Seersucker Events

cheesecake

2012-09-30T19:15:00.005-04:00

My favorite new twist to the conventional tiered wedding cake, is the cheesecake - wheels of cheese stacked and dressed to resemble a wedding cake. You can dress the wheels up with a cake topper, flowers, fruits that complement their flavors, or even dried herbs. It's the perfect way for a couple with savory palettes to have a dramatic foodie display at their wedding. And it gives the guests with corny senses of humor (pointing to myself) the chance to make jokes about the couple "cutting the cheese."

I love this idea for smaller events as well, whether it be a bridal shower, a birthday party or a wine tasting. You can bet your bottom dollar I'll be impressing guests with this cheesy, but brilliant display idea.

Photo Credit: Dominique Bader

Source unknown

Source: Milli's Kitchen

Source: Southern Living

Photo credit: David Macvicar

Source: Wedding Bells

halloween

2012-09-17T14:18:00.001-04:00

Every year I plan my company's Halloween Party. In the month leading up to Halloween, my office is overtaken by mummies, skeletons, and pumpkins. It's my favorite event to plan each year because I get to be creative and have fun with the event.

Halloween decor overtaking my office.

On the Saturday before Halloween, our events team transforms a floor of conference rooms into Halloween mecca for 600 employees and their families to enjoy. There are face-painters, magicians, and balloon artists roaming the hallways. The cafeteria is full of Halloween treats. Each conference room holds a different activity - a haunted house led by the grim reaper, a karaoke booth where you can record your favorite Halloween song onto a CD, a pumpkin carving room...you name it, we've got it!

There are a few rules for the Halloween party since about 400 of the guests are children. For decor, we can't do anything too scary (no one wants throngs of crying toddlers). For the menu, nothing too intricate (after all, we have to feed SIX HUNDRED people) and nothing alcoholic (we don't need co-workers getting rowdy at Noon on a Saturday).

Each year while doing idea research for the company party, I come across ideas that are too scary, intricate or alcoholic for the company party. I store them away for when I am able to throw the Halloween party of my dreams. Now, my husband and I live in a one bedroom apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. We don't really have the square footage for the Halloween party of my dreams. I'm also usually too pooped from a day of wrangling 5 year-olds at the company party to host a party of my own.

Next year is different though. At the end of this year hubby and I are moving from NYC to my hometown of New Orleans. I will be so sad to leave behind the best event planning job I've ever had, but I'm excited to finally have a house big enough to throw a fabulous Halloween bash! The party isn't until October 2013, but as any good event planner will tell you: it's never too early to start planning! My head is already spinning. I have my trusty Excel budget prepared. I've started weeding through my stored pins and magazine clippings for some of my "musts" for the party. I thought I would share some of them with you in case you're planning a 2012 Halloween Party!

My first couple of "musts" are recipes that I found last year on Fashionably Bombed. Fashionably Bombed is a blog run by two sisters, who have perfected the stylish, creative cocktail. Every recipe of theirs that I've tried has been delicious, so I have total faith in serving the Reese's Peanut-tini and Candy Corn Martini at my Halloween Bash.

Reese's Peanut-tini

Photo and Recipe Credit: Fashionably Bombed.

Recipe makes one.

Ingredients

¼ cup peanut butter (with salt)
¼ cup milk
½ ounce vodka
1 ounce Crème de Cacao
Ice

Garnish
Chocolate wafer cookies
Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter cups

To a blender add peanut butter, milk, vodka and Crème de Cacao. Blend. Pour mixture into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake! Strain into a martini glass rimmed in chocolate cookie crumbs and garnish with a stack of peanut butter cups!

Candy Corn Martini

Photo Credit: Fashionably Bombed.

Ingredients

1½ ounces milk

1½ ounces cream

1 ounce Candy Corn Infused Vodka

½ ounce Honey Syrup

Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake, shake, shake!

How to make Honey Syrup:

Place 1/4 cup of honey and 1/4 cup of water in a small saucepan and stir until dissolved. Bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until syrup is slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

Instructions on making Candy Corn Infused Vodka here.

Photo Credit: Fashionably Bombed.

As far as decor goes, I love this entrance.

Credit: My Home Ideas

If you entertain a lot, candy jars are one of the best investments you can make. They are affordable and can be used in an assortment of ways. Here they are used as apothecary jars holding ingredients for spells.

