Pardon Our Dust!

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Know When to Hold 'Em, and Know When to Fold 'Em

Planning events involves a lot of moving parts. Like an engine, each moving part is integral to its overall success. When you’re dealing with an unreliable or faulty piece, it doesn’t matter how successfully the other parts are humming along and doing their job, the thing is just broken. The same theory applies to events…unfortunately. Instead of a rusty cog or a sputtering fuel pump, you may find that a flakey vendor or sketchy venue is the reason your event machine isn’t chugging along at optimal performance. Buyer beware! If you encounter any squeaky wheels or unsettling thumping noises, you may want to give your event a thorough check-up before the little problems lead to a total breakdown on the side of the road in the town of “Oh S#*%!”.

The Written Word: Not only is it important to read a contract thoroughly before you sign, but it is important to have one to read. Some vendors may tell you they don’t expect you to sign contracts and that your word is good enough. While it sounds harsh, you don’t have to have the trust in them that they may have in you. Get it in writing! The more you have written down and agreed upon by both parties, the more protected you are from last minute woopsies like, “ I didn’t know you wanted the band to bring their own speaker system,” or “The event started at 8pm, we didn’t know you’d want to be in here earlier than that.” It sounds silly, but anything you think may be implied or obvious ISN’T, unless it’s in writing. This goes for working with friends and family, too: while Aunt Martha is an amazing florist, she may not be feeling up to the task of the 100 centerpieces she promised you last month, and since you’re family, assumes you’ll understand when she shows up with only 50 instead. A well thought out email agreed upon by both parties, or signed letter of agreement will go a long way in covering your buns (and ensure that both parties know what is expected of them).

Flakes are for Breakfast: We all understand that artists contribute their gifts to the world of event planning in ways we never could achieve on our own, from beautiful drapery and lighting, to creating an entire beach themed evening complete with sand, surf soundtrack, and the smell of Coppertone sunscreen being pumped through the vent system. We are truly grateful for so many creative minds, but leave your manners at the door if you’re dealing with a vendor that you can’t count on to even return your phone calls within the week. In a service industry, the person who pays gets all the say, and vendors would be smart to recognize and respect their source of income. Punctuality in responses, detail in requests, and ability to communicate are the Three Golden Rules for those in the event industry. If you can’t trust your photographer to remember the date of your event every time you speak, don’t trust him to show up on time. A vendor should help ease the stress of the event, not add to it by missing appointments, forgetting details, and being generally spacey.

GUTS: Trust ‘em! Aside from the above two suggestions, your instinct is the best decision-maker you have. If things keep changing, if contracts keep being re-written, if phone calls go unanswered, or if you just plain get that skeptical sketchy feeling when you meet them for the first time, GET OFF THE TRAIN! Going with your gut feeling from the start will set the tone of trust you’ll want to have moving forward with your event.

It's scary to pull out or make changes last minute, but believe me, the stress of finding a better option late in the game is better than the stress of a failed event. If you have to jump ship with a vendor in exchange for a life boat, it's better than going down with the ship!

Green beats the Blues: Eco-friendly Local DJs Rock

We’re always a fan of local vendors, and we’re also big fans of vendors that take a sustainable approach to their business. Local mobile DJ service Bamboo Beats fits in both categories. Not only do the offer a wide variety of fun, soulful, funky music that’ll put “The Chicken Dance” and “Celebrate” to shame, they remain conscious of their impact on the environment as they roll from party to party (in their hybrid), spinning an empty atmosphere into a swanky one.

Not only do they drive a hybrid, but Bamboo Beats participates in renewable energy programs offered by Seattle City Light and Puget Sound Energy; they use only recycled papers for contracts, set lists, and other documents that require printing; they spin only MP3s, eliminating the use of CDs that eventually wind up in landfills; and they offer to help each client purchase renewable energy certificates to increase the party’s ability to go carbon-neutral.

Hats off to you, Bamboo Beats! We are so proud to share Seattle with such an environmentally conscious and just plain rad alternative to the ho-hum DJ services that occupy the event world.

The New Tented Event

Outdoor events, especially in Seattle, can be tricky to plan for and generally always call for a Plan B. In most cases, that means tenting your event or bringing it inside. It’s not easy to have to institute a Plan B rule, especially when you have your heart set on a lovely garden setting or a sandy soiree on the beach (minus the usual white, draped, corporate tent feel). We’ve found the solution in a wonderful company that began in the Bay Area: Raj Tents! Incorporate these luxury tents into your outdoor event, and you won’t be disappointed even if the sun never shows up.

These amazing tents, in their various styles and sizes, can turn any tented party into a word-class fete. Their rich colors and luxurious textures add spice to your cocktail party or fundraiser without having to rely on ugly pop-up tents stashed in the parking lot and being tossed up at the first drizzle of rain. The Moroccan inspired structures can add instant theme and décor instantly, and we also suggest taking a gander at some of their other rental items to complete the package. They may not be the cheapest tents around, but considering all you save on additional details trying to pretty-up a back-up tent, it may just come out a wash.

