Bangalore Wedding Adventure: Part 1

I am so unbelievably fortunate to have the opportunity to plan and design a spectacular wedding in Bangalore, India. A number of years ago, I designed a beautiful wedding at a private home in Pennsylvania and the bride and groom were very taken by the art, architecture and design elements popular in Southeast Asia, so their wedding style was created with that vision in mind. It turns out that two of the guests, originally from Bangalore, loved the modern style with Indian influences so much that almost three years after that wedding, they invited me to design their daughter's wedding in Bangalore. That was about ten months ago, and now the big day (or big week, I should say) is only days away and what has been a career-changing opportunity is finally going to come to fruition. With only 5 days to go until I embark on my journey, I am equal parts excited, exhilarated, nervous and overwhelmed - this is a SERIOUSLY big project. I hope you will follow my experience as it unfolds over the course of the next few weeks as I attempt to share my adventures in creating a Western-influenced South Indian wedding.

First, some important stats that everyone inquires about: there will be 500 guests at the "main event" and between 50 and 200 guests at the various events before and after the actual wedding day. The bride and groom live here in New York City, the bride's parents in Pennsylvania and the groom's parents in Bangalore. Bangalore is in the South of India in the state of Karnataka. It is the fifth largest city in India and is best known as the major technology center in India.

In August, I went to Bangalore to get the lay of the land and to meet some of the prospective vendors that I would be able to contract for the wedding. I traveled by myself as the bride and her family were not able to go to India in the same window of time in which I was available. I had never been anywhere in Southeast Asia before, so this was an adventure on so many levels. I could write an entire book on the cultural experience alone, but suffice it to say that everyone whom I met, without exception, was warm, welcoming and hospitable beyond my expectations and the event vendors with whom I met were thrilled and fascinated to work with a New York planner/designer and to learn about the type of wedding that we wanted to produce.

Weddings in India are so different in so many ways. Most people's first reaction to my telling them about this wedding is "wow - are they having a million guests??" And while that is just one small thing that makes Indian weddings different from American weddings, it is actually very telling about the overall approach to a wedding there. Weddings are a community affair. They are as much about the families as they are about the couple. Because they are multi-day affairs as tradition dictates, there is less focus on the singular day of the wedding ceremony and reception and more on the overall concept of being married. Weddings there are so much more about people coming together than about small details, so it was no wonder that I got dozens of quizzical looks in response to my questions about production schedules, timelines, contracts and invoices.

These vendors are accustomed to making a wedding, not facilitating a production. And "custom" (or "bespoke" as would be said in India) is not integral to wedding style as it is here. So, therein lies the challenge: how does a type A+ designer from the most high-strung, contract-driven city in the world direct a team of talented and capable, but laid-back and last-minute, vendors to make a wedding that looks and feels like, as my client says, "something that no one in India has ever seen?" Stay tuned...

But before I go, just a few sneak peeks at the venue called The Tamarind Tree:

The Pond: In the early part of the wedding, guests will gather around the pond for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. Later in the night, this area becomes the venue for their amazing 6-tier wedding cake (one of the Western traditions we are incorporating) and dancing late into the night.


The Gazebo: This is one of the highlights of the property. This centrally set round gazebo will be where the live band plays throughout dinner service.



The Ceremony Site: This patio area will be transformed into the mandap, or traditional Indian wedding canopy. Guests will be seated on the stone area and will be treated to some beautiful surprises along the way!



Next post will be from Bangalore in just a few days. Wish me luck! In the meantime, you can follow my play-by-play on Twitter @lindsaylandman. :-)

Hillary and Miles

The fall is always such a busy time that I find the whole season passes before I even have a moment to reflect on the beautiful events that we've done. Hillary and Miles were married in September and one of my all-time favorite New York venues, The Foundry. Their style is modern and clean with an affinity toward light colors, so the choice of venue for this couple created a clear juxtaposition with their personal aesthetics... and made a fun project for me! I was pleased to collaborate on this design with the lovely Marilyn of Belle Fleur in NYC.

