Posted under The Secret Ingredient on February 1, 2012 by David
I’m constantly being asked what the difference is between a designer and a planner and whether or not you really need a planner. So I turned to Nick Yarmac, our very own in-house Event Manager, for an impromptu chat, which you’ll find below, on the ins and outs of event planning. Nick was named this year’s BizBash.com Social Event Planner of the Year, is an expert in all things regarding logistics and protocol, and has some pretty great stuff to say about this crazy business of ours.
db: I always say the difference between a designer and a planner is that the former is concerned with the visceral – what guests see, feel, touch and smell – while the latter is always aware of logistics – How Aunt Ruth is getting to the event, where she’s sitting, whether or not she’s having a good time, and how she gets home. Would you say that’s about right?
NY: Hmm. While I totally agree that it is a planner’s job to make sure Aunt Ruth gets to her seat on time (and gets her gluten-free meal), we also need to consider each guests’ sensory experience to ensure that the designer’s vision fits with the requirements of the venue, band, photographer, make-up artist, cake baker, caterer, videographer, valet manager, and stationer AND the client’s expectations of the day. The planner is essentially the “editor” who ensures that everyone’s contribution is cohesive to the big picture – and to the “story” that we’re telling with the event.
db: True, true. You are very detail oriented within the scope of an event’s “bigger picture”. I think one of the most important jobs a planner can take on is advocating for the client when it comes to the budgetary bottom line. How hard of a job is that?
NY: Working within a client’s budget and helping them decide which investments will bring them the most joy is one of the more satisfying and challenging roles I play. Having planned (and paid for) my own wedding this past summer, I understand the financial investment of an event – which, most often, is significant. A planner’s role is to guide clients toward a medium between creative decisions that they can feel good about, while maintaining the bottom line they’ve set from the beginning, know what I mean?
db: I do know – and agree. You quite often have to step in and help balance everyone’s expectations. People come in here with a dream and it’s our job to realize that. I dream up and produce the fantasy, but if they can’t comfortably realize the fantasy financially, you have to step in and bring them back to reality (or bring ME back to the reality of the bottom line).
NY: Well. Yes and No. As the voice of the budget, I sometimes need to point out that for the cost of that one fantasy piece, several smaller elements can be implemented. Take for instance a grand floral display in a walkway between two rooms at a venue – if we are looking for ways to re-evaluate our décor budget I will weigh its cost against its impact in the room (will guests know it was put there by our hosts or is it always there?), the amount of time it will be in view of the guests (in this case, they’ll just be walking by it), and how it fits into the overall design vision (it will certainly be gorgeous, but does it tie the two rooms together?). I often think to myself “Who will miss this if it’s not there?” – if it’s just going to be me and you, maybe we think about using those funds for pieces that will be better used – higher quality napkins, the pillar candle holders that will light up everyone’s face around the dining table, or the ice sculpture that the groom keeps talking about. It’s all about choices
I’m not unreasonable though – you’ve stomped your foot down on more than one occasion and I defended your vision (15’ golden palm trees, remember?) and we were able to reallocate funds from elsewhere to keep that design piece, but I’m the one who ultimately has to answer to the client every time I update the budget.
db: Heh, heh – I guess this is where I point out that Forbes Magazine just named Event Planner as the #6 most stressful job in the world, behind the likes of Military Soldier, Police and Firemen! So after that statement, I’ll ask THE question: “If I have a designer, do I NEED a planner?”
NY: We are very lucky to have clients who are able to host amazing events. It boggles my mind that someone would go through the stress of planning their own party when, for a relatively small piece of the overall investment they could have someone step in and take all the stress, details and minutia off their plate – someone who has the expertise to not only protect the sizable investment they made in that single event but also let them enjoy their event. Think about it: sure, you can change the oil in your car, but do you really want to? No. There are people out there who can do it better, quicker and cleaner that you can. Events are wonderful and amazing and among some of the best days of your life, but why not enjoy the intense journey of getting to your big day? A planner can help you do that.
db: I know that producing an event with a planner (whether you or any of the wonderful other professional planners we work with) always eases my mind and adds a layer of comfort to the whole process. Not to say that clients who choose to plan their events aren’t successful – they certainly can be for the seasoned event host. It’s just that the professionals do this every week and weekend, so in this case, certainly, experience counts and pays off in the long run.
