Welcome to the Bella Signature Design Blog!

We are so happy that you came to visit our blog! Bella Signature Design focuses on creating a custom, stylish event that is highly personal, with details that synergistically come together to create an atmosphere that is a direct reflection of you. My passion, as a designer, is to infuse your event with all the little things that speak to who you are, and to share that with your guests in a stylish, unexpected way. Our blog will be changing in the next few weeks to reflect our vision and our passion, so hang on for the ride and enjoy!

Feel free to peruse the posts, look in our archives for some great advice and be sure to leave comments on what you like. We love hearing from you!

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Bella Signature Design in Seattle Bride

After a much needed Holiday break, we are back in swing here at Bella Signature Design! Angela, Tom, Sara, Jessica and I enjoyed our break, and are excited to be working on the 2009 Wedding Show, which is next weekend, January 3rd and 4th at the Seattle Convention Center. We've been busy creating and designing our booth, and those of a few others...if you are in Seattle you'll have to come see!


It was a wonderful surprise to find an advance copy of the Spring/Summer 2009 Issue of Seattle Bride in our mailbox, and to see the stunning feature on "Color theory." We had a lot of fun creating a golden/orange hued bouquet for the photoshoot, and I loved how it came out in print! I have been working on adding some different couture details to our bouquets, and for this particular bouquet I first bound the bouquet with Midori ribbon, and then created a ruffle out of the same ribbon by sewing in pleats, and then sewed the ruffle onto the stem-covering ribbon - what do you think?
Be one of the first to see the full issue of Seattle Bride, premiering at the Seattle Wedding Show, and on newstands thereafter. Be sure to see our other features in the Spring /Summer issues of Seattle Metropolitan Bride and Groom (also premiering at the Seattle Wedding Show) and Grace Ormonde Wedding Style (on newstands in January).

Daniela

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Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Cans for Comments












As designers/artists/planners in the wedding industry, we often get caught up in the details of the wedding or event, and don't always get the opportunity to give back to our communities. After the last post I made Giving back, I came across Liene's post from Blue Orchid Designs blog (one of the blogs I LOVE to read, written by a fabulous fellow planner), about encouraging all of us bloggers to donate food items in exchange for readers commenting on our blog. She first got the idea from Anne Ruthman's amazing photography blog, and now I have it and hopefully that list will go on! As Anne described it, we bloggers all love seeing comments, so for the next week, for every one (non-spam) comment we receive on the Bella Signature Blog, we'll donate one can of food to Helpline House, which is a local charity that helps get food, shelter and other necessary items to those in need. Simply leave a comment on any one of our blog entries until December 17th, and you'll be adding to that list of donated food. Thanks Anne, Liene, and the others for participating in such a fabulous project!
Daniela

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Monday, December 8, 2008

Giving Back

Last year at this time we were lucky enough to participate in an event that benefited a very important cause, the Children in Darfur. If you don't know about the crisis the women and children of Darfur, Sudan are experiencing, click here to watch a short video clip of George Clooney's March interview on the International Rescue Committee Website; George Clooney has been a long time supporter of this very important cause. The benefit event took place at Grant Heslov's home (Heslov and Clooney collaborated on "Good Night and Good Luck"), and drew in celebrities such as Heather Graham, Cindy Crawford and Forest Whittaker, to name a few. The event was planned by celebrity event planner by Jo Gartin of Love Luck and Angels, and she skillfully managed everything from the decor, catering, to the celebrity shopping and silent auction. Participating sponsors, such as Michelle Jonas (who we adore) and Rock and Republic were on hand to offer their wares at wholesale pricing, with the proceeds going to the Benefit. (And if you have never worn Michelle's clothes - you MUST try them, she has a devout following from the likes of Heather Graham and Angelina Jolie, and her clothes are the most comfortable, figure flattering clothes on the planet! I own at least 10 pieces from her last three collections, and they are my favorite pieces of clothing....)



We flew down to L.A. just in time to pickup our blooms from Mayesh, one our our favorite (non-local) wholesalers, and put together several large arrangements (see picture with Cindy Crawford above) and some small accent pieces. We had a blast watching the celebs shop for a cause, and felt good about putting our talent to use for an excellent cause.







