations on what the water level should be, 1, 2,3 or 6 inches?

We went for something functional by using the water carrier as a fountain during the event, with this we had to settle for around 6 inches in level, which was a bit higher than what they had in the movie. Above all, we added other design elements to make it come out as a full wedding production. Logistics was also an issue, the event was in Kano, about 10 hours drive away from our place in Abuja, we had to move trucks back and forth for a few days before the main setup and the main decor took about 6 days. With the logistics (to and fro ) the production took almost 2 weeks combined.

What was the most difficult part about putting this together?

One was outdoing ourselves, we’ve done the theme before in 2019, and it remained one of our biggest designs, we took an abstract approach for the first one and a realistic approach for this new one. We were also faced with the challenge of “breaking our own record “.  The second will be finance. Due to the inflation, we had to purchase, create, import materials double or sometimes triple the estimated price, the economy and the purchasing power in the country remains a major challenge for us in the creative industry. We urge clients to not underestimate the efforts and costs that go into creative endeavours (especially event decorators). Apart from creating an event, the decoration team also have bills to pay for storage facilities, security, salaries, insurance, medicals etc. While negotiating, clients that want value should please endeavour to put these in view especially with the unstable and nosediving economic situation.

If you had to describe the decor in one sentence, what would it be?

The decor, though inspired by a movie scene is art in its truest form.

Now, let’s take a look at the water body!  

Credits

Bride: @shahida_gaya
Decor, Lights & Effects: @alveenaevents
Planner: @exquisiteluxuryevents
Bridal styling: @lavish_bridal
Dress: @odiomimonet
Fabric: @lavish_bridal
Makeup: @zainabazeez
Turban stylist: @abydouz_gele
Photography: @bighweddings
Videography: @hawthornmedia01
PR: @Shadesmediahq
Mocktails: @cocotini_mocktail
Venue: @amani_events_center