mayoon part 2: constructing a backdrop

Part two of the mayoon decorations will be all about the backdrop for where I was sitting, and how we constructed it!

I wanted something with fabric hanging in the backdrop similar to the engagement decorations, but the challenge was finding something to hang the fabric from. For the engagement, the fireplace mantel served that purpose. For the mayoon, I decided to create something with two poles placed vertically on the side and a horizontal pole placed on top. The top pole would be something from which I could hang the fabric, and the side poles would provide support and stability. Fittingly, my engineer dad and architect stepmom gave me this idea.

Instead of making a trip out to buy some PVC pipes, I found some large bamboo plant stakes in my garage that seemed perfect for the job. Because they were bamboo, they weren't perfectly straight, but the fabric covered the imperfections. I used heavy duty masking tape to tape the poles together to create a pi-shaped (π) frame. To save my newly constructed frame from toppling over, I used masking tape to tape the lower parts of the side poles to my TV stand. Before adding the fabric to the frame, I basically had two bamboo poles taped to both sides of the TV stand, with a horizontal bamboo pole on top. The TV was of course on the TV stand, but it didn't matter because the fabric would soon be covering it.

Next was hanging the fabric. I bought 2 cuts of shiny green fabric and taped the fabric over the horizontal pole on the top. This was pretty simple and having the green (versus a lighter color like gold or silver) hid the shadow of the TV from underneath the fabric. I had leftover gold fabric from the engagement decor, which I attached with masking tape to the top of the curtains (behind the frame/backdrop). This way, it hid some of the curtains in the back and added another layer of decor.

Adding the rest of the touches was easy. I added some red tulle to the ends and hung a longer piece of it down the middle, and added some petal garland pieces to the end. I added a flower garland with yellow flowers to provide some contrast against the green, and to disguise the slight crookedness of the bamboo. 

And that was it!

Here's an action shot from later that night with my sister, me, and my friend Saleha:

mayoon part 2: constructing a backdrop

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

mayoon part 1: tulle, petals, and lights

After a long hiatus (during which I found out where I'm going for residency for the next 4 years and got married all within a week), I'm back and well-rested, finally!

This post features the decorations me & my sister did for my mayoon. In case you don't know what a mayoon is, here is a great explanation. If you don't feel like reading the explanation, then it's basically this: a girl's party consisting of music + dancing + singing + food. Although decorating for it was a huge project, we started weeks in advance of the event so it wouldn't completely exhaust us. Then again, that only gave me more time to go really hardcore with the decor- I just couldn't help it. Since it's so much, I will be dividing this event into two posts. This post will feature the tulle + flower petals, and the next post will talk about how we built the "stage"/backdrop behind the bench. So without further ado, let's get into it!

The doll is a souvenir my parents got from a trip to Pakistan years ago. I thought she would make for a cute greeter to the party! At the front door was a cart with the doll, chocolate, a floral S that I made (with the instructions here), and baby khussay (shoes).

The color scheme is usually vivid and bright colors with mostly green and yellow.

Just like tulle was a huge theme for my engagement decor, we introduce green tulle, with yellow and red, for this event. I originally wanted a tent-like draping of the tulle for my engagement decor, but we opted for draping along the wall. So for this event, I seized my chance and went for the tent look. We got about 40 yards of yellow tulle and 40 yards of green tulle (with a 50% off coupon, this comes out to about $17 for the yellow and green tulle, respectively!). We grabbed pushpins and a ladder, and began doing back and forth between the outer edge of the room's ceiling and the center of the room right about the light fixture. We alternated between yellow and green for a more fun look.



 Lastly, my sister had the brilliant idea of adding loose fabric petals on top of the yellow tulle, which contrasted beautifully. I knew creativity ran in the family!

Next was the continuing theme of the rose petal garland. I had some leftovers from the engagement decor, so this was extra that I found space for. We outlined the tulle in the room with the garland to add some red.

The banisters already had yellow tulle and floral garlands from the engagement decor, so we added multicolor Christmas lights. Shout out to the Merrifields for letting us borrow a strand last minute when our lights blew out the day of the event!

Lastly, we added white sheets to the floor for seating/dancing and borrowed pillows and a dhol (drum) from family friends because, I mean, a dhol is kind of important for a mayoon- what's a party without drums?

Of course, a photo from later that night:

I'll be posting part two next!

mayoon part 1: tulle, petals, and lights

Friday, April 15, 2016