Working with Davi Weddings and Crown Jewel Events

This past May I got to work with James Tramondo of Davi weddings. This was a triple threat wedding as there were three event planners at the wedding! For vendors one is usually more then enough...LOL We performed day of coordination for a fellow planner and friend, Carmella Dellaporte of Crown Jewel Events. Over this past year she has worked to plan a multi heritage wedding to incorporate both Italian and Scottish traditions Carmella was so precise on every last detail of the planning and design. Carmella even worked with her florist brought in from Chicago on all the centerpieces. All of the little details such as table names from there favorite NY neighborhoods to favors and programs made this wedding perfect. I felt the it had beautiful fashion. I thought the kilted armor from groomsmen was so eclectic and looked fabulous for pictures. The ladies were just as fashionable color coordinating with the of the groomsmen.

The ceremony was beautiful and I got to learn more about Scottish traditions. One in particular that I really took note of was the ceremonial draping of the wedding sash. This is a sash made from the family's specific tartan and is draped over the bride signifying the acceptance from the family and the desire of the bride to be part of the clan.

Another interesting part of the ceremony was the "Throwing of the Coins" It is a Celtic tradition for the bride and groom to throw coins to wedding guests as they exit the ceremony site so that the couple can be blessed with good luck and prosperity.

The day was filled with fun and entertainment. The family was one of the best I have worked with. It was really great to be able help a fellow planner on her big day.

Best to Carmella and Scott!

Top 10 trends of 2010 wedding planners notice

1. Aisle: Brides are realizing that they dont want any of their guests to have a bad seat. Instead of using your traditional liner aisle, brides are choosing circular or u shaped aisle. When having your ceremony outside or not in the traditional church having an a circular shaped seating allows everyone to have a great view of the bride. Not to mention good photo opt.

2. Comfort foods: With the average couple getting married at the age of 26 years old they are apart of the new generation who wants to enjoy their youth. More couples are choosing upscale presentation of comfort foods such as mini sliders, truffle mac and cheese, chicken pot pie. I have seen these choices more from NYC caterers when preparing cocktail like receptions vs your traditional sit down dinner.. Which leads me to # THREE

3. Venue: During 2010 I think you will see the change from traditional ball room style venues to the loft wedding cocktail style receptions. Couples getting married today are sophisticated and have many friends that they want to share their special day with. I think today's bride is less interested in crystal chandeliers and more interested in seeing amazing views of the city skyline. They are looking a venue with that is hip and modern where they can create their vision exactly as they want.

4. Invitations: Top bridal designer Monique Lhuillier shares inspirations and details from her various collections: “A lot of fabric details from the dresses translate into the invitations. We use techniques of embossing to mimic textures and incorporate the same colors from the gowns into the invitations.” Look for details you would see on the runway on your wedding invitations.

5. Old, new, borrowed and cobalt blue: From hints of blue in bridal fashion to saturated color throughout the wedding décor, “blues will be the most requested color in 2010,” according to Shane Murray of The Wedding Report. Bright cobalt blue is a hot hue for 2010, offering fresh, bold and atmospheric twist on the bluesy tradition.

6. Wear-again bridesmaid dresses: The old ruffled bridesmaid dress is out and now we are seeing bridesmaid dresses that look more like cocktail dresses which can be used to wear at another party. I have had brides who had ordered their dresses from j Crew and even Macy's

7. Three-dimensional save-the-dates: Inform your friends and family of your wedding day with a twist. Three-dimensional elements on the save-the-dates, like a paper umbrella (signifying a destination wedding), adds character, humor and relevance.

8. Old Hollywood glam, for men!: A return to Cary Grant’s sense of style is making a comeback this year for grooms, looking charming and dapper in a white tuxedo with black-rimmed lapels. This cool old-school look brings back the sharp-looking vest and nostalgic pocket watch.

9. Blogger brides abound: Brides enjoy sharing snippets of surprises, ideas and images throughout their wedding planning experience. Personal blogs offer a space for brides to share, gather inspirations and explore.

10 Personalized plus: From the décor designs and inspirational invites to a great gifts and super-fab favors.

ATTN PLANNERS - SCAM ALERT

To all my fellow planners:
I want to inform of you a terrible scam that I am afraid if you find out about too late it can potentially wipe out your bank account and all your hard work.

Here is what happens:
First you will get a wedding inquiry from someone in the UK by the name Floyd Hilbert with a bride by the name of Brooke Becker. The email looks like a legit email from someone looking for your wedding services even though I have to admit the underlying tone of the email does sound a bit shady. This is the body of the email:

Hello,
I am looking for an experienced wedding planner who will handle my wedding and arrange dinner for a group of people who will be attending the wedding ceremony.Seven will arrive few days before the wedding day.The wedding is expected to hold on the 11th September,2010 and about 50guests are expected to attend. As i do not know what the guests might choose for their meals and drinks, i will make a prepayment as initial deposit for this booking via credit card once availability is confirmed by you.All checks and balances will be made with you on 5th September which is the final day of the booking.
You are to arrange for a Videography, Music,Entertainment,Photography, Priest & Church,cake,flowers and hall.If there is any these items that is beyond your capability,you let us know so that another company can handle it.
Get back to me with your response as we don't have much time with us so that we can process accommodation within the region more convenient for you and us.
Best Regards,Floyd.

Since I assume Mr. Hilbert didnt like my response as "Milestone Events By Kristy does not sign contracts on behalf of clients nor make third party payments to vendors" i never heard from him again.
I did some research on these scams and they are to pay you in full either via check or credit card then cancel their event prior to the date and request a refund from you to gain access to your bank account.

Please be very leery of any emails you may get that sound like this.

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.