Full Circle Eventi is happy to announce a new addition to our blog feature. There is so much information out there, and there is no way we could cover it all. While we have featured real weddings and cultural tips over the past few months, we want to expand this tradition by including submissions from other vendors and brides.
If you are a vendor or a bride who would like to share the details of your day with us, we would love to feature you here. Click on the new Email Me form and submit information. You can send pictures and any information directly to submissions@fullcircleeventi.com as well.
Additionally, I have received fabulous feedback from all of you regarding our imagination boards. Many have inquired about how to have a personalized board created for them. It would be my pleasure to create an imagination board to cater to your wedding. Be it a color scheme, a theme gala, cultural fusion display, or modern meets traditional, I am up to the challenge you present. Any ideas you have, send them my way and I will realize your imagination. Again, checkout the Email Me form and submit your details, or email me directly at submissions@fullcircleeventi.com.
Today’s traditional nugget was inspired by my trip to Hawaii. While I covered many of the Hawaiian traditions last week, I witnessed a beautiful fusion wedding on my trip. A Japanese wedding set in a beautiful little chapel overlooking the stunning blue sea! With that in mind, I thought it might be a great opportunity to talk about some Japanese wedding traditions.
A traditional custom in Japan, and among many Japanese Americans include the “san-san-kudo” sake sharing tradition, which translates to “three sets of three sips equal nine.” Three is an indivisible number, and it is considered a sacred number in Buddhism.
Image Via The Knot
The traditional Shinto ceremony honors the kami, the spirits inherent in the natural world. After a purification ceremony using a special branch called the harai-gushi, the priest calls to the gods to bless the couple. The ceremony ends with a ritual sharing of sake from three flat cups stacked on top of one another. Popularly called san-san-kudo, this ritual can be performed any number of ways, depending on your family’s custom. The groom may lead, taking three sips from the first cup, followed by the bride, who also takes three sips from the first cup. Then they move on to the second and third cups. The sake is then offered to the couple’s families.
In the U.S., Japanese Americans seeking a traditional ceremony turn to the country’s Buddhist traditions. One highlight of the ceremony is the rosary, or o juju, which has 21 beads of two different colors. Eighteen beads represent the couple, two represent each family and one represents the Buddha. Joined on one string, the beads symbolize the joining of the families. The san-san-kudo, more cultural than religious, is also performed at the Buddhist ceremony.
I am so excited about today’s major news, I just might burst. If you are like me, you are constantly watching wedding shows, Platinum Weddings, Who’s Wedding is It Anyway?, Rich Bride Poor Bride, Wedding Day, My Fair Wedding and the list continues. I am blown away at some of the things that are out there, but are still not available in Michigan. One of my goals is to be one of the first to bring you the latest and greatest from all over the world, including what is hot on the East and West Coast. I am constantly scouring the web, talking to contacts, and reaching out to knew companies on your behalf to bring these opportunities to Michigan (and the Midwest).
So if I don’t tell you about today’s major news now, there just might be a big mess to cleanup. The hottest trend on the East and West Coast has officially landed right here in Metro Detroit brought to by Full Circle Eventi and our New York partners.
Strolling Human Tables make an offbeat yet elegant addition to your wedding, casino event, opening,black tie event, product promotion, super sweet sixteen, masked ball, and evenbat mitzvah o rbar mitzvah! Consider strolling table for New Years Eve, Halloween, Carnivàle, Bastille Day,Mardi Gras, Christmas, or any holiday party or gathering. Custom designed walking table costumes are always an option.
If you haven’t seen a strolling table, check out the video below.
“Bringing artistry and theatrics of strolling tables to Michigan”
The latest addition to wow your guest at any event. Be it strolling cocktails for cocktail hour, holder for place cards, party favors or hor d’ouerves, or a breathtaking dessert table, your guest will never forget these elegant and stunning human tables! Check out our website for additional photos and ideas for your event. For more information, email us!
As promised, here is part two of the Brides to Be experience for Pam and I at Full Circle Eventi! We had a lot of fun adding little touches to the booth to step up the details to another level. We added the beautiful 4′ vases on the side to add some height. But let’s stop talking and check out the photos!
