EVENT planning
Recall the Sunflower bridal shower with the tiki bar that I spotlighted this summer, today’s interview is with the talented blogger who designed that event.
Jaime is a happy housewife hoping to become one day a domestic goddess. When I asked her to talk about herself Jaime told me that she was very blessed to have a husband who supports her love for weddings and blogging. So you could say her day job consists of blogging full time and planning weddings and events for friends and family. She can't get enough of it! I can rely to that.
Let's start with the interview about her blog and her tips for home parties.
At Home with Kim Vallee (AHWKV): When and how did you get into blogging?
Jaime: The wedding obsession started after I planned our own wedding back in 2003. After our wedding, I didn't want to stop planning; I enjoyed it too much! I think it might be because I've always loved being "artsy crafty", so our wedding just inspired me to use that love in a way to help others plan. Oh, how I do love it!
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ENTERTAINING
EVENT planning
posted @ Friday, November 14, 2008 1:37 AM | Feedback (0)
With Thanksgiving and the Holiday season coming soon, here are my advices on how to host a stress-free, stylish party.
We received 35 guests for my husband’s birthday party. As a bonus, I published my menu at the bottom of this post.
Nine Tips to Throw a Stress-Free Buffet Party At Home
- A buffet is easier to prepare and serve. Moreover, a party is more amusing when people can mingle across the room.
- If you do not hire servers, you need to plan right and be well equipped in serving ware to pull it off. Do not be shy to ask for the random help of supportive guests. I got lucky that my mother assigned herself to the dishes. At the end of the night, I did not have a lot of after-party dishes to do.
- Ask help with cleaning the buffet table between services. If you do not own a silent butler or a crumb collector, use a clean folded fabric napkin and brushes to remove the crumbs onto a plate.
- Be kind to Earth and try to avoid disposable tableware. You can buy affordable tableware at discounted stores. Store them in boxes, ready to use whenever you throw a big bash. Buying standard tableware is cheaper than a few rental rounds.
- Unless you wish to get the funeral home look, do not crowd the space with chairs. It is not a sit-down meal. Assume that many guests will eat standing up and in rotation. I usually selected main course dishes that do not require a knife; or only a minimal use of knife.
- Plan a menu that can be eaten standing up with a plate and a fork. If you hire a caterer, ask for delivery 2 to 4 hours before the event to give you plenty of time to set up everything.
- Serve wines or pre-made cocktails. I often serve a pitcher of vodka and cranberry. On the drink station, simply place in sight the bottles or cocktail pitchers, the glasses, the ice bucket, and a corkscrew. Let the guests serve themselves.
- Assume that people will gather in the kitchen and next to the buffet table. Leave room for people to move around. Plan your space and food and drink stations accordingly.
- Whenever happens, keep smiling. You and your guests are there to have fun. If you forget to serve something, do not worry about it. Let it go and continue with the rest.
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ENTERTAINING
EVENT planning
posted @ Sunday, October 26, 2008 1:01 AM | Feedback (1)
We wanted something special to greet our guests at my husband’s birthday party. We served cold sake shooters with a twist.
The anniversary cake theme was classic video games which most come from Japan. Serving sake at the start announced the end. We wanted something playful. That is when I remembered my Fred cool shooters ice mold.
I made in advance 40 ice shooters. I kept them in large freezer bags. We displayed them on ice after the first guest arrived. You have between 45 to 60 minutes before the ice shooters become unusable. It is best to keep half on the freezer, until you need them.
We served women the pink bottle sake while the men received a shot from the blue bottle. The girls enjoyed the creamy white Hakutsuru Sayuri Nigori Sake with its refreshing aroma, natural sweetness and smooth aftertaste. The guys tasted the flowery fragrant Hakutsuru Junmai Ginjo sake with silky, well-balanced smoothness.
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FOOD + drinks
ENTERTAINING
EVENT planning
posted @ Monday, October 20, 2008 4:28 PM | Feedback (1)
Friday night, we hosted a big bash at my house to celebrate the birthday of my wonderful husband. I will cover the party elements over a few posts.
I am starting this series with the drink station. We served a buffet style meal. We knew that our friends would prefer drinking wines. We also prepared a pitcher of vodka with cranberry juice.
How to Reproduce that Look?
I used my outdoor kitchen cart that I bought at IKEA a few years ago. It is ideal as a bar station because it has a stainless steel top. With condensation and drink spills, you need to protect the wood surfaces, if you used them. The bottom shelf is perfect to store backup party supplies or to keep nearby things that we will use later.
I made my own ice buckets using two wine boxes that I bought at the SAQ for $5 each. What a deal considering that the wood boxes are reusable. We placed a big cat litter plastic bag inside to protect against leakage and fill the boxes with ice cubes. Voilà!
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REAL-LIFE parties
ENTERTAINING
EVENT planning
posted @ Monday, October 20, 2008 3:49 PM | Feedback (0)
You can convert any space into a fun party space. All you need is a little bit of imagination. Take this bus for example. I am all for it because it is about repurposed and reused items.
A two-seat section was transformed into a swing using car safety belts. I saw that kids love the swing. The handrails are ideal for hanging tee-shirts. The decor is simple yet fun.
