Making - YourBASH!

WJinterview
WJinterview
Making
dreams
come
true
Brian Worley co-owner of YourBASH! Event Production,
one of Hollywood’s top party and wedding planning
companies, is on every A-lister and movie executive’s
speed dial. When the stars want to get married or just
celebrate, he’s the guy to call. Sarah-Jayne Cassells
catches up with the ultimate party animal and hears
how us ordinary folks can create a stylish wedding fit
for a celebrity...
F
Brian Worley
210 WJ
or Brian Worley,
planning a wedding is
all about the dress. “It’s
the biggest point of
inspiration,” insists the LAbased, businessman. “I think
the wedding dress sets the
tone for the entire wedding
and that the décor and
overall look should be
inspired by the dress. I can
tell instantly what type of
wedding I will be designing
when I see the gown. It
tells me about the bride’s
personality, it allows me to
decide what colours will be
accents for the wedding. If a bride has a big
meringue dress, then I know that I am going to
design something that is more of a fairytale and
she is a princess. If the dress is more fitted and a
sheath dress, then the wedding will be a little less
conservative and I have more freedom to make the
wedding sexy and fun. The colour of the
bridesmaids dresses also play a lot in the design
and inspiration of the wedding because I think it is
important to include that colour into the
wedding.”
Although he grew up in Austin Texas, Brian has
been based in LA for the past 15 years after
moving there to pursue an unsuccessful career in
acting. He started working in party and event
planning, organising bashes for movie premieres
and setting up YourBASH! with a friend in 2008.
During this time, he has worked with every big
name you can think of and planned Oscar and
Emmy parties, along with American Idol parties.
Most recently, Brian produced and designed the
VIP Tent for the Teen Choice Awards. He has also
planned celebrity weddings (but always the
professional, he won’t specify names), however,
Brian insists he is just as happy working with
anonymous clients.
“If I am being honest, working with celebrities is
not all that fun! Dave and Jordyn Grohl (lead
singer of the Foo Fighters and his wife) would be
one of my favourite clients, he was the coolest guy,
and Jordyn was fantastic.”
Brian’s best wedding experience was organising
his little sister’s wedding: “My sister Cari was in
the middle of her residency in med school and
had no time to plan her big day. She totally
trusted me to plan her entire wedding from A to
Z. I designed her wedding dress and went to the
textile show and ordered the fabric for the
wedding from Milan, I had the candelabras made
in Mexico, the flowers were flown in from
Ecuador, the linens were specifically made just for
her wedding, and the chairs were brought in from
San Antonia three hours away from where she
was getting married. My sister gave me total
control over all aspects of her wedding and there
was nothing better than walking into the
reception with her before all of the guest had
arrived and showing it to her for the first time and
having her cry, because she was so happy. It really
was the best wedding experience EVER!”
Everything Brian does is spectacular and he
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Image by David Frey, David Michael Photography
Wedding of Ian Ziering from 90210, image by Robert Evans Studios
Image by David
Frey, David Michael
Photography
puts 110 per cent in to get the most amazing
result, he said: “I think that each wedding I design
is spectacular; each one is very unique and
personal to the bride and groom. I tell my clients
that this is their wedding, there are no longer rules
to weddings, and that traditions are meant to be
broken. It is your wedding, it is not your mom’s
wedding, it is not your grandmother’s wedding, it
is your wedding, so have fun, break tradition and
make it all about you!”
Brian takes full control of the wedding and
there have even been times when he has been
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wedding dress shopping with the bride, he said:
“We handle all aspects of menu selection, flowers,
production timeline, etc. but if a bride has not
picked a dress, I will go with her to look at them. It
is funny how many times I have gone to a dress
shop with my clients and the dress that they didn’t
really want to try on is the one that they end up
buying and wearing down the aisle.”
With the current economy affecting all parts of
the world, Brian has seen wedding budgets in LA
being reduced, but there have been occasions
when he has worked on weddings with budgets
All the guests RSVP'd their shoe size and the
wedding favour was a pair of embroidered Converse
with the logo, date and name of the bride and groom,
picture by David Frey, David Michael Photography
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WJinterview
WJinterview
A wedding at Greystone Mansion in
Beverly Hills, picture by Sean Twomey
BRIAN’S TOP TEN TIPS
FOR CREATING A
STYLISH WEDDING
Image by Forever Photography Studio,
this wedding was at the Four Seasons
Hotel in Austin, Texas
that exceeded a million dollars, but he says:
“These are rare now, I think that with the
economy the way it is and people becoming more
money conscious, those days are over unless you
are just over the top crazy wealthy.”
If you do feel that you need to cut back on your
wedding budget, Brian suggests: “I think that table
linens are one area that you can cut on. Once a
table is set for a formal sit-down dinner, there are
so many plates, glasses, and flatware covering up
the linen that there is no need to spend a fortune
on them. Do a nice napkin that has personality, it
will make a much larger impact. Another
suggestion is to alternate the centrepieces so there
are some tables with big, expensive centrepieces
and then the other tables can have a smaller one.
Flowers can add up, so use a lot of candles, they
make a huge impact and are also beautiful.”
Wedding trends sweeping LA at the moment
are the use of crystals and rhinestones to add
sparkle to the evening. Brian also said: “Afterparties or lounges have become popular as guest
transition from the reception to the celebration
afterwards. “Candy islands” as I like to call them
are buffets that are set out at the end of the night
for the guests to attack when they are leaving the
wedding. It is literally “a kid in a candy store”
situation where we do large candy containers full
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of candy all in the colours of the wedding.
Cupcakes have also become very popular, rather
than a giant cake, individual cupcake towers are a
fun and creative way to do a variety of flavours so
that there is something for everyone.”