If you are like any of my brides, you are faced with the challenge of juggling the wishes of your family, your future husband, his family, and finally your own ideas. All you want is a cohesive party to celebrate your nuptials and enjoy the process. A good wedding consultant can help you congeal all these elements together and create a flawless event, but keep in mind, their job is to ultimately assist you with what you envision. Use them as a resource to reinforce the plan of action. Here are a few guidelines that will help you along your way. If you know these things, it will help you and your planner in the long run!
Pick one or two elements from both sides to celebrate equally during the ceremony. This makes the union balanced and respectful.
Know your limitations. If it’s a long distance wedding, there’s no need in stressing out over details that you could easily delegate to an on-site planner.
Envision your dream palette, and work the customs around that. Not the other way around.
Trust your gut. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, especially with various styles. Go with your first instinct, because that’s usually right. For example, I’ve witnessed many melt downs at bridal stores that could have been avoided. Go with your gut and pick the first dress that made you feel beautiful instead of trying on a gazillion.
Culture and heritage is all about spirit, essence and the culmination of little details. There’s no pressure to go over the top, unless you really want to…and that’s another sexy and bold style, in itself.
Tips adapted from Wedding Nouveau. Thanks for all the great tips.
In preparation for my upcoming excursion to the Hawaiian Islands, I am beginning the “aloha spirit” right her at Full Circle Eventi! I will be sharing many beautiful images from Hawai’i over the next few days, but in honor of tradition Tuesday, let talk about Hawaiian wedding customs. As with many other cultures, there are many we can discuss, but I will stick with three for this time around. The Koa wood and Ti leaf ring blessing, the Ti Leaf and Lava Rock Ceremony, and the Hawaiian Wedding song.
This ceremony commemorates these vows and your love?
The Dard (officiant) hands a Koa bowl to (Groom). A few moments before the service, the Dard dips the Koa wood bowl into the Pacific Ocean in order to perform a Hawaiian blessing over the rings. Koa, which is the hardest of our Hawaiian woods, has been used over the centuries to build the outrigger canoes, tools and utensils. Koa is a treasured and valuable hardwood that represents integrity and strength, which are foundational qualities of a marriage. The Ti leaf represents prosperity, health and blessing of body, mind and spirit. The officiant begins by dipping a Koa wood bowl into a body of water. The leaf is dipped into the bowl, and the water is sprinkled three times over the rings while the following chant is recited: “Ei-Ah Eha-No. Ka Malohia Oh-Na-Lani. Mea A-Ku A-Pau,” means: “May peace from above rest upon you and remain with you now and forever.”
The water has a double significance. One is a washing back into the Pacific, as it were, symbolically, of any hindrance to relationship, disappointment or hurt from the past. In Hawaiian this is called Ho’oponopono or reconciliation, a letting go by grace and aloha so that the second aspect of the water may be profoundly true for the two of you today: it represents a brand new beginning as husband and wife.
Ti leaf and Lava Rock
The Dard again, takes a lava rock and Ti leaf to perform the final blessing. The lava rock is symbolic of the moment you made a lifetime commitment to one another. It is wrapped in a Ti leaf and left at the ceremony cite as an offering, prayer and blessing which remains steadfast at the place of your marriage, marking the birth of your union, while your rings are a symbol of that commitment that travel with you wherever you go. The rock marks the entrance into a promised land, that of marriage, full of rich promise and unlimited potential.
Hawaiian Wedding Song
Perhaps one of the most touching elements of the ceremony, or more easily adapted into the reception is the Hula to the Hawaiian Wedding Song. The Hawaiian Wedding Song, Ke Kali Nei Au, is usually played during the ceremony, although it would work nicely as the first dance at your reception as well. It was originally written in Hawaiian in1926 by Charles King, and has been translated into English and covered by several artists; most notably Elvis Presley in the movie, Blue Hawaii. But instead of trying to describe it, I found a beautiful demonstration of a bride who learned the hula just to dance for her husband as a surprise on their wedding day.
