Hey Hey Everyone!
So we're back, back, back again! Hope you all had a lovely weekend! We are onto part 2 of ‘My big first Omani wedding’ and this is where we get to see our vision come to life!
In the next section of this blog, I will be talking about the two different events and how they came to be, following on from the planning and design processes.
The Women’s Only Event 05.03.20
Photography by 37 Frames
And so, along comes March 2020. It's time to venture back to Oman, this time with a nearly full team (Bertie and Winston were holding the fort back home!) from both Matthew Oliver along with Hannah from Couture Events in Dubai & Narelle from Global Weddings in Bali/Australia.
We also had an international team of suppliers coming from all over the world to support us with the event. From the UK, videographers from HDmoments, photographers 37 Frames from Japan, and Make-up by Kim from Dubai just to name a few! We then fused with all the amazing local suppliers including Prestige Weddings who were our chosen production company for both events.
Logistics and timings were absolutely key to our time in Oman and we had some help from our lovely couple to support the travelling aspect around the resort.
We had a few days to finalise everything for our first event which was the Women’s only event and being in the country, now meant that final decisions were all able to be made that much quicker and also it gave us time to make any necessary adjustments to the design prior to the event.
Photography by 37 Frames
Using golds, shades of blue and white along with chandeliers, candelabras, and hanging tealights, we wanted to create a sense of elegance twinned with the traditional elements that went with a women’s only event. Needless to say, we were so impressed with the outcome and Prestige really helped bring our vision to life!
The event itself, due to tradition, could only be operated within the ballroom by women. Men aren't allowed to be seen until the end of the evening which is marked by the groom entering the room (this is when all the women would then traditionally cover back up) and him then joining his bride.
This meant that we handed the reins to the lovely team of girls, Ceri, Millie, Narelle & Hannah to run from inside, whilst myself and Matthew were still present but behind the scenes on call. This was certainly a challenge for Matthew and me, having spent a long time planning all of this and then had to almost just hand it over, however, we knew it was in safe hands. We obviously did what we could to support in the run-up to the event and were there to handle anything to assist the rest of the team and suppliers.
Later on in the evening, when our groom was ready to enter the ballroom, Matthew and I eagerly entered the ballroom behind him, his entourage and amazing live music to celebrate with everyone and mark the end of this stunning event!
Here is a video showing off the beautiful ballroom and all of the details!
Video by HD Moments
The Western Style Wedding Event 13.03.20
Photography by 37 Frames
We now had just over a week in between completing the women’s event, to carry out any final work for the western style wedding event. Now while the women’s event had a more traditional and elegant look in terms of concept, the western event at the Shangri La was going to have a more modern, wilder feel to it.
Matthew and I were keen to make sure we not only matched the epicness that was created at the Al Bustan but also used every tool we had to make this an event to remember!
Our goal for this event was to create ‘A Journey & Experience’. We wanted to divide the reception area into sections which were linked by a walkway. These areas were a drinks reception, dinner setup and dance floor. Our concept needed to have an injection of both relaxation and fun and I really felt we created that and again Prestige really pulled it out of the bag with the end result.
Photography by 37 Frames
Due to the expanse of space it was key to have our team spread across the amphitheatre to help support in different areas, especially to navigate guests and enhance that ‘experience’ feeling, especially as this was very new to a lot of the guests, so we wanted to leave a lasting impression. There was plenty of entertainment and food stations to keep guests occupied, with live music from Riff Shop, an interactive group of mirrored men dancers from La Cle Entertainment and a Donut wall from 3rd Street donuts amongst others! Our team made sure we really looked after the donut wall haha! 🍩
I always said from the beginning that I wanted to be able to stand back and look across the setup of this event and hope to have achieved a real ‘moment’ and boy did we do that! I’m so proud of what Matthew, myself & the team brought to life. One to remember for the rest of my career, period!
I have only touched the surface on these events with so much work and effort that went into the more finer details. If I did that, this would be turned into more of an essay than a blog! haha. I cannot express how thankful we are to everyone that was involved in these events, no matter your role, it all came together beautifully!
Photography by 37 Frames
This all couldn't have happened though, without the amazing support and ease that our couple Juman & Maan provided us! They were an absolute joy to work with and is the reason certainly why we at Matthew Oliver Weddings LOVE doing what we do! Our aim is always to make our couples happy and give them the best wedding possible! By achieving this, then I’d say it’s a job well done!
Hope you enjoyed reading through this!
All the best, until next time!
Stay safe everyone,
Danny x