Meeting people from all walks of life with
different demands can be a challenge and Brian
can be asked to do some very unusual things, he
recalls: “I have had to fly in Elk meat from one
state and fish from another that were the client’s
favourite. I have had to make it snow during the
summer in Los Angeles and transform a private
estate into a Moroccan Palace. I really think that it
is important to personalise every wedding or
event to specifically reflect the bride and groom.
With weddings, I call it “psychologising” the bride
and groom so that I can find out who they are and
then make the wedding a reflection of them.”
Not surprisingly, Brian has always loved a good
party – even as a small child and while attending
high school was hired by a classmate’s mum to
design her daughter’s birthday party.
“It was a county and western theme, not a
difficult one to accomplish in Texas, but I look
back and that was the first time I actually
remember doing any type of event and of course
had no idea that it would be something that I
would do for a living when I grew up,” he laughs.
“My own birthday parties were always
incredible, but that was actually due to the
creativity of my mother, who is the reason I am
able to be so creative now. My mom always made
our cakes and they were never ordinary, they were
replicas of the Land Speeder from Star Wars or all
the character from Pac-Man.
“As an adult, my birthday parties have continued
to be big events, it is the one time in a year that I
get to throw a party for myself, so I like to make it
an event. I love a themed party, one year my
birthday was a country and western theme, and all
the guests showed up dressed like cowboys and
cowgirls. Once it was called ‘Pajama Rama’ and all
the guests showed up in their pyjamas and
nightgowns.”
Being the creative genius that he is Brian thinks
his job is awesome, he said: “There are two aspects
of my job that I think make it so awesome. One, I
get to be creative and each event, party or wedding
is unique to the other ones that I may be working
on or have done in the past or have coming up. I
really love the challenge of always making sure that
my events are special and unique.
“Secondly, I love that I get to work so closely
with my clients and get to know them. That is
especially true with weddings. When producing
and designing a wedding, you become a member
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Image by Christin Khan Photography,
Wedding at the Ritz-Carlton in Boston
of the family and every time I send a bride down
the aisle, I feel like I am sending my own little
sister down the aisle. As a wedding planner, we
spend more time with the bride during the
planning of the wedding that you develop an
emotional attachment to the bride. You also learn
all the intimate details of the family dynamics, who
likes who, etc… and when it comes to creating
the seating chart, that is really when the family dirt
starts to be exposed. During the wedding, the
wedding planner is almost like the hairdresser, you
become the sounding board!”
With being in such demand you would think
that coming up with inspiration to make every
wedding/event different would be difficult, but not
for Brian, he said: “When planning any event, I
draw upon inspiration from a number of different
places. First, the venue is always a big starting
place. I think that it is better to complement the
existing décor, work with what is at the venue, and
then make it look even better. This is also
important when dealing with budgets as well. Of
course as a designer, a blank canvas is always ideal,
but when that is not an option, I think that it is
really important to accessorise what exists.”
Adding the ‘WOW’ factor is also something that
brides want and will get people talking, Brian said:
“I think that the WOW factor for a reception
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comes from being original and capturing who the
bride and groom are. I had a groom that loved to
take a shot of tequila before dinner so we
engraved shot glasses with the wedding logo and
had a shot of tequila, a lime and packet of salt at
each place setting with the guests seating card.
After the bride and groom were announced for
the first time and did their first dance, the groom
asked everyone to help get the party started and
take the shot of tequila. It was a great ‘WOW’ to
the wedding and the shot glass was also a takehome for the guests.”
Brian’s predictions for 2011 wedding trends
are: “Make the wedding even more personal;
continue to keep the bling and use colours that
are from opposite sides of the spectrum and
make them POP. Use turquoise and orange
together, most people snarl when I did a wedding
with these colours, but it worked and was
stunning.”
One of the most important things that Brian
would tell all of his brides and grooms is: “Don’t
put your wedding up on a pedestal. The day flies
by so fast. It is literally over faster than it started
and all of the months of preparation end very
quickly, so have fun and enjoy!” WJ
To see more of Brian’s work or contact him
visit www.your-bash.com
1. Use décor elements (flowers, colours,
etc.) that complement the season or time
of year.
2. Think about the environment and try to
make your wedding as GREEN as
possible. This means creating a menu from
organic and pesticide free foods, recycle,
reuse, and reduce.
3. Make your wedding sparkle:
rhinestones, crystals, and bling are the key
to creating glamour.
4. Use as many candles as possible: the
natural light of candles is perfect for
making an event intimate and charming.
5. Lighting is the key to creating an
environment. LED lights are the greatest
invention for events: you can roll though a
dozen colours and change the mood
throughout the evening.
6. Personalise the evening; make the
wedding as much about the bride and
groom as possible. Find ways to
incorporate their individual style, the
wedding is a celebration of who they are
as a couple.
7. Book the photographer, location, and
entertainment first. Without the
photographer, you have no memories;
without the location, you have nowhere to
celebrate and without the entertainment,
you run the potential of a wedding that is
a bit of a dud.
8. Get the business out of the way all at
one time so that you can enjoy the evening
and let the celebration begin. When we
create the production timeline for the
evening, I try to get all speeches, toasts,
the cake cutting, etc. done before the
dancing/party begins so that there are no
interruptions.
9. To-go gifts and personalised party
favours are HOT these days! Flip flops for
each guest to wear once the evening
starts for a beach wedding or a
personalised tambourine for each guest
with the couple’s logo printed on them
when the band starts are items that are
inexpensive and fun!
10. Specialty drinks and bar menu with the
couple’s logo and drinks named after the
bride and groom make for great
conversation starters at the bar for guests
that may not know each other. I always
have the bride create a specialty drink
with a fun name for the groom, the groom
comes up with one for the bride and
together they come up with one that
represents who they are as a couple.
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