Sunday 22 September 2013

Invites

We love postcard style invites for so many reasons.
Apart from being stylish and fuss-free, 
we love that it's paper conservative and hence earth friendly.
We're animal lovers and nature enthusiasts...
and nature is where we normally draw much of our inspiration from.
Hence while we love creating beautiful events and fine stationeries, 
we strive to use the minimum necessary, and give back whenever possible.
Even when working with fresh flowers and plants,
we emphasize much on using only the necessary,
 and treating them with much care, 
for as long as their beautiful life permits.

We're glad our couple Faizal and Maisara love their invite.
We're now looking forward to styling their event soon.

In collaboration with Haz Workz

Tuesday 17 September 2013

Flowers for Eid

Here's just sharing one of the faux floral arrangements I prepared for my home, during Eid this year. 
Sis made some gorgeous ones for her home, 
but I was too busy eating her even more gorgeous dishes, to even bother snapping pics. 
But then again ,who cares....it was Eid after all...feasting took centrestage.



Invites

 Invites and fine stationeries for all occassions, by Mariah & Sham and Haz Workz.
(As nature lovers, we highly recommend the use of recyclable and recycled materials. 
Not only are they more earth friendly, they're gorgeous too.)
 
  

 We also love doing bespoke calligraphy designing, monogram designing and hand drawing of maps.
They simply infuse charm into any invites.
Here's looking forward to great opportunities.
Have a great day ahead, everyone!

Saturday 14 September 2013

Hotel - Before & After

Even hotels need styling sometimes.
And we're excited for the hotel styling projects we have, slated for 2014 and 2015.

Meanwhile, for those wondering if hotel styling is necessary,
 given the already complete dining setup, it's entirely up to you. 
Because while hotels provide dining setups, complete with tableware and cutleries,
you can still choose to add that personal touch or create the look you love, 
by infusing a bit more styling.

When our couple Syah & Jannah came to us more than a year ago, 
they wanted us to help work their ballroom out. 
And we tried our best for them.

 Many guests loved the hotel's ballroom.
What they didn't know however,
 was the amount of 'canvass' work we had done to overhaul
the interior, stage, tablescapes and infact the whole mood and feel of the ballroom.

This was what it looked like BEFORE,
and what our couple's wedding would have potentially looked like.


Even the hotel's floor manager was impressed when we transformed the whole place,
all within 2 hours.
He never thought his ballroom could look like that. LOL.

Thanks to our wonderful wonderful crew!
We also had family and friends helping out...
and so we had so much fun cramming everything in 2 hrs!

Those who have not seen the AFTER, here it is, our laduree inspired styling, again...

 
 We even transformed the tablescaping to make every table unique

 Only fresh flowers throughout

 
 Tulips and exotic blooms

 Customised table numbers

 Exquisite tableware

 We made monogrammed napkins for the couple







 




Nothing beats fine details and personal touches....
cos that's what makes any couple's wedding day unique and magical.
So yes, even if you're holding your wedding in one of the finest hotels around,
styling it can still make all the difference.

Thursday 12 September 2013

Ammar and Fatin

Ammar and Fatin.
Another wonderful and handsome couple we have loved loved loved working with.
Right from day 1, they have been very easy going, trusting, appreciative, fuss-free and kind.
 
Needless to say, we enjoyed styling their event at the SIA Sports Club last weekend, and just like their calm and composed demeanor, their event went on very smoothly.

We did a sleek classy London look for them.
Playing with the typical colours of London, we used only white,
 black, green and hints of red/maroon and brown.

  The Dais (Stage), conceptualized and created from scratch.

   Ammar and Fatin's vow to each other.
Name calligraphy was designed by hand @ Haz Workz, our other family biz.
Spot the couple's calligraphy monogram on top of the door.
 
Different textures and forms of white, black, green and red...

Sweet treats for that added personal touch and homeliness


Again, we broke away from the typical dais concept.

Details...

Fine tableware.


Gorgeous chrome flute vases by TWC.

 

Chiavaris by Fadly @ our yet another family biz arm.

The invite, with commissioned calligraphy and design, by Haz Workz.

Again, our million thanks to our wonderful wonderful crew :)

Classy London, our inspiration.

Wednesday 11 September 2013

Of venues and budgets

At Mariah & Sham, the word 'canvassing' is like a staple diet.
Although it can carry multiple meanings, we use it to describe that part of our styling process where we meticulously assess and prep up a venue
into a suitable 'canvas' for us to fill the accessories and details with.

