Frankly Speaking

PAIRING THE SALAD COURSE WITH WINE. TODAY’S EDUCATE AT HOME DURING THE PANDEMIC EVENT FACTS

For those of you who know me, you know how passionate I am about my career as an event planner and wedding consultant. For me unlike many other consultants and like a few, I immerse myself in my career. It is not a 9-to-5 job. For me event design is not just about the decor, I’ve said this repeatedly. It’s about unique and memorable details, that all work in harmony together to create an event or wedding experience. This is best evidenced by my tagline “there is no such thing as a small detail.” I am constantly educating myself by attending seminars, conferences and trade shows. I want to have a “cabinet” of unique ideas and resources. Especially when designing and coordinating a wedding, I have a long discussion with a couple about what they love. I incorporate these pieces of their style within the wedding design. This is also very prevalent for social events, bar mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs, anniversaries, and milestone birthday celebrations. From the food to the flowers, from the paper to the music, and everything in between, I like to sprinkle everything with their personalities. For a corporate event, I like to come up with very unexpected and out of the box details that will send home guests saying “I’ve never seen that before”. 

This pandemic has had me sheltering at home for the last six months. Almost every event that I have had scheduled this year has pretty much cancelled postponed or rescheduled. In between juggling all these details and re-designing and realigning everything, this also means in person conferences tradeshows and seminars have also canceled. However our industry is strong. Seminars have turned in the webinars, and industry meetings have turned into zoom meetings. Tradeshows are now companies showing new products online. I have been keeping up with a lot of these. Even before the pandemic hit, I am constantly researching and looking for new ideas. I read numerous lifestyle and wedding magazines and blogs a. magazines a month. I’ve learned that inspiration is everywhere! Even when shopping, going out to eat, attending a theatrical performance, or just taking a walk by the lake.

In my monthly reading I came across an article in this months food and wine, that discusses proper wine to serve with salad. I was really intrigued and wanted to share with you what I learned. The best wine selection really depends upon the type of dressing you are using. It’s very similar to the old adage “it’s not the meat, it’s the sauce“. The article suggests to taste the wine, then taste the dressing, then taste the wine again.

Vinaigrettes

-Tart and acidic dressings go best with super tart wines like Sauvignon Blanc

Ranch Style Dressings

-Creamier dressings, such as a Caesar, buttermilk or ranch, go with a wine that has a fair amount of body but also has some acidity to balance out the rich dressing. Pinot Grisis a great option

Sweet Dressings

- For those with a sweet tooth when selecting a dressing, such as a sweet spicy ginger sesame dressing, the correct wine won’t taste as sweet such as Riesling or a Vouvray.

So while we are at home and trying to eat healthy, break open a bottle of wine that will enhance your salad experience! And they don’t have to be expensive. You can get so many great wines for under $10. I’ve learned that. When I took a wine course with a sommelier the first thing she said was drink what you like. “Don’t worry about the rules. And don’t discount cheap wine no pun intended.” 

I am here to help you celebrate through this pandemic. We are a definite ways where you can still have wedding celebrations and events, but they’re just gonna be a little different for a little while. Don’t let this stop you. There are rules we have to follow, and still keep everyone safe. Please don’t forget those in my industry, we are open for business. Weddings, Birthdays, Mitzvahs, Anniversaries, Showers, Engagements, Baptisms, Christenings Should can be celebrated.

