The bride and groom were overflowing with happiness!

After the ceremony, we all went to the reception. When we arrived we were greeted by the
family of Sheikh Majed Al Sabah with so much affection that I don’t quite know how to explain!

Photo time!

The invite said “dressed for an Oscar night”, but I confess I was surprised to see everyone in casual clothes! I had a
long dress with embroidery, didn’t understand anything until Sheikh Majed Al Sabah called everybody to the hall.

There he began one of the most beautiful speeches I’ve ever heard! The Sheikh wanted that night to be special,
and declared that there is nothing more important in life than family. To our surprise, it was “family day” in his
country, and all the changes of the event, those last minute, were because the Sheikh wanted us to experience
a typical “family day” in Kuwait!

“Family day” is a free day for children so they were could choose how they would like to honor the bride and
groom. They decided to do a performance which had two boxes full of fun gifts for newlyweds!

The cutting of the cake and time to throw the bouquet!

Everyone sitting in the room, we were surprised by a saxophone player! Impossible not to dance…

Left the gran finale for the sweets table!

Complete success in every way! Guests delighted with our sweets!

I’ll thank again to the team of super players who stopped everything to help me: Isabella Suplicy,
Mariza Doces, Conceição Bem Casados, Docices, Blauss Maison e D. Filipa! My eternal “thank you”!

Arrangements were prepared with silk flowers that I took from Brazil. Mrs. Monica was missed!

The production of the well-married sweets was a fantastic! Prepared an old suitcase,
wrapped with lace, with an embroidered heart and silver picture frame with the words:

Well-Married

A little bit of love with a Brazilian traditional wedding sweet!

The chocolates, cookies and honey buns also made a big success!

Honeymoon in India? A chocolate plaque decorated with the Taj Mahal and, at the groom’s favorite car,
the “Just Married”. Honey bread luggage bags, cookies in the shape of the TFK fragrance bottles, and the
cookies were covered with edible rice paper printed with love poems from Brazilian poets!

The final detail were the heart laces!

They were delighted with the care of us taking a little bit of our culture for them! This was so important
that the next day, Sheikh Majed Al Sabah had prepared boxes of sweets for family members that didn’t
come, because culture says that whenever something comes from outside should be divided among all!
What was left, he had taken straight to his office! Do you think he liked our sweets?

The video is beautiful!

The ceremony was to happen in the desert was transferred to the Bait Al Othman Museum, the reason being that it was a week of rain in the desert, which according to tradition brings luck to the wedding!

The museum was inaugurated this year to preserve the Kuwaiti culture. There you can find the oldest Koran in Kuwait and the first oil drilling machine, for example… The museum has more than 200 rooms.

The invite said:

Dress Code: Old Kuwaiti Traditional Clothes

So… the first thing to do was a visit to the old market town in search of our garments! Shortly before the ceremony, everyone gathered in the hotel, our new local friend, Salmon, helped us get ready!

In the courtyard in the museum entrance, where the ceremony took place, was a scenography reproducing the
desert. The stars in the sky were projected on the ceiling and there were stuffed animals throughout the area!

The bride and groom in the center and all the guest seats around them, forming a “U”.

As soon as we got there, we went looking at the bride getting ready!

The dress with the colors of the time (green and gold), lots of gold, and painted hands with all its symbolism!

Throughout the ceremony Kuwaiti food is served as well as drinks like tea and water.

In addition to trying everything, I also registered it all… lol !

Something that also drew my attention was a kind of incense they use, called Bukhoor. During the ceremony,
it is passed among the guests, perfuming them. Women use the smoke evaporated from the incense holder
called mabkhara not just in their clothes but also in the hair.

The guests also caught my attention! Beautiful and powerful, with a posture to impress!

The ceremony lasted three hours, and each moment was amazing!

Women singing, men drumming, the entry of the bride, the entry of the groom, dances…
a show of culture and tradition!

After the ceremony… time for the photos!

The exit of the newlyweds! Time to go back to the hotel and rest!

The following day would be the big day to prepare our beautiful sweets table for the Sheikh!

The hotel is located in the Al-Salmya neighborhood, facing the sea, near the Safir Marina.

Left the bags in the room and quickly, even exhausted from the long trip,
immediately went on for a “tour” to see  everything… absolutely everything!

As it was the month of December, the hotel was decorated for Christmas.

Loved the Missoni balls!

The hotel’s Italian restaurant is sensational! The only disappointment is that, since
alcohol is banned in the country, not even a little glass of wine to accompany the meal…   

The Choco Café is also wonderful!

Curious as always, the next day after breakfast, I went on to get acquainted with the ballroom of the hotel!

Searched the events manager with a box of delicious well-married sweets in hand in order to make friends
fast! Lucky for me, every day had a different being put together for a wedding (my daily stop after breakfast lol)!

The variety of options in china, towels and napkins, is crazy! Dear Houssna (director of events at the Missoni
Hotel) was able to give me their presentation material to share with you!

Enjoy!!!!

Thus began the letter of invitation to the wedding of Lili and Marlon in Kuwait on December 21, 2012.

