Destination Weddings

During these hard economic time we are seeing a trend and pick up in destination weddings. According to destination weddings.com, a properly planned destination wedding can "save you upwards of $20,000 off the cost of a traditional wedding. It can also turn your wedding day into an unforgettable 'mini-vacation' for you and your guests." There are many beautiful places around the world that would be perfect to say your vows. Conde Nast Bridal Group's American Wedding Study reported that 16 percent of couples are now choosing to have a destination wedding. That's a 400% increase over the last 10 years. Since 2.3 million Americans say they plan to walk down the aisle soon, so that's a lot of destination weddings. The study also says that the average wedding costs $27,000 and that couples are finding that they can both reduce the cost of their nuptials when they go to a resort, and ratchet up the glitz and glam factors.

First thing to go when you book a destination wedding, is wedding planner. They can arrange everything from limousines to horse-drawn carriages, as well as flowers, musicians, and a clergyman or judge to perform the ceremony.
At a resort, you can actually cut your costs by inviting more guests. When guests stay at the resort as part of the wedding, you can lower your overall costs by negotiating group rates for rooms and social events.
Encourage your family and friends to see your destination wedding as an extended vacation. If they come in a few days before the main event or stay a few days after, you can get them a better rate than they would normally pay when coming to the resort independently. And they can enjoy all the amenities the resort has to offer.

There are so many destinations that I love for weddings some of my favorite include:
Bahamas
Hawaii
Cancun
Cayman Islands
St. Lucia
Currently, we are working with HelmsBriscoe on planning destination weddings in Cancun. They have amazing contacts there and can get you unbelievable deals for your entire wedding venue, hotel stay and Milestone Events will be there for all your wedding planning needs.

Tax deductions

The new year is here and as we prepare for busy tax season I thought this article I found on "E How" would be helpful to those who wed in 2009 and things for 2010 brides to keep in mind.

Please see below for some information on tax write offs that we may not have thought of.

Tax Write-Off by ContributorBy Wendy Rose Gould

Tax write-offs are usually the last thing a bride and groom think about when planning a wedding. To the surprise of many, however, wedding purchases and/or rentals can actually save mone.
It's time to pay taxes at the end of the year. While there are rules and stipulations to each of these tax write-offs, many newlyweds take advantage of them every year.

1)The Attire.
Brides often wear their wedding dress only once. And while some opt to keep them for whatever reason, others have no idea how to discard them. For a tax write-off, consider donating the wedding gown to a nonprofit organization like Goodwill, MakingMemories.org orCinderellaProject.net. These organizations will take your dress and issue you a donation receipt for your good efforts. While you're at it, consider donating the bridesmaids dresses, flower girl dress, ring bearer's outfit and any nonperishable decorations.

2)The Venue.
Believe it or not, some wedding venues are tax deductible. Choose a ceremony or reception venue located at a museum,public-owned park or even a historic house or building of some sort. These places are usually owned by nonprofit organizations who use the moneythey receive for upkeep purposes only. Speak with the head of the venue sight to make sure that it is a nonprofit organization.

3)Wedding Favors and Gifts.
Charity donations can make thoughtful wedding gifts and favors. They also save you money during tax season. So instead of purchasing a trinket that your guests or attendants may discard later, opt for a donation to your favorite charity on behalf of all those who are a part of your wedding.

4)Flowers and Foods
You can also get a tax write-off for items that have a short life, such as leftover food and all those floral centerpieces. After the wedding is over, ask a friend or family member to bring the items to a local nursing home, homeless shelter or similar. You will get a tax deduction for the cost of the remaining food and flowers and you'll put a few smiles on faces.

5)Documenting.
Whether you have your taxes done by a professional accountant or take care of them yourself, it's important to document each of these wedding tax write-offs. Keep all your receipts for any purchases you make and request a donation sheet (signed by the organization) that states how much you donated, what you donated and when. Save all your contracts for any wedding venues and, if possible, request that the venue organizer provide you with receipts for each of your payments.

Our New Website

I am so proud to see the accomplishments I have made in under a year. It was only a year ago that I started to question my future and where I wanted to be in my life. In May of this year it will mark the one year anniversary of creating Milestone Events by Kristy and I happy to see how far I have come. After making the decision to follow my dream into event planning, I have come across monumental changes to enhance this dream. I have made amazing contacts, finished my marketing plan for the company, planned a variety a weddings, started to work on other social events and now I am successfully launching my website. This website means a great deal to me since it was created and designed by yours truly. I am not web or graphic designer but I am pretty computer savvy. With all of today's technology I proudly bring you www.milestoneeventsbykristy.com

Please check it out and I truly encourage and welcome feedback that anyone may have. You can only truly excel when you can reflect back and except change.
I can't wait to see what else the future holds for me and this company.

