Sade's 21st Birthday

Hi everyone,
So last year we had those  curazeeeeeeeee snow storms and we were just itching for spring already.  Then came Sade and we were so glad it was her birthday!!!! Sade was turning 21 and wanted something fun, youthful, fresh and springy!!!!!!    And when we saw her location; Hook Restaurant, we knew we had to bring in some color.  The inspiration for her decor was obviously a longing for spring, birthdays and girly stuff.    The color scheme of hot pink and yellow was decided so that it would pop against the white background of the restaurant, besides it reminded us of spring; yellow daisies and pink blossoms.

We utilized oversized paper lanterns and adorned them with beautiful lush spring floral, and hung them over the guest tables.  The centerpieces were reminiscent of gift boxes, wrapped with ribbon and tulle and filled the entire length of the guests tables, they were also adorned with spring flowers to tie in with the lanterns. 

To finish off the look we scattered pretty sparkling  jewels on the tables.  Needless to say if this look did not usher in spring and celebrate Sade's birthday, then we don't know what else could have.  LOL!!!! 

Enjoy the images (courtesy of Tunji Sarumi)

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The Woman on the Front of that Bridal Mag Looks Like Me!!

A question that I get a lot when I talk about my dream wedding with my friends is "What makes a Nigerian wedding so different than an American wedding" and I never really know how to explain it in detail. I just say "don’t worry you'll come with me to the next one I go to, so you can see for yourself". From the vibrant, color-coordinated geles (headwraps), to the breaking of the kola nuts and the famous MONEY dance!!!! It is an event that is distinctly unique to our people. There is just something about the culture, traditions, attire, atmosphere and the people, that just make it a truly unparalleled experience.

There are a lot of bridal magazines at the grocery store and newsstands that have so many good ideas and filled with so much wedding inspiration but NOTHING ever targeted towards US. I am so happy that this is changing now and would like to introduce two bridal magazines that are bringing all of that to the limelight.




African Brides will be launched in March 2011 . Their slogan is "Elegant Weddings with an African Touch". They are really focusing on that African bride that has spent many years in America and wants a traditional event that will remind all their guests of how it's done back home BUT at the same time, she wants to mix in some Western world flare. It is an excellent resource for that cultural bride who just got engaged and needs help on figuring out what is next!

There is an extensive vendor directory in their magazine and on their website and this is a benefit for the African bride who is looking for those African vendors that understand the ins and outs of having a wedding full of tradition, as well as all the beautiful things that make African weddings a one-of-a-kind experience! My FAVORITE part about this magazine is the humanitarian efforts that come along with it. 10% of the profits from each issue go to a charity organization in Africa that helps to fight hunger, disease, abuse, and illiteracy. A different charity will be spotlighted in every issue. Not only is it a great resource for the planning bride, it is also ALL for an amazing cause! Go to their website at http://www.africanweddingsus.com/ to pre-order your copy RIGHT NOW! They are including a FREE Victoria Secret's "must-have" with each pre-ordered copy! I have my copy, what are you waiting for :-)

 

Munaluchi Bridal on the other hand, was launched in 2010 by Jaqueline Nwobu and features numerous pages of REAL weddings with people that look like US. Their motto is "For the Bride Who Craves Culture and Style". Looking through this magazine you will see many different wedding dress styles and actual fashion show spreads from top African designers. This magazine is geared towards the fashion forward, haute couture bride looking for inspiration and trying to find her specific wedding style. Consider it the style guide to a fabulous wedding rich with culture. This magazine can be purchased from their website http://www.munaluchibridal.com/ and is sold at major bookstores and some Targets.

 Both of these magazines are definitely must haves for the African bride that is in the midst of planning that special day. Whether you are searching for some beautiful wedding inspiration , that perfect African vendor that can flawlessly execute your vision, or the gorgeous wedding dress that will hug your coke-bottle curves and illuminate your glow, whatever you are looking for can be found in these two magazines tailor-made for US!

And, we'll help you get started!!!! Yes this would be our first give away for the year.  So show some blog love and our very 1st commentor would get the most recent copy of each magazine sent their way, courtesy of BCG Events. 

 

Stay Beautiful My Loves,

Memi

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Hi, I'm Memi

Hello Everyone!!!

My name is Memi Daniyan and I am the new blogger for BCG Events! I am sooo excited about this opportunity, if you ask ANYone close to me what do I love the most after God and my loved ones they will definitely tell you WEDDINGS. All of my friends and family are aware of this "obsession" that consumes my extra time! Just a couple of weeks ago I was thinking to myself like there HAS to be a way I can channel this passion and lo and behold I came across a tweet from @bcgevents (Follow us on Twitter!!) mentioning they were looking for a new blogger. I immediately inquired about the opportunity and here I am! I am ready to share my passion AND be a liason between you guys and the entire BCG team to keep everyone up-to-date on what is going on with us! What can you expect from me you ask? Well we have SOO many beautiful and wonderful things in store for you, everything from beautiful real weddings, how-to guides, love stories and features on superior African vendors! I hope you all will enjoy reading as much as I will enjoy writing!

