The floral design that we did for Kat and Mike’s wedding is one of my favorite designs that we have worked on in recent years. This design has Linnae Asiel’s fingerprints all over it. When we started Asiel Design about 10 years ago, this was the type of idea that Linnae toyed with in her mind. It’s no wonder that Aaron Robinson from the Metro once said: “if Pablo Picasso and Tim Burton were to have a love child it would be Linnae Asiel.”

 

I love the funky colors and shapes that Linnae played with for the 4 different styles of centerpieces. The low centerpiece had vibrant flowers oozing out of a hollow stump. We had 3 different variations of designs for the tall centerpieces and they were all unique. One design was a sandblasted Manzanita tree with hanging glass globes and it had flowers and succulents embedded into the branches. Another tall centerpiece was a sculptural grape tree that was adorned with bleached mushrooms. And finally the last tall centerpiece was another new design for us. We call it our “Moss Ball.” This centerpiece was a fairly large moss ball erected by a large curly willow branch. Linnae had flowers and succulents spring out of the moss ball and base. It was all so whimsical and beautiful. The design reminded me of microcosms that you might see in Alice’s Wonderland.

 

The ceremony was also very unique. We used flowing white chiffon fabric to create a clean backdrop. We added a treatment of tulips that appeared to defy gravity and grow upside down. And finally this ceremony piece was finished off with hanging glass globes.

 

The fun and playful design was a unique juxtaposition to the serious and old world themed Bentley Reserve. Caroline from Milou and Olin Photography (formerly known as Tinywater photography) did an excellent job capturing the essence of the design and the emotion of the day. It was a beautiful wedding and we were thankful to be a part of it.

 

This wedding actually ended inspiring a gallery of design that will be featured on our new up and coming website, so keep an eye out for it. We loved creating this design for Mike and Kat and we are looking forward to creating more unique weddings like this one. The nice thing is that we are easily able to create this design again because all the centerpieces that were used for this wedding are reusable rentals that are looking for a home at yet another event. So keep it in mind if you are looking for a fabulous design that is a bit off the beaten path.

 

Jon Asiel

 

FLORAL DESIGN | ASIEL DESIGN
COORDINATION | downey street events
PHOTOGRAPHY | milou and olin
VENUE | bentley reserve

This past weekend we celebrated Linnae’s birthday with a Cinco de Mayo themed party. The party took place at our warehouse in San Jose. We had everybody dress in a Mexican theme (or as my dad says “DRESS MEX”) and had a potluck style dinner together. The food was amazing and most of it hand made. My dad made his famous carne-asada Linnae even made strong, but very good sangria. Everybody pitched in and the food was amazing.

 

For the décor we sectioned off a small area of the warehouse and fashioned it like a Mexican cantina. Even though we are a design company we don’t have a lot of Mexican themed props lying around so we had to get creative with the décor. Our thought was was to play off of a dark space and saturate it with red up lights and accents of chili pepper string lights. We put our red candles (the same ones that you might see on a table in a Mexican restaurant) on our wrought iron candelabras and the space was filled with a red glow. At night the space was so red that it looked a little more like a brothel than a cantina but it worked for the party. Finally we added Mexican themed props like a Mexican flag, which was predominant in the space and added the perfect touch.

 

We kept the festivities in the Latin tradition with the music and even had a piñata. It was a fun, “throw it together” type of party. And everybody had a great time. Vincent Fiction of AVL Sound Design rocked out the Spanish mash ups and he had the ladies getting down on the dance floor.

 

I wanted to thank everybody who came out for this event and made Linnae feel special. We had a great time!

 

Check back next week, as I will be back to blogging about weddings and other events that we have been working on. Also keep your eyes out because we are having a bigger dance party at the warehouse on June 2nd.

 

Jon Asiel

 

VENUE | ASIEL DESIGN warehouse
MUSIC | avl sound design

Mona Benjamin came to us asking for a bridal bouquet…nothing more, just a bouquet for her ceremony. So I wanted to blog about this wedding, not so much as to showcase what we did for Mona but more as a storyboard that may inspire more beautiful events. When I came across the pictures that Shannon Stellmacher took of this wedding I was quite impressed. The way she captured Mona and her husband on the wedding day was remarkable. So many of the images had a timeless feel that looked like they were plucked out a 1920’s movie.

