A royal wedding might seem the ultimate achievement for a designer, but for Abdul Al-Romaizan, it was merely his first gig. In the three years since that debut event in Saudi Arabia, he has embraced the pinnacle of design as a never-ending pursuit, and his avant-garde approach has made each celebration an invention.
With headquarters in Riyadh and offices in Dubai and soon Los Angeles, Nasheed Events’ signature is having no signature style at all. Nasheed means “anthem,” Al-Romaizan, the company’s President and Creative Director, explains: “the anthem of love, of song, of happiness.” Each event has its own pulse, a unique defining concept. “Every wedding is totally different,” he says, a practice demanded by clients in the Middle East, “where people are always competitive.”
Immersed in fashion and glamour during his upbringing in Milan, Italy, and “always involved in jewelry design with my family,” Al-Romaizan studied business and graphic design in the U.S. before launching an event firm with a decidedly innovative edge. “We are young. The fact that we are new is why people like us so much,” he asserts. “They like to see fresh ideas. Lighting design, video mapping, LED screens, projections: These new technologies are very important.”
Conversation is the critical initial step in his process. “I try to collect as much information as possible from the bride. I study the personality of clients before I study their tastes. It’s very important for me to know what types of things they like. I try to make the design process mutual.”
Inspired by “everything beautiful in life” and the notion that “every place is special in its way”—whether the venue will be a private home, palace or simple garden—Al-Romaizan presents “three to five concepts—not one,” from which a distinctive idea is born. Then, “I work backwards,” he says, tackling the architecture first, then applying bold colors, abundant flowers, and high-impact twists like a bride emerging from
a chandelier.
Relying on his team of key full-timers and the world’s foremost vendors for “the quality of the craftsmanship and the materials we use,” there are “no real limitations,” says Al-Romaizan, who struggles with only one thing: “It all goes away.”
Al-Romaizan is undertaking his first event in the United States, a 2014 celebrity wedding in Hollywood, and writing a book for 2014 publication to showcase installations that have elicited wonder and “wows” since day one. Vivid images on a page are not what drive him, though. “I love being part of the memories,” he says. And while all indicators point to a man at the top of his game, Al-Romaizan humbly strives to stay “always up to date” and to “take things to the next level.” He’s quick to insist: “This is only the beginning.”
Event Design: Nasheed Events; Location: Nayyara, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Photography: John Labbé
“Once it’s over, we begin with the next day. Every job must get the time it deserves. Every day is a challenge,” says the designer, whose passion makes his burgeoning enterprise feel “more like a hobby. It’s a combination,” he says, “of everything that we like in life.”