Because we were using and re-using the same two spaces (the indoor Foundry and the outdoor courtyard) for different parts of the evening, my goal was to create a different look for each space each time guests re-entered it. Elegant draping masked much of the Foundry as guests arrived and entered the tent for ceremony. When they returned to the Foundry for cocktails, the draping had disappeared to reveal the beautiful brick work that is the Foundry's defining characteristic.



When guests re-entered the tent for dinner, richly patterned light created a magical atmosphere that gave a warm feel for the feast-style tables. The landscape of flowers and candles combined the sleek, modern look to which the couple was drawn with some more textural elements that connected the look to the rugged textures native to the venue.



For the evening's final transformation, guests re-entered the Foundry for dancing and dessert and were greeted with bold, rich colors and patterns which elevated the mood for hours of celebration into the wee hours of the morning.



Of course, no wedding would be complete without the inclusion of some fantastic late night treats. In addition to our fabulous "Custom Candy Shoppe" the bride and groom requested an appearance from New York staple Mr. Softee for a super-sweet finish to an amazing night. All of that on top of a drop-dead gorgeous cake from the one and only Sylvia Weinstock.


All photos by Christian Oth.

True Blue

Everyone who knows anything about my personal style and my design sense knows that my least favorite color is blue. Ok... I have been known to say I h*te it... sorry, but I cannot tell a lie. But a funny thing has overcome me lately - a weird inclination toward all things aqua. I can't stop loving it... even the new look for Lindsay Landman Events has a signature stamp of aqua all over it! Everywhere I look I see images of this fabulous aqua blue that just draw me in.

It all started with this store window that caught my eye while shopping with my mom on a recent trip to London's posh Bond Street. I adore this combo of aqua and amethyst:



Now there are more images than I can even keep track of from weddings, parties, home interiors, furniture catalogs and just about everywhere else I look. Here are some of my faves... I have officially been won-over. Who knew? Just please don't call it Teal - that's a deal breaker.

Courtesty of WeHeartIt.com
Ooohh... my future LeCreuset
Courtesy of Design*Sponge

FAQs or TMI... you decide.

I haven't blogged in an eternity (sorry!) and while I wanted to focus as many of my blog posts on my design work as possible, I have been so caught up in developing new designs that I haven't had much time to ruminate on old ones. In any case, as I was plugging away on my new website content (stay tuned - coming next month!) and in an effort to streamline the copy (since you all know I talk/write too much) I am realizing how little space there is to tell my site visitors about me. And for some reason... inquiring minds want to know! So, here are the answers to the top 20 REAL questions I get about myself (in no particular order):

1. Where did you get married? The Inn at Penn in Philadelphia. My husband and I met our freshman year at Penn and since neither of us wanted to get married in our hometowns, it was a natural choice.

2. What were your colors? Silver and gold. And all of my flowers were white. Yup - you heard it right. The designer who has convinced even the most traditional bride that she absolutely cannot go wrong with aqua and amethyst (or fill in any two bold colors here) had a mostly colorless wedding. At the time (2001), I thought it was very cutting edge. This is not an FAQ, but I'll tell you anyway that the inspiration for my color palette and the entire design of my wedding were these amazing silver and gold pillar candles that were on clearance at Bloomingdales right after I got engaged. I bought the entire stock from the stores in NYC, Philadelphia and Short Hills. They really were beautiful...

3. Who made your wedding dress? The dress I wore down the aisle was by Vera Wang and was the most fabulous dress ever. The dress I custom designed from scratch for 9 months because I was too creative and original to just buy a wedding dress like a normal person went unworn and is now hanging in my two year-old's closet. And it is just absolutely awful. I have thanked God countless times over the past eight years for my Vera Wang redemption.

4. Were you planning weddings before you got married? Yes and no. I had been planning events for a number of years professionally and right around the time I got engaged I had decided to move into social events. So, by the time my wedding came around I had already been hired to plan other weddings.