To formalize their union, none other than the member of the royal family – Sheikh Majed Al Sabah – presented them with holding the wedding in the City State of Kuwait, an oasis in the desert of the Middle East.

Sounds like a fairy tale, but it is a beautiful love story in modern times! And yes… I’ve been a privileged to participate in this event, to witness the happiness of the couple!

A brief explanation: Lili and Marlon already lived together here in Sao Paulo when he received an invitation from Sheikh Majed Al Sabah to become one of the ambassadors of the perfume brand TFK, that the Sheikh was launching.

Within months Marlon moved to Kuwait, becoming in time worthy of great admiration that the Sheikh
demonstrates for him. With the justification that two people who love each other should not be
separated, Sheikh Majed Al Sabah gave Marlon and Lili a dream wedding ceremony…

Lili, who was in Sao Paulo, was surprised by the groom with a marriage proposal that would happen in
less than six months, and that would be the first marriage of Brazilians in Kuwait!

So begins this whole adventure that I’ll share with you in upcoming posts!

There were three celebrations:

The first, at the Bait Al Othman Museum, following the traditions of weddings 80 years ago… in the desert.

The second was the marriage at the Catholic cathedral in Kuwait celebrated by an Italian minister of the
Vatican, followed by a reception at the home of the royal family.

Finally, the civil marriage in the Brazilian embassy in Kuwait.

You can only enter the country as tourists if you’re a guest. After sending my passport, I received a letter
with the invitation from Sheikh Majed Al Sabah. I cannot explain my anxiety to live all the experiences
I knew were coming!

It’s part of the culture to offer gifts to the Sheikhs. They like simple things, especially food or local crafts.
Sweet peppers, jams, and nothing could have alcohol.

There are no restrictions to enter with meats, cheeses, seeds or any food, because there is no ministry of
agriculture in the country.

So my challenge was set… produce a beautiful traditional sweets table, as we do here in Brazil, as a way
for the bride and groom to thank the Sheikh, on the wedding day, at the home of the royal family.

We had 15 days to prepare everything! As we are nothing in this world without our partners and in mid
December, close to Christmas, a hard core group here in Sao Paulo stopped everything to help me!

Yes… I took to Kuwait 500 well-married sweets, 1.000 other sweets and everything else you can imagine!

Isabella Supplicy chose their most wonderful sweets with beautiful molds and left everything ready in
suitable containers to be shipped on the Emirates flight!

Dear Silvia, from Mariza Doces, needless to say she was super partner as always! In addition to the delicious
sweets, she also made ​​the well-married with lace bows, cascades with flower bouquets, and the tray covers
wrapped with fabric!

Conceicao Bem Casados, also a dear friend in business, prepared the well-married sweets with beautiful
white camellia flowers.

Chico, from Docices, created his beautiful decorated chocolates and cookies…

Vivian, from Blauss Maison, did not hesitate to prepare linens with embroidery and silk pendants,
as well as an incredible selection of products as gifts for the mother and sisters of the Sheikh!

And finally, my dear friend Olguinha from D. Filipa, lent me the towels for the tables!

Help!!  Between boxes and luggage, I think they were about 10 in total to get on board with all these treasures!

Everything set… after a long flight with layover in Dubai, we got to Kuwait!

At the airport, two interesting surprises:

The first one, a Martha Stewart bridal magazine in Arabic, which I loved…

…and the second one, the most amazing van I’ve seen so far, from Hotel Missoni, which carried our luggage!

In the next post, we’ll start with the Hotel Missoni! Prepare to drool!!!!  

Olivia is the daughter of dearest Kimberly and James Van der Beek. Beautiful sunny day and a marvelous garden, the perfect scenario!

The couple lives in Hollywood Hills… a house with a beautiful view!

After getting all the wonderful flowers at the Flower Market as soon as we arrived,
Mrs. Monica immediately started preparing her works of art!

The ballerina tea could only be pink, with lots of pompons, would you agree?    

I’ll start with the sweets table that (I swear!)… looked like a jewel!

The flowers were a treasure!

Hyacinths, peonies, ranunculus, tulips, anemones, speedwell, hellebores, nerines,
muscari, ceniraria, astilbe, snowberry, lilacs and long branches of rose vine!

Porcelain ballerinas, pale pink tulle pompom, cupcakes, chocolate favor bags
and the cute plush bears… with ballet outfits!

The tea table for the little ballerinas was so charming!

The highlight of the party was the little pink piano…

… but the fun didn’t stop there!

In the “Little Miss Boutique” all the guests got ready with nail polish and make-up!

The pink tent with a music box and the big carriage for the little ones to color were also a big success!

In the middle of so much fun, pause for a snack! Mamma Kimberly prepared delicious sandwiches,
strawberries and blackberries with whipped cream, plus some cupcakes!

Moments like these are kept for all our lives!

Bye bye, Los Angeles! Hope to be back soon…

Everything for the grandchildren to experience a magical and unforgettable moment!

The sweets table had so many delicious things that it’s hard to choose where to start!   

We had to have the balloons!

