Although there are many brides and grooms who make planning their own weddings look effortless, for best results, it seems the wise thing to do is bring in a planner for your big day.
We recently reached out to Nawar from Pro_Per Events to ask her a few questions about the wedding planning process and what Autumn trends to expect. See what she had to say & see some gorgeous wedding inspiration below, and be sure to visit her website to see more of her work.
What sort of services do Pro_Per Events provide?
We provide all services related to weddings from designing/styling to contracting suppliers, following up on guest lists and running D-Day.
Tell us a little bit about yourself & your wedding planning experience?
I am an Interior Designer and a Sociologist by education, and an Event Designer by passion and experience. I started my company, along side my husband back in 2002 in Lebanon, and at that time it was very focused on large scale corporate events; such as the Lines of Fashion, the Fashion Week of Beirut. However, coming to Abu Dhabi, I fell in love with wedding planning and decided to start a branch of weddings in my company that I endearingly called signedbyNawar, as every wedding is actually designed by me.
Walk us through what happens after a couple contacts you for more information.
Ok, so when contacted by a couple I try to set up a free consultation first meeting. During that meeting I listen to their image of their wedding, needless to say, some couples have a very clear idea of what they want, and other couples are just starting to dip their toes into the wedding process and thus have a very limited vision of what they want. I try in that meeting not to influence their ideas at all, but I answer all their concerns. A few days later I try to set up a second meeting if their time permits, or simply send them a proposal. Once they choose us as their wedding planner, we sit for several meeting to build up their vision of their wedding. I meet up with suppliers and negotiate best deals for them. As we get closer to the wedding date, I help them with their wedding lists, seating arrangements and last minute requests; all of which leading to the actual wedding date.
What is the first thing a couple should do when they start to plan their wedding?
Glad you asked! OK, I can’t emphasize how crucial it is for the couple to start by looking for a wedding planner if they are not planning a DIY wedding, and I am not just saying that because I am one. The sooner the couple meets their chosen wedding planner, the easier and quite often less costly their wedding planning becomes. I say this because wedding planners often have good deals with suppliers, venues, caterers on one hand, and more options of each on the other hand. Thus, planners can better link the bride and groom with the supplier and venue that would fit better into their budget and requirements.
At the same time, in cases where the bride and groom are not sure of what they want in their wedding exactly, it helps to sit with someone who can show them the different ideas/ options and explain each to them.
What are some of your favorite trends that we can expect to see more of this autumn?
Autumn is the new summer, less heat and stronger colors make this season a new favorite among brides. Brides are starting to wean off the creamy pastels that have set the trends throughout the past two years. Naturally, with greenery being the Pantone color of the year, there is a clear trend to using more greens in the wedding floral arrangements. That makes the mixes of reds, oranges and green hues quite a hit for this Autumn. Drip cakes, naked cakes, and cakes with gold foiling are also quite trendy for the season. Finally, for the Autumn I would say higher arrangements using candles or candlesticks and hanging pieces are still popular; quite often a duo of both is what this season is becoming all about.
I have to say autumn has always been my fav season, but this particular year, with Game of Thrones images in my head, I could not be more excited about styling my autumn wedding photo shoot with Game of Thrones feel. I believe this too is a trend nowadays. Thus, I used coppers, wreaths of highly stacked flowers in burgundy and orange; embroidered table covers, candles, and rustic candlesticks. The young GOT bride in the photoshoot is wearing a mesh-fabric dress in beige and copper shimmers with a large belt and a thick chiffon veil with lace touches. Her veil is held by a corona of flowers, with her make up ranging between orange ombres and stark burgundy lipstick.
What are the most popular weddings flower trends happening now?
Again, greenery is ace this year, with both green foliage and succulents reigning supreme. Greens are used as runners, large wreath or hoops. Succulents are used potted or mixed with flowers in bouquets. However, while greens are strong, they have left some leeway for some quite interesting trends such as mixes of eucalyptus with wild berries. Many, typically, filler flowers are now used as the main course rather than just a filler such as carnations and zinnias. Dahlia is big this year with its wide range of hues. Simply putting it, we are looking at a wider range than ever of wedding flowers; without ever forgetting the typical favorites of peonies, roses, Austin roses, baby breath, orchids, lilies and calla lilies.
What’s the most creative thing you’ve done for a wedding?
I am well-known for creatively dealing with challenges, from setting up a lime and lemon field in a ballroom; to creating a wedding combining time and the beach; yet, if I am to pick just one I would say it was designing a groom’s red roses arrangement. It was Christmas and the wedding was in Lebanon where the tradition goes that the groom has to present the bride with a huge self-standing arrangement of red roses. The size of the arrangement and the number of roses are a great matter of pride. That particular wedding, the groom could not decide on the design of his arrangement, and no matter how many ideas I showed him, and how many florists we visited he was just not feeling any of the designs. A few days before the wedding, as I was reviewing all my notes on the bride and groom, I re-read the details of the engagement proposal. It was a very cute proposal, that I almost knew by heart, but that particular time I noticed that the groom actually forced the bride to slowly reveal that he was proposing to her; she actually had to do certain steps for the proposal to be revealed. So I suggested to the groom to send a large box filled with large balls of red roses (sort of large Christmas balls). I also included a white Christmas tree in the décor of the bride’s house. When the grooms’ arrangement arrived it was a large box with a beautiful red ribbon and a long love message from the groom with a simple instruction: design the red roses arrangement you like. The bride opened the box and started placing the gorgeous red roses balls on her white Christmas tree; one of the most beautiful groom’s arrangements I, or anyone, has ever seen.