NY: Exactly. Weddings (or most other events) are highly emotional for every host. Why would you want the added stress of wondering whether the valet has arrived while you’re trying to get your makeup done? Taking on all those responsibilities for my clients is what I do. It is what I know how to do. So at the end of the big day, when I stand back and watch a client totally let down and dance with their friends and family, I’m recharged to do it all over again for the next time.
db: Right? It makes it all worth it. Thanks, Nick!
The Secret Ingredient: Experience counts. Let the professionals do their job.
Posted under Out & About on January 25, 2012 by Lisette
I met Sarah Jenks about a year ago at a business luncheon and was taken by her positive energy and enthusiasm for her work. Sarah’s company, The Breathtaking Bride, helps women lose weight by changing their emotional relationships with food, their bodies and their love lives. I recently reached out to Sarah to get some more information for our readers. Here are the highlights of my interview with her, on the subjects of her recent wedding and the launch of her very exciting new program, The Breathtaking Bride Booty Camp, among other things (like a great way to ditch that cookie craving). Hope you enjoy!
Lisette Lucas: Can you give us a breakdown of what the Breathtaking Bride is? How did the idea come about?
Sarah Jenks: I had been working with women around emotional eating and weight loss for a few years, but when I woke up the morning after I got engaged, over two years ago, I realized that the only weight loss programs out there for brides focused on crash diets, boot camp and personal training. I wanted to create a 360 lifestyle program for brides so that weight loss was fun, relaxing and permanent.
LL: Your services are sort of an “anti-diet” diet. Can you explain that further?
SJ: Most women believe that if they can muster up enough willpower that they can be successful on a diet, lose weight and all their problems and insecurities will go away. But once they’re done with the diet (if they actually complete it) then they gain all the weight back because the original cause of their over-eating is still there.
I work with women to discover what causes them to over eat or hold onto weight. Maybe it’s a lack of pleasure, fun or excitement. Or maybe they have high levels of anxiety, fear or loneliness. Until you do the work to make your life just frickin’ amazing, then no diet will ever be successful. Not only is working on your career, relationship, friendships and self-love getting to the heart of what really matters, but when you no longer need food to make you happy, then the weight falls off effortlessly.
I just launched an amazing program that boils down all of my best strategies into a 10-week program. It’s called the Breathtaking Bride Booty Camp, which teaches brides how to party their way into their wedding dress! It’s going to be a total blast: http://www.breathtakingbridebootycamp.com/.
LL: Can you give us some advice? When a Bride is feeling the stress and decides to go for that cookie, what can help her ditch the cookie and get out of that funk?
SJ: I get a back massage. A little self-love goes a long way. I either go to the nail salon or get a quick 15 minute massage or I have my husband or friend step in. If you still want the cookie, eat it! But put it on a plate, sit down, turn off the TV, your cell phone, close the book and really enjoy that cookie. And just let yourself have it, it’s not going to kill you.
LL: I know Bride’s go to you to learn but I’m sure with each experience you come away learning from them too. What’s the most surprising or unique thing you’ve learned so far?
SJ: Great question! I learn from my brides all the time. One of my first clients realized that where she was eating was really important for enjoying her food, so she ate in her bed a lot! It made her feel like she was being brought breakfast in bed every morning—such a luxury. So now I eat in my bed all the time, and in my new apartment I put a plush couch by our kitchen table so I can always sit on a beautiful couch and eat.
LL: Do you work exclusively with Brides?
SJ: Absolutely not! I’ve got tons of single ladies looking to call in the man of their dreams and married women who DID crash diet for their wedding and gained all the weight back, they want to do it right this time.
LL: I read on your blog that you recently got married. Congratulations! What advice can you give to our future Bride readers that you wish you would have known?