5. If you could change anything about your own wedding, what would it be? I would have splurged on extra musicians for the ceremony. Hear me out - this is not to say that I think that this is the best investment or most important thing at A wedding - it is just what I would have changed at MY wedding. My husband and I picked very special, meaningful (and I think creative) music and I wished it would have had a fuller sound.

6. Did you plan your own wedding? Yes. And if I could turn back the clock I definitely would have hired someone to at least help me on the day of the wedding, but maybe even throughout. Sometimes you need to have the guidance of someone who is not emotionally vested in the wedding to tell you that doing three different program covers and "zoning" them on the ceremony seats to create a pattern is not a good idea.

7. What did you study in school? English and Art History. Or as I like to say... nothing in particular.

8. How did you learn to plan weddings? I have a pretty astute sensory and visual memory, so I mentally logged every experience I had with parties and weddings, then evaluated the data and decided how I personally wanted to approach the events that I did.

9. How did you learn to design events? I learned a tremendous amount by watching my industry peers. But I learned the most from taking risks and trying new things - color combinations, materials, layouts, etc. I prepare my designs by visualizing the end result and then working backwards to break down the elements and figure out how to make them. After knowing most clients for just a few hours, I can usually envision their entire event in my mind right down to the napkin fold!

10. What is your favorite flower? The tulip. I love how they crane their "necks" toward the sunlight. It makes me feel like they have little personalities.

11. How did you decide to start your own business? I didn't ever really decide - it just happened. My mom, my dad and my step-dad are all small business owners, so I didn't think it was that much of a big deal, honestly.

12. What is your favorite NYC venue? I couldn't pick just one. I love different places for different reasons.... but if you are a client, I'll definitely tell you my favorite place for YOU.

13. What was your favorite wedding you've ever done? I'll never tell! But I will say that the re-launch of my "brand" (coming next month with my updated website) is based on a model I developed from my favorite wedding.

14. What was the worst thing that ever happened at one of your weddings? I find that telling people scares them and gives them fodder for worrying about similar scenarios unfolding at their own weddings. So, mum's the word except to say that the debacles had nothing to do with me nor could they have been prevented by me. That being said, I give a shout-out to two rock-star brides who share the title in my mind. Meghan and Jessica - you made your wedding days perfect despite the drama!

15. Have you ever had a "bridezilla?" Who, in any line of work, hasn't had a client-zilla of some sort? Well, there's your answer!

16. When you are invited to a wedding as a guest, can you enjoy yourself or are you always watching everything with a critical eye? I love going to weddings as a guest. I absolutely live it up and put my work aside. I might even enjoy weddings more than the average guest since I am usually spending my Saturday nights jealous of the wedding guests who can enjoy the fabulous parties that I've planned. But, no matter what, I always carry at least 6 safety pins in my clutch in case the bride's bustle breaks 'cuz when that happens, everyone starts looking my way!

17. What's the hardest part of your job? Functioning on Sunday morning after standing in heels for 14 hours on Saturday.

18. Does your husband mind that you are at events until all hours of the night and that you travel to foreign lands for weeks at a time without him? Ummmm.... probably. But no one in the world could be more supportive of my love of my work than he, so he grins and bears it like a champ.

19. How do you balance your unusual schedule with having a family? By remembering a few important mantras that I repeat to myself often: 1.) You can have it all, but you can't do it all, 2.) Happy mommies make happy kiddies, and 3.) Sleep isn't really all it's cracked up to be.

20. "OMG... You're a wedding planner? Have you ever seen that movie with Jennifer Lopez?" Are you serious, random cocktail party stranger? Of course I have seen it. And Father of the Bride, too. I get TBS just like you do. :-)

Now you know all of my deep, dark secrets. Did I miss anything?

Shedding some light

We are constantly looking for new media to introduce into our clients' decor schemes and one of the most fun and attainable elements we've been incorporating for the past year is lighting fixtures used in non-traditional ways.