 

The ceremony was held at the stately San Francisco City Hall, and then the impromptu photo shoot at the modern Clift Hotel was a great follow up. It also became evident to me that a lot of the charm of this wedding was in the details. The books, the ring, and the bling were all elements that helped convey this couple’s style. I love the muted shade of purple, black, silver and white that appears in the images. It’s an enduring color palette. The balance of modern and old world design elements were also in sync. It’s a job well done when you can’t tell the difference of old and new inspiration because everything blends together so well.

 

In the end here is a real wedding, not a storyboard, of a couple that brought a lasting style together, showing us that if you are going to get hitched at City Hall, this is the way to do it!

 

Jon Asiel

 

FLORAL DESIGN | ASIEL DESIGN
PHOTOGRAPHY | shannon stellmacher
VENUE | sf city hall & clift hotel

Today’s blog is more on a personal note and less about design or art (which are the usual themes of the blogs I write) so thank you for taking the time to read about people who have touched Linnae and I in a beautiful way.

 

We met Curtis and Nicole over a year ago. We met them through planning their wedding in which we helped with the floral design. It’s crazy to think how time flies by because this May they will be celebrating their 1-year anniversary. You can check out their wedding here.

 

Curtis and Nicole, along with Nicole’s mother Cheryl, have become very dear friends to my dad, Linnae and myself this past year. They have become like family and we see each other throughout the year. Recently we had the opportunity to get together for dinner before a Warriors game and then go to the game together. I thought it was just another time to hang out with friends and family but later that night as I thought about a few things that had happened and conversations that we had, I realized that there were some lessons learned.

 

Curtis suffers from encephalitis and a seizure disorder and Nicole has cerebral palsy. Both are in wheel chairs and have difficulty moving around. After dinner on the way to the game I was talking to Curtis. He was super excited about the game and asked if he might be able to get an autograph from his favorite player Andrew Bogut. I said I did not know and thought it was doubtful.

 

Curtis also mentioned that he had a friend who said that whenever he is sad that he just thinks about Curtis and how bad he (Curtis) has it, and it makes him feel better. At the time the statement troubled me and I asked Curtis how he felt about that. He smiled and said that he was happy to encourage his friend. I still did not get it. I asked myself if this was about pity or something? True, I thought to myself, there is always someone worse off then you. But wasn’t it kind of strange that a person would feel better about their circumstances based off another person’s circumstances? And even worse that Curtis was okay with that.

 

It wasn’t until later that it clicked. Curtis was happy, not because he did not understand what was happening. He was happy because he chose to be positive about how he looked at the situation. Instead of looking at what he did not have he chose to look had what he had. In this case he saw the opportunity to help his friend.

 

I guess I had gone into that night a bit stressed and tired. I was worried about this or that. It wasn’t until I was around Nicole and Curtis for a while that I too forgot about my problems and began to laugh and appreciate life and family. Over the course of the night I saw Curtis and Nicole laugh and have the time of their lives. It seemed as if the more I saw them having fun, the more my problems became smaller.

 

We did get to the game and the Warriors won. On the way out an amazing thing happened. We were exciting through the VIP lower level where there were handicap accessible ramps. This is also the area were the players also exit the stadium. I saw a player exiting way ahead of us. It was Andrew Bogut! I wouldn’t have known who he was if Curtis hadn’t pointed to a picture of him (his favorite player) on the wall just moments earlier. I yelled out for Andrew and explained that he is Curtis’ favorite player. They then took a picture together. Curtis was floored…we all were floored that this wish came true for Curtis….and that this night happened.

 

Jon Asiel

Welcome to our 100th blog!!! I actually did not realize we hit 100 blog postings until my assistant Greg, told me right before I wrote this.. So I wanted to say thank you for sharing this moment with us. It has been so exciting sharing our lives with you and sharing what inspires us. I am glad that the 100th blog is a little more on a personal note, showing you a trip that we recently took to the Hearst Castle. It has been the vision of Linnae and I to not only share with you the world as we see it as designers but also as human beings. We are passionate to share what excites us and what we like to do in our personal time, which leads us to our trip to the Hearst Castle.

