Thursday, July 23, 2009

The Moroccan Theme Wedding Reception

This Moroccan theme wedding reception was produced some time ago.

I never thought of writing about it until something reminded me of it recently.

Sorry, I vowed when I took the job that I wouldn't say who, where or when and how much about this.

I am allowed to tell you about some of it.

Here's kind of how things worked.

When I did my research for this event I found that Marrakech represented (to me) a cosmopolitan dream, romantic setting.
The look was "Morocco modern" - some classic Moroccan mixed with a little bit of a lighter color scheme.

This exacting bride wasn't afraid of color - she said she wanted something completely different.

And different it was. She was from the mindset of, "do your dream big or stay at home".

We considered old Moroccan palaces as inspiration and jointly, the bride and I put our individual definitions into the concept.

This wasn't always easiest to plan because there were times when the aesthetics of our ideas clashed with the practicality of it.

Do this...

Think historic butterfly palm groves, luxuriant exotic flowers and a lunar (relating to the outdoor areas) landscape.
Add dramatic lighting, and lots of great color - we even decided to make the floor green.

We blended together Oriental style and luxurious Western comfort... what a triumph!

We went with the Arab concept to position things so the guests wouldn't see everything at once. As they turned corners, it was all a surprise.

The cocktail and hors d'oeuvre soiree on terraced stone along side these really cool man-made cascading ornamental "pools" that were planted with papyrus and lilies and stocked with a few big Koi went beautifully.

Instead of what the bride had originally envisioned, more typical Fleur de Lis, as one of the whispered running themes we chose elegantly patterned, small prints of a camel motif; you had to look closely to notice that they're camels.

This was definitely her vote of a Moroccan-style party theme.

The volume of the entire wedding reception space was pretty impressive.
The Clearspan, high vaulted tent completed the Bridal Grand Salon (wedding reception dining hall).
Tapestries hung down the hall leading to the restrooms.
Metalwork lanterns were all around.
Chinese cabinets featured candles, lanterns and lamps.
Bridal Grand Hall seating was Chivari neutral, earth tones and golds.

The interior blended into the exterior.

After the structures were built the fine-tuning began.

A beautiful fountain lead the guests to a reflecting pool banked with roses that lead to a casual aperitif and cigar bar/seating area of cushy contemporary sofas and armchairs. Greenery splashed with bougainvillea, oleander, jasmine and jacaranda blooms made the open top tent (made for smokers) interior sizzle.

Designer jars of olives inter-mingled with fresh oranges, lemons and limes and lots of lemon leaves were on the tabletops and towering palm trees were just about everywhere.

It was a Moroccan bridal reception palatial oasis.

Note: If you ever decide to host a Moroccan theme party or wedding reception, feel free to mix the old with the new. We threw in some of the brides and grooms families personal antiques.

The perfect person was selected as the bridal couple majordomo (head steward) to attend to their every need and desire. The devoted staff - the indoor and out door managers, cooks, servers and server assistants, and the doorman who ended up being all-around-and-everywhere, all did a wonderful job.

Even dealing with the headaches that often come with building an event space from scratch - I wouldn't change a thing.

The success of the all of the design elements were a combination of the bride and groom adding a lot of their input and my almost crazy *!%#@$ attention to detail.

This one was truly a beauty.

Have you ever taken on a multi-room tented event design? If you have, feel free to tell me about it in the comment area below. If you have any questions about party and event design, just ask.