At this fall wedding in Philadelphia, raspberry lampshades hung over alternating tables where low centerpieces were used. These shades did double-duty in bringing down the high ceiling and bringing the color palette up from the tabletops into the guests' sight lines. Furthermore, since The Pennsylvania Academy for Fine Arts doesn't allow candlelight in the building, lampshades offered a creative solution to a potentially problematic element.
Photo by Laura Novak

In Chicago, these giant damask patterned shades stood on 10 foot battery powered lampposts to frame the band and add visual interest to the front of the room (a place many people forget about when planning their decor!).
Photo by Rosalind Weddings, Lamps from Heffernan Morgan

At the same Chicago wedding, this 20 foot chandelier created a custom ceiling treatment over the Peninsula Hotel's dancefloor.
Photo by Rosalind Weddings, Chandelier from Heffernan Morgan

Finally, at one of our recent NYC weddings at Gotham Hall, we custom-built these black chandeliers to act as the vases for the funky flower domes and holders for the color-dipped pillar candles that adorned the tables.
Photo by Barnaby Draper

Wedding Planner In Training!

Hi everyone! Just a quick introduction about myself before I give you my wedding opinions. My name is Ashley and I am interning at Lindsay Landman Events this summer. I have learned so much in such a short period of time and I couldn’t love this internship experience more! I originally hail from Florida and am doing my best to take on all things New York City, mostly with Allison’s and Lindsay’s help. Thus far, my favorite things NYC include Crumbs, Shrek the Musical, the jewelry vendor located outside J.Crew on 19th and 5th, the 6 train (which is the only subway line I have mastered), and the fact that I can get any type of food I want delivered to my door from Seamlessweb.com. Really, my only complaint of NYC is the Post Office, and finding an efficient post office in my opinion is like finding a needle in a haystack… no matter where you live.

Now onto my bridal find:
Generally, I am obsessed with all things footwear…. to the extent that I searched for the perfect pair of rain boots to coordinate my outfits during rainy days. For me, finding the perfect pair of shoes at an affordable price will probably take precedence over many aspects of my wedding (excluding the dress hunt). Needless to say, I was thrilled when one of my favorite shoe shopping resources, Piperlime.com, added a “Wedding Chic” section to their site a few months back. Piperlime has styles for brides and bridesmaids from various designers, at all price points and colors! Being a frequent customer of their website I can testify the shoes always arrive on time, in their impeccably kept boxes, and their descriptions of the shoes are always spot on. Its really fashionable footwear made easy! Even better they have pulled adorable pumps, sandals, flats, and flip flops so if your wedding is in the city or out by the beach they have a shoe for you! I only wish I were getting married to wear either of these…..

I’ll keep dreaming.

Places, please!

One of my favorite decor tools is the use of the escort card table as the big opening "wow" for any event, particularly a wedding. This is the first thing that guests interact with when entering an event - they can see, touch and feel it and more importantly, they take a little piece of it with them when they leave. So, when given this opportunity to really reach out and hand your decor to your guests, why miss the opportunity and place a paper card on a standard table?

For this funky wedding at Gotham Hall, we filled a lucite table with water and flowers and then had black acrylic escort cards hand calligraphed with white writing. From the moment the guests grabbed their cards, they knew that this wouldn't be an ordinary wedding - and it wasn't!
photo by Barnaby Draper Studios

At this spectacular vinyard wedding, guests found their names etched on mini chalkboards embedded in a tiered plot of grass. When they arrived at their tables, the coordinating table numbers were also written on slightly larger chalkboards. This echoed the Raphael Vinyard's tasting room in which wine selections were written on large chalkboards. Design by Claire Bean.


For a winter wedding at Oheka Castle, we used cranberries to support escort cards on wooden sticks. A key element here was to create the cards so that they could be removed from the sticks easily so that guests wouldn't have to carry a skewer around all night!
Photos by Christian Oth Studios

Finally, vintage New York postcards were calligraphed with table numbers and inserted into calligraphed envelopes and placed over clear crystals covered with clear plexiglass in the glorious Rainbow Room. This table was one of our most well-received ever as the many out-of-town guests loved having a New York keepsake to take home.
Photo by Lina Jang