 

Last week I had blogged about our evening tour of the Hearst Castle and today we are sharing images of the same place on a daytime tour. I was truly amazed at how different the castle looks in the daytime. The evening tour evoked ambiance and romance and the castle had a strong gothic vibe to it. The daytime tour showed off all the color and richness that the Hearst Castle embodies. The castle still came across baroque but in the daylight it appeared to have much more of French influence to it.

 

In the last post I had mentioned that renowned Julia Morgan had been the architect of the Hearst Castle but few people know that she was also the interior designer has well. The Hearst Castle boded many intricate wood carved ceilings and the finest drapery and details throughout that were lost in the evening tour. Although the Hearst Castle has many masculine features, Julia Morgan did leave a feminine touch that is apparent in her interior design.

 

The daytime tour was beautiful. At the end of the tour we sat poolside and enjoyed the beautiful California sunshine. It was a great family moment with Linnae, our little puppy, Emily and myself. Again, thank you for sharing this moment with us and thank you to everyone who reads this blog.

 

Jon Asiel

For the longest time people have told me that I have got to check out the Hearst Castle because they said I would love it. A lot of people thought I would really appreciate the gothic architecture and the vast collection of antiques that William Hearst had collected. Not everybody knows this about me but I used to be an antique dealer and love most things that are old. Recently Linnae and I were able to check out the Hearst Castle and we fell in love with it as well.

 

Construction on the Hearst Castle began in 1919 and continued to 1947. The castle was designed in partnership with the famed architect Julia Morgan and William Randolph Hearst, himself.  Mr. Hearst made a lot of his money from being a newspaper tycoon and he was passionate about building and collecting. The Hearst Castle reminded me a lot of my trip to Italy, which is not surprising being that many of the antiques that were housed at the castle came from Europe. One may wonder if Hearst was a religious person because the Hearst Castle was filled with religious icons and antiques. He was not a particularly religious man; rather he had a love for what was considered the “best” antiques and art. At the time, the best art was considered to be coming out of Europe, particularly the Catholic Church.  Therefore the Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California reflects much of what one might see in old world Europe.

 

Linnae and I were able to catch an evening tour of the Castle. The Hearst Castle does not always run these nighttime tours and when they do they are booked months in advance. We were able to get a spot from a group that had cancelled. The castle is totally different at night. It feels like you are arriving to a private party hosted by Mr. Hearst. Back in it’s 20’s and 30’s the castle was often hosting Hollywood celebrities and other powerful people  {William Hearst was known for throwing many lavish parties}. The castle was dimly lit with ambient light and the Hearst Foundation had various actors that were dressed in era clothing and interacting with those who are visiting the castle for the first time.

 

As an event designer,  I often wonder what it would be like attending one of William Hearst’s parties. The idea of a ball or an enchanted evening at a castle like this thrills me. It’s actually a dream of mine, to be able to throw or host a party at a castle like the Hearst Castle. I am in love with the idea of parties that are more than just décor, music and food. Linnae and I are fortunate because in our profession we do get to throw parties and help others do the same. Our passion is to create events that make people feel like they are in another world, and maybe another time. Our goal is to create a time in which our guests are able to forget about their problems and relax enough to have fun… you know the way that we were able to when we were kids. That’s something that we are excited about and the Hearst Castle embodies that magic. The Castle feels like it’s from another place and time.

 

I strongly recommend that you visit it if you haven’t yet.  Also check back next week as I share pictures from our daytime tour.

 

Jonathan Asiel

 

It could be said that Courtney and Chris are a “disgustingly beautiful couple”. They got married at the Mountain Winery and Ashley Maxwell was there to capture it. I love the way that everything came together for this wedding. Most people would not think about fusing glam décor elements with Gothic elements at a Rustic venue, but that’s exactly what we did for this wedding.

 

We see the opulent glamour look showing up in Courtney’s bridal bouquet. It was decked out with oversized Black Magic Roses imported from Ecuador and “blinged” out with an all rhinestone handle. We also see the glam décor in our Sculptural Manzanita Trees that were placed at the ceremony and dripping with strung crystals. These trees created a focal point at the ceremony set on top of modern Lucite Boxes. The ceremony took place on the Mountain Winery’s deck which over looks the Silicon Valley. The day was sunny and beautiful.

