Name Day

I love traveling and learning about different cultures when I am away.  Recently I had a chance to visit the Czech Republic, which was absolutely amazing, and I learned about their tradition of "Name Day".

In Prague's Old Town Square, there is a mechanical and astronomic clock that dates back to 1410.  Below this clock is a calendar and corresponding to each date is a specific name. 

In the Czech Republic it is a common practice to celebrate your "Name Day" with small gifts, almost as you would a birthday.  I love the idea that you get to not only celebrate your Birthday but also have the bonus of your Name Day.

To find out what your own Name Day is, go to the link below and find your name and the corresponding Name Day.

http://www.myczechrepublic.com/czech_culture/czech_name_days/

Of course, if you are like me, your name may not be exactly the same in the Czech language, for example, in Czech, "Shawn" would be interpreted as "Jan".  To make sure you find the correct day, I also found a site that will allow you to interpret your name, just click on the following link.

http://www.behindthename.com/translate.php

As I said earlier, I think it is fun to learn about different cultures and traditions.  Check out all of he links and have a happy "Name Day"!

Cheers!

Choosing the city

On Sunday, July 22nd at about 3:00pm my partner Michael and I were sipping our favorite Spanish Cava on the patio of Ardesia Wine Bar in Hell's Kitchen.  We had just called our dear friends Roger and Brad to congratulate them on their one year wedding anniversary.  Over the course of the past year we have proudly witnessed three couples say "I Do" to each other.  And after talking to Roger and Brad we decided we needed to have a heart to heart on what we wanted to do.

You see, up until this point we've put our wedding on the back burner.  Mainly because we've been busy, but secretly because neither of us had any clue as to what we wanted.

When I meet with couples it's so easy for me to objectively impart my "wedding wisdom" (I use that phrase loosely); mainly because I listen to the couple(s) to truly dissect what it is they want.  This my friends is not an easy process when you're trying to listen to yourself.  I mean have you ever really taken your own advice?  Think about it…

What's great about Michael and I is that we have already been together for over 10 years.  We know each other, we know our families and we know what's important to us.  The knowing is the best part.  But we are two different people and we want different things and rightly so!  It was the not knowing that drove me crazy.  What did he want? What did he not want?  So both set out and outlined what was important to us both as a couple and as individuals.  It's like I always tell my clients prioritize your priorities.  And that's just what we did.

While we both wanted a wedding outside of New York City overlooking a lake or a winery we both knew in our heart of hearts that this is the place we call home.  New York is where we met and New York holds that special place in our heart.  After much discussion we both realized it would be best for our families because it's the easiest place to travel to.  And if we were to do a New York State destination wedding why not do it in our own back yard?  You see, Michael's family is from Wisconsin and mine is from Western and Upstate New York as well as Vermont.

So after much talking we decided on the city, that choice was an easy one - check that off the list!  But what about the guest list?  Having done this for almost 14 years I knew the guest list would have a huge impact on what venue's we gravitated toward.  Stay tuned because I truly never knew how hard it would be to create a wedding guest list…especially for ourselves!

Until next time!

Cheers!

Update on my own wedding planning!

About a year ago I wrote a blog "How is a wedding planner to plan his own wedding" and said I would chronicle how I am going to plan my (our) own wedding. Since then little has been written or documented largely in part to the fact that my partner and I truly did not know what we wanted to do for our wedding.  You know the saying "doctors make the worse patients"?  Well that's us!  We’ve been so focused on everyone else that we put our wedding on the back burner.

Until Sunday when we finally sat down and discussed the what, the when and the where!  Kids, we have a break through!  Michael and I have set a date!

We know where we want to have the wedding, we know when we want to have the wedding and like ripping a band aid off we took to our guest list like a birthday kid to cake!

So now that we've made this huge step we will continue to keep you up to date over the course of our planning the wedding.

Stay tuned because this wedding planning thing is going to get interesting!

Until next time -

Cheers!

Destination Weddings - Bermuda

I recently had the opportunity to spend some time on the Island of Bermuda and could not help but take note of what a wonderful destination location this is for a wedding.  It is a short plane ride from the East coast and offers so many great places to hold a ceremony and reception.