Is there a certain catering style that is trending this year?
Just like all of us wedding guests want to enjoy the fun and creative menus. Thus, fusions foods are stylish, mixes of different styles of services are of course trendy creating an element of anticipation between family-style serving to pass-around to serving by plates; it ‘s now not one, but all. Mini designer plates are still going on strong, with traditional flavors looking cute and elegantly small. Desserts are quite varied from fun-childhood reminder desserts such as marshmallows to dessert tables of plentiful desserts. And never underestimate this year’s pairing of foods and drinks; of course you can still enjoy your wines with your meal, but even more, why not enjoy a drink specifically designed for the meal. Basically, anything you like to see in your favorite trendy restaurant is now a possibility at your wedding.
Where are some of your favorite venues in the UAE?
We all know wedding venues in the UAE are plenty, and they keep on becoming better, with more service-oriented options. Moreover, quite often, the wedding theme, style, season and budget dictate the most suitable venue; making every venue a potential wedding venue. I personally am a great fan of outdoor venues, thus golf courses, such as Yas Links and Address Montgomerie appeal to my taste; for beach weddings with style and glamour Zaya Nurai Island is stunning. Ultimately every venue can become lovely and fitting once it is reflective of the theme and style of the wedding.
What seemingly small detail can make a big impact at a wedding or reception?
No one was ever wrong when they said the devil is in the details. So, this is it, the more details go into planning the wedding, the better the outcome. Yet, if I am to specify just one single point then I would say design a program with a timing and try to stick to it; this way suppliers work more efficiently, caterers ensure food freshness and hotness, photographers know the exact moments they need to capture, and of course, the bride and groom are aware that their wedding is going on perfectly without having to worry for a second.
How can you personalize a wedding in an easy, cost-effective way?
There are many ways of doing that, from simply printing the names of the couples on certain items such as wedding favors; to using their favorite colors or picking themes that are close to their hearts and that their friends know about, such as choosing certain items that represent places they visited. I believe that the more personalized the wedding is, the happier the couple look and the closer the guests feel towards the couple.
How do you keep up to date with wedding trends?
Well, the world is now a very closely knit network of media and social networks; thus anyone can find a ton of images to keep them in the loop of what is hot and trendy. I personally enjoy looking at pictures of real weddings on Instagram, I read articles and blogs, and I attend at least two wedding conferences per year. However, I have to say, quite often I stray in my designs from the trendy in favor of a more personalized approach to the wedding, a design that fits this and only this couple.
What are your favorite wedding planning tools?
I am a bit of an old-fashioned person where excel sheets are very important for me, thus I found the Wedding Planners’ Tool Box to be a very effective, and quite similar to my very own thinking process. However, I also enjoy sharing material with my clients and my team for which I often use the Aisle Planner, which is quite visual and less structured than the Tool Box. And like every person on this earth nowadays, I can’t live without the blessings of what’s app, where brides and groom often prefer to create a chat group and share everything there with extra ease and efficiency.
What is your favorite moment during a wedding?
There are actually two moments that I wait for in every wedding. The first, I’m afraid, would make me a total romantic fool, and that is the moment the groom sees his bride for the first time, if I miss the look on his face I feel I missed the whole wedding. The second moment is actually at the very end of the wedding when the couple are done dancing and enjoying their time with their guest and are about to bid everyone goodbye and they look around to see the closest to their hearts.
Do you have a top wedding tip you would like to share with couples?
On a more emotional level, over the years I have noticed that the couple themselves, not the decoration, nor the venue, nor anything else is what makes the wedding a true success. Therefore, my advice to the couples is to always be happy, their happiness is contagious, their smiles are reflections of true romance, and people see that. So, the top wedding tip is to design a wedding that will make you so cheerfully happy that every guest will feel they are at the best wedding ever.
On the other hand, if I am to be pragmatic in my reply, I would say the top wedding tip is to be transparent with your wedding designer in terms of budget from the beginning. The wedding designer is someone who can create a wide range of wedding options; thus the more transparent about the budget, the better the wedding designer is able to give you the most in your wedding.
Photo Shoot Participants
Flowers – Antheia Flowers |Photography – Lime Studios | Makeup – Rana El Khoury for Giorgio Armani Face | Hair Styling – Amina | Model Bride – Talia Ammari | Model Groom – Lorenzo Mapeso | Model Flower Girl – Julia Elsalim |Cake – The Sweets Boutique | Table Cover – signedbyNawar | Venue – Abu Dhabi Golf Club
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Tsian Koussa
Our editor, Tsian is a fashion girl at heart, but she also loves to write at length about beauty, food and anything celebrity related. She has a trained creative eye, and finds herself drawn to anything a little bohemian, authentic and cool in the world of weddings.
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