For couples planning their big day,
we hence cant emphasize more, on the importance of a suitable venue.
With the right venue, less design intervention will be necessary, and the more likely for your budget to be spent on the finer details and floral works.
On the flipside, should a venue require much design intervention, a big portion of your budget may go into 'canvassing', leaving little money for floral works and fine details.
Futhermore, as the effect of canvassing is almost always subtle and likely intangible, the minimizing of details and accessories (that come with a compromised budget thereafter), will create a look that is seemingly (only seemingly) unsubstantial, unless of course you really have a good eye for design and appreciate the amount of good background canvassing done....without which, would make any amount of accessories and details look mediocre.

We strive to never overlook this process, because styling is not simply transplanting a cookie cut design onto a venue, using as many props possible, mindless of quality, to fill up or cover spaces. 

Having said that, looking for good venue is not easy in land scarce, 
expensive and rain prone Singapore. 
Most gorgeous venues are either too expensive or too small, 
and the standard priced bigger venues are sometimes too gawdy, too old or too uninspiring.
Nice big grand ballrooms are exorbitant, and open spaces will require erection of large expensive gazebos, unless one wants to take the chance against mother nature.

In looking for a suitable venue, you will need to understand your budget well.
You can still have a gorgeous and meaningful wedding with a non-extravagant budget. 
If you're the creative and crafty type, half the battle is won. 
But if you really need a planner, then you'll need to be realistic and dream within your means. 
Dont go around checking out all the gorgeous weddings around the web, and expect to have all the details and replicate the whole feel, unless you really want to spend substantially.

Personally, we've had enquiries from couples asking for styling that requires plenty of big fresh exorbitant floral works, an outstanding 'WOW' grand and big dais (stage), 200 chiavari chairs to accommodate 1000 guests, high quality props, customisation, personalisation and plenty of fine details, all in an 8k budget, for a venue requiring plenty of canvassing (read: that's cost) and design interventions. We can do all that, and we're still waiting for the opprtunity to flex our styling muscles for that, but honestly, we cant do it within that kind of budget because seriously, that is Tatler standard. So unless one is really wealthy, with enough cash to spare after all the philathropic works have been done, something's gotta give.

But if you're really into finesse and fine details but do not wish to splurge too much on your wedding, for perhaps a more luxurious honeymoon or maybe for future family-saving purposes, then go for an intimate celebration at a very nice small venue. The venue may be expensive, but because you're celebrating with only a small circle of special friends and relatives, the cost may still be affordable. 
In other words, while you're not exactly burning holes in your pocket, you're still splurging on a small number of few special guests. And with a good venue, the styling costs will most likely be lower, given the lesser canvassing works needed.

Another important thing to factor in is the mood you're trying to achieve.
Find a venue that can be easily crafted and canvassed to suit that mood. 
Otherwise, more costs will be incurred.
If you cant find that suitable venue, you can either pay your stylist exorbitantly to transform and create that look, or you can choose to change the theme to something more congruent to the venue.

At the end of the day, the most important thing in a wedding is still the marriage itself
...the coming of two souls and their families and friends. 
The beauty of marriage goes beyond just a day of celebration.
 If one can truly appreciate the love and warmth of the loved ones, 
and is willing to smile at all the imperfections, laughter and joy of that special day,
 then one will have the most beautiful wedding, 
with memories to last a lifetime.


Monday 2 September 2013

August event at Serangoon CC

Last week, we styled the wedding of yet another gorgeous and lovely couple, Nazhrul and Noraiha.

It was our maiden set-up at the spacious Serangoon Community Centre.
Honestly, it was a big challenge for us...
because with an interior design like Serangoon CC's, 
what with the colorful panels and community pictures abound, 
the place looked rather busy and totally incongruent to the intended theme to start with.



 We therefore knew a lot of design interventions need to be made.
But to work the space up the Mariah & Sham style, 
 using lots of exorbitant blooms, quality props and 200 chiavari chairs,
to substantiate that big a space, would be unusually expensive...
because anyone who has seen our works in real time, 
would know we're very particular about the 'feel', quality and details.

 And going by our style, we are unlikely to just hang cloths 
and random props just to fill up the space and 'decorate'.
It's never about the amount of things we use, prepping an event space...
it's always about THE kind of things we use.

Admittedly however, as skeptical as we were,
the venue is in fact a practical venue for couples with a large guest list. 
 Because not everyone wants an intimate celebration.
I remember when I got married, 
I had more than a thousand guests converging at my parents' void deck.
And I loved it because it was heartwarming to see relatives near and far,
 friends from all over, and neighbours, coming together to celebrate my big day.

