6.22.2007
6.21.2007
New Website!
The long awaited updated of my website is now live! More features to come. Check back often! Thanks to be website designer, Teresa Brooks-Mirsky at NastyGirl Graphix.
Wedded to Green - Post Article
There was an article in today's Washington Post Home section on 'Green' weddings.
Click here to read more.
Some great ideas on how to be environmentally sensitive for your big day.
Click here to read more.
Some great ideas on how to be environmentally sensitive for your big day.
6.15.2007
Never Use Brooke Rentals!
Post-Event Addition - More Fuel to the Fire ...
When I had made the reservations, the guy said I could pay by credit card to the delivery guy. When the delivery was made (I was not present), they delivery people told the receptionist they only accepted checks. When I finally arrived, I looked at the delivery receipt and there was clearly a place on the form for credit card information. Hello?! Also, of the 7 tablecloths I rented, 3 of them were stained.
Boy am I pissed!
I'm doing a graduation party this Sunday and rented tables, chairs and tablecloths with Brooke Rental in Arlington. I decided to go with Brooke because the person that planned the party last year had ordered through them and they are a local business. Why not?
So I reserved everything through their website and called 48 hours in advance to confirm as I was required to do. So I called today and they said they don't deliver on Sundays! What?? So they have to deliver on Saturday. What?? Nowhere on their website nor on the order confirmation does it say that they do not delivery on Sundays. What kind of rental company doesn't deliver on Sunday? Saturday is very inconvenient and I would not be able to be there to receive and pay. I told the guy who answered the phone that perhaps they should put that information out there. He had nothing to say - like I was speaking Chinese. He said they have never delivered on Sundays. Well how is someone who has never used them before suppose to know that? Am I suppose to just know that?? I asked him what he could do to help me out. Could I pay extra to have the stuff delivered Friday or early Saturday at a specific time? No. He was extremely busy with all these parties. Fine. Every answer was NO. NO. No. no. OK - I realize that we were a small order but what kind of customer service is that. I threated to cancel my order and it didn't even bother him at all.
Fine. Don't piss off an event planner. I'm never using them again and neither should you.
When I had made the reservations, the guy said I could pay by credit card to the delivery guy. When the delivery was made (I was not present), they delivery people told the receptionist they only accepted checks. When I finally arrived, I looked at the delivery receipt and there was clearly a place on the form for credit card information. Hello?! Also, of the 7 tablecloths I rented, 3 of them were stained.
Boy am I pissed!
I'm doing a graduation party this Sunday and rented tables, chairs and tablecloths with Brooke Rental in Arlington. I decided to go with Brooke because the person that planned the party last year had ordered through them and they are a local business. Why not?
So I reserved everything through their website and called 48 hours in advance to confirm as I was required to do. So I called today and they said they don't deliver on Sundays! What?? So they have to deliver on Saturday. What?? Nowhere on their website nor on the order confirmation does it say that they do not delivery on Sundays. What kind of rental company doesn't deliver on Sunday? Saturday is very inconvenient and I would not be able to be there to receive and pay. I told the guy who answered the phone that perhaps they should put that information out there. He had nothing to say - like I was speaking Chinese. He said they have never delivered on Sundays. Well how is someone who has never used them before suppose to know that? Am I suppose to just know that?? I asked him what he could do to help me out. Could I pay extra to have the stuff delivered Friday or early Saturday at a specific time? No. He was extremely busy with all these parties. Fine. Every answer was NO. NO. No. no. OK - I realize that we were a small order but what kind of customer service is that. I threated to cancel my order and it didn't even bother him at all.
Fine. Don't piss off an event planner. I'm never using them again and neither should you.
6.11.2007
What to Wear to Summer Weddings
The Today Show this morning had a segment on what to wear to summer weddings. To view, click here.
6.06.2007
Congratulations Cathy & Mike
I love summer weddings - all the fun, citrus colors are right up my alley (although I don't love yet another hot and humid day!) Cathy and her Mom did an amazing job coming up with different ideas to work with their vibrant color scheme.
This was my first time working in the Middleburg area. The ceremony was held at St. Stephen the Martyr Catholic Church. Fr. Sean was awesome! He ran the most efficient yet fun rehearsal I've ever seen. After the ceremony, Cathy and Mike went to nearby Swedenburg Vineyard for photos, while the guests were treated to a bus tour of Middleburg. The reception then followed at the Middleburg Community Center. Now this is not your average community center. I've never seen a community center this nice.
The bright and cheerful floral arrangements were done by The Corner Garden in Middleburg. The evening's food was provided by Legends Catering. I had a great time working with our photographer Julia MacInnis and her assistant Sharon. They were totally laid back and unobtrusive. Check out previews of the photos at Julia's blog. I am looking forward to working with her again.
