Several Sedona Wedding Studio members travel to do destination weddings and projects in other cities. Today, we want to share with you some images that the Events By Show Stopper’s team took during their recent trek to San Francisco and shared with us. The guys were working at the world-famous Fairmont Hotel, high atop Nob Hill. Not only did they plan, design and execute the decor for the lavish rehearsal dinner, but after an initial site visit to the city by the bay, they returned to Sedona and drew upon their event planning skills and coordinated everything in detail. They procured special requests for gift bags, planned logistics, timelines with various guest hotels and oversaw and executed major details of the event. Literally everything had the Show Stopper’s touch in one way or another.
Some of you may remember the hit TV series, Hotel, that was filmed at the Fairmont during the mid 1980′s.
The lobby of the Fairmont is spectacular.
The event was held in San Francisco’s beloved Tonga Room, one of the cities most popular night spots. Two floors below the lobby, the Tonga room was the original location for the hotel’s swimming pool. It was renovated to be used as a Polynesian-themed restaurant, but the pool was left in place. Diners can sit around the pool and enjoy what can best be described as some of the best cuisine ever tasted. Every 30 minutes, it actually rains in the pool via specially designed pipe systems in the ceiling. Strobes add flashing lightning and a huge sound system rumbles with thunder. The functional barge serves as a stage for the fabulous house band as it drifts continuously from one end of the pool to the other.
The Tonga Room is fab-u-lous with just the right blend of whimsical kitschiness, camp, retro and cool all rolled into one wonderful visual experience complimented by unsurpassed food and service.
First we will show you some of the botanical fun the designers created for the event itself, then some of the cool details they planned for guests, including some special treats for friends the Show Stopper’s team made during the planning process.
Several months ago, Show Stoppers released their rendering of this rose petal carpet they ultimately installed for the event.
They took the design from the pattern in the custom oil-cloth overlays they had specially made in California. This is one of the most detailed carpets Show Stoppers has designed.
Show Stopper’s designers began laying out the design at 8:00 am. The composition included 1500 roses that were shipped from Ecuador and hand-petaled the night before. The design approached completion at 4:00 pm. This is one of the most detailed carpets Show Stoppers has designed. The finished piece is quite spectacular at a whopping 14ft x 18ft.
To achieve maximum depth of color and definition, each giant petal of the design was a blend of coral to the outside to pink towards the center. In some areas the carpet reached 2 inches in depth, especially the areas that incorporated fragrant yellow roses that permeated the air as guests entered the space. They could smell the carpet before they actually saw it. Everyone was thrilled.
Physically speaking, this was a very strenuous design to execute, constantly scooting around and kneeling on the hard floor, standing up from a sitting and squatting position, kneeling without pads on the unforgiving floor, twisting around to reach boxes of petals… get the picture? What happened after the party? It was swept up and thrown away. That was probably the hardest thing to do.
Each leaf was made of chartruce moss with deep green moss details.
As guests disembarked their chartered coaches, they came into the side entrance of the hotel leading to the Tonga Room where the ladies were presented orchid leis by the Show Stopper’s staff. The men received traditional kukui nut leis as they all proceeded towards the entrance of the Tonga Room.
We found these wonderful driftwood bowls in San Francisco and used them in several places. This detail shot shows the wild variety of colors and textures Ken used in his designs.
There were three food stations for guests to enjoy. This spectacular piece exploded with colorful varieties of exotic tropical flowers from Hawaii, Thailand and Indonesia. Other varieties were procured from the flower markets in San Francisco.
The large designs were placed on solid orange-duck linens. Oil-cloth runners, cut from extra bolts, were used vertically on each side of the design. Notice the woven reed walls and giant bamboo details!
When they finished the 8 cocktail tables, they sat them aside, ready for delivery down to the Tonga Room. The wonderful sea-life beaded details were added just for some fun.
Here is the final destination of the cocktail designs. Notice the custom oil-cloth table-top. The design for the rose pertal carpet was taken from the pattern on the cloth. The designs were set on palm leaves, just to make a nice transition from the arrangement to the table.
Designer, Ken Heflin, really did a number on the dessert table. This piece incorporated exotic yellow calathea blooms. Ken and Jim call them rattlesnake ginger. You can easily see why.
One of the crowd’s favorites was this tropical study in green and white with touches of pink. With their special overhead lighting, this piece was extremely dramatic.
These designs were really cool. Notice the beaded puffer fish. Gorgeous papyrus gave the illusion of a palm tree growing from exotic flowers and sea-life. Red lobster-claw heliconia, whale back leaves, cryptanthus , fuchsia orchids, bromeliad blooms, anthuriums, xerographica and polished spiraled conch shells were used in the larger dining table designs.
The smaller tables that accommodated 6 guests had these exotic botanicals that were designed in large sea conchs. Pine cone ginger and cattleya orchid sprays were the focal points of these vivid designs.
Designer, Jim Bullock, designed the pool lighting in a similar way to a 2001 Venetian -themed debutant ball he and Ken did in Houston. He used gobos to throw images of sea life on the bottom of the pool.
Other designs were sent as Show Stopper’s gifts to appoint different areas of the clint’s hotel suite. The above design was sent to various helpers, members of the client’s staff and new friends that Show Stoppers made during this wonderful project.
Guests received these wonderful gift bags that were placed just so in their hotel suites. The bag stuffers consisted of a custom Hawaiian shirt for the men to wear to the event. The shirts were pre-sized and boxed with instructions on a gorgeous printed card. Traditional kukui nut leis were presented to the men at the party. The large tote bag for the women matched the print of the men’s shirts and had custom images specific to the couple’s interests. It was tied with a gorgeously coordinated welcome card by Celebrations In Paper of Scottsdale.
A canvas bag with a custom water color map of Guam, by Stephanie Barba Couture Maps, was filled with goodies gently packed in custom tissue paper that was printed with an image of the couple, then tied to the tote. A cute dashboard hula girl brought in the Polynesian theme while a Hopi Kachina doll sufficed as the Arizona connection. The cable car tin filled with Ghirardelli chocolates along with fun stuff from China Town carried through the San Francisco connection. Buttons and magnets carried through the Guam connection.
Post cards from Guam and San Francisco were included in the bag. They were pre-addressed with Guam postage stamps. The post cards had instructions for guests to write the couple a note and leave with the concierge for mailing.
The Team:
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