Designer Reusable Bags: A Great Event Give-Away

Envirosax is creating the next generation in 'stylish' reusable bags. I am seeing these all over the city. They make a great inexpensive gift and with so many styles or patterns, one that is perfect for your personality for less than $10 bucks! Lightweight polyester, waterproof and super portable.

Custom bags can be created with your brand or company logo and make the perfect event give away. Visit Envirosax to learn more.

How to open Champagne!

No other drink seems better suited to a celebration than champagne, but when those special moments arrive, you will want to make sure that the champagne is chilled to just the right temperature and, when the bottle is opened, that there's no overflow.

Cut the foil and remove. Wrap a towel around the bottle; this will help to keep the cork from flying away and to catch any champagne that might spill. Hold the neck of the bottle while securing the top of the cork with your thumb. Twist off the cage; it takes about six turns to undo it. Remove the wire cage while you are still holding the cork. Hold the bottle at a 45-degree angle. Hold the cork with one hand and the bottom of the bottle with the other; turn the bottle-not the cork-slowly and carefully.Release the cork gently, and pour the champagne.

The Chocolate Show

Erin Halley Events & Productions has been selected as the Production Agency for the 2009 Chocolate Show to be held October 30th – November 1st. The Chocolate Show is the largest US event dedicated to Chocolate Lovers. It is the Chocolate Mecca where families, consumers, media, and trade converge to celebrate chocolate. Read more about the Chocolate Show at www.chocolateshow.com or contact us for additional information.

Catering with... integrity, personal respect, and honest bang for the buck

Your guests interact again and again with your catering team during your event, no matter the event format or length, so choosing the right catering team is essential. Food that meets your guests tastes. Courses with impeccable style and surprising presentation. Service by a team that understands and appreciates good service themselves.

Meet Indiana Market & Catering. They state quite simply, we love what we do and we do it well.

Wondering what a corn-belt state like Indiana has to do with sophisticated parties, masterly cuisine, and meticulous service? It all begins with values they hold dear and instinctively associate with the American heartland: integrity, personal respect, and honest bang for the buck.

And for that we send our kudos (and our love) to Indiana!

City Winery - Bringing the vineyard to SoHo

In January, a former printing house in SoHo was transformed into a two floor winery, complete with its own custom grape crushing facility - straight out of I Love Lucy. From the same group that created the Knitting Factory, City Winery is more than just a winery. The winery hosts live music, wine classes, private dinners and 21,000 square feet of space are ideal to host your next private party.

TOP 10 Cost Cutting Wedding Tips

Managing your wedding budget is the first big hurdle you are going to encounter on your road to marriage. Take time to make a budget as a couple and work together to make a list of what is important deciding where you should spend money and where you can skimp! We have listed a few helpful cost cutting tips below to stretch those dollars…

1. Avoid Sugar Flowers on your Wedding Cake – as beautiful as these elaborate cakes look with cascading sugar flowers. Request an all white cake from your baker, and have your florist decorate the cake with fresh blooms. Your cake need not be overly extravagant to still be beautiful.

2. Set Up a Wedding Website – all your wedding information including local hotels, directions, and registry can add up when you try to include these details in your printed invitations. Both theknot.com and weddingchannel.com offer simple tools to help establish a personalized wedding website for free. Its saves you on printing extra cards to include within your wedding invitation and is better for the environment.

3. Choose a Full Service Wedding Location. Its about 30% less to host your wedding at a full service location that already has tables, chairs, linens, plenty of bathrooms and a kitchen. Hosting events in non-traditional locations such as galleries, raw loft spaces or private homes are often much more costly.

4. Avoid a Champagne Toast – So much champagne often goes to waste when you do the traditional toast for the bride and the groom. Guests will take a sip of champagne and never pickup the glass again. Save the good champagne for those that request it at the bar, and let your guests toast you with their own drink or with the wine you are serving at dinner.

5. Save on Save The Dates – Save-The-Dates are usually sent 6 to 9 months prior to the weddings, and even further out if it’s a destination event. If timing works out, Kill two birds with one stone, and mail out your save the date information within your holiday cards.

6. Enlist Music Students for the Cocktail Hour – you will pay half the price for the background music and still have the elegance of live musicians.