My passion for creating experiences for my clients and their guests at life’s celebrations is taking its toll due to this worldwide pandemic. The truth is that milestone events are an endangered species. The people and companies that you’ve counted on to bring meaningful events to life are in crises. We are a part of the fabric of Chicago. WE ARE the Wedding and Event Planners, Consultants and Coordinators. WE ARE venues. WE ARE floral design. WE ARE lighting and Decor Designers. WE ARE the photographers and filmmakers. The AV & sound techs. The Band leaders. The DJs. The caterers. WE ARE the Stationery and Invitation designers. We are your team of experts that knows you by name. WE ARE the constellation of small Business Owners and Independent Contractors that bring these moments to life. Moments that we all live to celebrate, and that currently so many people are looking forward to having when we can - but if we do not get aid, they will cease to exist. We are calling on our elected officials to #saveillinoisevents #facesbehindevents

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Micro Weddings, Weddings for Two, and Small Weddings: How to still get married and have a memorable Wedding

To invite children to weddings or not invite children to weddings is a very personal decision. This is a question that many couples have. Most asked my opinion on if I think they should have children at their wedding. This is such a very personal decision. There are pros and cons to it obviously as with any choice of a detail for the biggest day of your life. As a wedding planner, I will explore each side of the equation of this question as I will with any questions you have about your wedding.

Growing up, we always went with our parents to weddings. It taught us social skills. It also taught me that I had better listen to my parents or I will be put in the car till they are ready to leave! As a wedding planner, I have seen so many different types of children’s behavior at nuptials. I have seen perfectly behaved children who sit quietly during toasts, enjoy their slice of wedding cake, and have some major moves on the dance floor. However I have also seen children running around the reception uncontrollably. I always worry for the wedding cake! Some parents just don’t seem to care about their children and are more concerned about their next cocktail.

So the question here in lies do you want children to witness in learning what a wedding is all about? As a wedding planner this question comes up all the time Honestly this is how my passion for weddings started. Or do you want to give their parents a break and have a night out? As I said this is truly a personal decion. have also done a wedding that had a guest list of about 400, and 46 of them were children. This savvy bride had me create a children’s reception at her stunning Ritz Carlton wedding. Children received their own invitation to the church and a children’s reception following. We had a separate junior ballroom complete with children’s entertainers, video games, and a children’s menu. Parents had to either sign the children in and out if they wanted them to come to the ballroom, or gave the babysitting service permission for them to come in and out. All depended on age. Several of the kids did not want to leave the room when their parents wanted to bring them into the ballroom To show them off to friends.

Diary of a Wedding consultant. The week caught up with me and went to sleep around 930 last night. Which man I woke up at around 330 this morning. After tossing and turning for a while, I got up. Decided to jump into my to do list. One of the things my list was to finish remaking  all of the favors for a wedding that had to be rescheduled that’s coming up in the next few weeks.

I learned a few weeks ago when I started this project, these delicate laser cut paper boxes are fragile. Once the new imprinted ribbon arrived from my vendor, I thought it would be easy just to take out the old ribbon and put in the new. Wrong! Most of them wound up tearing, so I stopped and wound up pitching the whole set of the old ones because picky perfectionist Type A me didn’t like the way they look. So I want up ordering a whole new set of different boxes. Keep in mind these boxes come flat and need to be assembled. Very time consuming and can be trying on your patience as all the folds and insertions are quite intricate. All of these details have to be done by hand. Unfortunately, contrary to popular belief, gnomes, elves or fairies do not come out at night then magically make these things happen .

Catching up on reading. I realized I never touched this issue of Brides magazine from last year.. I found this heartwarming essay by a guy who thought he’d never get married. Their wedding sounded awesome. https://www.brides.com/story/true-love-changed-grooms-mind-marriage-essay

I have always been on a “campaign“ to change Wedding Magazine‘s names from Bride to Wedding, since not all weddings are no longer about just the Bride. I have actually voiced my opinion on the subject two editors and publishers of Wedding periodicals. I can remember my joy when getting a message from Amy Allen publisher of Modern Luxury Magazine. . She wanted to let me know that there will be an announcement coming but wanted to personally tell me they were changing the name of Modern Luxury Magazine to Modern Luxury Weddings. Now I know I didn’t have a whole lot to do with us, but it really made me happy. Now I know brides magazine is a brand, but wouldn’t it be cool if they just change the name to Weddings