Trick or Treat!

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!!

Now, we are off to The Tides Estate in North Haledon, NJ! yipee!!

Fall back...

A friendly reminder...

This is the weekend we “fall back” as Daylight Saving time ends and months of dreary cold and sunless days begin...

Daylight Saving this Sunday, November 2, 2008.

Don't forget to turn your clocks back!

I've been married for 18 months!

Today marks 18 months of being married to a wonderful man. I can’t believe how fast it's gone by! Where does time go? A lot has happened since April 29, 2007, being married has brought us even closer, we’ve learned more about one another, and our love grows stronger as each day goes by.

Who said being married is a fairly tale?...NOT! It is not all champagne and roses. We both have managed to get under each other’s skin. But as each day goes by, we realize how much stronger our love has become and the reasons we chose each other as our partners for life. I wouldn’t change a thing.

I feel so guilty, I normally would have something more planned out for this day, a dinner or movie, but unfortunately, I’ve been highly occupied with a few events coming up. I am sure he’ll enjoy some wine (he's never said no to a few drinks) along with a card mentioning 18 things I love about him….

There really are so many more things I love about Anthony and so many reasons I love him as a person, as my best friend and as my husband and companion forever and ever, so why I limited myself to just 18? I’m not sure, but probably because I would be here forever if I didn’t stop myself somewhere…

1. He means the world to me.
2. He's faithful.
3. His wisdom is abundant.

4. In the 5 years we’ve been together, he never forgets to tell me he loves me…every single day.
5. His smile lights up my soul, He can always lighten things up with his sense of humor- even when I am fuming, he makes me laugh.
6. He stays in a good mood…even when he had a really, bad day...how does he DO that?
7. He’s the kindest person I’ve ever met and he’s such a people person.
8. He helps me and supports me in everything, even when I have some really silly or non-productive ideas in mind… and he never expects more from me than I expect from myself.
9. He makes me great coffee in the morning and he does the dishes... well he loads the dishwasher...that's a start...
10. He’s not handy but sure takes pride in what he does; we have the greenest and healthiest looking lawn in the neighborhood! He also buys all kinds of cleaning products that he actually uses. I think it’s awesome, and funny, it can be annoying at times when he keeps asking...did you take a look at the lawn?, what do you think? It's green, right? I just bought this new cleaning product to try, but I am very proud of his attention to detail and effort to make my life easier.

11. He lets me complain when he leaves his clothes out, but doesn’t complain when I leave mine out Well... I DO have to put them away, don’t I ?.
12. He LOVES to party and like me, for him everything and anything deserves a celebration.
13. No-one treasures, admires, spoils and uncomplicatedly adores our 1 yr old pup "Leo" as much as he does,apart from me, of course.
14. We get a kick out of the smallest things together.
15. He’s the only guy that I know who genuinely enjoys attending so many Broadway Shows.
16. He’s my hottie and he looks great with nothing (in particular) on.
17. My birthday is 2 days before Christmas, and it never seems to bother him I expect him to buy me more than a few gifts…lol.
18. He’s not perfect but he’s mine and I am pretty lucky to have him!

Sometimes with our hectic, busy lives, we tend to forget about the meaningful and beautiful things until somebody actually points them out to us. Nobody knows your partner better then you. So, it’s up to you to remind yourself of the good things and reasons why you married each other and why you stay married. Remembering why you get a big smile on your face and why your heart skips a beat when you see him/her after a few hrs of being away from each other stirs up the emotions. Don’t forget to appreciate the little things and most most importantly do not forget to recognize the reasons you love your spouse. Share those reasons with him/her.

Have a great day!

Have you been visited by the Halloween Ghost?

My husband and I love Halloween, but who doesn't?... it is the time we can cut loose from ourselves to dress up, use our imaginations and show our sense or nonsense of humor, we can be as silly and ridiculous as we want. It is also an excuse to eat lots of candy and drink lots of cider.

Anthony and I thought it would be fun to start a game for the kids in our development...

Yesterday we prepared a pumpkin full of treats and visited our cutesy lil' neighbors Julia and Emily. We rang the bell and left the pumpkin on the porch for them to find. Included in the pumpkin was a note that read..."You've been visited by the Halloween Ghost".

