Full Circle Eventi – Making Imagination A Reality

As promised, part two of the Lavender Imagination board by request. I’ve loved working on these boards, and I am so excited to continue working on others boards in the future. Again if you’d like your own spark of imagination created for your upcoming event, contact me, and we can project your dreams and images into a full imagination board.

(satin bow dress, stripped tie, lavender bridesmaid, ruche dress, purple boutonnière, green bridesmaids, hydrangeas, boutonnière, bride, rose purple bridesmaids, sage boutonnière, bride, bouquet)

(stripe tie, bridesmaid bouquet, brides bouquet, green shoe, green dress, green tie, groom, groomsman, flower girl sachets, suit, mother of bride, mother of groom, bouquet, flower girl, purple tie, skirt, corsage)

I recently receive a request via submissions to create an imagination board for someone’s upcoming outdoor, barn style wedding. Colors selected for the outdoor wedding are lavender and sage and the bride also wanted to incorporate her favorite flowers – hydrangeas and lavender. The couple selected a cute historic location for their wedding, with the ceremony taking place outside under a large tree in the yard. Their cocktail reception encourages their guest to experience the quaintness of the historic site while they run off to snap a few photos. And the full reception is planned indoors in the rustic quarters of the ancient barn.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did putting it together. I’m delivering this to you in two parts, since the bride also requested some assistance with her overall appearance for the bridal party as well as the wedding itself. So be sure to tune in again tomorrow and check out the lavender romance wardrobe.

(tree, couple, door wreath, lavender rice, white streamers, cones, flower ball, ceremony)

(centerpiece, interior draping, entrance draping, centerpiece, lavender favor/place setting, head table flowers, green centerpiece, lavender place cards, pink rose centerpiece, head table swag)

There is absolutely no way I can cover the Olympic Opening ceremony inspiration without including the incredible Northern Lights! I was absolutely astounded at the imagery they were able to recreate with light. The Northern Lights are one of the great wonders of the world, and the interpretation for the ceremonies is certainly right up there.

Yesterday I covered the less colorful side, but as I said before, I love, love love, color; so this imagination board was a ton of fun! And this makes two multicolored boards now – whoever would have thought!

Chairs inspired by First Nation Traditional Costume?

Continuing my imaginative inspiration from last week’s opening ceremonies, I created two neutral color board, which if you know me, it a bit more of a challenge. I love, love, love color. Take the color away and I am left with a neutral palate that I am still mastering. So here’s a glimpse at the more subtle earthly combinations. With a splash of color – but it’s really in the mix – check out the First Nation’s logo!

(Couple, kaftan, mosaic table, bridesmaid, dragon fly hairpin, umbrellas, antler table, shoes, Inukshuk favor, red door)

While the images are beautiful, I cannot forget to share with you cultural knowledge within the boards. The rock formations, which you’ve seen on as the template for the Vancouver Olympic Games, draw their history from the aboriginal inhabitants of Canada. These people-like figures of rock are called Inukshuk. The Inukshuk, which means “likeness of person,” was first used by the Inuit People to mark trails, indicate caches of food, and locate nearby settlements as well as good places to hunt or fish. Most of the Canadian arctic is dominated year round by permafrost and only has a few natural landmarks which could be used for orientation, that’s why Inukshuk are used as directional marker.

The rock Inukshuk embodies the spirit and persistence of the Inuit who live and flourish in Northern Canada, one of the world harshest environments. Inukshuk’s represent strength, leadership and motivation. The Inukshuk makes a fantastic favor as a homage to the First Nation people of Canada.

(bride, First Nation logo, place setting, cakes, centerpiece, table numbers, Inukshuks, rock table setting, bridesmaids, flowers, shoe, bride)

No, I’m not talking about diamonds, though I originally planned to add them to this collection of images. However, my spark of imagination for today grows from the beautiful cacao plant! Yes, my imagination is brimming with Chocolate and my favorite chocolate treats!

For Valentine’s Day weekend, I wanted to deliver the biggest box of chocolate to all my readers, without the calories. So enjoy! But beware, this is a very decadent and sweet imagination, so Death by Chocolate is possible. Grab a latte, and partake with care.

We would live in chocolate if we could – right ladies! But the ultimate dream melts, breaks, and gets eaten by women and children alike! So Death by Cocoa is chocolate from every side – dark, milk and white!