Cindy Crawford, Forest Whitaker and his wife Keisha and Lisa Rinna (wireimage.com)











Heather Graham, Grant Heslov and Michelle Jonas (wireimage.com)









As this year winds itself to a close, with all its financial hardships, we've donated our services to some local services such as Teen Talking Circles, and several smaller children's programs in the area. We urge everyone, even in these more difficult times, to find a cause that speaks to them, and give their time, their talent or whatever they can, no matter how little - it all adds up!












One of the Teen Talking Circles centerpieces...


Daniela


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Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Real Weddings: Madhuri and Karthik

Maybe it's because of our passion for color, or our experience with a ton of cultural weddings over the last ten years; but whatever the reason is, this was the year we got to create a plethora of culturally infused weddings! One of our favorite weddings this year was Madhuri and Karthik's fabulous marriage and celebration. We first designed the ceremony decor, as we knew Madhuri would wear the traditional red and gold for the beginning of the ceremony. We used fabulous gold chaircovers from Wildflower Linens and created a custom duppioni silk aisle runner in "spun gold." Down the aisle, we created a pattern of out lush, fresh crimson rose petals as a surprise for the bride. After draping the stage in red duppioni silk, we built a ten foot Mandap (similar to a Jewish Chuppah), which is the structure that holds the ceremony. Since Madhuri and Karthik wanted the gold silk draping tied way back to allow better viewing of the ceremony, we added a lush pave rose topper of about dozen roses in various hues of red.



all images courtesy of Jane Lee Photography)






















After Madhuri's trip to India to purchase her reception gown, which was custom made in beautiful hues of blue, we sat down to collaborate on the design of the reception. The use of shades of blue with touches of gold, both to match her gown and to have some continuity from the ceremony, proved to be the perfect backdrop for this fabulous evening. We utilized the white linens from the Westin, and topped them with exquisite beaded overlays from Wildflower Linens in a subtle Champagne color. Madhuri wanted more traditional flower arrangements, so for hr we created mounds of roses in simple glass cylinders, line in leaves and lit from underneath, for Karthik, who loves contemporary design, we created super tall cylinders again lit from beneath, and topped with various orchids, roses and calla lillies in persimmon and raspberry hues. Floating orchids were lit up inside the vase for a visual treat, practically glowing at night. Ten foot wide voile was draped across the ceiling to add some texture. The finishing touch was the lighting, which changed throughout the night. We started with blue and amber lighting to illuminate and color was the lights, and as the reception turned from dinner to dancing, the lighting moved with the beat of the music to create a nightclub atmosphere. Aj from Kumba Entertainment flew up from LA, and kept the music spinning, and kept everyone on the dancefloor with both Indian bollywood and American music.

Look below the credits to see a short video montage from Cabfare Productions, who was the fabulous videographer
at this event. You can see some of the decor, inlcuding the slow change lighting behind the headtable, and the floral elephant sculpture created by us, as well as an elephant Ice Carving created by Steve Cox of Creative Ice Carvings.

Thank you, Madhuri and Karthik, for letting me be a part of your special day!
Floral and overall Design: Bella Signature Design
Lighting: Bella Signature Design/Av-pro
Photography: Jane Lee Photography
Videography: Cabfare Productions
Venue: Westin Hotel, Bellevue
Music: Kumba Productions, Los Angeles
Daniela



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Monday, December 1, 2008

Fabulous new blog, Pink Galoshes


Vodka anyone?













Amy from Pink Galoshes just contacted me today about their blog, and I had to share! "PinkG" is a fabulous photographer in New York City, and their blog is full of eye candy and hip tips for weddings - as their blog reads "irreverant hip tips for the slightly naughty bride" - Indeed!

I love their spin on wedding tips, such as some delightful cocktail recipes and discussions on details. And the photography, especially for the
tips on fun and new libations to try, are fantastic eye candy!

Since we do not accept advertisements on our blog, we are also quite careful about our blog roll - we feel no need to list every wedding vendor out there, and instead will try to find some fun, helpful and enticing wedding blogs for your viewing pleasure that may be a bit off the beaten path. Check out Pink Galoshes when your out for a blog stroll!


A gem encrusted shell from
the infamous John Hardy was
featured on Pink Galoshes blog
recently.... how fun for a
beach wedding...

Daniela

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