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DU Soirée Event Stylists consists of talented wedding designers and planners that are experts at creating signature styled events with ease. In life there is always an occasion worth celebrating, in a style synomous to you, precisely designed to meet your needs and made deeply memorable by a team you can trust.

Keyan’s luxe worthy 2nd birthday, was a much awaited celebratory event this year. It was everything fun and glam, like a clear blue African Savannah  that was roaring with wildlife! With a beautiful mix of dried foliage contrasted with fresh soft blush roses accented with pops of pretty blue hydrangeas from The Floral Stylist Co. created the African Savannah glam vibe – plus much more was there to love as we at DU Soirée Weddings and Events, were thrilled to style, coordinate and plan this glam fun filled day at “The Crystal Room” at Cordis, Auckland. All of which was exquisitely captured by Focal Point Photos. Trust us, moments from this birthday’s full gallery are not to be missed.

Initially a first birthday that was to be a home celebration for Keyan was indefinitely cancelled due to last year’s restrictions, so we had the pleasure of Keyan’s family coming to us this year to organize a grand birthday celebration for Keyan’s 2nd Birthday (to be a celebratory event of the year that had passed and the one that was to come). To accommodate the guests, the family had invited from all parts of New Zealand and Australia, Keyan’s family chose “The Crystal Room” at Cordis, Auckland. The family loved the venue’s easy accessibility due to its central location for all their guests and amazing food and beverage services that catered well to the family’s needs. For the family the luxe venue needed to be celebrated in the overall feel of the day and also celebrate Keyan’s great love for animals. So at DU Soirée Weddings & Events we knew we could make an animal inspired birthday look glam, elegant and definitely fun!

The contemporary ballroom open space allowed us to design, plan and execute this birthday as we at DU Soirée Weddings & Events had visioned for Keyan. Light blue was important to be featured for Keyan’s family, so the African Savannah became the inspiration with shades of light blue like a clear blue African open sky was contrasted against the tall grass like dry foliage and soft hues of pale blush, with hints of gold to give the luxe boho feel. This was presented in the custom made invites we had worked together with Tara to create a matching look, which exquisitely showcased the cutest wild animals, that were to then take center stage at the birthday with boho detailing.

 

At DU Soirée Weddings & Events, we wanted Keyan’s 2nd birthday to be a grand celebratory occasion, so it was important that every focal point  we designed and styled had a luxe visual impact. From the birthday boy to the guests; the cake stage to the sweet table had the guests in awe and kids enjoyed the spaces with childlike wonderment.

The birthday cake was the piece de resistance. This four tier glorious cake by Sweet Bites NZ included safari details, boho flora and fauna, cutest animals and a beautiful African Savannah hand painting, to contrast beautifully against the beautiful shades of blue, that was the backdrop to the flamboyant and fun cake stage. Keyan’s cake stage we had visioned celebrating the three animals (the lion, zebra and elephant), with them sitting gallantly on the stage. With each three animals by First Scene and Luxe Dream Event Hire, were designed to be surrounded by stunning floral and balloon installations. The balloons in beautiful shades of light to mid blue, with accents of white in keeping with the theme from Balloon NZ were created and set up by them to perfection as we had visioned for the day, with the elephant spraying a host of balloons like water bubbles into the air! Not only were the birthday boy and his friends in awe with the wildlife splendor around them but the stage also became a wonderful photo backdrop with the birthday boy and his guests too.

It was key that the guests too have a touch of luxe, with the guest tables carrying a clear and airy feel of the African Savannah with ghost chairs for guests with beautiful soft sky blue runners from The Pretty Prop Shop on each of the tables, which carried the beautiful floral centerpieces from The The Floral Stylist Co., that were full and lush making the room heady with the smell of roses.

