Mishka Designs

He's definitely still around . Just give him a call and send him an email - the messages up above have that information .

Thank you . It was a fun wedding - I love love!! :)

I met Elizabeth's Mom and Dad before I met Elizabeth and Matt and from that moment forward I knew this wedding was going to have that additional touch that I cannot bring to it - it's something that comes with the bride and groom and their wedding party - that special touch of love and warmth and joy which is the cherry on top of a beautiful design and thoughtful coordination. And I was right - this party was one for the record books and the love was over flowing and the joy was contagious ... and Elizabeth brought me the cutest apron I have EVER seen and had written me the nicest thank you card - and she gave it to me BEFORE the wedding - I was touched beyond measure and so thankful to have this wonderful couple ... they are missed! Place: Casa Quetzal Caterer: Andres from B y B Bride Photographer: Jillian Mitchell Videographer: Ray from Promovision Staff Photographer: Soko the Great Minister: Tamara Bradley from Chic Concepts Cake: Memo of Charme Misting Fans: Mist & More INSPIRATION BOARD Elizabeth has a sense of style and she knew what she wanted from the get go ... to quote "We would like the wedding to have an eclectic, vintage, whimsical, fiesta feel to it." I thought, yes, a bit challenging but I was definitely up for the challenge!! Once we had Casa Quetzal as the backdrop, everything else started to fall into place. Elizabeth was torn between wanting a white ceremony but she wanted color as well ... I recommended we start with a soft color palette of whites, creams, natural woods and then, as the night progressed, we started adding in touches of color so that the reception had spots of beautiful color and you really noticed it ... this was the board I came up with . THE CEREMONY I heart smatter and adore this ceremony set-up. As I toured the villa I realized that the living room would make a fantastic backdrop for Elizabeth and Matt's ceremony with the beautiful architecture and tile on the living room floor - the room really needed just small touches to make it the perfect spiritual place for our whimsical hacienda feel ... We strung white dendrobidiums up above the ceremony backdrop ... I had Omar paint a light white design on top of cream fans so that the design would show up with the reflections of the light. We had the guests wave papel picado fans with Elizabeth & Matt's names and the wedding date at the kiss. The bridesmaids carried white and cream lisianthius while we created a beautiful romantic bouquet for the bride with coral amarlyis and white and coral peonies. The result was gorgeous! IN REMEMBRANCE.... Elizabeth and Matt had sent wedding photos of their grandparents and parents and we displayed them in silver vintage frames on a side table in the ceremony area with lace covered mason jars. I heart smoosh this picture Soko took of Elizabeth looking over the photos before the ceremony. THE COCKTAIL After the ceremony, guests went out poolside to enjoy the amazing views of Vallarta and listen to the Mariachi. Cocktail tables were covered with white chiffon fabric with teal vintage bottles and colorful coral flowers. The tequila tasting was set out on a vintage looking table with a talavera spice rack holding the escort cards. The tequila shot glasses also doubled as favors and were painted specifically for the bride and groom . THE RECEPTION We had the reception inside the amazing courtyard. Tables were covered with cream chiffon with a burlap runner and lace overlay. Vintage teal bottles had been hand-painted to just the right shade and filled with coral, cream and magenta florals. Napkins were cream colored manta with lace edges and held in place with hand painted talavera napkin rings with the guests name hand painted on each one . Candles also dotted the tables to give it a romantic glow as the sun set. Chandeliers were hung up above the tables and we had white floral lights strung in the iron work going up the stairs. Elizabeth loves butterflies so, as a touch of whimsy, we created special printed paper and made two toned paper butterflies which were placed in and amongst the reception table florals. THE CAKE, THE PHOTOBOOTH, THE MARACAS, THE DANCE FLOOR The cake was based off of a papel picado, vintage feel and Memo, as always, created a masterpiece! Elizabeth and Matt had met at Match.Com so we thought it would be fantastic to recreate the Match.com logo with face cut-outs for guests to take pictures holding a heart sign with Matt + Elizabeth! Antonio did a beautiful job . Hand painted maracas in shades of teal, magenta, yellow, orange were painted with an incredible papel picado design - Omar hit this one out of the park! Twinkly lights hung over the dance floor. We had originally wanted to hang mason jars covered with beautiful lace over the dance floor but rain was threatening (and, in the end, it DID rain) so we moved the vases inside and filled them with candles instead . I have nothing but great memories about this wedding and the guests who were there. It was fun, memorable, loving, kind, amazing and I heart smatter the design from beginning to end! This was an amazing wedding and a great post to end Mishka Designs' blogspot run - all further posts will be made from our new website and blog which I will announce soon - I promise! I'm so excited about it and I've worked hard to make it facebook friendly, pinterest friendly, blog friendly, etc etc! Unveiling soon!

