In my handful of years in the event styling industry, I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with a wide range of individuals. This is another fascinating aspect of the business that I enjoy, which I think of as kind of a “bonus gift”. I love getting to know all different kinds of people.
My husband loves to joke that meeting clients in event styling is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you’re gonna get. Well, in the case of Morgan’s Butterfly-themed Party, I was treated to chocolate truffles, in the person of my client, Liza!
This is her, and her princess, Morgan:
The butterfly theme is not her choice. In fact, she repeatedly told me that if she were given a choice, she would have went for Hello Kitty. Butterflies are not the favorite of Morgan, either. Rather, the theme was chosen by Liza for the benefit of a very special person in her life: her mom, the grandmother of Morgan, who absolutely adores butterflies.
And so I happily went along with her theme, as I secretly knew that butterflies in her party, despite it being held in Summer Palace Restaurant in EDSA Shangri-La Hotel, would make for a very special event.
The main challenge with styling a formal place such as the Summer Palace is that the restaurant by itself is already a heavily adorned venue, albeit in an oriental fashion. Moreover, with open space available, there would not be room at all for the kind of fixtures the Party Magic team and I were used to installing, such as a stage, a photo-op, an entrance, ceiling treatments, and the like.
However, there was a unique opportunity to capitalize on the existing architecture of Summer Palace. The plan was to transform the main highlight of the restaurant, a kind of enclosed circular dining area in the middle.
Here it was before we came in:
And now after our styling:
The styling may have been concentrated into just this circular area, but all the elements were so in tune and densely packed that it felt as if you were literally transported to a magical land once you stepped into this butterfly paradise!
I must say, Little People Photography did an amazing job capturing all these amazing elements in the event. Most especially, capturing the joyful moments of the celebrating family and their guests! Thank you for sharing. The photo below is one great example:
The creation of this effect was not an easy one. It involved the Party Magic team painstakingly cutting thousands upon thousands of small paper butterflies, and dropping curtains of them all spread out in the area.
The resulting effect allowed for limitless options in photography, where you can use the curtains as a sort “framing”, blurring them while focusing on your object:
Another photo I absolutely love is this one. First, it showcases the amazing handicraft of Tazzy Cakes. Secondly, In this instance the butterfly curtain falls in just the right way as to capture the light and glow:
The main concept of the circular area is to isolate and create a sort of butterfly “paradise” or haven, where one can enjoy and breathe in all the wistful beauty of another world.
The cake here deserves a second mention. I just love how Tazzy Cakes crafted this one. It is so detailed and fit right in to the theme!
The outer boundaries of the circular area were attached with butterflies too, this time larger ones!
Here are some close-ups of the details we put into the area:
For the centerpieces, we created a floral arrangement that sort of wraps around a bird cage, with its own butterfly!
Coordinating with Liza was a great pleasure, simply because she had the one thing that makes planning parties a smooth and successful activity:
TRUST
From the onset, Liza had complete confidence in Party Magic. And as what my husband loves to say, styling is 1% design and 99% execution. You can only put so much into paper when designing. What really matters is what you’ll do when you’re on the ground, setting things up. Similarly, a stylist may present you with a nice drawing / perspective, but may ultimately underwhelm when the actual day arrives. In the end, it all boils down to how much you trust your stylist.
In the end, the Party Magic team and I were rewarded with the ultimate gift of all – appreciation!
The sweetest of all birthdays to dear Morgan! I hope you had as much fun celebrating your birthday as I did in styling your party!
‘Til the next party,
Michelle
