I like to think of myself as fairly party savvy. I've done some great classic events, and also some unique and modern ones. Clients and guests often tell me that they never would have thought of something I designed or created for their party, and thank me for thinking outside of the box. I appreciate and try to learn from each piece of feedback I receive, but it turns out the joke's on me because never, not once, did I think to recommend to a client that s/he have (drum roll) ... a Machine Gun Tour and Test party. I feel like I'm saying this a lot lately but: yes, you heard me.
I heard from a gentleman this week who owns a company that teaches military and law enforcement units how to safely use the weapons they're assigned, and sometimes does similar exhibitions for members of the public. He was looking for an event planner to help him put together a big marketing event, and also wanted to let businesses like mine know that we can offer these tours as an option to clients for their parties. So if paintballing or lasertag or renting out the movie theatre to watch "Robocop" just don't satisfy your adrenaline, I'm here to tell you that now you can take 40 of your closest friends and learn to shoot machine guns instead.
I know I sound a little tongue-in-cheek here, and that's mostly because I'm still kind of in shock, but the more I'm thinking about this the more I think it might work (under totally safe, controlled, and conscientious circumstances). This business owner doesn't allow his clients to drink alcohol before taking the tour, he does a full safety demonstration on each weapon, and every test is heavily supervised. Can you imagine a more dead on (no pun intended) bachelor party? I'm not saying I'm ready to advertise this as one of my services quite yet ("Weddings, baby showers, anniversary parties, and gun shows!"), but at the very least I see the lesson here: even when you think you know it all, there's always something new to learn.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Home Sweet Home
There are few things that make you more grownup than buying your own home: it costs a lot of money (which one usually has to be a grownup to have), takes a lot of patience and dedication (VERY grownup traits), and you can't call your dad anymore to come fix the plumbing (unless you're very lucky like me and your dad lives a mile and a half away). When one really has their grownup life together like Anne, one of my best friends, one buys a condo in Brooklyn and asks lots of cool people to come over and break it in. If that awesome person also happens to have a best friend who is an event planner, one flies that person (that's ME, if you're getting confused by my lack of pronouns) out to visit for a fun-filled weekend and help make sure the party is a success. Since I'm an event planner and Anne gets paid to organize things for a living, you will not be surprised to hear that the party WAS, in fact, a success. So rather than tell you about how to throw a good cocktail party in general, I'm going to list a few specific tips that made this party great and can be applied to any type of party you have.
TIP: If you are making (or opening bags of) the food for the party yourself, you'll save yourself a big headache if you organize your shopping list by grocery store departments (dairy, grocery, produce, bakery, etc.) rather than by the recipes (ie., spinach dip, quiche, chocolate cake). This way you can make a controlled circuit in the store rather than running back and forth, and you should be able to pick up everything you need each time you stop. Additional TIP: If you're in a big or unfamiliar store, make friends with someone who works there, because s/he will be able to take you right to what you need. If you're lucky enough to be shopping in the Brooklyn Fairway, make sure that person is the incomparable Yvonne. Amazing.
TIP: When you're planning your party menu, add the total time each recipe takes to figure out how far in advance you need to start preparing the food, and then add a little more. There is no such thing as having too much time, but there is such a thing as not having anything ready for your first guests to eat.
TIP: If there is a red wine spill, and there almost certainly will be, pour white wine on it. You heard me. I can't even pretend to understand what the chemistry is behind this genius trick, but it works. I have had it take red wine out of wedding gowns (and therefore save a panicked bride from committing an act that might require her new husband to post her bail), although it did not work 100% on Anne's new beautiful blue wool carpet. Anne swears by salt for the same purpose, but I haven't tried it so I can't vouch for the efficacy of this one. Additional TIP: If you are the person who spilled the wine, apologize immediately, help with the cleanup, and offer to pay for cleaning or replacement of the item you spilled on (all of which this classy spiller did).
Okay, I lied: here come two generic tips. TIP: Be flexible. A party (and the prep) is never going to go 100% the way you want it to, so be willing to change your plan a little bit if necessary. For example, Anne planned her menu weeks in advance, but on the day of the party we ended up having to handle a bunch of other stuff that cut our prep time short and meant we couldn't make all the food she wanted. Although she was sad to do it, Anne took her sharpie to the menu and cut a few items, and just like that ... Poof! Enough time to prep everything else!
TIP: Remember to enjoy your party (the prep time tip helps with this too, since you'll be done well in advance). You're asking people to come celebrate with YOU, and if you're too busy running around and freaking out about making the party perfect, no one is going to get to do that. By all means be an attentive host: offer to refill drinks if you see that someone's is low, make a circuit by the food every so often to make sure there's enough, and toss plates and cups that you're sure aren't being used any more, but don't let these tasks keep you from having a good time.
Follow these tips and your party will be just as fabulous as Anne's. Party on, dudes!
