Never Ending Ideas

Wedding & Events Planner

A Planter’s Affair

by

I’ve been so busy this last 2 months since the launch of Never Ending Ideas. Running your own business is hard work but satisfying on every level. Today I am writing to tell you about a pre-wedding dinner party event we planned last month.

My clients hired us to plan a pre-wedding dinner party to celebrate their good friends’ daughter’s wedding. My clients and the bride’s family belong to the oil palm plantation fraternity. As such they wanted a planter’s style themed dinner.

This was an exciting opportunity for me as my family belongs to the Oil Palm Plantation Fraternity too and this meant going back in time to life on a plantation. This being the case I incorporated palm leaves and oil palm fruits into the decor of the event.

4

Orchids also played a big part in the event as it symbolises a flower of luxury and elegance which in a large way defines the Oil Palm Plantation Fraternity.

2

As a centerpiece we sub-merged orchids in a jar filled with water and let a lit tea light float on the top. Oil palm fruit was grouped around the base of the jar for base effect.

7

One of my favourite parts of designing this event was creating signature cocktails. Mixology has always been a strength of mine and as such I always encourage my clients to go with signature drinks. Why stick with the usual spirits if you can make a drink all about you? After creating the drinks – we gave a twist to the names to reflect the couple, the bride’s family and Planters.

8

cocktails

Instead of a guest book – we thought it be a great idea to give guest floating lanterns to write their wishes to the couple and then float into the pool.

floating lantern wishes

This  is what it looked like.

floats

Everybody loves cupcakes. It has become such a trend today. Instead of getting 3D cupcakes or individual designs on cupcakes, I thought it would be very cool to use cupcakes to form an oil palm tree.

Adding a sign with the common rhyme of the couple sitting on a tree – K-I-S-S-I-N-G!

21

Instead of Dessert Bars – we thought it be quite cool to serve desserts on a trolley as you would commonly find trolleys stacked with newspapers and magazines in a Planter’s house. So we turned them into Dessert Trolleys! This is our Dream Weaver, Lyn, rolling out the dessert trolley.

25

desserts

Never Ending Ideas is all about personalization. I like to make an event everything about you and I try not to leave out any details. Together with my team, I styled and planned this event. After coming up with ideas – I worked with the lovely Serene Soh who illustrated all the stationery you see in this event. When I say personalized – I go all out to even creating personalized stirrers, food labels, drinks menu and even Wet Closet signs!

26 combined

So how long did planning take? It took just 1 month to make this event happen. It also helps that my clients were extremely organized, very helpful and accommodated all my ideas including the crazy ones. I do hope to work with them again. Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Chandran for engaging Never Ending Ideas! I hope the event was what you wanted it to be!

A glimpse of how the event looked.

20

19

A special thanks to Kamini Ramachandran, Alexandra Yeong, Riaan Ramachandran, Dill, Weng, and Agnes for helping me prepare and set up the event. In one way or another you played a big part in making the event happen.

To our photographer Caxton, thank you for taking pictures and giving me something to be proud about in my portfolio.

To Serene Soh, thank you for working on the designs. The designs were very effective and received a lot of attention.

Finally a big thank you to my good friend and Dream Weaver, Lyn for helping me make this event happen. I really couldn’t have done it without you. Here’s to more events.

27

Dream team:

Event Styling, Planning and Coordinating: Never Ending Ideas

Photography: Caxton of Emotion in Pictures

Cupcakes: Cecilia

Catering: Rekha Shekar Catering

Stationery Designer: Serene Soh

For more pictures of this event – check out our gallery!

If you can dream it, you can do it.

by

“We all think alike. No one thinks very much.” – Walter Lippman

Today is my birthday and in keeping with my nature of striving for difference – my husband gave me a chance to experience something I’ve never experienced before.

supercar

Yes, that’s right. I’ve been given a chance to drive a super car in style. Now why would a wedding planner want to drive a super car? Let’s not think about the dominant nature of the sport for now.  It’s about the experience of doing something which you want to do which the average person doesn’t do or think about on a day to day basis. When you allow yourself to step out of your comfort zone, you will experience things you’ve never felt before. It allows you to dream of the endless possibilities.

I like driving and certainly love cars.  I’ve been in a super car but always as a passenger, never as the driver. So this is a big deal for me! I am very excited about this experience but I admit I’m a little nervous. For those of you who have met me before – will know that I am tiny. So imagine tiny me driving a super car. I hope it doesn’t drive me!

In a way this is how I am as a planner – it’s all about the experience. If you can dream it, you can definitely do it. I am a thrill seeker and strive for difference. With events – I like personalizing things to make it all about you. Everyone is unique in their own way. So why do most people want the same things in an event?  Why not make it about you? You don’t have to run away from traditions but you can make the tradition about you. Make it mean something to you. I believe that you must do everything with reason, even if that reason is for fun. Colour themes are a good start but why stop there? Put an object, an animal, or even a person into the mix and you will get a whole new palate of ideas which will define you.

