Dinah

Corporate Event Advice Applies To Weddings Too!

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Hot event planners/experts spilled their party pet peeves to Biz Bash, we’re sharing some that will help make your wedding amazing, not crazy-making. Amy Sacco, founding partner and creative director, LDV Hospitality Nightlife, listed four points, three of which translated perfectly to weddings. Today, we cover Amy’s irritant number two*.

Overcrowding. It’s annoying to move around and especially with all the tilting glasses when one is in a fabulous outfit—and then you can’t even get a drink as you can’t get to the bar!

Do you hear that, people?  Don’t pack your guests like sardines. Venues say what the maximum capacity on a space, but that number was picked out by a fire marshal thinking about best escape routes.  If you asked her how many people she’d want in there for her son’s wedding reception, you’d likely get a completely different answer.

Seating Chart project by SomethingTurquoise,com.
Seating Chart project by SomethingTurquoise,com.

Fix: Know your headcount and be realistic about your venue’s capacity.  Don’t talk yourself into a too- small space, no matter how much you love it. It’s very easy to justify things, so take someone along who will remind you that 20 people will not stay on the balcony all night in November.    

Amy is correct in that there is nothing worse than putting on your favorite dry clean only dress and winding up wearing the (hot pink) signature cocktail all night after bumping into a bridesmaid. And then when things are so crowded you can’t get a drink at all? Awful.

Fix: See above about headcount and venue capacity reality checking.  Then make sure you account for décor elements and staff that will also eat up real estate.  If you think there’s going to be a wait for the bar, tray-pass drinks to offset.  Oh, and your signature cocktail? Make it clear (or near) with a colored garnish – less tragic if perchance one does spill.  No maraschino cherries, please.

Live well, and love well.

-Dinah

*Note. Amy’s Biz Bash quote started with this:

“I loathe the following, in no particular order…”  ergo this party fail is no more or less loathed than the others we will cover.

To see the seating chart project click here.

What Wedding Problems Drive Planners Crazy?

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Biz Bash, an event industry trade paper, recently ran a piece on what drives PR and corporate planners crazy at parties they attend.  Amy Sacco, founding partner and creative director, LDV Hospitality Nightlife, listed four points, three of which translated so well into wedding world, I had to share. Today, we cover Amy Sacco’s irritant number one* in the next few days, on to the next two.

When events are pitched as intimate or exclusive and then you find guests’ assistants there

 It doesn’t take a lot of creativity to translate this one into the wedding experience.

A couple explains their tiny, intimate wedding and matching brutally small head count. The venue only holds so many people, or there are budget issues, and that’s why the guest list is so lean, and you can’t bring your fiancé. Apologies are made, and tears are shed.

Who's coming?
Who’s coming?

Your tears dry pretty quickly, though, on wedding day when you’re seated with the bride’s sister’s boyfriend’s mother.  You think I’m kidding don’t you?  This happened to me.  The bride’s sister-in-law’s brother and her parents were there too.  My boyfriend of three years sat at home.  The upshot? I had a crappy time at that wedding, and remember it as an unpleasant experience to this day.

Wedding Paper Divas Wedding Day Needs - Programs, Menus, and more

The Fix:

Guest List Diplomacy. Think a little before you cross someone off or decide on your “plus ones.”  You could be changing a dear friend or relative’s experience of your wedding completely for the benefit of your father’s chiropractor.  This is your day, but do you want people to remember it as a miserable one?  Probably not.

Stay tuned for Amy’s next pet peeve, how it pertains to wedding planning, and how to avoid it!

Live well, and love well.

-Dinah

*Note. Amy’s Biz Bash quote started with this:

“I loathe the following, in no particular order…”  ergo this party fail is no more or less loathed than the others we will cover in the days to come.

No time to get to the spa? No problem. DIY it in your home bathroom.

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Spas are wonderful, and there’s nothing more luxurious than being pampered for an afternoon at a lovely spa, especially as you prep for your wedding.  But who has an afternoon these days?  And if you did, would you spend it lying around with cucumbers on your eyes? No, you’d be catching up with sixteen different things you were meant to do yesterday.  So what’s to be done? Create your own spa in your bathroom at home.

If you look around at a spa with a critical eye, you’ll see that that mood is set by many things that you can recreate at home. The three most important, conveniently, are the three least expensive.

  • Lighting  There’s always a soft glow in a spa, making everything feel relaxing. You can’t work in dim light, right? You have to surrender to being peaceful.  At home, you can put your bathroom lights on a dimmer.  When it’s bathtime for the kids, you’ve got all the light you need. But when it’s time for your little getaway, you can dial it down.

    This too, could be a spa!
    This too, could be a spa!
  • Scent Oh, the smell of a spa. Sometimes it’s floral, sometimes beachy, but always takes you somewhere other than everyday life.  One of the parts about spa-ing it up at home that’s better than your local day spa is that you can customize the scent. It can be exactly you.  Use a diffuser, candles or even your favorite perfume on strategically placed cotton balls (I swear it works) and your bathroom smells like a personally customized dreamland.
  • Sound Music sets the tone of any situation, and again, here you can customize.  If Enya irritates you, hearing her ghostly echoes kind of harshes your mellow at the spa, am I right? At home, you can customize your playlist, including only what you love.  Mozart, Marvin Gaye, whatever soothes you.

So now you’ve got a low-lit, sweet-smelling bathroom, with an awesome soundtrack. Get in there and start relaxing!

Be well, and love well.

Dinah

Bonus: Check out this awesome recipe for citrus infused spa-water!