TIP: If you are making (or opening bags of) the food for the party yourself, you'll save yourself a big headache if you organize your shopping list by grocery store departments (dairy, grocery, produce, bakery, etc.) rather than by the recipes (ie., spinach dip, quiche, chocolate cake). This way you can make a controlled circuit in the store rather than running back and forth, and you should be able to pick up everything you need each time you stop. Additional TIP: If you're in a big or unfamiliar store, make friends with someone who works there, because s/he will be able to take you right to what you need. If you're lucky enough to be shopping in the Brooklyn Fairway, make sure that person is the incomparable Yvonne. Amazing.
TIP: When you're planning your party menu, add the total time each recipe takes to figure out how far in advance you need to start preparing the food, and then add a little more. There is no such thing as having too much time, but there is such a thing as not having anything ready for your first guests to eat.
Okay, I lied: here come two generic tips. TIP: Be flexible. A party (and the prep) is never going to go 100% the way you want it to, so be willing to change your plan a little bit if necessary. For example, Anne planned her menu weeks in advance, but on the day of the party we ended up having to handle a bunch of other stuff that cut our prep time short and meant we couldn't make all the food she wanted. Although she was sad to do it, Anne took her sharpie to the menu and cut a few items, and just like that ... Poof! Enough time to prep everything else!
TIP: Remember to enjoy your party (the prep time tip helps with this too, since you'll be done well in advance). You're asking people to come celebrate with YOU, and if you're too busy running around and freaking out about making the party perfect, no one is going to get to do that. By all means be an attentive host: offer to refill drinks if you see that someone's is low, make a circuit by the food every so often to make sure there's enough, and toss plates and cups that you're sure aren't being used any more, but don't let these tasks keep you from having a good time.
Follow these tips and your party will be just as fabulous as Anne's. Party on, dudes!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Those three little words
I can't believe I actually have to write a post about this, but it has come to my (horrified) attention that there are still some people out there who don't behave in culturally- and civically-approved ways. People litter. People don't open doors for each other (regardless of gender). And apparently there are people who don't use the three most important words in any kind of relationship: please and thank you. I find this to be distinctly un-awesome.
Granted, I am an over-thanker. When I was a prosecutor, a judge once asked me to come into her chambers, whereupon she requested that I not say "thank you" when witnesses answered my question because it made it sound like I'd inappropriately coached them. Oops. So, okay, that's ONE situation where it is not appropriate to say thank you. ONE. If you can think of another one, please let me know and I will do something that duly expresses my chagrin, à la eating my hat.
So other than criminal witnesses, PLEASE remember to thank people. This is especially important when someone is offering you their time, service, or personalized product such as, for example, oh ... making your wedding cake. Yes, you are paying this person. Yes, you are the customer and the customer is (almost) always right. That doesn't mean you get to be rude. If you went to a spa and paid $65 for an hour massage, you'd thank your masseuse when it was over, right? You'd thank your waiter for bringing you your dinner, right (I hope)? Same goes for people in the event industry, especially in difficult economic times when they may be offering their services at a discount. Saying "thank you" takes less than a second of your time (and moving your mouth even maybe burns a calorie), and it goes a loooooooooong way towards making sure you maintain positive relationships with people you work with. They may even throw in a little something extra.
If you're really looking to go the extra mile (which I always recommend, except at the gym), write a thank you note. No one gets paper mail any more, and it's pretty exciting when you do and it's not a bill. (A special thanks to bride-to-be Lindsay who sent me a beautiful card after her bridal shower last weekend). It takes only a minute, and the fact that you spent that minute and the 44 cents on a stamp will really impress the recipient.
In closing, here's a TIP: Please, say thank you. Duh.
Granted, I am an over-thanker. When I was a prosecutor, a judge once asked me to come into her chambers, whereupon she requested that I not say "thank you" when witnesses answered my question because it made it sound like I'd inappropriately coached them. Oops. So, okay, that's ONE situation where it is not appropriate to say thank you. ONE. If you can think of another one, please let me know and I will do something that duly expresses my chagrin, à la eating my hat.
So other than criminal witnesses, PLEASE remember to thank people. This is especially important when someone is offering you their time, service, or personalized product such as, for example, oh ... making your wedding cake. Yes, you are paying this person. Yes, you are the customer and the customer is (almost) always right. That doesn't mean you get to be rude. If you went to a spa and paid $65 for an hour massage, you'd thank your masseuse when it was over, right? You'd thank your waiter for bringing you your dinner, right (I hope)? Same goes for people in the event industry, especially in difficult economic times when they may be offering their services at a discount. Saying "thank you" takes less than a second of your time (and moving your mouth even maybe burns a calorie), and it goes a loooooooooong way towards making sure you maintain positive relationships with people you work with. They may even throw in a little something extra.
If you're really looking to go the extra mile (which I always recommend, except at the gym), write a thank you note. No one gets paper mail any more, and it's pretty exciting when you do and it's not a bill. (A special thanks to bride-to-be Lindsay who sent me a beautiful card after her bridal shower last weekend). It takes only a minute, and the fact that you spent that minute and the 44 cents on a stamp will really impress the recipient.
In closing, here's a TIP: Please, say thank you. Duh.
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