Our couple treasures this big celebration as much as I did, 
and I respect them for that.
Noraiha, in my dealings with her, comes across as someone very generous. 
She wants her guests to be comfortable and enjoy good food.
In fact she went to great lengths to choose this relatively 
new venue for its cleanliness and spaciousness.
Because in the end, a dream wedding is not just about dream venues. 
It's about celebration and the coming of two families.
And so we tried our best to create something majestic and botanical 
for them, within a reasonable budget. 
Our only regret is that we only took limited (and blurry) pics
with our mediocre phone camera that day.

May Noraiha and Nazhrul be blessed with a beautiful life together, as beautiful as they are.....
 
The canvas monogram we've prepared as the couple's keepsake.

 The dais, a reflection of the majestic Colonial East India era

Our new leather sofa was specifically brought in to fit the theme. 
And she's such a beauty, we still cant get over her ;)
We were told it's quite unusual to have leather sofas for dais settings, 
but then again it's ok to be unusual, if it's for something as beautiful as her.
 Her timeless beauty was complemented with thick velvet curtains, plain silk cushions, 
premium quality faux blooms, palm trees and equally beautiful french mirrors.

More details

The cake symphony we created to complement that lavish colonial and botanical feel


Much of what we do is not just about deciding what to place, 
but what not to place in our styling as well.
Our initial design for this dais included a crystal chandelier peeking in between the curtains.
After fixing the chandelier however, we took it down.
Because we decided that putting one for the sake of injecting more 
opulence and glam to a dais is just too cliche. 
Furthermore, the crystal chandelier, as gorgeous as it was, wasnt congruent to the colonial feel.
...unless of course we've gotten the more suitable french chandelier we've set our sights on...

ok so this will be for our next change ;)

Beyond the dais, we created a clean and sleek botanical space for the guests to dine.
Because just like in the colonial days, many celebrations were held in gorgeous immaculate gardens. These gardens were mostly lined with tall black lamposts, adorned with yellow palm trees, immaculate hedges and  gorgeous fountains.


Our initial plan was to fill up the whole space with baby's breath - all white and whimsical.
But it would make the colourful wall panel fixtures around the hall stick out like a sore thumb, 
unless of course we cover them up totally.
But because hanging cloths would diminish the botanical feel and appear unnatural, we decided to use our african violets, with colours complemeting the colourful panels, as the 'props' instead.
For that natural botanical feel, we decided not to wrap up the 30 pots of violet blooms. 
Like all the other potted pine and yellow palm trees, we placed them raw, still in their natural pots, interspersing the taller floral arrangements. 
But even with 30 pots, the big space wasnt quite filled up, and our OCD was tingling. 
Luckily this time round, we managed to refrain from 'voluntarily' buying more props, 
out of our own pockets, just to substantiate the look.
 
Floral blooms

Hydrangeas, though we may still use them again, are too main stream nowadays. 
Furthermore, they are not the natural blooms in the east indian colonial era.
So we played around with a new look using local blooms and wild flowers.
Yes...we spent months poring over even such minute details.
Because at the end of the day, anyone can decorate....
but to put meaning and life into a style requires a lot of time and meticulous effort.
Maybe not many can appreciate such details, 
but it's always these fine details that make the difference.

 These frames, bearing community photos, were lined along the whole circumference of the hall.
We covered them up with quotes and meaningful verses, in textured paper no less, 
because again, we believe that details and quality make all the difference. 

Local white-blush-pink chrysanthemum blooms sitting prettily in classy heavy glass roman vases.


And then, as we would imagine, the colonial era was full of poster paintings.
So here are some of our poster versions of their wedding.



Once again, our biggest gratitude to our awesome team! :)
Thanks Didi, for stepping up to be the onsite manager for this project. 
Thanks to our husbands, Hazrin and Fadly, for their technical, artistic, financial and physical support.
Thanks Mint and Shida, for staying with us throughout, and for being so dependable and proactive.
Thanks Isyam and Syafiq, for the logistical and botanical support.
Thanks Bala for the logistical support at the eleventh hour!
Thanks Farhaty and Mak, for baking and icing the cake for us, respectively.
Thanks to our parents and in-laws for baby sitting our kids during the rush hour.
Thanks Amrullah, Sheikh Ahmad, Rushdy , Hanzalah, 
Amirah and Dhaniah, for your time and muscle...

We're totally grateful for all the teamwork and great memories. 
Thank you so much ! :)