Keyan’s birthday was a real celebration of luxe animal wildlife and grand hospitality. Everything from food, drinks and desserts, to entertainment was in full abundance with the guests feeling like they had a really fun time. The guests were entertained with music from  with a whole lot of dancing and the birthday boy having a whole load of fun dancing on his father’s shoulders with his guests till the late hours of the evening. The guests were farewelled by Keyan and his family with wonderful giveaways with amazing fun kids treats in animals printed party bags. Every guest left filled to the brim with birthday happiness and blessings for Keyan who had a birthday that was truly an unforgettable African animal celebratory, he will always treasure!

 

Unique aspects of Keyan’s luxe boho safari themed 2nd birthday:

Just as much as the adult guests had beautiful tables, Keyan’s kids friendly table for his friends were filled with fun and interactive animal centerpieces with their party hats on. Gold glam cake palm leaf platters were filled with the most delicious and fun donuts from The Pie Piper, that were frosted with different animal prints. To also say thank you to all his little guests, we organized to have little gold dinosaurs for each of his friends as mementos on each of their place settings to take with them (as at DU Soirée Weddings and Events we love adding personal touches for our client and since we found that Keyan loved dinosaurs just as much as animals we just couldn’t resist).

We at DU Soirée Weddings & Events designed the entire look of the sweet table to stay true to the boho jungle safari theme. This included having the most stunning and exquisitely created sweet towers by Otti and Olli and adorable theme matching cake treats plus cookies from Sweet Bites NZ which sat on a clear lovely table Little Bettons Kids Hire. All of these sweet treats we then selected to have it set against a beautiful backdrop and animal toys from Luxe Dream Event Hire. These pretty details were wrapped beautifully with boho luxe florals by The Floral Stylist Co. and another beautiful balloon setup from the Balloon NZ. The guests found it a visual feast not only to enjoy but treated themselves to the scrumptious treats as they danced into the evening.

With guests having taken to flying in from all parts of New Zealand and Australia for Keyan’s birthday; Keyan and his family wanted to thank all their guests. We organized the most exquisite chocolate truffles from Devonport Chocolates and had them placed in these fabulous gold animal glam jars created by us at DU Soiree Weddings and Events. These animal gold jars filled with chocolate delights, added the lux glam factor to each of the guest table place settings. They made for a wonderfully tasty giveaway in a packaging that was a beautiful  keepsake memento, to truly remember a luxe animal safari for all of Keyan’s guests.

 

Supplier credits: Cordis, Auckland | Focal Focus Photos | The Floral Stylist Co. | Balloonz | First Scene| Luxe Dream Event Hire| The Pretty Prop Shop | Little Bettons Kids Hire| K & M Event Hire| Devonport Chocolates | Sweet Bites Cakes| Otti and Olli | The Pie Piper | DJ Naleen

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This elegant Auckland city wedding reception for Farihah and Wayne, of four hundred and fifty guests was a glamorous heart-warming event that we at DU Soirée Weddings & Events had the pleasure of coordinating and planning, which was just few months before the pandemic took its official hold on the world. So we have fond memories of this reception, for all the effort put in by us and the amazing suppliers that were on board for this glamorous event. This wedding reception featured shades of blush against a modern take on a sixteenth century inspired French garden, which was featured beautifully at “The Great Room” at Cordis, Auckland captured exquisitely by Logan West Photographer. This gallery is filled with theater and grandiosity which is a visual treat to feast on.

 

After a two-year period of trying to find the right venue, Farihah,Wayne and their families chose “The Great Room” at Cordis, Auckland, which could easily accommodate their four hundred plus invited guests of family and friends, who were to fly in from all parts of New Zealand and from overseas. Creating an element of surprise and theater was important for the bride and mother of the bride , who chose to showcase hints of blush and other pastel tones at the entrance from the welcome sign to the guestbook before the grand reveal of the couple’s reception space.

 

The venue offered the elegant reflective glass wall panels that the couple and mother of the bride thought best fit,  the canvas needed for us to assist them in planning the wedding reception they had visioned. To add to the elegant grand affair, the blush hue which was featured strongly in the bride and grooms’ outfits was the inspiration for the reception with the deep burgundy floral garden motifs found on the bride’s lehenga, which was used as the accent color seen in the reception florals. The decor’s modern take on a French sixteenth century inspired feel featured the lush green topiary inspired backdrop, candle crystal chandeliers to the couple’s stage seating, which had features displaying crystals, brass and ivory to give the ambience of elegance and grandeur.