(chocolate dress; chocolate martini; dark chocolate dress; chocolate mousse; chocolate mousse cup; apples; chair cover; shoe)

One of my favorite flavor combinations is dark chocolate and citrus. I love the sharp bite of a sour fruit mingled with the ribbon texture of bitter dark chocolate. No Hershey’s or Godiva for this girl. I want the real deal – 100% dark chocolate to infuse my taste buds. Translating that sharp contrast was a lot of fun.

(cake; chocolate; cake; yellow dress; yellow shoes;
lemon candies; wine label/wrapper; bracelet; centerpiece; dress; lemon)

What would chocolate be without a sweet partner like oranges. Another delightful flavor palette and an equally delightful color palette for our Chocolate Orange Twist Imagination Board.

(orange; dress; head; table; glasses; shoe; chair cover; place setting; saree; orange chocolate; cake)

And while White Chocolate is really not chocolate at all (check out the definition), I found a collection of amazing bridal dresses by Scott Corridan
entitled White Chocolate Label. For the girl after my heart, you can wrap yourself in Chocolate – white chocolate that is!

Dress

Chocolate Kisses

I am so enchanted by Korean culture, I’ve decided to share even more this week. What better inspiration than these stunning hanboks?! I told you yesterday, they would surface again, but I didn’t know it would be so soon. Of course there are the more traditional styles, but as we are always looking for cultural fusion, I am head over heels with these designs by Kim Mehee.

But is has been a very long time since my last imagination board. So . . . to quiet the riots, here are a couple boards inspired by the traditional ceremony hanbok and the westernized prismatic hanbok.

And I can’t leave you without one of the cutest elements I found in my work. If you know me, you know I tend to fancy Hello Kitty!

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.

I look forward to hearing from you all soon!

Adding Spice to your life,

Lia

The final day of Christmas is upon us. I am sad to see this fun little tradition pass, but time to focus now on the upcoming wedding season. So I leave you with the final nuggets of information and images of inspiration for the 2009 Christmas season (yes, I know its 2010 now). It is the last night and what a night for a party! Taking from all the events leading up to this point, Twelfth night is a true Masquerade Ball!

This is a symbol for the twelve tenets of the Catholic faith laid out in the prayer, “The Apostles’ Creed”. The drummers may provide the cadence for reciting this prayer.

“The Twelve Days of Christmas” seems to have become a popular carol in its day without anyone ever figuring out that it really was the profession of a faith that England had made illegal.

With the twelfth day we have reached the end of the song and have arrived at the last day of Christmas known as Twelfth Night on which the partying and feasting continued. Twelfth Night is the night before Epiphany which is the day the three Wise Men, also known as the Three Kings or Magi, from the East arrived in Bethlehem bringing gifts to the Christ child.

By the Middle Ages the drum, which was probably introduced to Europe from the Middle East by knights returning from the Crusades, had become a common instrument. Among its other uses was to combine it with the trumpet to get people’s attention when making a big announcement such as the arrival of the king or the reading of an important proclamation. In this case the drum was used to announce the serving of the next course of the feast.

Among other customs in England as well as France and other West European countries was the making and serving of a special Kings’ Cake for this twelfth night celebration (the practice of making and serving a special King’s Cake survives today in the U.S. as a part of the Mardi Gras celebrations.

The song and the twelve day celebration have now come to an end. But it is not the end of the season. For the day after Twelfth Night is the Feast of the Epiphany, another religious holiday associated with Christmas. While mainly just a religious observance in the U.S., Epiphany is also a day of both religious and secular celebrating in other countries.

While the solstice has passed and the days are slowly beginning to lengthen again, winter still holds the land in its grip. The work of the peasant and noble is light as it is still too early to begin planting while the the cold and continuing short days remain an incentive to stay inside and party. So the party season will continue, with Epiphany and continuing through the season of Mardi Gras up until Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday and the start of the Lenten season.

Adding spice to your life,

Lia

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Eleven Pipers Piping . . .

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Ten Lords a-Leaping . . .

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Nine Ladies Dancing . . .

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Eight Maids a-Milking . . .

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Seven Swans a-Swimming . . .

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Six Geese a-Laying . . .

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Five Golden Rings . . .

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Four Colly Birds . . .

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Three French Hens . . .

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Two Turtle Doves . . .

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, A Partridge in a Pear Tree . . .

We are only two days away from the conclusion of the Twelve Days of Christmas, and it has certainly been an enlightening experience for me to journey through this song. Finding new inspirations for the various boards has also been a lot of fun. So let’s enjoys the final days.