 

We did switch up the décor a bit once we got to the reception. We kept the sculptural branches and jewels but the surprise came in our black Lion Stands that reflected a gothic look. The Lion Stands rose up large deep red centerpieces and were alternating centerpieces on some tables while the Sculptural Trees were on others. Both looks gave a lot of height and drama. The glam and gothic worked well in juxtaposition to one anther. I believe that part of the reason these two styles went so well together was due to the continuity of the red roses. Keeping the red in both centerpieces drew both designs together in a seamless way. Everything looked beautiful that day including the weather, the décor, and the couple.

 

Design Tip:

When playing with different design aesthetics try unifying the looks with one color that brings continuity to the design.

 

Jon Asiel

 

FLORAL DESIGN | ASIEL DESIGN
PHOTOGRAPHY | ashley maxwell
VENUE | mountain winery

Niloo of Niloo Events brought us in to work on this Nahal’s wedding. She thought that we would be a perfect fit for the floral design of this event. The ceremony was set to take place at the stately San Francisco City Hall’s Rotunda. Out of all the venues to get married in the city, none are quite as grand as City Hall. We knew that any decorative piece that we brought into the ceremony should echo this venue’s old world architecture so we decided to start with our wrought Lion Stands to hold two oversized florals. The two lion stands on either side of the bride and groom created a focal point on the Rotunda’s massive stairwells.

 

The floral design incorporated all white flowers including huge Ecuadorian roses, garden roses, and hydrangea. The feeling of the flowers was feminine and soft which was in contrast to the masculinity of the Lion Stands. We also finished off the soft white bridal bouquet with a broach to give it some bling. The overall look was abundant and classy. It was a perfect fit for a wedding at City Hall.

 

After the ceremony we transferred the ceremony pieces into two of the reception’s table centerpieces. Except this time instead of using our wrought iron creations to hold the flowers we opted to use our custom Glamour Vases. The Glamour Vase is fashioned after a woman’s dress line using an actual dress appliqué and pearls to dress up a vase. The look of the Glamour Vase is again soft and feminine. And once again it’s the same florals that we used at the ceremony, but the different usage of vessel’s to accompany the flowers gives the design a new look. In the end, I think everything flowed together well for Nahal’s wedding, it was beautiful and she was happy.

 

As far as design tips;
If you are planning an event and want an over the top look try using fewer colors that are accented by bold décor items. Often times simplicity in color and design can make the most stunning impact.

 

Jon Asiel

 

FLORAL DESIGN | ASIEL DESIGN
EVENT DESIGN & COORDINATION | niloo events
PHOTOGRAPHY | thor swift
VENUE | san francisco city hall

At ASIEL DESIGN, we are known for creating trend setting photo shoots. But a question that we often get is; “do people actually do this stuff for events?” And the answer to that question is “yes.” Urania and Sean’s wedding is a good example of a wedding that stepped a bit out side the box. This couple chose to have a super heroes’ adventured themed wedding and also chose to have Steampunk elements incorporated into their décor. I call weddings like this, “indie weddings.” Much like indie music, indie weddings are not the norm but rather a reflection of the couple that are getting married. The theme, the style and décor all reflect the couple. We often ask our clients: “if a person that knew you well were to walk into your wedding, would they know it was your wedding simply by the way the event was put together?” For Sean and Urania their family and friends definitely knew it was their wedding.

 

Sean opted out of having a traditional black tux and went with a suit, hat, and “man bag” that evoked Indiana Jones. For his boutonnière we did not use a traditional rose or calla lily, rather we chose a thistle. A thistle is actually the flower that grows out of weeds. It’s blue and hearty flower that has architectural qualities to it. Urania did get married in a traditional white dress but she did top of her look with a unique headpiece that boasted small wings. Her bouquet had a lot of great elements and textures as well. Again we used the thistle and added, amaranthus, Ecuadorian roses, garden roses, chocolate cosmos and feathers. I think the thing that struck me most about her bouquet is the way all the colors went together so well. If you were to ask me: “would green, teal, red, burgundy, and yellow (essentially all the colors in her bouquet) flow together?’ I would say “no.” But as we see here I would be wrong. And for the bridesmaid’s of course we would not send them down the isle with a tradition bridesmaid bouquet, but instead we chose to give them a single Black Bacarra rose that was fashioned like a wand.