 

For the couple and the mother of the bride they wanted this to be a grand celebration showcasing hospitality, family bonds and to be a celebration of both cultures. The food service was a family style seated dinner for each guest table which effortlessly flowed from each course coordinated with the other events and performances happening during the night. Like the couple’s Henna ceremony, there were a few cultural dances and performances from the bridal party and family members who had flown in from overseas; which kept Farihah and Wayne’s guests entertained and smiling. This was followed by some beautiful speeches from the family that were heartfelt and poignant.

The reception picked pace, with the guests being enthralled by a wonderful performance of the couple’s first dance, as they danced in the fog created with Edwards Sound Systems creating the theater and drama for an unforgettable couple’s first dance, that opened the dance floor for a non-stop party of Bollywood music for their guests with DJ Areeb.

The day ended with the couple leaving in a lux white “Phaeton Mk V” by Excalibur Cars NZ surrounded by family and friends, which also incorporated the traditional custom of the toss of the bouquet, melding the couple’s eastern and western cultures.

 

 

Unique aspects of Farihah and Wayne’s elegant blush hued wedding reception:

The couple had a beautiful thank you note tied together with their menu with a blush ribbon that created a personal touch and incorporated their theme inexpensively and beautifully into their guest’s place setting with gorgeous favor boxes filled with traditional Indian palette cleansers with western inspired chocolate hearts by Chocoblock Chocolates with the couple’s official monogram. This monogram tied in with the monogram also being featured on their guest’s photos at the mirror photo booth by Little Black Photo Booth during cocktail hour.

The couple had a beautiful pre-wedding shoot with ChaseWild Photography, which was featured in a slideshow on screens all across their reception room for the couple’s guests to enjoy as they enjoyed an array of petite fours and slices of delicious wedding cake.

Cake cutting was a theatrical affair but also was a beautiful incorporation of western traditions to this beautiful fusion celebration. Their stunning five tier cake by Sweet Bites Cakes was cut to the song “A Whole New World” from the Disney Classic Aladdin, as an array of special effects of bubbles from Edwards Sound Systems, floated around the couple.

 

Supplier credits : Cordis, Auckland | Logan West Photographer | Aidan Rodgers | Chasewild Photography | Little Black Photo Booth | OMGness Styling| Covers Decoration| Chocoblock Chocolates| Sweet Bites Cakes| Edwards Sounds Systems | DJ 4 U | DJ Areeb | Excalibur Cars | Kwik n Ezy

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All jewel hued, this celebration; a Moroccan inspired Auckland Henna Ceremony we planned and coordinated. This beautiful summer celebration was filled with bold strokes of color! With lovely deep fuchsia peonies, accented with light blue hydrangeas for florals, that were found draped around the entrance and arches at the venue, alongside gilded Moroccan lanterns. This framed the beautiful caricature of the couple and their welcome sign. There was so much to revel in awe, on the beautiful lawns at Markovina Vineyard Estate that day, all of which, was exquisitely captured by Logan West Photographer. This full gallery is not to be missed.

 

The venue’s grounds offered the perfect canvas, to frame the dance stage from Modular Floors with Raj Tent Club NZ’s glamorous cream tents in different shapes and sizes, which lined the lush green lawns. The tents fulfilled the couple’s theme and offered the practical ease for guests to have their henna done while enjoying the many performances and appetizers. Fuchsia and tangerine lined the cream tents to add to the jewel hues which was balanced against a lot of cream with gold accents. All the tent decor had a Moroccan feel, while incorporating texture and details using dull gold accents seen in candles holders, brass trays and teapots, that were displayed on the outdoor center tables.