The best part of the event was that I was training a new assistant Juanice. Juanice just finished her undergraduate degree in communications/PR from North Carolina A&T State U. She is looking to work in the events management field and she did a great job at her first event!
The Middleburg Community Center dress up with lime green & yellow napkins and gold chivari chairs.
The beautiful wedding cake by a lady named Pinkie, surrounded by the bridemaids' bouquets (the only thing I didn't like about the bouquets were that they had those cheesy plastic handles).
Something simple for the escort card tables.
The patio of the community center where cocktail hour took place.
The gift table with two collages of personal photos, a basket of fans to keep the guests cool, and a signature frame for all to sign.
The dinner tables were set with bright green napkins, a fuchsia frame that held the table number, 2 glasses of fuchsia colored M&Ms, and votives decorated with a green ribbon. What a burst of color!
This was my first time working in the Middleburg area. The ceremony was held at St. Stephen the Martyr Catholic Church. Fr. Sean was awesome! He ran the most efficient yet fun rehearsal I've ever seen. After the ceremony, Cathy and Mike went to nearby Swedenburg Vineyard for photos, while the guests were treated to a bus tour of Middleburg. The reception then followed at the Middleburg Community Center. Now this is not your average community center. I've never seen a community center this nice.
The bright and cheerful floral arrangements were done by The Corner Garden in Middleburg. The evening's food was provided by Legends Catering. I had a great time working with our photographer Julia MacInnis and her assistant Sharon. They were totally laid back and unobtrusive. Check out previews of the photos at Julia's blog. I am looking forward to working with her again.
The best part of the event was that I was training a new assistant Juanice. Juanice just finished her undergraduate degree in communications/PR from North Carolina A&T State U. She is looking to work in the events management field and she did a great job at her first event!
The Middleburg Community Center dress up with lime green & yellow napkins and gold chivari chairs.
The beautiful wedding cake by a lady named Pinkie, surrounded by the bridemaids' bouquets (the only thing I didn't like about the bouquets were that they had those cheesy plastic handles).
Something simple for the escort card tables.
The patio of the community center where cocktail hour took place.
The gift table with two collages of personal photos, a basket of fans to keep the guests cool, and a signature frame for all to sign.
The dinner tables were set with bright green napkins, a fuchsia frame that held the table number, 2 glasses of fuchsia colored M&Ms, and votives decorated with a green ribbon. What a burst of color!Globetrotters pause for their Wedding
Congratulations Don & Kate!
Don & Kate are friends with the maid of honor of a wedding I did last September. They have been such an easy couple to work. I honestly don't know how they manage to do everything that was going on in their lives. Kate just finished grad school, was looking for a job in Boston; Don was getting ready to start grad school at MIT and meanwhile, try to plan a wedding, pack, and get ready to go on their 2 months long honeymoon and pack for their move to Boston! Phew!
Accuweather told me it wasn't going to rain and it didn't! Although, it was one of the hottest days (90s) of the year and extremely humid. I think I had sweat through all my clothes the moment I stepped out of my car! The ceremony and reception were held at Billingsley Museum grounds in Upper Marlboro, MD, a plantation home from the 1660s and currently owned by Prince George's County Parks & Recreation. It has a breathtaking view of Patuxent River. The rental rate is very reasonable, have its own tables and chairs and a tent, and Sue, the house manager was very easy to work with. The grounds are beautiful with lots of photo ops.
Basikneads Catering provided the catering. I was a bit disappointed with my experience with Basikneads. I hadn't worked with them yet but was waiting for an opportunity. Our original sales person was Issac. Although I didn't deal with him often, he seemed a bit disorganized and unresponsive. He left and the person that replaced him, Lena was 10x better. However, for reason she did not disclose, she could not come to the wedding to ensure that everything will go smoothly. She assured me that the supervisor will take care of everything. When the catering team arrived, the supervisor didn't know which linens were suppose to go on which table and how many tables had been rented, even though all of this was thoroughly detailed in their own documentation. The supervisor said he didn't even have the timeline and kept looking to me to direct him. Later, I finally see him pulling out his own copy of the BEO. Hm. The food was their saving grace. Don & Kate did a Thai inspired menu as that is their honeymoon location. The food was great but I heard from several guests that the service was not up to par. Guests complained that some of the waiters did not speak English. They also ran out of silverware.