Burlesque!

Taking the tawdry and turning it tasteful…that’s why we love burlesque! Live music, fire performers, and even a good magician can make a splash as entertainment for an event. However, these cirque-style performances have been gracing guests with fanciful feats for the better part of the last decade or two. Don’t get me wrong, everybody loves a bendy contortionist, and high-flying aerialists never fail to take my breath away…but face it, it’s been done.

Enter burlesque. Modern burlesque - which incorporates the traditional strip tease with humor, flamboyance, and a whole lot of glitter - isn’t just gals (or guys) getting naked. It’s a fanciful performance art, often suitable for all walks of life, that entertains and surprises audiences. It’s not your parent’s party, but it may well have been your grandparent’s. Popular all the way back in the 40s, 50s, and 60s, burlesque performers were often swimming in the same bucket as the rest of the movie stars and considered to be just as famous (not just infamous). You’ll be impressed by how many grannies have been to burlesque shows in their hay-day and can still recall the big names like Dixie Evans and Gypsy Rose Lee.

Today, Seattle boasts home to one of the largest neo-burlesque revivals! In addition to whipping your guests into a thrilling, sparkly frenzy, you’ll be supporting local artists who proudly represent this re-emerging art form. I guarantee your guests will have more fun watching a tongue-in-cheek tease than participating in another magician’s slight-of-hand illusion. Burlesque performances are a sexy, sultry, captivating way to entertain at your next event!

Check out home-town burlesque perfomers' pages on Facebook, or catch a local show and see for yourself!

(photo by Chris Blakeley of Belle Cozette)

Links

We're dedicating a page to those links we like to swap with others in the biz in order to include their graphics or banners!

Emerald Events - Affordable wedding planning at its best, servicing NY and NJ, specializing in 'Day of Wedding' coordination. Your wedding wishes and desires are the most important factors and we strive to make them a reality!

Precious Cargo Tours and Event Planning

www.foryoureventplanning.com
For Your Event Planning serving NJ and NYC is a full time, Event Planning, Design and Consulting boutique specializing in all types of social, special events, weddings and more.
Founded and operated by Catherine Scerbo, the entire team is committed to unsurpassed customer service, attention to detail and through this process we bring a fresh, contemporary approach to planning events. We are young, innovative, creative, imaginative, classy, fun, modern, chic, unique, happy and sweet and are waiting to assist you on your next event.

The Real Deal

As and event planner, I’ve been on my fair share of site visits. As informational and practical as these visits may be, I am always cautious of getting the “best foot forward” treatment when visiting a venue. Any vendor is happy to put a little more effort in presenting itself when an even professional shows up, but that doesn’t mean they offer the red carpet service to everyone. I’ve had vendors wine and dine me in selling their venue, I’ve seen the venue in recently cleaned ship-shape, and I’ve been escorted in on the VIP list and given the best seat in the house. “So there’s a problem with that?” you ask skeptically. When the time comes to host your event, your guests may not see the recently polished balustrades, they may not be sitting in the best seat in the house, they may actually be sitting in the WORST seat. My advice to you (so that you don’t get duped into thinking your venue is Buckingham Palace, when it’s really just Pizza Palace) is as follows:

Go it alone first:
Show up early, before your appointment, as any old guest. This works for venues such as night clubs, restaurants, and other spots that keep regular business hours. You can see what the place looks like when it’s catering to its bread and butter crowd, and get a feel for what you’ll really be in for. Without the salesperson escorting you around, you can look for yourself, and not accidentally miss the fact the bathrooms are out a door and down a hallway, shared with ten other businesses, or the fact that the east end of the room reeks of stale alcohol like a frat house.

Ask to see the place empty:
In the case of nightclubs, bars, and most swanky spots, it will always serve you well to request to see the place as Mother Nature intended, in broad daylight, with no thumping music and ambient lighting that improves even the most egregious beer stains on the walls. It is NEVER pretty to see a nighttime spot in the daytime. However, taking this in to consideration, you will notice some flaws that shouldn’t be forgiven just because the lights turn down low in the evenings. Look for torn upholstery, graffiti, and broken furniture or fixtures. Although they may seem to disappear in the dark, a guest who sits down on a couch with a multiple cigarette burns in it will notice.

Stake out:
Without going all “James Bond”, take a peek at your venue in action. Hotels, outdoor venues, and banquet halls are excellent examples of places you could see in action without being a creepy voyeur hiding behind the drapes. Most outdoor venues are public places, so take a stroll on an evening or afternoon that you know a shindig is going on. As far as hotels or banquet halls, most venue representatives would be happy to give you a peek into an event being set up or taken down, so you can see how the room can be transformed. Its hard to imagine a fabulous soiree on a blank slate, and if you can see what the venue pulls together, you’ll have a better idea of whether your expectations will be met.