As professionals with international travel schedules, Sharifa Adham and Eduardo Burillo had crossed paths several times in different countries before they “officially” met. The first time was in Marbella, Spain, which neither of them remembered until years later when Sharifa was re-introduced to Eduardo via the exclusive networking Web site, aSmallWorld.net. She was seeking business advice from Eduardo, and the two realized just how parallel their lives had been. Their professional relationship turned romantic after two months of emails and phone conversations, and when Sharifa discovered that she and Eduardo would both be back in Marbella during the same week, she invited him and his cousins to stay with her. Four months later, Eduardo proposed.
They were married aboard her family’s yacht off the coast of Spain in a very intimate ceremony with only fifteen guests in attendance. With many more people in their lives with whom to share their happiness, Sharifa and Eduardo decided to hold a second wedding at her parents’ home in Beverly Hills. “I always thought that my family home would be the most meaningful place to host our wedding reception,” says the bride. But it would require that the property undergo an extreme makeover (thanks to the event designer Linda Pittelli of the Los Angeles company Eventful) to accommodate 200 guests in luxurious style. “Just when we thought we had experienced the most memorable moment of our lives,” explains the bride, referring to their European nuptials, “we returned to Los Angeles to see our home transformed into a place that seemed suspended in the stars.”
When they arrived at the wedding, guests who had been to the home before were in complete awe of the changes. The already elegant and spacious house was brought to a new level, exuding romance from every corner. Special flooring, yards of draped fabric, and custom embroidered linens transported guests from a home in Southern California to a “French bistro overlooking the countryside.” And that was only the indoor space. In order to hold an outdoor cocktail hour, the pool was covered in panels of Lucite to create more floor space, and lounge-like furniture was brought for a relaxed yet chic environment. Ambient lighting was also directed up through the clear flooring and was accented by the natural illumination of the city view.
The home’s simple and rustic deck housed the dinner tables, and after the redesign was complete, the former structure was barely recognizable. It was entirely tented, wisteria vines were hung from the tent’s columns and ceilings, and its floor of wood planks was recovered in creamy carpeting. Antique furnishings like mirrors and end tables were added to make the deck seem like a seamless extension of the home’s interior design. Ivory and peach roses, hydrangea, peonies, and more wisteria were arranged in tall hand-blown glass vases above the tables, which were topped with menus hand-painted with flowering vines. As everyone dined, toast upon beautiful toast was given in honor of Sharifa and Eduardo. The bride’s mother also wrote a touching poem about the pair and printed it on cards along with baby pictures of the bride and groom for every guest to enjoy as a remembrance of the special event.
The intricately decorated wedding cake was inspired by the same embroidered design found on the table linens, and after it was served, Sharifa and Eduardo’s favorite deejay (who was flown in especially for the event) took over the festivities. Guests danced, enjoyed hand-rolled cigars, and sipped pink champagne until sunrise. Each person also left with a picture frame embellished with semi-precious stones and Swarovski crystals – a final, thoughtful detail to top off the experience.
And even with the incredible amount of effort that was made to ensure that every design element – from flowers to lighting treatments to the golden color of the peach bellinis – was coordinated harmoniously, the newlyweds agree that the true success of the event was due entirely to the warm and loving atmosphere. “It was the friends and family who made the evening for us, because without them,” asserts Sharifa, “it would have been nothing.”