I have posted below some pretty little things that inspire me and keep this passion burning.



http://www.tacori.com/ Style #2580RD8




http://www.lovelylopez.net/




http://www.essence.com/




Annie Hosfield Photography via http://www.theknot.com/




http://waterforchocolate.tumblr.com/




http://www.digitallighting.com/




http://hauteavenueparis.tumblr.com/




http://www.digitallighting.com/





theweddingdiaries.tumblr.com

 I could go on and on with pictures of beautiful things that make my heart pitter-patter but that's why I'm here!! LOL! So every now and then I'll have posts called "Beauty Sightings" just little details whether it's a dress, a floral arrangment, a ring...just ANYthing gorgeous that I happen to stumble across that I feel you all will enjoy.

This is the part where you guys leave comments and tell me what YOU would like to see. I want this to be as interactive as possible, so let me know what YOU want to know about in regards to wedding planning, event decor, photo inspirations, etc. I'm open to ALL comments, suggestions, and even constructive criticism :-) So buckle your seatbelts as we embark upon this journey of all things BEAUTIFUL and all things LOVE!

Stay Beautiful My Loves,

Memi

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Happy New Year, Happy New Us!!!!

Happy New Year everyone!!!!! Did you miss us?  We missed you all so much and we are glad to be back.  We hope you all enjoyed your holidays, your time off and had time to do some introspection?

Last year for us was spectacular.  We got a chance to work with some incredible clients and Ah!mazing vendors.  To everyone we worked with last year, we say thank you for allowing us to do what we do best; showcase unique event designs. 

Well we took out more time than we thought because we wanted to come back with more this year.  We realize that BCG Events is more than event design.  We have so much more to offer.  Being inspired always by beauty, we want to  share with you; our readers, our passion for all things beautiful.  This in itself presents a challenge as there are just so many beautiful things out there, and we want to tie in beauty with love stories, design ideas, wedding stories, fashion looks, you name it.  If it is beautiful, we want to talk about it.  We want to inspire you, to look beyond the obvious and let your inner beauty be your daily inspiration. 

So we began to work on being inspired by beauty, ourselves.  We needed to make sure we understood fully what this meant for us.  It meant we were going to look beyond ourselves, beyond our designs and ideas, beyond what we thought, to be inspired by beauty.  We wanted to make sure that we were drawing inspiration that would also tie back into weddings.   We realized we needed a lot of time to really convey what we wanted, but with designing and creating we were finding that our interests were being stretched.

We realized  that we needed someone with the same passion for all things beautiful, that understood our vision and was chock full of ideas on how to communicate this.  So began the search for our "beautiful blogger".  We thought the search was going to be extensive and drawn out, but no, one of you "beautiful" readers reached out to us and it was indeed beautiful.  We found the one and we are excited for the beautiful new journey ahead of us. We will let her do the introductions and we cant wait to share with you all that we have in store.

Expect weekly posts highlighting beautiful floral, weddings, accessories and styles.  We would feature beautiful love stories, fantastic give aways and share some of our industry expertise with you.  We would be talking about real life wedding planning/design challenges and how to deal with them.  Being of African descent, we would also focus on the beautiful intricacies of our culture as it relates to our wedding events and celebrations.  We want to showcase vendors with the same passion for all things beautiful and provide a new insight to Africans in the wedding industry.   And of course you will get to see BCG designs.


Thank you all for continuing to support us and we look forward to reading from you.

Happy Blogging folks,
AJ

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So Where In the World Have we Been?

Hello Bloggies, it's been way too long.  I looked up and its already October, wow! All I can say is Busy, Busy, Busy, Busy!!!! BCG Events has been BUSY!!!! And I can not tell you how grateful I am !!!! So many weddings, events, parties. Too much stuff but the best part is we certainly have pictures to share.  My good friend Dotun helped out.  People I am telling you this man is
AH!Mazing.  His pictures just have a way of making us look good.  Thank You Sir Dotun. 


While we were out, our good friends at The Fab Bride featured us, check out our Guest Blog: http://www.thefabbride.com/2010/09/guest-post-all-in-details-by-addie-of.html .  We blogged about what we love most; DETAILS!!!!.  So we want to say thank you the amazing Bola of Fab Brides for letting us add our 2 cents on the blog. 


