May 14, 2015 • 0

Mariah’s Thirtieth

A personal blog post from Mariah Carreiro, one of Elegant Earth’s Owners and Head Creatives:

There is nothing more exciting for an Event Designer than to be able to design and decorate their own event. The designer is allowed full creative freedom, has access to endless industry resources, and the ability to attend and experience an event, that they have created, as a guest instead of from behind the scenes. So when my thirtieth birthday started to creep up, I saw it as the perfect excuse to flex my event design muscle. I called my favourite vendors and began planning.

Now that being said, I still had a pretty small budget. My creative freedom was still confined by financial boundaries. So, I did what we at Elegant Earth are best at doing. I defined and refined my event vision and began figuring out how to make that happen within my allotted budget. I knew I wanted an excuse for my friends, family and I to get dressed up. I wanted it to be a fun and classy affair. And of course, I wanted the event to be special and elegant.

Since our townhouse is too small to host anything more than a dinner party, I made finding the perfect venue my first priority. I knew I desired a small venue that was aesthetically pleasing, had delicious food, great drinks, and the freedom for guests to decide if they wanted dinner, just appetizers, or to only pop by for a drink. I realized what a tall order this was, so, when I found out Ampersand27 had their Mixer Room available for small parties, I called them immediately. And wow, were they accommodating. They gave me absolute freedom to decide how I wanted my guests served and how the food would be ordered. The options for how I wanted my event to play out were limitless. As for the actual event, it went off without a hitch. The food was delicious, my guests loved the extensive beer menu, and the service was unbeatable. Ampersand27’s location on Whyte was also a huge plus; making our way to a dance floor after dinner was a piece of cake.

Speaking of cake, I love cake, and would settle for nothing less than Cake Affair. I am pretty sure Jackie at Cake Affair is magic. Her cakes always look incredible and always taste amazing. I chose the chocolate with caramel filling and was not disappointed. Seriously, I couldn’t stop eating it.

As for the decor, well, I wanted to keep it elegant and girly for my thirtieth without going over the top (of my budget). I didn’t need a whole lot, as Ampersand27‘s Mixer Room is already really nice. The color scheme in the Mixer Room is on the darker, earthier side and it contrasted beautifully with the blush and gold colour palette I chose. I kept the centerpieces simple (and affordable) with blush and white ranunculus flowers in glass vials and vases, and of course candles. I used Coconut Caress candles by PartyLite which made the room smell incredible but subtly so. I also included these tea lights in my favour jars!

My good friend and make-up artist, Molly Alanna, did my make-up for me. She even convinced me to retire my plain lip gloss for the night and vamp it up with one of her Mister lip-colours. Keep an eye out for her new lip colour line, Mister by Molly Alanna; launching in June.

And last, but certainly not least, Anika Loewen Design created my E-vites for me.

Well, enough words about it. Here are the photos that Funmi and Adrian from Fo Photography took for us. Enjoy.

As you can see, we are more than just weddings. We love birthdays, anniversaries, showers, and holiday parties. If you have an event coming up that you think deserves a special touch, give us a call and we would be tickled to help you execute it perfectly.

Love,

Mariah Carreiro

Event Design & Decor: Elegant Earth Details & Decor

Photos: Fo Photography

Venue and Catering: Ampersand27

Cake: Cake Affair

Invites: Anika Loewen Design

Candles: Sarah Carreiro PartyLite

Make-Up: Molly Alanna

Linens: Special Event Rentals