Bunny footprints everywhere…

…and a table specially prepared for the little ones to have fun!

The final attraction, and without a doubt the greatest success,
were the little bunnies that surprised the children!!!

Happy Easter everyone!

It’s wonderful… looks like you’re a child again…    

This baptism was at Manioca and it was very sweet! Well, with the theme “The fairies and the flowers”, there was no way I wouldn’t go all out with the details.

I’ll start with the sweets table, which was a dream!!!

As always, the beautiful sweets from Docices… and the wonderful flowers from Mrs. Monica!

The play area for the children was particularly cute!

The table decoration was also charming! Notice the beautiful linens from D. Filipa…

…and in the middle of the flowers, lots of fairies!!!

The venue chosen was Casa Petra! In fact, the team was perfect: impecable planning by Babi Leite Eventos, wonderful buffet from Vivi Barros, incredible venue from my dear friends Fabio and Luciano, from Casa Petra!

All the furniture from 100% Eventos and the flowers from D. Monica Rezende, of course!!!

The photos speak for themselves… as always, the work from Lan Rodrigues is breathtaking!

First, I’ll share with you some loving photos of the couple…

The decoration in strong colors was beautiful!

The highlight of the party was the groom’s show! Yeeees!
And it’s not because he’s my cousin… but he dazzles!!!  

The energy spread to all the guests and the party went on all night long!!!

“Love is in the air”

Photos: Lan Rodrigues.

If you follow me on Instagram (if you don’t, you can start        @clarissa_rezende) know that I was invited to prepare a production for NY Fashion Week at the Hotel Plaza Athénée.

Complete success, the result was incredible!

For 8 days, the hotel had our production in exhibit at the restaurant Arabelle. Plaza Athénée, as I mentioned before here in the blog, is synonym with refinement and tradition. Its intimate ambiance is what I love the most, plus the hotel is located in a very charming street at the Upper East Side!

After lots of research, brainstorming and inspiration, the theme chosen was “New York 1940′s Street Style”.

Before showing photos of the production, I’ll explain a little bit of the history and how the idea came up…

Conceived by Eleanor Lambert, originally called Press Week, the first fashion week in NY happened in 1943.
The buyers, editors and designers were traditionally focused on fashion in Paris, but that year they could not
have access to the new European trends due to France being involved in the war. Eleanor Lambert spotted
the opportunity to create a fashion week in NY to attract media attention to the “American Style”.

From this concept, the theme of our production was chosen and inspired in the NY street style of the 40′s.

The props used as reference to NY were the Empire State Building and St. Patrick’s Cathedral,
represented with 3D puzzles. An image of the famous department store Saks Fifth Avenue
also composed the table.

Old cars in rotating displays had to be there!

Now… when we’re talking about fashion and style, we did some serious research at flea markets
and vintage shops in NY. Everything from the 40′s, of course.

Hats, purses, gloves, shoes, clothes, umbrellas, scarves. bracelets, brooches…

The famous Paper Dolls were there representing the 1940′s “American Style”!

Notice the detail of the pages from the Sears catalog “Everyday Fashions of the Forties”.

Mrs. Monica‘s flowers were breath taking!

Calla lillies, ranunculus, orchids, tulips, anemonies… very extravagant!!!

The final detail was the book on the Fashion Week creator, Eleanor Lambert,
with a charming vintage camera and a lampshade that I fell in love with!

Without a doubt a great challenge for a Brazilian to present a work like this… to New Yorkers!   

Sem dúvida, um grande desafio a uma brasileira apresentar um trabalho desses… aos nova-iorquinos rsrs!

The press coverage was big!!!

There was an article on Forbes Travel Guide mentioning our production
as one of the things to do in NY during Fashion Week!

Link here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestravelguide/2013/01/22/guide-to-nyc-fashion-week/2/

…and to end in big style, the Brazilian TV show Manhattan Connection had a
piece of our production, calling us out among Brazilians in action in NY!!!

I couldn’t be happier with so much recognition of a work that,
without a doubt, was created with lots of dedication and passion!

Welcome to the magic world of… Alice in Wonderland!

Right at the entrance, guests were welcomed by all the famous characters!

The delightful afternoon was just beginning and the children undoubtedly had a lot of fun…

In the middle of the garden we did a beautiful community table to draw and paint.

Look how sweet, the little chairs with flowers…

Small vintage card books went well with the theme, don’t you think?

But… the success of the party was the sweets table! Ahhh… how I like to produce themed tables!   

Myself and Mrs. Monica (my mother, as most of you know) usually “travel” together!
This time, I gave her a challenge: I want a garden inspired in the images below…

… and she simply did it!

The production of the Queen of  Hearts was outstanding!

The flower arrangements coming out of the shoes were also incredible!

Look at the lollipop detail in the garden production!

Not even going to comment on the little vintage dolls…  loooove them!

Ohh! Before showing the next photos, obviously I needed to
mention that the chocolates could only be from Docices!!!   

Photos by Alexandre Pirani, Beto Mellao, LD2 Produtora and Joao Coelho.