PS. If you are interested in learning the Hawaiian Wedding song to dance for your husband and are in the Metro Detroit area reach out to Auntie Fran of Polynesian Fantasy Dancers. She is a wonderful teacher!
Monday is always the beginning of the week, at least in my book. And what a great time to deliver exciting news to all my readers! The first few weeks of January flew by in a whirl wind and there are some exciting things brewing here at Full Circle Eventi, including some amazing new brides.
Congratulations Jessica Gabarra and Matthew Cieciek on their engagement and upcoming Wedding. The team is ready to assist them in making their wedding spectacular and memorable. We will certainly be posting Jessica and Matthew’s engagement sessions in March!
Ok, I confess, I have a slight love affair for the ladies and their gorgeous designs at Emplume. I don’t know if it’s the feathers, the sparkle or the creative geniuses, but I am not your run of the mill individual either. I like things that are unique, one of a kind and make a strong statement. If you don’t believe me, you don’t know me yet! So today when I was leafing through the umpteen million Facebook posts, I noticed the ladies were saying a fond farewell to a bride, or rather her stunning bouquet! While I really want to sit down and interview this delightful duo, you will note that I have had the chance to meet them and again was as impressed with their personalities and like-ability as I am by their bouquets, boutonnières, and hairpieces!
Since I have yet found the time to sit down for a one on one chat with this team, I decided just to keep spreading the word and display some of their beautiful craftsmanship right here with you! Of course you saw a few of their bouquets in the Black Friday post, but here are some updated photos.
How can you not fall in love?
I am extremely excited to say, that I am now a very proud owner of a stunning mauve bouquet of my own. Now I just need to find the right occasion to use it!
Ok, I admit, maybe I’m obsessed! But it’s a healthy addiction, right!
A bit over due, but here is the first weekend’s look into Full Circle Eventi’s display at the Bride’s to Be Bridal Expo held at the Hyatt in Dearborn, MI. Both Pam and I had a blast! It was bitter cold out both days, so loading and unloading we could barely feel our legs, but we managed to cram everything into one car (Jeep) and head down to the show. We got there bright and early to ensure we had enough time to set up the Mandap. After some creative struggling the few days before Christmas determining the best way to set up the display with only two people, we finally got a system down and were able to erect the structure without the aid of anyone else. Every element of the display went according to plan and we were very pleased with the outcome.
Decked out in our fusion East meets West attire, Pam and I were the booth to go to. Everyone, including many of the vendors, stopped by the display to introduce themselves and get acquainted with our company. Additionally, we said hello to some of our favorite vendors, and made friends with many others. One of my personal favorites is an invitations master and I will be sharing images with you soon.
The major attraction to the booth was the custom toasting champagne flute design, created by Full Circle Eventi’s premier designer to be used as a head table centerpiece, or as displayed in the booth, as the décor on the place card table. The design was such a success we know it will begin to be emulated and find its way into many weddings!
Our Henna/Mehndi Artist, Hiral and her mother, were also a fantastic addition to the booth. They were always busy with someone’s hand creating beautiful artwork to last for days. Many of the brides had never been introduced to the bridal aspect of henna, and I was happy to share this cultural charm with them. Others were well informed and a select few decided they wanted to throw henna parties for the bridal shower or bachelorette parties. I can’t wait to assist them in creating their Moroccan themed parties!
Pam and I are so grateful to all the brides that stopped to share their day with us and are looking forward to working with many of them over the next few years (we had brides at the show with 2012 weddings! Never too early to start!). Overall the show was a success for Full Circle Eventi, and we are looking forward to working with the winners of our Day of Direction Package giveaway coming up in April and August.
My dear readers, I am so sorry I have been neglecting you. There are so many things going on at Full Circle Eventi right now, I’m not sure where to start. So I will begin where we left off on Friday. Although I have not reached all of the winners yet, I am going to announce them here.
For the Bridal Show in Dearborn, we have a Saturday and Sunday winner of our Day of Direction Package.
Congratulations
Jessica Gabbara & Mylene Yap
For the Bridal Show at Fern Hill in Clinton Township, we also selected 2 winners for the Sweet as Honey Favor Package.
