As I alluded to recently, I am going to be helping a friend of mine who is getting married in April at a Malibu home. The mission: decorate an ultra-modern Malibu home with balconies for miles in silver and gold with lots of candles and lights.

Forgive my terrible Photoshop job on splicing together two photos to demonstrate how much balcony I’m going to be working with. Every house is different, which means there are unique challenges to decorating each one, for each individual bride. The bride, by the way, is my AAJA-LA co-president Jinah Kim (and NBC reporter), here in red. My partner in crime to help with the planning and decorations is Caroline Paras there, standing next to Jinah. The owner of the home is Jon Hoffman, in blue.

The house is gorgeous. It was unfortunate that we went on a day when it was cloudy and a little drizzly, because I have no doubt that the view is spectacular all around. It’s funny, since Jinah was chatting with us on the way there, saying she wasn’t sure where to have the actual ceremony, but as soon as I saw this portico, I was like, dude! This is the perfect spot! Just imagine the columns of this portico swathed in crystal and gold organza, and maybe some garland weaved in and out of the top. However, I’m not sure if I’ll have all that to work with, so stay tuned.

Like I said, every home is different — for example, not every home has a Bob’s Big Boy statue and a tree trunk statue wearing red boots. The staircase, however, is very nice and will look gorgeous decorated.

If you were thinking of renting out your home to weddings (and film shoots, this being Southern California, and I believe Jon also rents his house out for shoots), you have to remember that not everyone will like where you put everything — at least, not for a party. The outdoor furniture here looks great and comfy, but for a party? It will probably have to be moved to that grassy area past the tiki.

The pool is gorgeous, and I’m already looking into what I can float in the pool to decorate it — flowers, candles…what else? But there’s a detail I want to point out.

Yeah, that little cherub fountain is peeing into the pool — so to speak. Heheh. I’m just saying.

The jacuzzi here is separated from the pool a little. I actually think this little raised area is perfect for a little sweetheart table. But Jinah wants to sit at a table with her family. So Jinah’s head table will be more like a traditional, medium-sized long table to the left of this area.

As I said, decorating someone’s home, especially if you don’t want to damage the walls or anything, presents special challenges. Jinah’s directives to Caroline and I are that she wants to decorate in silver and gold, with lots of lights and candles. My thinking is that we’re probably going to dress the house up like its Christmas, and Caroline says she has a ton of Christmas decorations.

By the way, if you’re interested in renting this home for your event, you should definitely contact Jon — email him at johoinc@aol.com or call (310) 924-0099. I also happened to find an old real estate listing for the estate with much better, professional pictures of the place.