When Priscilla of Prisar (one of my favorite Vallarta coordinators first approached me with doing a French Vintage Garden themed wedding - here in Vallarta - I thought to myself "Oui Oui!!" We didn't have a lot of time and there were still things not quite finished (the bride's dress was being made, the invites not quite done) but when a bride is responsive you can get a lot done in a very little amount of time and Rene was great about answering emails! Coordinator: Priscilla of Prisar Weddings Villa: Not mentioned because it's no longer for rent - no need to torture you . Cake: Memo of Charme (of course!) Staff Photographer: Angel (thank you Angel!) Big Thanks to: Tamara from Chic Concepts for helping me decorate day of wedding! You're a love! THE COCKTAIL The ceremony was held off-site and Francisco (who is awesome did the ceremony florals which I would show if I had pictures but I do not . All we had to take care of was the cocktail and reception - fun! The villa was pretty, but very sparse and minimalist - so no real "garden" to speak of and definitely no florals and when I think "French Garden" well, I think flowers!! So, the first challenge was to bring florals into the sparse area ... we twined curly willow around the big statue in the courtyard and interspersed purple dendrobidium orchids (there were also curly willow up top overlooking the courtyard but we didn't get any pictures of that . We floated pretty pink, white and lavender roses in the fountain pool. The cocktail tables were draped with a pretty purple/pink chiffon and tied with a light pink ribbon. I found some vintage looking photo frames and pictures of the couple (who love to travel!) in various locations around the world served as the cocktail centerpieces . THE RECEPTION While the term "French Garden" brings to mind lush, beautiful vintage flowers, when you add in the term "French Vintage" what one gets is opulence! We had the doors from the courtyard to the reception area closed because I wanted it to be breathtaking when the guests entered . When the doors were opened, the walkway was lined with fleur-de-lis accented silver lantern stands filled with flowers and interwined with more flowers. This led guests directly to the reception table which was decorated to the hilt with large mercury glass containers filled with roses, hydrangae, trachellium, limonium, lavandula, hyacinthus, orchids, eustoma, astilbe, aganpanthus and allium - try saying all of that fast 5 times! We overlaid the table with a light blue chiffon, had chiffon chair covers with curly chiffon ties, beautiful rose pink napkins accented with pink/gold ribbon (and a beautiful crystal brooch for the bride and groom) and monsieur and mademoiselle vintage signs. Candles, more flowers in mercury vases, ties on the corners - and let's not forget the 3 silver chandeliers also wrapped with florals hanging over the top . THE CIGAR LOUNGE We had a small cigar lounge on the grass with a few pieces of lounge furniture, some colorful pillows, a vintage looking French inspired hand-made lamp and big beautiful floral pieces. THE EXTRAS .... Tequila Station, Dessert Station, Floating Lanterns, Maracas... Tequila station complete with sign, vintage table and vintage frames describing each of the tequilas was located down below the pool ... We had a pastry section filled with Memo goodies - like the cake, cake pops, chocolate covered strawberries and petit fours. And, of course, what wedding isn't complete without some floating lanterns dotting the pool with the bride and groom initials and accents from their compass/travel inspired invites?! Maracas were handed-out during dance, as were flip-flops which were provided by the bride (but sign by us, of course . All in all, French, Garden, Vintage, Lavish was all achieved and I will readily admit that I loved the final look of this event from A-Zède! Next up, June maraca orders, Elizabeth & Matt's blog, Pelin & Kevin's blog and July maraca orders - I am a BIT behind but am getting there, I promise!!

