To begin with, many people don’t know the difference between an event planner and an event designer. Sacha at French Accent Designs and the Institute of Wedding and Event Design (IWED Global) describes it as follows: Event Design encompasses the more creative side of management, while a planner focuses on organization. Of course, you have event planners that do it all, but we as designers are focused solely on the look and feel of the event! We are in charge of selecting all the accents: tablescapes, chairs, tables, linens, napkins, centerpieces, lighting, dance floor, cake design, and much more.
Most event designers have accessories and special pieces, however, for 98% of the decor, we use our amazing local vendors that have a wide array of inventory and incredible service. Our goal is to fashion the space we’re in, but more than, that we want to curate an atmosphere tailored to your wedding style. Each project, after all, is a balancing act between your creative mind and ours.
In the beginning, we find out as much as we can about our client’s interests, style, taste….. The first concept, a second design. As wedding designers for Sunny and Lucky’s wedding, we found that they are outgoing, love to have fun, enjoy the company of friends. They wanted to convey this feeling to their guests. Here was the design concept for their wedding.
Wedding Designer
During the research phase, I brought in my secret weapon, Winnipeg designer Holly Verogas. Holly is a gifted designer, she is the yin to my yang. We saw this ceiling idea covered in florals, basically trussing over a dance floor, and we wanted to come up with our own version. This was going to be the focal point of the room. One of the first vendors I contacted was Cam from Event Light (which was over a year before the wedding) to see if this idea would be even possible.
Winnipeg Event Designer
Unfortunately, not everyone has a flower budget of $30,000.00 So still having this dream in mind, we were going to have to compromise and get creative. Inspiration and ideas are all around us, one of our sources would be innovative store/window displays like Anthropologie; they create dazzling setups made out of ordinary materials. So we started playing with paper cones. It was light, cheap, and could be quick to make. At first, you think this type of craft sounds easy… “I can whip up 400 cones in an hour no problem”…and then you start making them and it’s not the case. One of the things I learned early on is DIY projects may be cheaper at times, but we almost always underestimate the time it takes. So for this crazy idea, it took:
- – FOUR girls making cones for 10 hours
- – Holly probably spent 10 hours just on her own
- – For set up we had SIX people making additional and hanging cones for 7-9 hours. Other little hurdles were installing chicken wire on the whole top of the structure (have you ever worked with chicken wire, yikes!) Then raising the whole structure and trying to maneuver it between the ornate chandeliers at the Fort Garry place (stressful!)… After that, if some of the lengths of the fishing twine on the cones were too short or too long, Holly would have to climb up and down and adjust for another 5 hours…..After all the stress, long hours, painful fingers, and when the event lights on, it was breathtaking. It was definitely the focal point and show stopper in that room, just take a look for yourself… Sketch to Realization
You can see Lucky and Sunny’s wedding on the blog in two parts. Part 1 for the pre-wedding events and Part 2 for the wedding.
If you want more information on weddings visit the resource page and get info like How to save money on your wedding.
About Sacha Jammu
Growing up in a small French community, Sacha developed a strong love for sports, teamwork, and competition. After dabbling in various types of employment, she found an internship that would enable her to ignite her creativity at Events by Emma. After 5 years of working she pursued a position as Facilities Coordinator at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
After accumulating experiences in multiple client projects, Sacha felt confident to take the helm and push herself into creating French Accent. The company has enabled her to venture into new projects that suit her passions and to take on any challenge that may come her way.
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