Credit: My Home Ideas

Chalkboards are another affordable and simple way to add decor to a room. Tips for DIY chalkboards here.

Photo credit: unknown

I love the spooky forest backdrop behind this dessert table.

Credit: Libby Lane Press

DIY window decorations are a great way to add a big bang to your event for little bucks. If you have paneled windows like the one in the image below, you can split up a high resolution photo and print it in sections on your home computer. For larger prints, Staples sells what they call Engineer Prints. They range in size up to 3' x 4' and cost only $4.99!

Credit: Better Homes and Gardens

I came across these "broken windows" on Halloween Forum. To create this look just take contact paper and cut it apart to look like fractured glass. You can apply it to the inside or outside of the windows. What a simple and affordable way to make a sunny window look haunted and abandoned.

Credit: Halloween Forum

This is a fabulous way to keep party guests on the first floor.

Credit: Martha Stewart

Okay, time to stop daydreaming about next year's party! Best of luck to anyone hosting a party this year!

Elderflower cocktails with a NYC view

2012-04-13T16:39:00.002-04:00

I recently planned an event that was held at Robert Restaurant, which is located on the 9th floor of the Museum of Arts and Design. Not much had to be done to decorate the space because it is filled with such modern furniture and vibrant lighting (Oddly, the restaurant reminds me of Saved by the Bell - in a good way!). As fantastic as the dining room is, as soon as you check out the view of Columbus Circle and Central Park you are immediately hypnotized and forget everything else in the room! At the event, we pulled the tables away from the windows to give guests the chance to mingle and appreciate the view during the cocktail hour.

The food and company were great, but the only thing that could pull me away from the spectacular view was The Isabell, a delicious cocktail made with prosecco and elderflower liqueur. It was my first taste of elderflower and it certainly won't be my last. It tasted like summer. Elderflower cocktails are traditionally garnished with a lemon twist, but I prefer how The Isabell was garnished with a small flower.

Photo by The Ritz Carlton

Elderflower Cocktail Recipe: in a champagne flute add 1/2 oz. of Elderflower Liqueur and 6 oz. of Prosecco or Champagne. Garnish with an edible flower or a lemon spiral.

A non-alcoholic version can be found here.

Upon further research of elderflower, I found several recipes that I can't wait to try!

Elderflower Champagne Cocktail with Mint and Cucumber

Fill a tumbler with ice. Fill three-quarters of the glass with dry champagne or prosecco. Add thinly sliced cucumber and fresh mint. Top off with St-Germain elderflower liqueur.

Photo and Recipe by Liz Vidyarthi.

Elderflower Martini
1 measure of elderflower cordial with 1 measure of gin,1 measure of dry vermouth and a splash of lime juice and shake up in a cocktail shaker half filled with ice until very chilled. Serve in a chilled martini glass immediately.

Photo and Recipe courtesy of The Nest

Sage, Elderflower and Cucumber White Sangria
Ingredients:
- 3 oz Sauvignon Blanc
- 1 oz Vodka
- 1 oz Triple Sec
- Dash of Lime Juice
- Very light dash of Elderflower Cordial
- Dash of White Cranberry Juice
- Sprite (dash on top)
- Sage Leaf
- Cucumber (diced teaspoon)

Mix all the above ingredients in a glass over ice. Add a teaspoon of cucumber and a sage leaf for garnish with a bamboo cocktail stick. (Cocktail created by Brian McGrory, Public, 10 Elizabeth St, New York, 10012)

Additional recipes using elderflower liqueur can be found here.

brooklyn seersucker

2012-04-06T17:38:00.002-04:00

Another seersucker wedding! This time it's a Seersucker in Brooklyn. This one is an urbanized, Big Apple version of a seersucker wedding, photographed by Brooke Fitts of Brookelyn Photography. I love how Brooke stylishly captured all of the special touches that the couple, Ian and Hannah, incorporated into the wedding - from the seersucker yarmulkes to the hand-made floral centerpieces to the colorful dessert table with donut to-go boxes - making a memorable affair even more memorable!

west coast seersucker

2012-03-29T15:56:00.000-04:00

As you can tell by the title of my site, I love seersucker! It's such a fresh, romantic fabric that makes me want to sit on a porch swing and sip mint juleps out of a mason jar. Unfortunately, seersucker isn't the "go to" fabric choice for corporate events in Manhattan, so I don't get to use it as often as I'd like. I was completely enchanted by Sarah Maren's photographs from Meredith and Jeff's seersucker-inspired wedding in California, planned with style by Kate Miller Events. Don't these photos make you wish you were there?