... some early fun before the spook-tacular day. I wonder who they visited next...

If you'd like to play this game, you still have time, below are the fun instructions.

If you didn't get treats from the Halloween ghost, but would still like to play along with this little fun game, follow these fun instructions:

1. Get a brown paper bags

2. Fill it with Halloween Candy
3. Print 2 ghosts Click Here !
4. Cut out the ghosts
5. Put 1 ghost inside the bag
6. Put 1 ghost on the outside
7. Place the bags outside the doors of friends and neighbors.

Let's see how many ghosts you can get out there!
Have fun!

xoxo,
Ghost A

&

Ghost C

Trick or Treat! Are you ready for Halloween?

There is a chill in the air and before we know it Halloween will be here!

With less than a week to go until the Spooky Day, all things mundane seem to undergo a spooky transformation. Pretty pumpkins become grimacing jack-o-lanterns and even offices and schools are decked with bat decorations or a few flying witches.

So,why not food, too? My love for baking, made me cross paths with this Halloween fun and easy to do snack. Try it out and turn your snacktime into a freakishly fun meal.

~ Witch Cupcakes ~

Ingredients
1-1/2 cups chocolate frosting
1 package (4-3/4 ounces chocolate cones (Nabisco Oreo Cones)
Orange nonpareils
1 can (16 ounces) vanilla frosting, divided
Neon-green food coloring
12 cupcakes, removed from paper liners
Chocolate chips
Green and red tube icing
Mike and Ike Tangy Twister candies
Chocolate Jimmies

Directions
1. Place chocolate frosting in a freezer-weight zip-top bag and snip off a small corner. Pipe base of cones, dip in orange nonpareils, and set aside.
2. Place 1/2 cup vanilla frosting in a another zip-top bag and snip off a small corner. Tint remaining frosting green and frost cupcakes.
3. Turn cupcakes on sides, then place decorated cones on top. Using vanilla frosting, pipe eyes on cupcakes. Attach chocolate chips for pupils and pipe a dot onto chips. Use red icing for mouths, green icing for warts; shape candies into noses. Pipe chocolate icing onto cupcakes for hair and sprinkle with chocolate jimmies. ENJOY!

I promise to post pictures of my own Witch Cupcakes.

Have a Spook-tacular week!

Witchfully yours,

Cathy

Georgina & Matt's Tuscan theme

To share a few of our custom items, here is Georgina and Matt's design...I had so much fun creating each piece.

Favor Tags

Escort Cards

Table numbers


Table sign for their wedding professionals.


G & M's "drink responsibly" bar sign


"Mr. & Mrs." Sign for the couple's sweetheart table


Ladies "elegantly simple" basket of essentials


Mens "Tux" basket of essentials

Essentials basket sign

10.19.08 Congratulations Georgina & Matt!

It's AMORE...


I started working with Georgina and Matt back in June. The couple was seeking a stress-free experience and bring a level of organization to their planning. With just four months to plan their wedding, we managed on creating the atmosphere the couple was visioning; an outdoor tuscan, simple elegant feel to involve their heritage.

The Theme

Tuscany, which is a region in the middle of Italy, renowned for its wine, magnificent scenery and simply sophisticated cuisine...not to mention the medieval charm of its walled towns and castles, vineyards, olive groves, farm houses and green mountainsides.

The Colors

Choosing the color scheme for G's wedding was an easy and fun filled task. With her theme inspiration in mind, I suggested she showed me her favorite color. When I realized G's favorite colors surrounded me in her cozy apartment...warm, earth tones, I put together a few swatches and voila...a bronze brown and champagne were the winners...we added some green with vines of ivy that would bring an instant vineyard flair throughout the centerpieces and decor.

The Venue
Ravello's...What a perfect find!

Just like a Tuscan villa set amidst an elegant and serene setting. The lush gardens, romantic fountains and charming gazebo at ravello's created the perfect and elegant atmosphere Georgina and Matt envisioned for their wedding.

A Fun fact: Ravello is a town and commune situated above the Amalfi Coast in the province of Salerno, Campania, Italy.

Decor

For a relaxed look, escort cards and table numbers were displayed over wine bottle slotted corks. Centerpieces were the ocassional rose , in glass vases heaped with gilded fruit.