7. Play with Color – Hotels and Rental companies can get white linens for the same cost as they can get colored linens. The same is true for the standard reception chairs, they come in all sorts of colors! All you have to do is ask. Play with the colors and make the most of your budget by using color in a smart way!

8. Non-Floral Centerpieces – Candles will stretch your budget and add a romantic glow to your reception. Or use organic items such as branches, seasonal fruits or nuts in unique ceramic containers to create your own centerpieces.

9. Ornate Fabrics – you can find great deals in the garment districts for fabrics. Use these fabrics to jazz up traditional cotton linens. Create your own runners or table toppers, its very minimal sewing and is an easy way to involve or enlist your female relatives for help.

10. Family Style Food Service – you don’t need to have a traditional four or five course meal. Large plates of food, saves not only costs but also encourages good interaction between your guests and creates and at home ambiance.

Become your best!

Here are few tips to keep a positive attitude during this turbulent economic time:

1. Show up! Leave an impression on people. People have to remember you because you are really involved in project and you stay engaged.
2. Don't undercut colleagues. Stay focus on your strengths instead of your colleagues' weaknesses.
3. Adjust your positioning to stay in the race. Event and communication are the first line-item cut, you have to demonstrate to your client that your understand the challenges.
4. Be professional and keep straight values. Quality and reliability are really important values to keep our clients.
   

Awe - Inspiring Spots to tie the knot!!

The Hearst Castle is a dreamy destination for the romantic bride and located between San Francisco and Los Angeles. If the Mediterranean gardens, enormous terraces and swimming pools are not enough, the 360 degree views will knock your socks off. This property is enchanting and only for the those seeking romance.

Ariau Amazon Towers Hotel is a little paradise in Brazil. This hotel is set among the canopy level of the rain forest - literally among the treetops. Just outside of Manuas, you must arrive on property via boat or helicopter - however the two helicopters landing pads allow for a speedy arrival with no lines. With an amazing event space image this will start your marriage off on the right adventure!

MBWENI Ruins Hotel in Tanzania near the Zanzibar Mbweni Ruins is a destination your guests have never seen before. With only 13 luxury suites on the entire property, its possible to have this entire place to a few who are nearest and dearest. Play in the ruins with a bushbaby, lay on the beach or get pampered in the spa. Your guests have a long list of options. Take your guests off the beaten path.

Alice in Wonderland

“There is no use trying,” said Alice. “One can’t believe impossible things.” “I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” - Lewis Carroll

It Report: The Color of Optimism

A copy of our quote in the Winter edition of the It Report, Event Solutions Magazine

This spring, let the fashion world help you infuse your events with optimism. Designers are pairing lively, hopeful colors with sophisticated, grounded hues to address the need for stability in times of economic uncertainty, according to Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. The organization recently released the Pantone Fashion Color Report Spring 2009. Fresh from the runway, here are the hot colors and color combos for spring ’09:

"Who ever said pink was the new black is right. I personally cant get enough pink. I think we will still see several versions of pink appear again in 2009. It works as a great accent color so many ways, as a pillow, a hot pink chair against a plain linen and certainly shades pink light." says Erin Halley of New York-based Erin Halley Events & Productions LLC.

Ru Yoga - a new company we love!

Ru Yoga is a spin off from a design firm that I have worked with not only on my personal and business materials, but also with some of my clients! They build beautiful logos and create a true unique brand or identitiy. I encouge you to visit thier new branding-made-easy site designed with the healthcare or yoga professional in mind. Simply beautiful!

Wine Crystals

Why put a bottle of wine in an ugle wine bag you found at the check out counter of your local licquor store? Everyone knows what is inside. Instead of hiding the bottle, dress it with a little crystal and plenty of ribbons. When I saw this little crystal, I thought that could be a really elegant accessory for a bottle of wine. You could any trinket like a christmas ornament or even candies, and then tie it up. The more ribbons the better. Its a small touch to add to a bottle of wine that gives it that extra presentable ‘umph and originality.

Fun uses for Vinegar

I recently figured out this random use for vinegar after a party I had at my place over thanksgiving. Vinegar removes odors. Literally place a few small bowls around your house the day after and all the smoky smells are soaked up. I never had an appreciation for this liquid until now, and of course that prompted a solid hour of internet research to feed my curousity. There are dozens of uses for vinegar. Its a fabric softer, gum remover, removes mineral deposits from inside a coffee maker and can be a substitue for windex. Should you be just as curious, check out this article 62 uses for vinegar. Thats just neat.