Photo Credit: http://www.sarahmaren.com/

If these pictures have you craving a mint julep in a mason jar,

a recipe for the "perfect" mint julep can be found here.

Photo Credit

mad men manhattan

2012-03-18T20:35:00.003-04:00

It's been 17 months since Mad Men last aired and I cannot wait for the new season to premiere on March 25th! While I won't be dolled up in full sixties style while watching the show, I will get into the spirit by having a Manhattan in hand (recipe below).

Mad Men Manhattan

2 oz blended whiskey
1/2 oz sweet vermouth
1/2 oz dry vermouth
1 dash bitters

Swirl with ice to chill, pour into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a maraschino cherry.

For those feeling wanting to be more social, here are some great resources for Mad Men themed parties.

This invite from CDesignIllustration is a sleek and retro way to set the tone for the event.

And we all know that I love a good photo prop, these from Little Retreats and livelaughlovesots will help your guests get into character...especially after a few Manhattans.

the cinco de mayo party that would have been...

2012-03-17T20:15:00.005-04:00

This year Cinco de Mayo falls on a Saturday, which makes it the perfect year for me to finally host the Cinco de Mayo party I've been dreaming about! Unfortunately, I was assigned a conference to plan in New Jersey that weekend--ay caramba!

My party will have to wait, but I figured I would share with you the menu that would have been...

I'm a huge fan of having a signature cocktail. Not only do rows of cocktails look pretty on the buffet, but it gives me a chance to use all of the fancy platters that I've collected over the years. Pick a drink with broad appeal. I suggest the Margajito, a combination of two of my favorite drinks-the margarita and the mojito.

RECIPE

In a shaker:
4 Fresh Basil Leaves (shredded)
1/2 teaspoon of sugar or simple syrup

At this point, grind the sugar into the basil to release the flavors.
After about a minute of grinding, add some ice to the shaker.

Then add:
2 ounces of white rum
1 large lime
1 ounce Triple Sec (or to taste)

Shake vigorously until well chilled and serve.

A more traditional version with mint leaves instead of basil can be found here.

To add a bit of rowdiness to the party, I would have made
Strawberry Margarita Jello Shots in Strawberries (recipe here).

Other items that would have been on the menu?
Guacamole Bruschetta. Recipe here.

Muffin Tin Tacos. Recipe here.

A build your own burrito bar.

And Margarita Cupcakes. Recipe here.

I'm sure as I'm sitting in a conference room in New Jersey on May 5th, I'll be thinking about the party that would have been. I'll have to end the day with a Margajito in the hotel bar and brainstorm Cinco de Mayo brunch ideas. After all, it falls on a Sunday next year...

a wedding in new orleans

2012-03-17T14:31:00.000-04:00

On March 11th, Jeff and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary. It's surprising how quickly the year has passed. I've spent a lot of time reminiscing lately, so I thought I'd take another trip town memory lane...with a little help from my photographs by STUDIO TRAN.

My ladies and I got primped in a fabulous suite at The Roosevelt Hotel.

My something old/borrowed, was a no-brainer. I've adored my grandmother's Art Deco ring from the 1920's since I was a little girl, so it was the perfect right hand ring for the day. It took me forever to find earrings with the exact ratio of teal to rhinestones. I think I bought 10 pair before I settled on these. Of course, 3 months after the wedding I finally found the perfect pair!

The bridesmaids' bouquets were pink hydrangeas. My bouquet was made of orchids and pale pink hydrangeas.

The most stressful part of my day, hands down, was doing my own makeup. I went through 2 trials and wasn't happy with the results. Since I was planning the wedding out-of-state, I couldn't keep flying into New Orleans for makeup trials, so I wound up doing it myself. I definitely would not recommend this to brides. It's a day to be pampered, not stressed about how straight your eyeliner is!

My beautiful mama in her slate blue dress. After searching and searching for a dress and almost settling on a $600 dress, she found the perfect dress on the sales rack at Dillard's for only $135!

My lovely ladies! I love the combination of pink and gray. The bridesmaids wore Priscilla of Boston dresses in pewter.