The religious interpretation is quite predictable, and in some ways actually ties well into the other views. Since the eleven faithful apostles who followed Jesus spread his message after his death, there is a natural correlation between pipers, who announce information and these followers. You may be saying to yourself that there were 12 apostles, but remember, only 11 were faithful, one betrayed him.

Sitting around, watching your sheep was a pretty boring job. So, shepherds often would play their pipes.  It is believed that on the night Jesus was born, shepherds were playing.  There is also a rumor that while Rome burned, Nero wasn’t fiddling, rather playing the bagpipes!

By the 9th century, the bagpipe was the instrument for all medieval celebrations.  This music had only one single line of melody, which suited the bagpipe quite nicely, especially for dances called caroles.

At the big feasts held during the holiday celebrations the guests were often entertained by musicians, dancers, jugglers, etc. as well as singing and dancing themselves. Bagpipes and their younger cousins the musette (an instrument similar to a bagpipe but the air for the sound came from bellows rather than blowing into the instrument) were popular instruments for dance music. While we usually associate the bagpipe with Scotland, they were also a common instrument in France as well. In France, the bagpipe was popular as an accompaniment for dance. Many French musicians often played the musette as entertainment for Twelfth Night celebrations. Since Queen Elizabeth I was succeeded by the Stuart kings of Scotland, bagpipes and other aspects of Scots culture were common among the upper classes in England as were elements of French culture due to intermarriage of the English and French nobility.

And for you who feel cheated that there are no bagpipes in our imagination board!

POPS Extras!

Adding spice to your life,

Lia

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Ten Lords a-Leaping . . .

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Nine Ladies Dancing . . .

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Eight Maids a-Milking . . .

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Seven Swans a-Swimming . . .

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Six Geese a-Laying . . .

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Five Golden Rings . . .

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Four Colly Birds . . .

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Three French Hens . . .

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Two Turtle Doves . . .

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, A Partridge in a Pear Tree . . .

Here is a reminder of the Ten Commandments.

The ten lords a-leaping most likely refers to leaping dancers who performed leaping dances between courses at feasts. This type of wild and strenuous dancing probably evolved from more ancient war and fertility dances. Such as the rituals of the early Roman priests. Roman priests, in honor of Mars, the Roman god of vegetation and war, would leap as high as they could in the air in hopes of inducing the corn to grow during the Salii ritual. It was believed that the height of their leap would be the height of the corn. Part of the costumes for these rituals included swords, which also finds its way into dances of the, Morris dancers. In Britain, the lords a-leaping are assumed to be Morris dancers, highly costumed ceremonial folk, who performed between the courses of a Christmas feast.  One form of Morris dancing included swords.  In this dance, ten men in two teams performed intricate patterns, ending with the swords being braided together to form a Lock or Nut above the Lord of Misrule (during the Twelfth Night Celebration).  In other Morris dancing, instead of swords, antlers were worn. Unlike the nine ladies dancing in the previous stanza where the dancers appear to have been guests dancing for enjoyment, these were professional dancers brought in to entertain the guests while they dined.

Morris dancing itself was a popular form of folk dancing in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and possibly earlier. Both King Henry VIII and his daughter Queen Elizabeth I had professional Morris dance troupes perform as part of the entertainment at feasts. Many parish church records from this period show both expenses for the purchase of costumes and the bells that the dancers wore while performing as well as income from the rental of the costumes to neighboring parishes. While the royal court and other nobles would probably hire professional Morris dance troupes to perform at social functions year round, local amateur groups seem to have done most of their performances in conjunction with annual May Day and other outdoor spring festivals. Morris dancing declined following the English Civil Wars of the mid-seventeenth century which brought Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans to power with their dislike and banning of any type of frivolity such as singing and dancing. The twentieth century brought a revival of the Morris and other folk dancing traditions in the UK and other parts of the world including the U.S. Today there are local Morris dance troupes and competitions in the UK as well as other parts of the world.

Adding spice to your life,

Lia

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Nine Ladies Dancing . . .

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Eight Maids a-Milking . . .

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Seven Swans a-Swimming . . .

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Six Geese a-Laying . . .

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Five Golden Rings . . .

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Four Colly Birds . . .

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Three French Hens . . .

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Two Turtle Doves . . .

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, A Partridge in a Pear Tree . . .