Pumpkin Vodka

For Christmas, we drink the traditional eggnog.
But what can we drink for Thanksgiving? Why not create your own spiced pumpkin vodka?
To prepare,
- 1 1/2 cups (750 ml) Stolichnaya cinnamon vodka
- 3/4 cup (175 ml) Stolichnaya vanilla vodka
- 3/4 cup (175 ml) Stolichnaya vodka
- 2 whole vanilla beans
- 2 cups raw pumpkin meat, cut into 1/4-inch slices

Combine the three vodkas in bottle or other glass container. Add pumpkin meat and vanilla beans and let sit for several days if possible to soak up as much flavor as possible. Strain the sediments out of the vodka and create the martini or mixed drink of your choice. Add a toasted pumpkin seeds or some of the vodka-soaked pumpkin as garnish.

Entertain Your Guests with Surprise

For those hostesses that are tired of the average, add some spice to the standard three piece jazz trio. Speak with your talent agent about the possibility of hiring a versatile musician that can switch between instruments to give you more diversity in your musical selection. OR add a live piece to accompany your DJ, a drummer or saxophonist.

I want to showcase this example, only because I love it. I have never have the luxury of working with Johan and it would take a really special party to integrate this musician into mix However I cant wait for that opportunity: Johan Sax Player

Dont under estimate the power of wine

I had the luxury of spending Friday evening with old friends and several new friends at a new Italian restaurant close to my apartment in New York. The meal was very causal several shared plates that were passed around the table with accompanying homemade bread. Everything was casual except for the wine. The wine was treated with the utmost care and respect, the bottle was presented and then transferred to a decantar. It always poured into our oversized Riedel glasses by the sommelier and seemed to touch my lips at the perfect moment in time. I have had the luxury of visiting several wineries and I have never seen more attention to the presentation of the wine at such a simple event. After the experience of last night, I have a new appreciation of the power that this can do for a small dinner party. Food or no food, its really about the wine. If a decantar takes things a bit too far for your taste, just try to throw out those AP glasses you got from the Olive Garden and invest in true oversized hand blown stemware. Baby steps my friends, you know who you are!

WOW, 360 Brandvision

360Brandvision™ introduces viZoo™ technology. This form of advertisement used for special events is going to grab the attention of your guests and consumers at lighting speed!

viZoo™ Inc. has invented the world’s first three-dimensional video display systems. We are not talking about ordinary 3-D video, but free floating video images up to 100 ft X 100 ft X 100 ft that can be seen by the naked eye. Just visit: This technology blurs the lines of reality, its cutting-edge, and just plan fun! These systems are available for purchase or lease and are perfect for special events, permanent displays, product launches, Point Of Sale campaigns, trade shows, exhibitions, this will get noticed!

Absorbent Ink

We have discovered a website that can promote your company or logo on custom to go coffee cups! Absorbent, Ink. is a promotional products company created to help you customize promotional items and make everything that goes into your event unique. They have thousands of products to choose from and priced very reasonable.

This website is every bride and grooms dream. You can personalize anything from plastic cups to napkins or breath mints to lip balm. One of our favorite products they offer are the customized to-go coffee cups. This is such an inventive idea. You can use them for a wedding brunch or filled with coffee or tea as guests leave your event after a long evening of dancing. Either way, they add a hint of happiness!

There are those who do it, and those who watch it done...

I came across this quote online and have to admit I feel in love with the words. Its something that just makes me want to get up and go to work in the morning. There is nothing better than really loving what you do each and every day... sometimes its good, sometimes its bad, but at the end of the day its your responsibility to make that happen.

'Responsibility is not a burden. It is the key that enables you to exercise control over your own destiny. Only by taking responsibility are you able to move life in the direction of your own dreams and visions. Responsibility fully engages the best of who you are.

Responsibility can be difficult, time-consuming, unfair, inconvenient and uncomfortable. Yet it also brings you to a level of empowerment that cannot be reached in any other way. At the heart of true achievement is responsibility.

No matter what has happened, or who is to blame, or how it all came to be, choose to take full responsibility for your life. For that is the first step in making it great.'