 

As far as décor I think it really got interesting once we reached the reception. The centerpieces are all one of a kind, custom made pieces that we made from found objects. Things like steel wires, bolts, and car parts were made for these little creations that sat on top of guest tables. We also used vintage bottles adorned with the interiors of old watches to make interesting vessels for flowers. As far as the usage of florals it was very minimal for these centerpieces. It’s almost as if we use flowers to adorn the vessel in which they sit rather than the other way around. Finally we used our very popular lion stands to decorate some of the tables. This gold candelabra is always a statement piece that adds drama.

 

Jon Asiel

 

FLORAL DESIGN  |  Asiel Design

 

PHOTOGRAPHY  |  Adeline and Grace

Warning! Some of the images may be inappropriate for some. But then again this display was at the De Young so how bad could it be? By any measure, this is my second blog posting on the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit that was showcased at the De Young last year. If you missed last week’s blog you should check it out.

 

Also as I mentioned last week the images this week got a little more progressive. We start to see more gothic, punk and even some sadomasochism elements. The exhibit felt more like an event then a fashion or art showcase. The vibe and the ambience was dark and moody, pin spotting only the fashion on the mannequins.

 

I learned that Jean Paul had a great love for the punk scene in London. Jean Paul loved the fashion on the streets and brought that rock n’ roll punk to the runway. Vibrant and distressed fabrics, Mohawks and chrome skulls can all be seen in his punk inspired collections. We even see some Scottish plaid incorporated into some of these looks. Yes, before Ed Hardy became wildly popular after the turn of the millennium Jean Paul was rocking out this punk look.

 

We even see his usage of military assembles well before they were popularized into everyday fashion. I guess that’s what I appreciate about some fashion designers. That they can see into the future. They look forward to what “is” and what “will be” not “what was.” I feel like the event industry could use a little of that. So often we look at what was done and not what “is to be done.” I guess that’s also a passion of mine, to be able to look into the future to see what trends have not been explored yet so that we may offer something different to our clients. This is the reason that we brought trends like gothic and steam punk into the event world. Because it wasn’t really being done by anyone else on a sizeable scale.

 

But now it is time back to the exhibit. I’m sure you noticed the black and red S&M looking display. This area was laid out ingeniously. The multi level risers with the red lights are nothing more than pallet racks (or shelving) that industrial warehouses would use to store items. The show curators painted these racks black and added red lights to make a display. I loved the resourcefulness that they used to take an item like pallet racks and to be able to have the ingenuity to repurpose them.

 

It was also in this area that I found my favorite part of the exhibit. (And no, it was not the leather lingerie) It was a mannequin of Jean Paul’s face using the video mapping technology talking to another image of Jean Paul in the mirror. Yes, it was a recreation of that proverbial “talk to ourselves in the mirror” that we may have with ourselves from time to time. (This “talk” is pictured above in the last slide on the right). The conversation was fascinating and I just stood there and listened as the more mature Jean Paul told the younger and timid Jean Paul to not be afraid but to “be yourself.’ He told himself who cares what others think about you. For instance, “If you want to wear a skirt then wear a skirt.” He told himself “Why be confined to the norms of society?” And who makes the norms? Of course, we do.

 

The older Jean Paul also reminds the younger that back in the renaissance era, men wore skirts and in some parts of the world they still do. Now this is not a crusade for men to wear skirts but the point is to be you. This all reminds me of this quote that I read the other day

 

“People may hate you for being different and not living by society’s standards, but deep down, the wish they had the courage to do the same”

 

This man in the mirror talk is reason enough to check out this exhibit and it is returning to the De Young Museum, March 24th-August 19th. Check out www.deyoung.famsf.org for more information.

 

Jon Asiel

 

PHOTOGRAPHY  |  Linnae’s iPhone