Be Inspired: Fall is HERE!

Photo Credit

I love the fall! All the orange, brown and warm color combinations!  The smell of apple cinnamon, pumpkin's everywhere, the fireplace, leaves....it's a great time for gathering and hanging out with family and friends.  It's also a fun time to decorate the house for this festive season of giving and sharing.  Look at some of the items I found at Pier 1 on one of my resent inspiration trips. 

I love how inviting the table is with the pumpkin's at each place setting.  What a treat to be able to fill them with a warm soup or a sweet treat!  The leaves are a nice contrast to the brown table and really bring the outdoors in.  Even though the leaves are artificial the variance of color make them appear as REAL leaves!

It's such a treat to browse the aisles as your mind gathers all the pictures your eyes continue to snap and put them together for a dinner party, a pop of color in the living room or mark an item just plain cute like those owls! There was so much to be seen.  You'll have to go and check it out yourself! 

My visit was short and sweet, but I'm happy to report I did not purchase new dishes this time!  Just enjoyed a lot of eye candy!

Be inspired,

Jennifer

Do I need an event planner or will my venue planner due?

Great Question!  Glad you asked.  Many host fail to realize that a coordinator that works for a venue is in place to protect the interest of the location. Their job is to first secure new business for the venue, secondly to protect all interest of the venue and thirdly to make sure you enjoy yourself so you will refer potential clients to that location.  Is this a bad thing? No.  I just want you to know that an independent event planner's job is to provide professional guidance "throughout"  the planning process.  That means in regards to budget, best vendor for you (not on my list), family advice, professional experiences, event theme, color, etc., no matter what your event needs are, we are there to assist.

Yes, the venue coordinator will check on you and see if you need anything, yes, they may provide you with a list of  "limited" vendor contacts that have worked at their venue and yes, they will smile and make you happy, but are they going to help you create your vision or an original event that reflects your personality? Are they going to listen to you and see what vendor will best fit your personality, budget and style? Are they going to help you with printing needs?  Meet with you off site? or Can you call them at 9 pm and expect an answer? You have to compare apples to apples and determine what you really want and need for your event.  You can't simply say, "My venue has a coordinator, so I don't need an independent planner". 

You'd be surprised at some of the things myself and my colleagues have done to preserve our clients day that were not included in our contractual agreement.  One colleague explained, "After witnessing the florist break a lantern while attempting to place it on the beautiful candle lit aisle during setup, I  had to send an assistant to Michael's to purchase another minutes before the ceremony!" I personally can recall a time after accompanying a bride to her final dress fitting we could not get her beautiful cinderella dress in her compact car, so I returned in my SUV to pick it up for her the following day.  We are our clients representation.  We collect all your event items, handle set-up and strike so you, your family,  friends and colleagues can enjoy the celebration.

Now you're aware of the difference right?  If you have any questions please feel free to leave me a note!

Until next time,

Jennifer

Happy Summer!

     Today is the first day of summer  Happy B-Day to my Hubby!)!  It's official.  It's time to have fun in the sun!  What plans do you have for the long days ahead of us?  Between weddings, social events and planning meetings I'm working on adding a family outing once a week to our calendar.  Whether we all get in the kitchen and cook, have a picnic, or visit a museum, I'm looking forward to enjoying the extended evenings with my family!

     Take advantage of this time!  Enjoy your loved ones and enjoy the life you've been given!  It's a gift so celebrate!

Cheerfully,
Jennifer 

I Love Events!

It's our Anniversary! I've been the owner of Jennifer's Event Management Company for eight years now and I've loved every minute of it.  Of course, the sleepless nights spent on DIY Projects or amending the seating chart the night before the wedding I would gladly reschedule, but all in all it's been great! I've met so many wonderful clients, vendors and colleagues over the years and every single acquaintance has helped me to develop into the planner I am today.  Which I must say is a good one!!

Weddings.  From the eye of the bride, the guest and the onlooker, it seems that weddings are so fun and easy to plan and anyone can do it, however, my brides always thank me in the end.  We receive wonderful gifts, thank you notes and accolades expressing "THANKS" for various things they knew we handled and for those they found out we handled. Weddings are usually the most emotional event of all, since most brides have dreamed about this event since their childhood and have an expectation of what the day should look like.  Not to mention it involves so many people. 

As a planner we sometimes become the liaison between the bride and everyone else (we execute the brides wishes against all others), the best friend (we get it..we listen and laugh), the psychiatrist (we listen and offer professional advice), the escort (we go everywhere with the bride, we even hold up the dress so she can tinkle on the big day!), the consultant (we connect her with the right vendors according to the budget, style, vision and even personality) and Personal Assistant (we receive tons of emails and phone calls from you, those closest to you, and all involved in the wedding over the course of the planning).  And we love every minute of it. 