Melanie Swann provided beautiful flowers for event. DJ Red Clay from The Pros kept the dance floor packed (I've never heard anything good about The Pros but our DJ was pretty good; although looking back, I rarely saw the older guests dance. I don't think he played any oldies or slow songs.) Our photographer was Anh Tranh from Bella Photos. If the photos will be anything like the previews I saw, I think the photos will come out great. Anh was right in the thick of things during the reception, especially during the dancing. Just what I like to see from a photojournalist. He didn't just sit back and took photos from afar. Peter Brett of PeterBakes baked the most yummy cupcakes, along with one giant cupcake which Don and Kate cut as their ceremonial cake (Peter was the pastry chef at the Park Hyatt for 15 years). There were two different flavors and I think I could have eaten many more! He was really nice and stayed to help set it all up. Oh did I mention we had a bagpiper!
Another successful polaroid guestbook. Lots of fun pages!
The Billingsley Museum's tent lit up at night.
Escort card table. I ended up using the stones along with a shear ribbon to hold down the cards as it was a bit windy that day. Floral arrangement by Melanie Swan. Don's Mom made those cute candles.
Daylight view of the tent - a theme of black, white and pink.
A view of the Patuxent River (not a great picture since it was a bit hazy)
The best for last! Peter's cupcakes! See the extra large cupcake in the middle.
eaTip: The guests sent Kate and Don off with sparklers. If you choose to do the same, make sure that it is OK with your venue. Second, have several candles available so people can light their sparklers within a timely manner. Third, have a metal bucket of sand ready for used sparklers. Better safe than sorry. Contact us and we can help you make sure your event is safe!
Don & Kate are friends with the maid of honor of a wedding I did last September. They have been such an easy couple to work. I honestly don't know how they manage to do everything that was going on in their lives. Kate just finished grad school, was looking for a job in Boston; Don was getting ready to start grad school at MIT and meanwhile, try to plan a wedding, pack, and get ready to go on their 2 months long honeymoon and pack for their move to Boston! Phew!
Accuweather told me it wasn't going to rain and it didn't! Although, it was one of the hottest days (90s) of the year and extremely humid. I think I had sweat through all my clothes the moment I stepped out of my car! The ceremony and reception were held at Billingsley Museum grounds in Upper Marlboro, MD, a plantation home from the 1660s and currently owned by Prince George's County Parks & Recreation. It has a breathtaking view of Patuxent River. The rental rate is very reasonable, have its own tables and chairs and a tent, and Sue, the house manager was very easy to work with. The grounds are beautiful with lots of photo ops.
Basikneads Catering provided the catering. I was a bit disappointed with my experience with Basikneads. I hadn't worked with them yet but was waiting for an opportunity. Our original sales person was Issac. Although I didn't deal with him often, he seemed a bit disorganized and unresponsive. He left and the person that replaced him, Lena was 10x better. However, for reason she did not disclose, she could not come to the wedding to ensure that everything will go smoothly. She assured me that the supervisor will take care of everything. When the catering team arrived, the supervisor didn't know which linens were suppose to go on which table and how many tables had been rented, even though all of this was thoroughly detailed in their own documentation. The supervisor said he didn't even have the timeline and kept looking to me to direct him. Later, I finally see him pulling out his own copy of the BEO. Hm. The food was their saving grace. Don & Kate did a Thai inspired menu as that is their honeymoon location. The food was great but I heard from several guests that the service was not up to par. Guests complained that some of the waiters did not speak English. They also ran out of silverware.
Melanie Swann provided beautiful flowers for event. DJ Red Clay from The Pros kept the dance floor packed (I've never heard anything good about The Pros but our DJ was pretty good; although looking back, I rarely saw the older guests dance. I don't think he played any oldies or slow songs.) Our photographer was Anh Tranh from Bella Photos. If the photos will be anything like the previews I saw, I think the photos will come out great. Anh was right in the thick of things during the reception, especially during the dancing. Just what I like to see from a photojournalist. He didn't just sit back and took photos from afar. Peter Brett of PeterBakes baked the most yummy cupcakes, along with one giant cupcake which Don and Kate cut as their ceremonial cake (Peter was the pastry chef at the Park Hyatt for 15 years). There were two different flavors and I think I could have eaten many more! He was really nice and stayed to help set it all up. Oh did I mention we had a bagpiper!
Another successful polaroid guestbook. Lots of fun pages!
The Billingsley Museum's tent lit up at night.
Escort card table. I ended up using the stones along with a shear ribbon to hold down the cards as it was a bit windy that day. Floral arrangement by Melanie Swan. Don's Mom made those cute candles.
Daylight view of the tent - a theme of black, white and pink.
A view of the Patuxent River (not a great picture since it was a bit hazy)
The best for last! Peter's cupcakes! See the extra large cupcake in the middle.eaTip: The guests sent Kate and Don off with sparklers. If you choose to do the same, make sure that it is OK with your venue. Second, have several candles available so people can light their sparklers within a timely manner. Third, have a metal bucket of sand ready for used sparklers. Better safe than sorry. Contact us and we can help you make sure your event is safe!
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