MANNIE + SUMEET LADIES SANGEET

This year let’s bring on the colour! Here is the story of creating the amazing Ladies Sangeet for Mannie and Sumeet! (Ps thank you to Charmaine Mallari for capturing all the details!)

When I first spoke on the phone with Mannie (originally from Winnipeg but moved to Toronto) we totally hit it off, I felt like we had been great friends for a long time. We started talking about the look of the events and Mannie had some colours in mind for the Ladies Sangeet. She wanted something traditional yet modern. So here is how the event developed.

IDEAS + INSPIRATION: If you haven’t been to the Clay Oven Restaurant downtown, you are missing out. There’s nothing like having a meal or an event and being able to enjoy a cocktail on there patio while the Goldeyes are playing. Then head inside to dance the night away and eat some delicious Indian food. The restaurant is veiled in black, this includes their chair covers, so to save cost right there and then we decided that the base colour would be black. They also have this wonderful black wallpaper that we could utilize as her Sangeet backdrop!

BACKDROP: Mannie didn’t want a focal sitting point, so we decided to have more a casual feel to the seating. Ladies Sangeets are when the women from both sides come together singing and dancing to celebrate the wedding to come. So we made sure to have some low and high seating for all the women to join in the festivities.

Ps. When you look at the photos below, the “Honeycomb” Backdrop was made by Creating a Scene! They have magic hands. They also built the frames that were on either side of the “Honeycomb” Backdrop. Holly (my secret weapon) was the curator of the string display. We simply used yarn and the colors just popped off the wallpaper.

JUICE STATION: Being part of a Punjabi family, I have noticed there was an enthusiastic appreciation for “juice”. With time, I’ve learned, that it’s more of an offering as guests come to your house. My mother in law always comes out of the kitchen with a tray of Orange or Mango juice to serve to our guests. It’s a welcoming refreshment especially after the hot weather we’ve been having. I always feel thirsty for the ladies who sit under the lights singing there hearts out, so we decided to do a refreshing juice station. We had Orange, Mango and Pink Lemonade! (To stay on trend with our colors of course)

CANDLES: I’ve been loving colored candles. It’s an easy way to get some color, cost effective and the light gives a little life to the event!

COLOURED SHAPES: At the Clay Oven Restaurant, there’s glass bulbs hanging everywhere! One of my inspirations for the Sangeet was the photo below (Origami) because we were avoiding traditional flower arrangements. I really wanted to get that colour standing out in another way and make it feel like we poured money into the decor. In reality, we poured time into them. Although cost effective, it actually took quite a bit of time to cut, string and hang, probably a total of 12 hours, 6 hours of prep/crafting with 4 people.

WELCOME TABLE: Most events include a “Welcome” table or for a Reception it would be the “Guestbook” Table or “Seating” tables. This year one of my goals was to AMP up my “Welcome” tables. I’m still working at this, but wait till you see what, yet again, my secret weapon Holly designed for Mannie and Sumeet’s Reception.

PATIO AREA: Obviously an outdoor area at a venue is a big feature (maybe not during our Winnipeg Winters). This was a great area for guests to enjoy a cocktail, catch the score of the Goldeyes game and breathe in a little fresh air.

NOT A TRADITIONAL SLIDE SHOW: So goodbye traditional slide show and take your screen and projector cost with you! Mannie had this great idea of printing some photos instead. We decided to hang them among the shapes. It was such a personal touch to the already amazing backdrop. It made for a little gallery for our guests.