Birthdays and other social events don't involve as much emotion as weddings, so the approach to the planning is much lighter.  All the details still exist, your adrenaline still rushes as you create unique touches to personalize the event for your client. We still spend the time, include all the details, but the planning is less stressful from the clients stand point which lends to less handholding than a wedding.

Corporate Events are usually very straight forward.  The client tells you what they want, the goal of the event, the budget and event details and you make it happen.  Details, Details, Details, just like the other events, but not as personal because it's strictly business.  Decor, honorees, silent auctions, breakout room, guest speakers, fundraising, etc. make up multiple small events that creation one big corporate event.  It takes a well oiled team to produce a successful one. 

As I reflect on my experience over the past eight years I'm honored at all I've been blessed to experience. Today's blog was simply to let you know how much we coordinators love what we do and to give you a brief look at what goes into planning a few different types of events.  I look forward for all that is to come. 

Eventfully yours,
Jennifer

Who Needs an Invitation!

With all the electronic invitations available to us today I question whether or not we still need paper invitation, stamps and calligraphy!  Just Kidding!!!  I absolutely love opening the mail to find an adorable invitation to a child's party or baby shower, an elegant invite to a wedding or milestone anniversary celebration and I especially enjoy receiving a whimsical, flashy or unique invite to a birthday party.

Receiving an invite by mail is extremely personable.  It tells you your presence is being requested directly from the host to be in attendance at that particular celebration! It also shows that you've been kept up with!  The sender actually has your full name and mailing address!  It's a personal invitation for your eyes only and not a list to someones entire database or massive call to all who can attend! So when someone sends you a note via mail they've gone beyond the social call of duty!  You're special!  If you can't attend there is usually a request for a regrets via return note or phone call. 

Traditional invites show thought, expectation and gives you an indication of the feel of the event! There are so many varieties of the personal invitation.  Usually made out of some type of specialty paper or card stock but can be made of bottles, plexi-glass, wood, and other objects.  Whatever you imagine can be created!  An invitation is also the first indication of the type of event you've been invited to.  Is it casual or formal?  Is this going to be a creative gathering or a traditional fete!

Now don't get me wrong, I love the convenience of evite, punchbowl and pingg, just to name a few.  An electronic invite does not carry the same personal touch that a traditional invite does and should not be used for a formal event.  Informal gathering at the house...evite!  Game time....evite!  Small party with cake....evite!  Wedding invitations require a stamp.

Take a look at these invites below and see that they relay so much more info than an electronic message!

Mail the puzzle pieces and let the guests put it together!  So fun! 

Baby Shower Invite.  So Cute!

Sweet Potato Paper has really nice multicultural invites for all occassions!

This record serves notice of the party!

This unique invite tell me it's a Vintage Affair!

Until next time,
Jennifer

dbO Creates Dishes with Style!

I stumbled upon dbO Home while enjoying my morning dose of Daily Candy.   Being that I love to entertain dishes are so important to an event.  Now, they don't have to be matchy, matchy, but be creative and spend a little time planning out your food display, buffet table or the dinnerware you want to use for each guest.  I guarantee if you put together an unexpected but thoughtful display you will generate some good table talk amongst your visitors that won't be forced or fake. :-)

Look at these one of kind unique platters, spoons and hot chocolate cup cheers me up!  What really caught my eye while perusing the dbO site was the unique design of their dishes.  Everything is made by hand, thought out and perfected.  That's such a joy being that most items are produced in such mass quantities these days.

What a perfect gift these original items would make! What you see below is only a sample of what's available.  They have so many different designs and pieces you'll have a time trying to figure out what to get!

Platter set.

Hot chocolate cup.  Burr!



These spoons are so adorable!  Look at the bowl!



Until next time,

Jennifer!

Cupcakes and Pinterest!

Today's post is inspired by my love of Cupcakes and the creative finds on Pinterest!  Even though cupcakes have been around since the 19th Century there's not much recorded history on the little personal pastries.  The new wave of cupcake creations that took place a few years ago, when cupcakes began to make their way into weddings replacing the cake and into adult parties and corporate events was a fad that I thought would not be around for long...boy was I wrong!

Today still holding their own, cupcakes are still showing up at all types of events and with original decorations, designs and displays!  Not to mention in all kind of wonderful flavors!  Today I saw a blueberry, blackberry cupcake topped with blueberry cream icing!  I drooled as my taste buds imagined how delicious and decadent a bite would be!!!

As I searched Pinterest this morning, one of my favorite pass times that inspire creativity, I found some lovely, fun and creative cupcakes.  Take a look at these fun unique themed cupcakes.  Don't they look tasty!

Hamburger Cupcakes!  Too Cute!

I love the sharks floating around the buoy!  Creative!

A salute to all things medical!

Who doesn't love the zoo?

I hope you enjoyed this fun creative blog of cute cupcakes!

Until next time,

Jennifer