The Festival du nouveau cinema installed this old public transportation bus in front of the Ex-Centris complex. The Festival uses the bus from STM as a retail space and an information center.
Converting old bus makes sense for temporary installations. The inside can fit a good amount of people. You use the same shelf over and over. The exhibitor simply needs to customize the decor, as any event planner will do for any party or event room.
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TRAVEL
EVENT planning
posted @ Sunday, October 05, 2008 3:01 PM | Feedback (0)
I started using a Russell+Hazel organizer when I was an event designer. Storing everything I needed in a single binder works like a charm. Every page looks and feels great.
How I used Russell+Hazel Binder in the Past
The binder collection is extensive. You personalize by putting inside accessories and page types.
I filled my own binder with a few business card holder pages, five pockets to store loose paper, brochures and invoices, the punched and perforated note pages for easy sharing or filing, the sketch pages and the to-do-list pages.
Uniting the chic modern style of Russell+Hazel with the wisdom of wedding editor Anne Chertoff of From "I Will" to "I Do" produces a fantastic wedding organizer.
What Is Inside?
It will be easy to shop and meet suppliers if all your inspirations and wedding details are stored in a single book. After your wedding, the organizer makes a great memorabilia.
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ENTERTAINING
EVENT planning
posted @ Saturday, August 02, 2008 12:27 AM | Feedback (0)
Last weekend was the birthday of a friend. Cooking an elaborate dinner for 10 persons is very demanding on the host, unless you hire help. His girlfriend opted to hire a Chef for the night. A wise choice!
Food and Wine Pairing
No proper meal should be served without harmonizing food and wine.
The Chef can suggest a list of wines that you can buy. For the no-hassle entertaining experience, let the Chef bring the wine. This way, if the menu slightly changes due to produce availability, the Chef can adjust the wine selection.
Dinnerware and Cutlery Rentals
No dishwashing for you. The Chef and his aid clean up the kitchen before they leave. For that reason, the fees will vary whether you use your own dinnerware or if you rent the dinnerware. By renting the dinnerware, glassware and cutlery, the Chef team has less cleaning to do.
Another reason for renting your tableware is that you need plenty of dinnerware and flatware for a 6-course meal. You may not own enough dishes nor have the right plates / cups / bowls to serve properly the courses.
Categories:
MANNERS
ENTERTAINING
EVENT planning
posted @ Friday, June 13, 2008 3:01 PM | Feedback (3)
My story about Hank and Cheek gave me an idea. While I was working as an event designer, I designed funerals for sophisticated clients.
I wish to share some insights in making the funeral events more unique and memorable. We may not like to talk about it but the family is often at lost when it comes to organizing a funeral.
Contrary to the wedding industry, the funeral events typically lack style. The funeral industry has evolved but it is still not stylish and the choices are very limited. That is why families hired me.
I was responsible to design the funeral theme, source more sophisticated supplies and decorate the room. I was also supervising the event to make every details where handle property. You could say that I did the job of a wedding planner but for a funeral. Unlike a wedding, everything must be done in a matter of a few days. So it is best to learn the basics before you need to.
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ENTERTAINING
EVENT planning
posted @ Thursday, May 08, 2008 7:51 PM | Feedback (1)
The latest episode of HGTV's Designer Guys was just in time to close my Earth Day coverage. The Designer Guys were called to give shape to the Tastemakers Celebrity Gift Lounge at Toronto International Film Festival 2007. Reusable, reclaimed and recycled act as the foundation.
My favorite ecological foundation, the World Wildlife Fund-Canada was official charitable partner. They raise funds and provides information for their Save Our Climate campaign.
Located in a 1250 square foot banquet room at InterContinental Toronto Yorkville hotel, the room had a temporary facelift to fit the event. The facelift required the use of temporary solutions that would not damage the original surfaces.
Whenever you host a large event, a total superficial facelift is something you can envision doing if you have a huge budget. This way the banquet room does not dictate a look of your event. Naturally, you need to rent your space from a flexible space provider. The banquet room has to be booked for a longer period. For example, the chandeliers and the drapes were removed from the room for the green event. The hotel needs time before and after to execute it. You can imagine that the supplementary costs can add on pretty fast.
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ENTERTAINING
REVIEWS
EVENT planning
posted @ Monday, April 21, 2008 5:51 PM | Feedback (0)
If you like to throw parties, there is a good chance you are already familiar with evite. I visited the sites several times before but I never really took the time to explore it in details.
Over the years, I developed my own set of party planning tools. With the Web 2.0, I am intrigued to see what is out there. In the following months, I will examine other online event-planning service on the Web so you will be able to select the right one for you.
I started this column with an old timer. evite is far from a Web2.0 site but it does the job. I tested drive evite to see how deep it goes in the planning stage. In theory, evite can save you time.
What in it for you?
First of all, this is a free online event-planning service on the Web. Basically, evite provides online invitations, eCards plus a series of party-planning tools and tips.
Categories:
ENTERTAINING
EVENT planning
posted @ Thursday, August 16, 2007 12:23 AM | Feedback (1)