NYC Cake Girl

If you are throwing a party, you always want your guests to have a good time.  However in order for that to happen, we have to make sure we utilize all of our guests’ senses.  We “feast” with our eyes first.  Decorating things in a particular way can help evoke feelings to better enhance our guests’ experience.

Using certain colors, arranging furniture a certain way, using textured fabrics, dramatic lighting, candlelight – these are a few things that can really make or break a great event design.

When Ed sits down to start discussing our clients design needs for an event, he asks them how they want it to FEEL.  Our clients may use the words cozy, intimate, inviting, romantic – these are great adjectives to describe how something feels.  So how can this translate into a design?  Create small furniture vignettes for your guests’ to sit around during the cocktail hour with lots of low, soft candlelight and flowers.  This is an inviting, cozy feeling that inspires conversation.  When you start bringing in the other senses:  sound (good music) and smell (delicious food) you have now have the makings for a memorable event.  People are going to remember how the event looked and the yummy food they ate, but they will also remember the great time that they had, and that feeling is happy.  Mission accomplished.

This is a great example of using your senses to design a space. This is the Terrace Room in the famous Plaza Hotel. Our client wanted to use this space to for the ceremony. They wanted a romantic, cozy feeling that gave a nod to the great outdoors. Ed used every aspect of the room as well as the equipment that was used to do the installation. He used the staging truss to make large trees to create the Chuppa, he hung chandeliers 8 inches of the floor with soft lighting, the bride walked down a mirrored aisle and there was candle light that surrounded the room. The mirrored aisle reflected all of the warm light that was in the room giving that warm, cozy intimate feeling.

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I really do love the industry I work in.  I get to feed my need for all things creative and I get to work with some of the most talented, creative people out there.  Not only do I get to learn from these amazing individuals, I get to enjoy their visual creations.

Let me introduce you to my friend Jove.  He is the owner and creative director of Jove Meyer Events.  He will plan and design your event from start to finish.  Jove is creative, friendly and really pays attention to every little detail.  His designs are whimsical, thoughtful and fun.  I know a lot of planners/designers in this industry so I wanted to know what makes him different from all of the rest…

This is my friend Jove Meyer. Not only is he a talented planner & designer but a good person and great friend. (How freakin’ cute is he! I just want to squish him!)

1. What is your approach to planning an event?  My first step is to get to know the client as intimately as possible, ideally over a glass of wine or a cup of coffee. I want to know their intent, their vision and goals for the event. I strive to create authentic experiences by incorporating as much of the clients personal favorites as possible with a touch of my own flair. I approach the planning of an event by making sure I plan details for all five senses (touch, taste, smell, sight and sound) of the event. By touching all five senses the event becomes an experience not to be forgotten!

2. What is your favorite part of the planning process?  I love the design aspect of planning an event. Taking in all of the elements and creating a  look and feel for the space, transforming things to create memorable moments! I love planning unexpected moments and details! I love the joy on the clients face when they see our vision come to life!

I love how Jove gave this wedding in the woods a chic and whimsical feel.

3. Any fun trends that you are embracing this season?  This season I am all about color blocking flowers, using single flower types and using unique vessels for vases. I love using vases of various shapes, sizes and textures and filling them with only one type of flower, a single stem when possible! Then I place the various single flower arrangements together to create a visually beautiful look! Its simple, chic and elegant!

Jove in his own words…

I have been planning events since I was a kid. Starting with family holiday parties and birthdays I would decorate the house with whatever I could find or make! My first job in high school was in an event company where I learned all about balloons and flowers. We designed and planned events of all shapes and sizes for Disney, Walmart, Dave and Busters and many others.

I officially started my own company after planning my best friends wedding in 2007. She called me one day and said she could not think of anyone better to do it, I was honored and fond myself loving every moment of the process and knew this was what I wanted to do with my life!

My company was born out of a passion for event and wedding planning! We are a boutique event planning company based out of New York City and we provide full service planning, partial planning as well as month of / day of wedding coordination.

Here is Jove with one of his couples.  Please take the time to visit Jove’s website here.

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The Macy’s Flower Show is a beautiful display of floral creativity.  This year’s theme was the painted garden and Ed was asked to create a “bouquet of the day” (a very large floral show piece) to be featured in Macy’s for a portion of the show.  Of course we always see the final product, but let’s take you behind the scenes…

The folks over at Macy’s sent us over the poster for this year’s show and where Ed was to draw his inspiration.

The poster had a very Asian feel to it and Ed decided to be inspired by the Chingmai Flower Show in Thailand.

Here is the “bouquet” Ed designed for the flower show.

The next step in our process was creating templates so we could create the base and placement of the flowers to complete the design.

Here is the structure being put together in our warehouse. The photo on the far right shows one of the more intricate details that will be placed in the final design on site.

On the left, our crew on site putting all of the pieces together. On the far right some of the finished details of the bouquet.  Flowers used were roses and various kinds of orchids.

Here is the final bouquet. It stood about 8 feet high and at the widest point 4 feet across. Isn’t she a beauty???

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Springtime.  One of my favorite seasons is here, where color comes back into our lives.   I am also happy when a bride is not afraid to add a bit of color to her personal flowers on her wedding day.  It adds richness to the environment and not to mention is really beautiful to look at.