I can take up this ultimate drive experience anytime within the next 6 months and when I decide to do it – I will share my experience with you here. So keep a look out for that post. In the meantime – keep dreaming!

Sydney Bridal Expo 2013

by

April is an exciting month for me, especially this year. Not only is it my birthday month but it also is a month filled with opportunities. Sometimes I feel the month is generally good as it is a build up to my birthday which is at the end of the month. 🙂

I have not written an update in a while as we’ve been busy with events. Yay! This is a great start for Never Ending Ideas. We are working with a few lovely clients on their events and at the same time getting acquainted with the wedding industry. I visited Sydney for the Easter Holidays and whilst there, I had the opportunity to attend the 24th Sydney Bridal Expo, which is what I am dying to tell you about.

The Sydney Bridal Expo is Sydney’s most elegant and stylish event on the bridal calendar in Sydney. This year the event featured Australia’s leading couture designers including Haute Couture by Marietta Haddad, Rhonda Hemmingway, Rosalynn Win Haute Couture, Hugs for Brides, All the Rage, Vee Love Couture and Luv Bridal & Formal. Even International designer Galia Lahav Couture flew in with her team from Tel Aviv to present her haute couture gowns.

The runway shows have been a hallmark of the Sydney Bridal Expo. I can see why. The show was simply fabulous from the gown selection to the catwalk choreography.

This is gown by Hugs for Brides that got a lot of attention from the crowd. This classic princess cut was jazzed up with a modern twist of having the front end of the gown falling 3/4 in length exposing her bridal shoes. I agree this picture doesn’t show the end of the gown properly but it was the best I could take as there was a big crowd.

HUGS FOR BRIDES

One of my favourite parts of the runway show was Natasha Milani Bridesmaid’s Collection. She designed a collection of pretty Parisian style dresses for bridesmaids and accessorized their look with super cute and chic vintage box handbags, hats and hairpieces.

 NATASHA MILANI

Off course the expo had more than just gown designers. You could plan an entire wedding with all the bridal suppliers there! I had the pleasure of meeting some really nice vendors. As you can see in the pictures below, I’m engrossed in conversation. 🙂

 

Vendors 1

The Sydney Bridal Expo was a great event and I enjoyed myself thoroughly. It inspired me and has given me some fresh ideas to work with. Attending the Sydney Bridal Expo has given me a new perspective on weddings and introduced me to the Australian wedding culture.

So does Never Ending Ideas plan weddings in Sydney? Whilst we usually plan weddings in Singapore and Malaysia, we are ever ready and happy to plan a destination wedding for you in Sydney. Just get in touch with us!

ME WITH SIGN

 

Black, White and Shadows

by

WSD BOARD 1

This blog post is long overdue.

We recently styled and event managed ‘Making Stories, Telling Stories’ in conjunction with our client’s (MoonShadow Stories) celebration of World Storytelling Day 2013. We were to design the event room layout which lends itself to the theme of the event which was around shadows as this was a Shadow Puppet Performance and Workshop.

Since we were talking about shadows and candles were considered a fire hazard, my team and I decided we would work on a classic black and white theme. We would create silhouettes to replicate a shadow effect. We also incorporated elements of the Malaysian Rainforest as the stories told at the event were Malayan folktales. To subdue the bold contrast of black and white, we added black and white plaided ribbons to stationery.

The event went on smoothly with minor hiccups. I was very happy to see how relaxed our client was at the event. She placed her trust in us in managing the event for her so that she could focus on her performance, which she did.

This event also marks the first event for our Dream Weaver – Soma Rachel George, who did a splendid job. See how natural she is with the kids and dressed in theme!

20

Selected photos of the event will posted up in our gallery soon. So stay tuned!

Dream Team

Event styling and coordinating: Never Ending Ideas

Event Host: MoonShadow Stories

Cupcakes: Little Red Hen 

Stationery Designer: Serene Soh

Balloons: Party with Us!

Photographer: Aaron Iceman

Videographer: Gorilla Pictures

Venue: The Arts House

Shadow Theatre Setup: Funplay Workshop

 

 

A mango love story

by

A girl was choosing mangoes at a local market. As she picked up each mango to check its ripeness, a child out of no where, ran into her, pushed her forward, and she hit the mango cart! The mangoes rolled off the cart and the child ran off.

In a panic she bent down and tried to grab all the fallen fruit. As she reached out for one juicy yellow mango, to her surprise, another hand grabbed it first!