Tara and Jeff's Wedding

This past Saturday we had an East meets West wedding where we transformed an authentic Chinese restaurant into an elegant American styled wedding. The bride, who was half Asian wanted to incorporate her roots and serve a traditional 12 course Chinese wedding dinner. The venue was the East Manor of Flushing Queens where we enjoyed a fabulous dinner which enhanced my tasting palate by trying an array of food that included, roasted pig, shark fin soup and the famous Chinese noodles.

I started working with this couple only 4 weeks ago; and with the clock ticking we had many tasks to complete. I had much work to do, from hiring vendors, to creating favors, purchasing yummy sweets for the dessert table and with the couple out of town travelling for most of the month we did the majority of our communicating over email.

As the wedding kicked off guests as well as onlookers were impressed to see how we transformed the room and created a designer space. The wedding ceremony had a jazz pianist and during the reception guests enjoyed classy sounds from a jazz soloist. During dinner the couple played the Wedding Shoe game which gave their guests a little insight to their life. We danced the night away to the sounds of After Hours Entertainment and guests gave into their sweet tooth by enjoying and array of desserts provided by Sugarcoated Inc. and Aunt Butchies of Brooklyn, NY. We added touches of Asian elements to the reception such as creating table names of chinese symbols with their English translation below, red chopsticks for the place setting, double happiness favors with gold almonds, koi fish for added décor and fortune cookies escort card holders.

I am thrilled with the results of this wedding especially with the many challenges I faced, such as communication barriers, time and location and of course budget. Execution was fantastic and couldn’t have been done with out Studio 4 Event Productions who provided draping and lighting, Marine Park Florist for all the floral arrangements. A big thank you also too Nadia Quinn, photographer, Sugarcoated Inc who created the wedding cake and After Hours Entertainment.

WEDDING CONTEST

Milestone Events By Kristy is going to have lotto contest to where one lucky couple will win free planning services for their destination wedding
To enter:
Please send bride and groom's name and contact details, date & location of the wedding, why you decided on a destination wedding and what your vision of your big day is.

Let me know if you or someone you know wants to enter!!! Drawing will be November 15th, 2009

GOOD LUCK!
Kristy
646-248-2102
milestoneevents@verizon.net

E GIFT REGISTRY

Gifting! Visit www.egift-ing.com Use Promo Code: egift09 @ the check out to get their free registry. The site allows them to print their registry cards, thank you cards, and address labels of those who gifted them directly from the site! Enjoy thi new option of convenience!

Kristy

Alison and Mike's Wedding

This past Saturday I had the pleasure to work with Davi Weddings as a wedding coordinator for James Tramondo. I assisted with the planning of Alison and Mike's big day. Alison resides in LA and she was planning a destination wedding for her and her guests here in the "Big Apple" and what a better theme to choose. Since most of her guests were out of town we welcomed them with fabulous NYC gift bags that included a Time Out Magazine, NYC Subway Map and guide, an I Love NY T shirt, and bag of NY bagel chips. The wedding was filled with weekend of celebration starting with a welcome cocktails on Friday night for all their guests, the wedding reception on Saturday and a lovely picnic brunch in Central Park on Sunday.

As the day began on Sat the crew and I were biting out nails to see if the weather would clear up to have the ceremony and cocktail hour on the terrace of the Ramscale Studio. Luckily the weather Gods were on our side and after an afternoon of pouring rain the clouds started part and the sun was peaking out. We quickly turned everything around to get the terrace ready for the ceremony. The ceremony was lovely with one their closest friend officiating it and another friend singing a solo tribute to them.

The bride and groom had a specific vision for their wedding. They wanted it to reflect a cocktail reception instead of your traditional sit down dinner. We enhanced this by having passed hor's o dors and food for the guests as well as 2 food stations to allow the guests to mingle with each other. The caterer Scoozi Events made an amazing display of coney island pigs in blanket, NY style bite size sliders, mini shrimp tacos and mac n cheese truffle just to name a few. The night was accompanied by a three piece band playing great classic rock tunes. Ending the night the guests feasted on cupcakes from the famous Buttercup Bakery and passed desserts such as personalized creme brulee.
By the end of the night the bride had changed out of her wedding dress and slipped into a white, slick mini, accessorized with red high heels. She looked absolutely stunning.

I had a fabulous time at this wedding and really worked with an amazing team. A well deserved thanks goes to Scoozi Catering and Events, Rocky Scott of the Ramscale Studio and Melanie of Melarosa Flowers.

** More pics to come soon :)