I know many couples look at Bermuda as a honeymoon location but, if you are planning a destination wedding, I would certainly add this to the list of options.  In looking at venues in Bermuda one of the best places to start is the Mandarin Oriental Elbow Beach.  Elbow Beach itself is beautiful with soft white sand and gorgeous, clear blue water.  Add to that the great service and beautiful grounds of the Mandarin Oriental and you have a perfect combination. 

Across the island you will find another wonderful venue at the Fairmont Southampton.  With both garden and beachside options for ceremonies, and a variety of event spaces for receptions, the Fairmont is an excellent option for a Bermuda wedding.

What is great about Bermuda are some of the truly unique options for holding your wedding ceremony.  Take for example the "Moongates" located at various points on the island.  Couples can get married by the Moongate and afterward they walk through the limestone arch for good luck.  

Or, you can take advantage of the history of Bermuda and plan your ceremony in a unique setting such as St. Catherine Fort just outside of the original settlement of St. Georges.  Or consider the beautiful Bermuda Botanical Gardens that date back to 1898.

Bermuda Botanical Gardens

St. Catherine Fort

There are just so many great options for holding a wedding in Bermuda.  So, if you are thinking about a destination wedding I strongly encourage you to check out everything Bermuda has to offer.

Until next time...

Cheers!

Firefighter Appreciation Weekend in New York

Mark your calenders for Firefighter Appreciation Weekend taking place July 20 and 21 at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City!

I am honored to be a judge for the 5th Annual Battle of the Boroughs Cook-off where members of the FDNY will defend their respective Boroughs by creating mouth watering appetizers and entrees.  I can't wait to try all of the great food and hope you can join the festivities on Saturday, July 20 from 11:00am to 2:30pm.  

Come on to Pier 86 on the Hudson River to support the brave members of the FDNY and enjoy all of he great family activities planned on the Intrepid.

Very Special Wedding in Central Park

Given all of the groundbreaking developments yesterday surrounding gay marriage I wanted to share a wedding I recently designed and produced for 2 very dear friends at the Boathouse in Central Park.  This wedding was unique for me first, because it was for friends who have been together for 18 years and second, because I was also a guest which is very different for me.

When we started planning Alan and John's wedding I was honored in that they selected the Schylar invitation from my stationery line for their invitations.  We decided early on that we would use this design to bridge the entire look and feel incorporating it into the table numbers, escort cards, menus, welcome notes, gift tags and even the thank you notes.

I must say planning a wedding for friends does add a level of stress I hadn't expected.  I wanted this wedding to be spot on perfect and while I do everything in my power to create the perfect event for every client, the personal nature of this party really kept me on my toes.  With the ceremony and after party were being held outdoors, I had more than a little concern when the weather forecast was calling for rain...all day long.  You can imagine my relief when the rain took place while guests were indoors dancing and everything else stayed dry!

Alan and John wanted to keep the ceremony intimate, not filled with formalities and they wanted their family and friends surrounding them while they said their vows. This is something of a growing trend for same sex couples and one I am growing quite fond of!  Before the exchanging of the vows the couple was serenaded by the amazing Wanda Houston, a long time friend.  To say the ceremony was emotional and touching is an understatement.

For the look of the wedding I wanted to keep it simple and masculine to match their taste and I was honored that John took the lead in directing me with decor because it really fit their style and taste.  We used succulents throughout the wedding and added accents of yellow floral.  As guests entered for dinner they were greeted by an escort card table featuring a wall of succulents and accents of yellow roses, calla lilies and orchids.  I actually designed the wall for reuse so Alan and John now have the wall as an accent piece hanging on their patio.

Each of the centerpieces were designed in a firwood bowl that was filled with succulents and yellow floral.

While the decor was great, the food was wonderful and the weather held out, the key to this event was the entertainment.  On the Move Entertainment did a great job with the MC, DJ and live musicians.  It was the special touches Alan and John added that made this event unique. First, the amazing Wanda Houston was incredible as she sang for the ceremony and performed a flawless rendition of "Isn't She Lovely" for the Mother/Son dance.

The really nerve racking part of this wedding for me was what came next.  Alan and John challenged each other to come up with a special surprise for the wedding.  Of course I had to coordinate the execution of each of their surprises without letting the other know what was going to happen.  It was a challenge that worked!  We started with Alan who brought in 2 amazingly talented Broadway entertainers, Michael Marcotte and Josh Prince.  They opened with Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" which which turned into a flash mob surrounding John. You can even catch a glimpse of yours truly in the flash mob.