She looked up to a pair of brown eyes staring straight into her own. “Need help with the mangoes?” he asked. She was too busy admiring his beauty and no words came from her lips…

It was love at first sight!

MANGO PRINTS

I decided to style this wedding mood board inspired by a yellow mango I was eating last week. If the story above was real, wouldn’t it be such an exotic idea for a wedding theme?

DIY Craft Series

by

I’ve heard the notion that “DIY events are only for artistic people” way too many times. This is not the case. The words DIY (Do-it-yourself) itself suggest that anyone can create.

I have decided to publish a series of easy DIY crafts on my blog which you can learn. I aim to show you how easy it is to create DIY crafts for your event.

The first of my DIY Craft Series is on creating centerpieces with a simple flower in a bottle:

1

2

3

4

 

You can use any kind of flower/plant so long as it fits into the bottle.

Have fun making this craft and when you do – please share your photos with us! We would love to see what you have come up with!

Traffic light marriage

by

traffic light board

This week I was inspired by a traffic light and how it symbolises marriage to a certain extent. This inspiration board was created as I was curious to see what a traffic light would look like as a wedding theme. What do you think?

In the traffic light mood – I wrote a little poem to explain the traffic light concept in marriage.

 

Traffic light marriage

Marriage is like a traffic light at a pedestrian crossing.

 

Somedays are green;

you are on the go

and the relationship just grows.

 

Somedays are red;

you have to stop

and notice your partner

as you vowed to do so.

 

Somedays are yellow;

you are piled with decisions to make,

which either way will have an impact on your relationship.

 

Then there are the pedestrians –

friends and acquaintances,

social networks and the media,

consistently telling you how to stay married

and how not to.

 

Regardless of the volume of these pedestrians,

Marriage is like a traffic light – it just works!

Comfort with a twist

by

IMG_1362 update

There is always room for a personal touch in any special event. I like to invoke a personal touch with signature drinks. Some of you who had the pleasure of attending one of my parties know my passion for the art of mixology.

It is said that a mixologist is merely a fancy name for a bartender. Some say a mixologist practices mixology whilst a bartender tends the bar. I don’t think we need to get into the technicality of the two occupations. Mixology is about invention. If a bartender invents drinks, then he practices mixology.

I first developed interest in this art when I tasted a ‘Passionfruit Kir Royale’ at a Cuban Bar in Liverpool, England in 2007. What a clever blend of passionfruit puree, blackcurrant liqueur and champagne! Sweet and sour, rolling in my tongue. A match made in heaven! I’ve had cocktails before but none which demanded my full attention like this.

Every time I host a party I insist on serving a signature drink. It allows me to experiment with new ingredients, but more importantly it gives people something to talk about.  It is culinary art to an extent. An invitation to taste. Every signature drink has its own story.  For eg. Valentine’s Day cocktails are often created using strawberries or cherries for its sweet qualities.

When it comes to mixing drinks, always try new things. Many of my friends and clients tell me that their guests would prefer drinks they are used to as opposed to a signature drink. Yes, sadly when it comes to drinks most people are likely to select a drink they are used to like a Gin & Tonic.

If your guests are this sort, then try serving comfort with a twist. For a signature drink idea for an event, we served Pink Gins which is a pink twist to the good ole’ Gin and Tonic which complimented the colours associated with the events theme – pink and white.

Pink GIn

When planning a wedding or special event consider incorporating a signature drink or hire a mixologist to do that for you! It will give your event a personal touch – a story to tell!

Little Red Hen – Sweet Treats

by

LRH Poster

Terms:

1. This promotion is only valid for orders from Singapore.

2. This voucher is not exchangeable for cash and is not transferable.

3. Order dates are subject to availability.

To claim this promotion:

STEP 1:  Like this blog post by clicking on the Facebook icon below.

AND

STEP 2: Say ‘I participate’ in the answer box when you click ‘SUBMIT’

(If you don’t have facebook and would really like to participate, go straight to STEP 2)

This offer closes on 15/2/2013 at 2.30pm.

Print

To find out more about Little Red Hen and their work visit their official website at www.facebook.com/saidthelittleredhen for more information.

sticker (1)

Where do I start?

by

wedding planning copy

In conjunction with our cyber launch, we’re offering 2 lucky couples a FREE 1 hour Wedding Planning  –  ‘Where do I start?’ Consultation with Never Ending Ideas’ Architect of Dreams, Rose Kuruvilla!

Terms:

This offer is only open for couples getting married in 2013

To be one of the 2 lucky brides:

STEP 1:  Like this blog post  by clicking on the Facebook icon below.

AND

STEP 2: Say ‘I participate’ in the answer box when you click ‘SUBMIT’

This offer closes on 15/2/2013 at 9pm (GMT+8)

Submit