As this 2011/2012 season comes to a close, I cannot believe how seriously LUCKY and fortunate I am to have THE most amazing, caring, sweetest clients EVER. Being part of a multi-cultural relationship myself, I have a soft spot for other multi-cultural relationships and with Lili from Querertaro and Kieran from England (but lives in Spain - I know - go figure!), well, let's just say we all understood each other from the start . As usual, I don't do these events on my own, but had help from these amazing vendors: Villa: Casa Chocolate, Chacala Villa Agent: Casa Helga Caterer: NAEF by Pierre Cake: Memo of Charme Staff Photographer: Eder Acevedo Cuban Band, Violinist, Saxophone: Azucar Latina Legal Documents: Patty of Chic Concepts Minister: Lisandro P. Ghione of Ceremonies to Remember INSPIRATION BOARD As many of you know, I do a lot of things I've never done before ... which, this time around, included creating the inspiration board on a client visit and presenting the design in person . I have to give Lili & Kieran A LOT of credit because I know my chicken scratchings aren't always the easiest to understand but they both fell in love with the vision and gave me a "go go go" from the start . They had a few things they knew for certain - they wanted the wedding to be in red, white, silver and black and they wanted it to be romantic. That I can do! THE CEREMONY Lili wanted to infuse some Catholic traditions into the ceremony, as that's very important to her and her family. But we were having the ceremony on the beach, as that was important to them both as a couple. So I thought creating an "out door" chapel would be perfect - with hand-created, hand-painted stained glass windows (drawn by Omar and painted by Israel - great job chicos!) and an archway to add to the illusion of a beach chapel - I absolutely HEART SMASH this ceremony set-up. Lili wanted a red bouquet - just something pretty and flowing. We did a mixture of red peonies and black magic roses for her bouquet and black magic roses for the bridesmaids which looked amazing against their silver dresses. Add a touch of drama with a red rose petal aisle right before they were to walk down . We had maracas and fans in red and silver with alternating words of "love" in both Spanish and English laid out on the chairs (and, of course, shake me tags along with wedding bubbles to be blown at the kiss. THE COCKTAIL Following the ceremony, guests walked or drove back to the house for the cocktail, which was held out by the pool. Cocktail tables draped in red and silver chiffon were placed by the pool with a floating rose and a white starfish in a fish bowl . Guests were directed to their seat with table assignments in black/white frames and the table markers were hanging hand-painted glass candle vases with "love" printed in different languages and floating hand-painted lanterns in the pool. THE RECEPTION I really wanted red to be a "pop" of color - so we chose to do a gray silk tablecloth and clear glass vases with floating red dendrobidiums and white starfish and seashells in the bottom. The napkins were white tafeta with embroidered red orchids. We strung hundreds of red orchids and hung from the ceiling and added additional glass vases with floating tea lights. The bride and groom had their own table, so we switched it up a bit and had a silver runner with their initials embroidered in red . THE DANCE FLOOR/CAKE/GUEST WISHES We made a little canopy out of white floral lights and intertwined it with curly willow to give it a more "natural feel." I think it turned out very soft and romantic. For the cake, Lili and Kieran both had fallen in love with a cake we had done "way back when" for Jennifer & Matthew, so we copied it almost exactly . For the guest wishes, we took a big glass jar, painted red blossoms and made little cards that said "advice" or "consejo" for guests to print out and place in the jar. Lili & Kieran both loved music so we had one of the most musical weddings I've ever had ... a violinist for the ceremony, Mariachis for the cocktail, saxophone for dinner, live Cuban band for dancing and a DJ for the after party! Whew!! And off they ride into the sunset - off to Spain and adventure, love and laughter... I can't wait to hear about it all!! What I absolutely, truly love about our clients is how everyone has their own unique vision for their wedding and each wedding is completely about them from head to tippy toe ... coming up Rene & Steve's vintage French garden inspired wedding in Punta de Mita and shout-outs to some of our maraca brides!