I wore Melissa Sweet for Priscilla of Boston. One of my favorite wedding stories involved finding "the" dress, but that's a story for another blog.

Jeff and I were married at Holy Name of Jesus Church on St. Charles Avenue, next to my alma mater, Loyola University.

The programs were personalized with the Chisholm family crest and stories about the members of the bridal party.

The reception was held at the Audubon Tea Room. In traditional New Orleans fashion, we did not have a seated dinner in order to allow more time for dancing, drinking, and mingling!

I debated for a while about whether or not to carry over the gray/pink into the reception decor, but went with my heart and chose a pink/white/gold color palette. I felt that worked best with the space and gave the event a warm glow. I couldn't resist splurging on the gold chiavari chairs.

BEE'S FLORISTS did an amazing job with all of the wedding flowers.

We live in New York City, so we wanted the city where we met and fell in love to be represented. I designed this cake and Sweet Life Nola did a great job creating it. When it was time to cut the cake Empire State of Mind played.

The custom caricature of Jeff and me by one of my sister's friends became a signature stamp of the wedding. Here it was printed on our second-line napkins (a New Orleans tradition of dancing conga-line style to brass band music, waving handkerchiefs in the air, and the bride and groom pumping parasols to the music).

A wedding trend that I hope is here to stay is the photo booth! We had trunks of fun props placed next to the booth (turbans, glasses, clown noses, etc.). I was excited to find this standing photo frame reminiscent of a film strip from Pottery Barn. I pasted images of Jeff and me to our leftover invitations, which were the perfect size for the frame, and wrote a poem instructing guests what to do with the second half of their film strips.

The guest book table was romantic and white. I found a guest book for film strips, so after guests had fun in the photo booth, they taped a copy of their strips to our guest book.

Another appearance by my favorite caricature!

Me as Rainbow Brite in 1984.

This decoration was two for the price of one. I had a commemorative print of our wedding made the fit in with the reception colors and our bedroom colors (gray and yellow). Now this print hangs in our bedroom reminding us of the best day of our lives!

a private event in paris

2012-03-02T13:27:00.004-05:00

I've planned events in some of the most exclusive (and expensive) restaurants in Manhattan, but my favorite private dining space in the city is located in Benoit, Alain Ducasse's French brasserie. The Officine transports you from New York to Paris for an intimate bridal luncheon, baby shower, or birthday dinner.

Photo Credit: Benoit New York

always room for little blooms

2012-03-02T12:37:00.001-05:00

Something to do with the little blooms leftover after you've styled your main floral arrangements...

monetary monotone

2012-03-02T11:52:00.001-05:00

Need to make a big impression with a small budget? Stick with one color.
I suggest white.
A monotone color palette transforms sparse event decor from minimal to minimalist chic.

Have a big budget and a blank space? Monotone decor will allow you to allow you to add a lot of style and texture to the space without making it visually overwhelming.

favorable flowers

2012-03-02T11:28:00.001-05:00

Sometimes when planning an event you only have enough money in your budget for either impressive floral arrangements or an impressive favor. If that is the case for you, why not make two impressions for the price of one?

Planted flowers make remarkable favors and when placed at individual settings set the tone for an elegant event. I love the contrast between the beautiful bloom and the brown paper and the bone china with the burlap table covering.

spring on my mind

2012-03-02T11:17:00.001-05:00

It's a chilly 32 degrees in Manhattan today and as I zip up my marshmallow puffer coat and face the cold, I can't help but think of the beauty that awaits me right around the corner. After spending months drowning in a sea of grey, I am impatient for the first few blooms to emerge and for the trees to be covered in shades of green. I look forward to picnics in Central Park, sipping iced tea outside of Lincoln Center, and, most importantly, taking full advantage of the most precious event venue that New York City has to offer - rooftops!

Rooftops are an oasis for New Yorkers who crave fresh air, space, and the opportunity to stand back and admire their beautiful city. Rooftop catering venues are the mecca for event planners in Manhattan, who know that a rooftop event is sure to be a client-pleaser...granted you have a good rain plan.

620 Loft & Garden on the Top of the Rock is one of my favorites. The price tag is as steep as the steeples on St. Patrick's Cathedral, which the venue overlooks, but I think it's worth it for that amazing view.

Credit: 620 Loft & Garden at the Top of Rockefeller Center