 

For the couple their henna celebration, to be a day of pure joy and color, which it was. So everything from food, drink to entertainment had a real family celebratory affair where Kiwi, Indian and Bengali traditions were shared. A mix of modern European with South East Asian cuisines were offered, so guests could enjoy both worlds. The amazing MC and DJ services by DJ Areeb kept the guests entertained all through the night, along with the many beautiful cultural performances from the couple, bridesmaids, groomsmen, family and friends. It was truly a fun filled, colorful family extravaganza of pure joy!

 

 

Unique aspects of Farihah and Wayne’s Moroccan inspired Henna Ceremony:

Both Farihah and Wayne had bold and grand entrances; with the groom coming on a well-dressed white horse surrounded by family, friends and drummers (Dhole Players) from Bollywood Bhangra NZ, all dressed in colorful revelry. While Farihah dressed in a beautiful sari sat on a gold palanquin carried on the shoulders of her family members into the venue, which was flamboyant and absolutely glamorous.

The beautiful bags and personalized boxes with the couple’s caricature; we filled with scarves, bangles and accessories, for their guest favors. These were all laid on beautiful wooden carts on the lawns.

Children were not forgotten on the day. So sweet favors for kids and adults alike were made available with a lolly cart and custom made lolly bags by us, which read “Love is Sweet”. Right beside the cart, was a station of plated of Bengali palette cleansers. This brought perfect balance to the western and the traditional aspects that the couple shared.

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We thoroughly enjoyed coordinating and styling this tropical wedding inspiration, with a talented group of wedding suppliers to offer an elegant bold hued affair, that was selected to be featured on Bride and Groom Magazine’s Spring 2017 issue. The theme of the shoot, “Tropical Charm,” couldn’t have been more perfectly executed, at the lush tropical landscape location of dense fern, bamboo and tropical plants at the West Lynn Garden & Butterfly House, set the backdrop to our shoot inspired by the rich green hue, of forest green – 2017 Pantone wedding color. To this backdrop, bold punches of royal blue, fuchsia and tangerine tropical features and colors were styled in the florals, cocktails, napkins, cake and invitation suite. We mixed tropical amazon features tastefully with Spanish colonial period features. A beautiful balance of the old and new was put together to give a modern charm. Sweet Events Photography brought it all to life, and the enchanting photos are waiting to charm you away right here.

Photography: Sweet Events Photography
Videography: True Mirage
Styling & Florals: DU Soiree
Venue: West Lynn Garden & Butterfly House
Wedding Dress: DU Bridals
Suit: Working Style
Jewellery: Jewellers Workshop
Hair & Makeup: Nikki Milina using MAC Cosmetics
Stationery: Sunny & Swoon Design Studio
Cake: Cherry Cake Company NZ
Hand Dyed Ribbons: Feathers & Stone
Props: The Pretty Prop Shop
Models: Mathilde Perrier & Forrest Axford

 

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With a growing trend of an “ah so natural look” from décor to shoes, the romantic minimalistic approach is really in and no wedding cake or sweet treats are spared. Wedding cakes this year have taken a minimalistic modern approach to the different shapes however they are amped with subtle hints of luxury, achieved through marbling and natural effects drawn from nature. Our mother earth is becoming a great source of inspiration this year we have found, where luxurious stone effects are painted onto wedding cakes in every colour and shade of marble.

While marbling creates a luxurious chic look, if a bit of drama is what one is after; then drizzled cakes done with toppings in chocolate, salted caramel or white chocolate can be just what one could be looking for.

Marbled or drizzled cakes this year are reveling with accents of nature’s glory, when it comes to being accessorized from wild greenery, vine leaves, herbs, garden flowers and fruits that celebrate passion, such as figs, passionfruit or pomegranates. Should a more contemporary look be what you seek, then gorgeous macrons, a bit of gold leaf, chocolate scrolls, chocolate shavings, popcorn or meringues are just a few of the many fun and exciting pieces, that can be added.

This organic approach with subtle hints of luxury or drama are really creating stunning masterpieces for this year’s wedding cakes. So let’s take the humble wedding cake this year from traditional to contemporary shapes, dressed in a subtle direction with a swift artistic hand, using a hand of drizzle or marbling or just a bit of both. Cake is no longer an ordinary affair.

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