design minded: Designing an Experience

You may have noticed that my design theory is centered around "feelings". Design is about emotion & Style is about a feeling. If this is true, then Fabulous Events = Experiences. Bottom line here is that a gorgeous dress, personal vows, soft candlelight, the freshest flowers, perfect timing, delicious food, a kickin' band, etc, etc, are all essential elements of any good event. But what pushes any wedding, or celebration into the realm of an "Absolutely Phenomenal Occasion"? As Disney himself discovered so many years ago....it's all about the EXPERIENCE.

I recently had the happiest occasion to visit Disneyland. My favorite five year old really wanted to see her favorite princesses in real life. So, we booked a room at the Disneyland Hotel and planned the ultimate Disney vacation.

The room was simply beautiful, tastefully designed and full of lovely little touches to make your stay especially comfortable. As I started to explore, my attention was soon drawn to the details throughout the room and even into the vanity and shower area of the bath. The sconces were Mickey's hands, the lamps a unique sculpture of Mickey's ears in a matte silver finish, the pictures were copies of vintage photos of the parks and of Walt Disney himself. The large piece of art that hung over the huge king size bed was the famous castle. As a bonus, which the truly tickled my littlest Princess, the bedside lamp played a lovely bedtime lullaby as the lights twinkled in the castle above, and Tinkerbell's light could be seen "flying" through the night sky above. The point is...it was not CHEESY at all! This room was designed for the kid in all of us, a design that kids could love, but a room where adults could still feel comfortable and all grown up, with a little whimsy hanging over their heads.

Our experience began perfectly in this room. We were prepared to be immersed in fun, happiness and to remember that this was a place full of magic.

Will your guests be immersed in your celebration? Will it be full of elements that tell them who you are, and how you feel? Or just another wedding with all of the same things everyone else's wedding had?

Will it be an EXPERIENCE?