Task: Design a Las Vegas style wedding reception for Stephanie & Bruno and 70 guests. Create a presentation for couple. Winning presentation will lead the team.Budget: $10,000
Time Frame: 16 hours to create presentation; 16 hours to pull off plan
Judging Criteria: Skills in both presentation and design
Winner receives: Diamonds from Diamond Trading Company. Winner is Robb.
Double Elimination: Christina for presentation; Josh (sob!) for project work
Oy. I'm nearly speechless. What can be said? The designers were asked to design a wedding for a lovely couple who are clearly meant for each other - as they are both devoid of any idea of elegance, taste or sense of occasion. Stephanie expressed a desire for a classy and elegant event in lavender and white roses. Pretty and princess style. Bruno, on the other hand, wants 50's/60's rockabilly style, retro with dice and cards, gaming tables, with red and black as the color palette. Stephanie didn't like the gaming table idea - but did like the idea of different tables and not having a uniform space. And that's all the direction they had to offer.
Okay. It's not uncommon to be designing a wedding, or a home for that matter, for a couple who have completely different tastes. (Remember the lovely and elegant Michale Payne from "Designing for the Sexes"? He made a whole show of this very concept. Whatever happened to that show?).
Right off the bat, the designers disagreed on who's wishes should take priority. Todd came right out and said it was Stephanie's day and Christina and the others agreed. Except Robb who deemed the day, and his design direction, would be completely 50/50. In a perfect world, a wedding should reflect the taste and style of both the bride and groom. But, generally speaking, the bride cares more, does more and pays more for the wedding, so historically, it's her day. But, Robb was right and he won the job.
I'm a bit confused about the judging criteria. It was said at the beginning that they would be judged on presentation and design. However, the judges were not privy to the presentations the designers gave the clients and as far as I can tell, they only knew that Robb's presentation was selected. But, in judging such a small field of contestants, shouldn't the presentations of each of the contestants be part of the final judging? That Will's ability to combine red, black and lavender in a fairly elegant manner was lost in the final judging was a big shame. Christina, although she ignored the grooms wishes and was sent home, actually had a pretty design and a nice presentation board. Todd - although he said the design should be about the bride - came up with a music theme that the groom loved, but the bride thought was missing the "classy vibe". Kim came up with a classic Las Vegas, Rat Pack theme that could have been swank and elegant, but wouldn't have answered the grooms desire for "Rockabilly". Josh tried to make the design very personal by incorporating their initials - but was true to himself and was very "sparkly", which was clearly a big turnoff to the groom.
Robb came up with a plan that attempted to combine tradition with rockabilly. His design included spinning dice, a Las Vegas sign, ginormous poker chips, white draping and flooring, lavender boas and a grand entrance. He definitely did all those things. But, the result was too tacky for words. Except the words of the happy couple, which were all positive. ETA: After I wrote this post, I thought more about the couple's reaction. I'd like to know how they felt about the room after the fact when looking at photos, and what their guests thought. The fact is, they were on a high from it being their wedding day and they were given everything for free. So, I wonder how true their opinion really was in that moment? Or were they (and by they I mean she) just dazzled by the moment and bright lights and a sense that you don't dis the free goods?
Robb seemed to fall down on the planning end of things - drawings not to scale, presentation concepts that couldn't be fulfilled (such as the big poker chips that were off color), place settings that were incomplete. On the other hand, he does seem to be a good team leader and managed to keep everyone occupied and on track. And pulling off that task in 16 hours was a big challenge that he met.
But really, is this work the quality befitting a "Design Star"? Boas wrapped around the chairs is something a child would come up with. It's hard to tell in the photos, but it looks like the centerpieces would block conversation across the tables, which were placed too close together. On a side note - I was surprised that Will and Kim didn't know more about proper place settings at a formal function. It just seems there is a lack of worldly knowledge in this bunch.
What did I like? The white dance floor was a great idea and I even think the Viva Las Vegas entrance, sans the red dice, was a splashy Las Vegas-ey touch. But, I'm disappointed in the literal nature of all the designs. I'm also surprised that the judges seemed so happy with the results. In the "Dueling Kitchens" challenge, they were very critical of the designers work, even though the clients loved the results. As they said, it's up to the designer to bring the best design to a project and give the client more than they know to expect. I just don't see how that ideal was accomplished in this challenge.
Vern asked the designers who they felt is their biggest competition. They answered:
Todd named Robb
Robb named Todd
Kim named Todd
Will named Kim
and Josh said he didn't know.
The judges spent some time deliberating on who should ultimately win. Unfortunately, their comments were edited down to little snippets that didn't make a lot of sense. They talked about looking for the "trifecta" of design skills, execution and personality to carry a show. Martha mentioned that she's least impressed with Will, Cynthia talked about wanting someone who's an eccentric personality. Vern said that any of them could have their own show (really?). Well, Cynthia clearly lost that battle. Sparkle Josh was the only really eccentric personality left. It would have been nice to have heard more of their conversation.
Anyway, I admit that I'm losing my interest in this series. But, maybe I'm a snob. Top Design had it's problems, but at least there was room for innovation and high end design. Low rent tackiness does nothing to elevate the role of either the designer or decorator.
The readers over at HGTV seem to agree, based on the low rating this project is receiving.
Thoughts?
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