So you still ask where have we been?  Well mostly working but also preparing for the biggest day of my life; our very own Natalie J aka FAB Designs is getting married in 2 weeks and I have been given the tallest order thus far as Creative Director here @ BCG Events: Design an Ultra Fab, Uber Chic destination wedding in Lagos, Nigeria.  OMG  I can't tell you how nerve wracking it has been but I know that everything would turn out Beautiful and even more so because I have a genius team working with me:
Banke O. - D'Posh Events - Events with a touch of Sass
Molara A. - JW Events - The WOW! Factor Planners and Decor Experts in Nigeria
and of course Atunbi A. - Atunbi Photography will be on hand to capture what this dream team would put together for the lovely Natalie J. 


All this to say we'll be out from 10/10/10 till 10/30/10 - Yeah right I wish I was truly on vacation.  LOL!!!! In the meantime, I would upload and blog about one of the events we did earlier this year that I absolutely FELL in love with.  It was whimisical, fun, fresh and girly all at the same time.  Wow I wish I was 21 again.  Join me on Wednesday for Sade's 21st Birthday and let me tell you what inspired the fun and fresh colors in the middle of winter.  


In the meantime enjoy a couple of images of Sade's Birthday! 
Love ya and once again,
Happy Blogging Folks,
AJ

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And The Basket Goes to ....

Hey bloggers , how have you been?  I hope you have missed us as much as we have missed you?  Well we are back with a vengeance.  Thanks and thanks again to everyone who suggested movies.  Boy oh boy!!!! did I get my fix.  I mean you guys took it way back, Titanic, When Harry met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, even Love Jones c'mon folks.  But this lady got her fixing and is still getting her fixing.  I was hoping though to see some unique romantic movies like Terminator, 300, Tristan and Isolde, Ghost.  Wow you guys forgot Ghost, that movie made me love the Chain melody.


Anyhow I know you want to know who won the basket?  Well after the tally went in, the basket goes to Femi G.  CONGRATS hon on your fabulous win and trust me it is uber fab.  Femi recommended 12 movies but we take it down to 11 because she and Cellina recommended te sdame movie; City of Angels, so that cancels out that movie and brought her total movies recommended to 11, which is 3 more than Cellina who came in a close 2nd.  


Ms. Femi G, please email us directly to claim your prize.  In the meantime we attached some pictures of your basket, just to whet your appetite.  Enjoy your gift and feel free to come back and give us feedback on the contents (wink).  


On another note, we are coming to the end of  a very busy event season and believe you me I can't wait to share pictures.  Well while we are waiting, we will be sharing pictures next week from our super amazing wedding last year; Sarah and Glen.  Trust me you want to see this, their wedding was so beautiful and full of amazing details and floral, so stay tuned.  


Thanks for stopping by 
And Happy Blogging
AJ

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It's August and time for another Giveaway.

Hello Bloggies, I can't believe it is August already.  4 more months and we are into 2011, wow, wow, wow!!!!  Well we are grateful for the many events we have been a part of this year and believe me it's not over.  I know, I know, you are all itching for photos.  Well ... so are we.  LOL!!! Event season can be crazy and all our photog friends are working on editing images and getting us the best pictures to feature on the blog.  In the meantime, I certainly would post pictures from our camera of some of our events.  This week I would post pictures from our Romantic Affair in the City. 

Speaking of romance though: Ladies I am in need of a good romantic fix!!!!!!!  Oh yes I am.  We are all hopeless romantics at heart, that is why we are constantly searching out wedding blogs and wedding stories.  Ladies you know what I am talking about.   Living vicariously through the pages of steamy romantic novels - back in my days it was Mills and Boons and Harlequin. OWN IT.

So I thought I would test your romantic skills - yeah show me what you got ladies.  This month's giveaway is going to be fantastic!!!!! Our very own in house romance connoisseur; Natalie Jacobs of FAB Designs, has prepared a customized basket filled with all the fixings of a romantic getaway just for you: Bubble bath, Chocolates, Scented candles, your own personalized satin robe and more.  I personally want this basket - just think about it, soaking in a bubble bath, sipping on a sparkling drink, surrounded by the warm glow and fragrance of strawberry and vanilla candles and feasting on decadent treats.  Hmmm ladies I am about to write my own romance novel.  LOL!!!

Well before I get lost in the romance myself, let me tell you how to win our "Pure Romance" basket .  (Bear in mind that I can't wrap myself in a good book right now :(, but a good Romantic flick would do the job).  Recommend to me a romantic movie (preferably an epic or historic romance), any romantic movie would do.  Be creative, think of not only American movies or blockbusters, think of International movies, Indie flicks, TV movies you name it - as long as I can get it on DVD/Blueray ; I am so game.  Post your recommendation on the blog with your name.  The person who recommends the most romantic movies (content and amount) from today until August 16th would win this decadent basket.  I would be watching these movies as I work on my next project so I am really looking forward to your recommendations.

Oh Lord I can't wait,
Happy "Romance" Blogging
AJ

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