SJ: Thank you so much! HIRE A PLANNER! It was the best decision I ever made. Both my Mom and I are super organized, but we were so happy to have someone who knew the business and could be totally on call on the day. It helped us relax, be present and have fun.
For more information on Sarah and her company, please visit breathtakingbridebootycamp.com and thebreathtakingbride.com.
Posted under Teuch's Musings on January 12, 2012 by Christina
Continuing my earlier diatribe on all things fabulous – this week I wanted to take a moment to speak about clothing. Yes, there have been spells when I have, myself, been a bit of a fashion car crash. There was that time in grammar school when I believed that oversized acid-washed overalls were super cute (but only when one shoulder strap hung down). And then there were four years during my musical theater training when I wanted to dress like a character from A Chorus Line: cue leotards, loose hippie skirts, ripped tights and ballet-wrap sweaters. Oh what a vision I was – but I was FAR from fabulous.
While my sense of style has certainly evolved from younger days, and my day to day uniform has finally shifted away from legwarmers, I learned an important style lesson this year: sometimes fabulous cannot be purchased at your local department store (no matter how high-end it is). The problem was complex: more frequently I was being invited to black-tie affairs as the date of one Mr. David Beahm and I had to hold my own next to this dashing man. While I had many a cocktail dress that I was able to dress up with a set of huge pearls from Mikimoto – those pearls a black-tie dress did not make. I searched high and low in every store for a formal gown that could fit and flatter this body of mine. No dice. More often than not I was spilling out of every gown I gave a whirl or was swimming in a dress that was clearly made for one of those 5’10” sidewalk stunners, clumsily kicking fabric out from under my feet.
I was ready to give up until I met the wonderful owner of The Stylish Bride: Ms. Julie Sabatino. Julie is a stylist to some of the most elegant brides that walk down the aisle – New York and the world round. This woman looked like me; dressed how I dreamed I could; and she totally “got it”. While complaining about my black-tie troubles she said, “Well, my dear, I do believe it’s time you had a dress made – and I know just the men to do it!”
The next week Julie was holding my sweaty palm as we made our way up the elevator in a fashion district building and into the marshmallow-hued office of the brothers Nato, the owners of Fancy NYC. It was like I died and went to fashion heaven – as I wandered around the intimate studio I kept wondering when the cast of Mad Men was going to pop out from amongst the vintage-inspired designs. Except there were no moth-eaten holes and brittle fabric that you find on dresses in vintage shops – everything here was brand new and gorgeous! Ivory kid leather gloves, glittering paste jewels, and bird-cage veils filled glistening glass cabinets. Satin-faced silk organza fluttered all around me. And then I met my boys: Gregory and Stephen – two dashing Italians from New York who, as children, spent their winters playing in their mother’s McCall’s patterns instead of the snow. It was a match made in mid-century heaven.
So what does this all have to do with weddings? It’s simple. While I wasn’t in the market for a bridal gown, the act of being measured; having fabrics thrown across me; and generally fawned-over is something every woman deserves. The process that transpired over the coming months was one that was both enthralling and gratifying. My dress started to become an extension of my personality and my history (as your wedding gown should become an extension of you). The boys added a delicious horsehair crinoline that made my waist look deceptively wasp thin (and spoke to my flirtatious personality). And in a stroke of genius that brought tears to my eyes, Stephen and Gregory incorporated French cuffs on the sleeves so that I could wear my late father’s tuxedo cufflinks with the gown. Every time I’d go in for a fitting and slip in the white muslin croquis, my excitement grew and I felt a little more beautiful.
Finally the day arrived where my beautiful sapphire gown emerged like an indigo butterfly from the chrysalis of its white garment bag – and I was about to make my own transformation into a black-tie beauty. I completed the look with a pair of Kate Spade shoes, my mother’s beaded vintage clutch and a diamante necklace and the make-over was complete. I think you’ll agree – end product is to-die-for.
Photo by Joanna Wilson Photography