Here are a few tips when picking colorful, personal flowers:

- Chat with your florist/designer about what is season, not only is it a bit more budget friendly buying a flower that is in season, but you will have more variety to choose from.

- Choose greens and fillers that create some interest and texture.  It’s those little bright pops of color that create interesting moments in your bouquet.

- Mix up your colors!  You might be surprised how bright lush colors can coordinate with each other.  Be bold and try different and interesting color combinations that excite you.

- Pick a fun “wrap” for the handle of your personal flowers.  It can be a bright colored textured ribbon or maybe it’s a piece of left over fabric from one of your bridesmaids dress.  This finishes the look of any personal bouquet.  This is also a fun area to add mementos, maybe a charm with your grandparent’s pictures or the silk buttons from your great grandmother’s dress.

Bright colors and seasonal flowers make this a fun “springtime” bouquet. Tulips, Ranunculus, Roses and Mimosa are great for this time of year.  Ed choose a bright yellow grosgrain ribbon to tie in the bright yellow of the Mimosa.

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I had the opportunity to check out the Catersource Convention in Las Vegas this past week.  It’s a very interesting industry event that covers topics from party planning to event décor and everything in between.

James with his own gum paste product through Fondarific. You can buy his product here: http://shop.fondarific.com/product.sc?productId=29&categoryId=9

Who did I find in the mix?  My friend and baker James Rosselle,  he was making an appearance.  He was manning the Fondarific booth with owner Lois Judy.  Fondarific is what James chooses to fondant his cakes in and even has his own product with the company.  I had the opportunity to try a few samples (orange and cinnabon, both really yummy!) and Lois demonstrated for me how thin the fondant can be rolled out. It seemed like a pretty easy product to work with. There are lots of different flavors to choose from and the colors are really pretty.  Besides, James seems pretty happy with it.

James and I at Catersource in Las Vegas, NV. It’s always fun hanging out with him, and this time was no different. Why go for dinner when you can go out for dessert – that’s how James’ roles…

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I wrote this post a few years ago after Labor Day weekend. A very good friend of mine was hosting a party and we chatted about her frustrations with the whole “RSVP”.  It’s the beginning of a new wedding/celebration season and I thought I would repost this again…it’s important to RSVP for anything, even though it is a courtesy, it’s an important one…please read on…

I am going to stand on my soapbox now… (This posting is really for all of my party planner friends out there, as well as my friends who host dinners and parties at their homes.)

I spent my Labor Day weekend with some of my best friends who decided to have a BBQ. They sent out an Evite, spent lots of money on food and drink, and opened their doors to celebrate the last official weekend of summer. (It was a great party, by the way!)

But let me get back to their Evite…

Their Evite went out a little more than a month before the party. It was sent to more than 50 people. About half responded “yes,” a few responded “maybe” (Really Evite? “Maybe”? Do you see “maybe” on a wedding invitation?), the rest didn’t respond at all. It really makes me wonder what kind of society we have become when we can’t take a few moments out of our “busy” lives to respond to a simple invitation. RSVP or répondez s’il vous plaît means to “please respond.” Friends and family take the time to open their doors and have celebrations. These kinds of events take lots of planning, time and money. Yet most people these days do not have the courtesy of taking the time to send a simple response.

At my friend’s BBQ, half of the people who did respond “yes” to the Evite didn’t even show up. There was no telephone call, email or text message to say they wouldn’t be able to make it. I understand that things in life happen and we have to break our plans, but the least we can do is let our host know that we won’t be able to make it to their party. No excuse is needed, and your host won’t waste food and can make the proper accommodations if it’s a sit-down dinner. Of course my friends were disappointed that their guests couldn’t make the party, but they were even more disappointed that no courtesy was given to them to let them know their guests wouldn’t be able to attend.

Please RSVP, it’s the polite and courteous thing to do!

Being in the wedding industry has made me hyper-aware of this situation. When we work with hotels, I am often waiting for the guest counts to come in from their clients so I can tell my chef how many servings a cake needs to be. I hear all kinds of stories from our party planner friends that they are calling guests on the phone on behalf of the bride because more than half of the RSVPs are still missing. (In a wedding invite they are already pre-stamped. The work is done for you; all you have to do is check a little box!) Whenever I receive an invite – whether it’s an Evite to a work or social event or a paper invitation I’ve received in the mail – I take that moment to respond. After all, this person went out of their way to invite me to something special, the least I can do is give them the courtesy of a response. Whether it is “yes” or “no,” it’s polite and it’s the right thing to do.

(I will get off my soapbox now…)

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In October, Ed, Kathleen and I had the opportunity to visit Vera Wang’s show room for a private viewing of her Fall 2013 bridal collection.  What a treat that was.  Her whole collection was very feminine with big ball skirts, lots of lace and intricate details.  Her whole collection was inspirational.

These are a few of the beautiful details we were able to see up close.

Of course Ed walked away with a million ideas.  He translated his visit into a beautiful bouquet of sweet peas, hydrangea, spray roses and sculpted flowers out of silk organza and a raw silk textured fabrics.  The end result is breathtaking.  Light, airy and full of whimsy.  A beautiful bouquet for any bride!

After being inspired by Vera’s collection, Ed designed this bridal bouquet.

Our finished product. The textures in this bouquet are light and airy and would be a nice compliment to any bridal ensemble.

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