Irina Raza was so keen to work in wedding planning she knocked on every industry door she could find. But when none of them opened, she went into business for herself.<\/p>\n
As the owner and founder of Forever Weddings in Sydney,\u00a0Irina already had experience in event planning when she came to Australia for a holiday two and a half years ago, fell in love and decided to stay.<\/p>\n
In tune with starting a new life came the inspiration for a more specialised niche. And that turned out to be weddings.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was waitressing at a venue called Bar 100, which was a location featured on the TV show Don\u2019t Tell The Bride<\/i>,\u201d she recalls. \u201cThey did a \u201860s style of wedding, and I remember looking at the styling and thinking \u2018Oh, they should do this\u2019 and \u2018They should do that\u2019. Then I realised: \u2018I really want to do weddings.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
So that\u2019s exactly what she did.<\/p>\n
With a passion for helping brides on even the tightest budget, and a role well described as a wedding muse and collaborator, Irina\u2019s specialties are styling, and also co-ordination on the day.<\/p>\n
Her portfolio includes everything from an engagement party cum surprise wedding to gorgeous outdoors celebrations.<\/p>\n
This made her the perfect person to share a lookbook that includes both weddings she\u2019s worked on, and tableaus that offer great inspiration.<\/p>\n\n
This was one of the earliest weddings I was involved with and I think it beautifully illustrated the impact you can make with a small prop. The groom was from New Zealand and the bride was Spanish, so the message on the chalkboard was a way of saying \u2018You\u2019re from different parts of the world, but this<\/i> is your spot. This is where you start your new life together. It is where everything begins.\u2019 It was a wonderful message that perfectly encapsulated the meaning of the day.<\/p>\n
Styling insight:<\/b> Small props used well can add large doses of character.<\/p>\n
This photo was actually taken from the same celebration, and the flowers and colours that featured in the bouquet and the entire wedding were used to decorate the cake. It was very simple and very beautiful. The bride herself made the costumes for the champagne glasses after I saw the idea on Pinterest. Because she has a business making children\u2019s dance costumes, and they were on a very tight budget, we actually made a lot of things together. And that\u2019s what I always say to my couples: even if you have the smallest budget we will make it look like a royal wedding.<\/p>\n
Styling insight:<\/b> Consistency in colour and tone adds an elegant and expensive air to any wedding.<\/p>\n
This arrangement was taken at a flower market when I was looking at blooms for a wedding. To be honest I didn\u2019t think the bride would want it, as it was quite unusual, but she thought it looked really cool. What I like about it is not only the colour and contrast, but also the fact that those small bulbs are full of potential and, just like the marriage, are getting ready to burst into a beautiful bloom. It\u2019s almost a promise, that: \u201cThis is just the start. This is the day where the rest of your life will begin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Styling insight:<\/b> \u00a0Contrasting size and texture are a wonderful way to add visual appeal.<\/p>\n
This is from a wedding where the bride wanted something really simple and stylish for her flowers. What gives it a nice little point of difference is that her bouquet is mainly white, and the reason this works is that her dress was not. You actually find quite a few brides these days are moving away from white gowns, and that creates a wonderful freedom to incorporate the colour in bouquets.<\/p>\n
Styling insight:<\/b> Take your colour cues from the wedding gown and bouquet and then feed them through the entire wedding palette to ensure it matches up.<\/p>\n
All flowers have personalities, and I love to match them with the bride and groom\u2019s character and the atmosphere they\u2019re trying to create. For example, I use a lot of peonies as they\u2019re a real attention getter and they work for almost any wedding. They take up a lot of room and they create a really soft and beautiful feel. Sunflowers are something I used for another wedding and the combination of colours was really cute. The blooms looked so fresh and happy and they perfectly matched the couple, who were smiling every single moment.<\/p>\n
Styling insight:<\/b> There\u2019s flowers to match every mood. For something elegant and sophisticated, consider a calla lily, while something like a hydrangea is perfect for a garden wedding and ranunculus bring beach wedding bouquets alive.<\/p>\n
Just like personality, all flowers also have their own story and meaning, so I love choosing ones that are meaningful for the couple. It\u2019s a classic, but my favourite is red roses, because they reflect the idea of having passion in your life and the desire to spend the rest of it with the person who\u2019s beside you. Something else I like is orange blossom, which means purity and innocence. I think it ties in perfectly to the bride in white and to the idea of a new beginning together.<\/p>\n
Styling insight:<\/b> Carnations aren\u2019t the first flower you might think of for a wedding. But they\u2019re actually perfect as they mean \u2018pure deep love\u2019. Check out some more floral meanings here<\/a>\u2026<\/p>\n\n This couple wanted a London style theme of wedding, something very classic, and what\u2019s more classic than a London bus? One with a bouquet and ribbon on the front to mark it as wedding transport. What people mightn\u2019t realise is there are quite a few places in Sydney that have them, so they\u2019re not that hard to source.<\/p>\n Styling tip:<\/b> Once upon time, more attention was paid to the mode of transport that took the bride and groom home after the wedding. But these days, couples often use their arrival at the ceremony to set the tone for the celebrations to come.<\/p>\n Cheese wheels are actually my favourite type of cake. At this wedding, the bride and groom loved the idea so much they had it for their actual wedding cake. It was styled really beautifully with a simple wooden base and some classic white flowers and it looked beautiful. For something more traditional though, what I usually suggest to couples is they have one cake, which is a dessert cake, and then have one of these later in the evening, maybe after they\u2019ve left, when the dancing and drinking are in full swing. It lets the guests have a nibble and is a handy way to stop them drinking too much on an empty stomach.<\/p>\n Styling tip:<\/b> Cheese wheel cakes can be served either just as the cheese or in a tableau that includes everything from crackers to paste to fresh fruit. Get some more ideas here<\/a>\u2026<\/p>\n For weddings, I always try to find a cake topper that looks like the couple as I think it\u2019s more personal and more fun that way. It also makes for a beautiful souvenir. Instead of keeping a piece of cake in the freezer for a year they can just buy a new cake on their anniversary and put this on top to celebrate. It definitely tastes much better than year-old cake.<\/p>\n