After a bit more food and dancing it was John's turn to spring his surprise on Alan.  Alan's jaws literally dropped when John introduced the New York City Gay Men's Chorus as they entered the room to sing a special selection of songs.  

The surprises were a huge success and the guests were thrilled. I breathed a huge sigh of relief!

If you want a special treat we have these performances on video.  Just click on the link below to see:

Performance video

This wedding was such fun and so special.  What I also really enjoyed is that the fun did not stop at the Boathouse.  Since this was an afternoon wedding we had an entire night left to celebrate.  All of the guests were then treated to a wonderful outdoor party, again, thankfully the weather cooperated, which lasted well into the night and was the perfect finish to a wonderful day.

I would like to thank Natsumi Restaurant who did a great job with the welcome dinner and with catering for the after party.  We were also fortunate to have great photography and video compliments of 5th Avenue Digital, 

And I would like to thank Alan and John our dear friends for trusting us to make their special day come to life!

Until next time...

Cheers!

Spectacular Gala with an Oscar de la Renta Flair

Recently I had the great privilege to plan a fundraising Gala in honor of the 120th anniversary of the White Plains Hospital.  I had worked on the Hospital Gala years ago, before opening my own company, and was honored when they approached me late last year to take over as the planner for this event.  

I was especially excited to plan this Gala as it was not to be the typical seated dinner with speeches.  For this  anniversary the Hospital had partnered with Oscar de la Renta to put on a fashion show as the centerpiece of the event.  I love a challenge and creating a totally unique event around the show was right up my alley!

There were so many elements that had to be put together to make this evening a success.  To tell the story let me start with the basics, the venue.  Formerly the headquarters for General Foods, the site at 800 Westchester Avenue in Rye Brook, New York resembles a giant spaceship as you approach.  The owners of the building donated use of their massive atrium to become the setting for our event.

With the venue and date in place it was time to send out Save the Date cards and start designing the collateral materials.  For this task I turned to the team at Alpine Creative Group to pull together the look for all of the printed materials.  The result was a sharp, classic design that everyone loved.

Given that we had the space confirmed, and knew that the fashion show would be the focus of the event, our next task was to find the right staging company to create the environment and handle all sound and lighting.  To accomplish this task I contacted Richard Tatum and L & M Lighting and Sound.  Having work with Richard for many years I was confident he could pull together all of the elements to make the event a success and I was right.  To help L & M the services of Dynamic Drape and Decor were enlisted to create the set and the backstage areas along with helping us create some great posters of historic photos of the hospital.

To round out the vendors behind the event I brought is Vali Entertainment who supplied, Martin, an amazing DJ and the electric violists we used to set the stage as guests were entering the atrium for the Gala.

Of course every Gala needs amazing food.  For the White Plains Hospital Gala we chose the in house caterer at 800 Westchester Avenue, The Gourmet Taste, to handle all of the food and beverage for the event.  As this was not a sit down dinner the guests were treated to numerous themed food stations and a variety of passed hors d'oeuvres.  The guests raved about the food.  I have to say that Robin and her staff outdid themselves to make the guests happy.

Of course, I was there to design the room and provide floral and decor.  For this event it was all about the fashion.  Also,the room and staging were modern and sleek so I did not want anything over the top.  All of the tables were drapes with sleek silver, crinkle taffeta linens.  I used simple blue and white floral in stainless steel containers to tie into the Hospital's logo colors. It was simple and beautiful.

But, of course, the real star of the night were the amazing fashions from Oscar de la Renta.  I would be remiss if I did not give you a taste of the fashions that guests were treated to at the Gala.  I hope you enjoy.

It was a very special evening a a successful fundraiser for a great cause.  I a proud and grateful for the opportunity to work with the amazing staff and volunteers at White Plains Hospital.  I also want to thank Sniffen Pictures for production of the wonderful video shown at the event, Red Oak Transportation for safely transporting all of our models, Advanced Parking Concepts for handling the rush of guests needing valet service and Fifth Avenue Digital for providing the great photographers who captured all of the great images shown on this blog.

Here's to the next great Gala!

Cheers!