Favors

Georgina decided on Lemonade bottles wrapped with straw rope displaying personalized diamond shaped tags with an ivy theme.

Check back for pictures and wedding professional info...

Speaking of cakes...A Trick that saves you BIG

Wedding cakes are by no means cheap these days. Even if you go with wedding cupcakes, the cost could add up quickly. Here are some helpful ideas to trim costs when it comes to your wedding cake.

My wedding cake by: Carlos Bakery, Hoboken, NJ

The best part? No one will ever know the difference except you and your sweetheart!

Order a smaller version of the cake you love
Don’t sacrifice with a less interesting cake. You can go with the one you love, by ordering a smaller version. Use this cake during the cutting ceremony, then have decorated sheet cakes with same or different fillings for your guests.

Fake the Cake
If the thought of having a smaller cake doesn’t appeal to you, consider getting fake bottom tier(s) decorated in the same frosting and pattern as the rest of the cake, while serving guests the decorated sheet cakes. And if you're having an outdoor/beach reception in not so cool days, this may be something to consider as well.

Double Duty
Serve your wedding cake as dessert. If you wish to go with a larger cake, consider getting a gourmet cake to double as dessert and go without any other pastries.

Happy Planning!

A piece of cake for laughs...

"Hello", ShopRite bakery department...

I'd like to order a good-bye cake...yes...oh, she loves chocolate, maybe a little too much if you asked...yes, a chocolate sheet cake...with flowers...nice bright colors...she wears a lot of orange...ok....yes, it should say Best Wishes Suzanne. Underneath that, We Will Miss You...

ok...Friday at 12:30. Thanks."

The Perfect Pear!

To share my pear obsession, here's one of my wedding reception yummy signature cocktails: Ingredients:

750 ml extra-dry champagne

8 oz Pear Schnapps

8 oz Pear Nectar

2 Limes

350 ml Apple Seltzer

Pear Slices

Chill all ingredients. Combine schnapps and nectar in large bowl. Squeeze in juice from two limes and stir. Add seltzer and champagne just before serving. Garnish with pear slices...

and CHEERS!

Bouquet Preservation

Make sure your wedding flowers never lose their beauty...preserve them!

If you're interested in preserving your bouquet, contact us, we can help.

info@foryoureventplanning.com

What It is Bouquet preservation and why preserve it?
Your bridal bouquet would be dried via a professional service and displayed as a meaningful keepsake. Preserving your bouquet in preserving the moment that will stir the emotions in the years to come and will also be a decorative piece for your home.

There are a few methods to bouquet preservation: silica gel (quick-drying mode via immersion in a sand-like, silicon substance); pressing (press select blooms from the bouquet and flatten via a flower press and framed); and freeze-drying (pros spray the blooms with a starch to set the colors and then "bake" the bouquet in a freeze-dryer). All modes allow for beautiful presentation in frames, glass domes, etc. But freeze-drying is the only method that allows for "open arrangements" (they don't have protective covering), and yields the most true-to-life results in terms of flower shapes and colors.

Cost varies between $150-$450, depending on choice of preservation and presentation. i.e. A freeze-dried shadow box presentation might be $150-$200, a dome presentation (preserved via silica gel) can cost around $300-$450, while a partial bouquet pressed and framed against silk might price at $165-$200.

For best results, the bouquet should be dropped off at the preserving establishment as soon after the wedding as possible. Translation: the day after the wedding or the Monday following a Saturday reception. Many professional services will be unable to provide service if the blooms have been too badly dried out, bruised, or otherwise damaged. In these cases, blooms would have to be replaced at an additional charge. If you're simply dropping off or shipping your bouquet your bouquet, transport it in a Styrofoam cooler, with gel packs on the bottom. Loosely cover the packs with tissue paper or wax paper (so that the bouquet doesn't touch them directly) and then place the bouquet on top. Then, pack tissue paper around the bouquet to prevent it from moving and bumping.

Some tips: To cut down on the cost, think about preserving just a few select blooms instead of the full bouquet. Also, it's important for preservationists to receive the bouquet in prime condition. So get a tossing bouquet, and, at the reception, leave your actual bouquet in a safe place where it won't get bruised or crushed, have your coordinator handle this as a precaution and/or have your coordinator take charge of delivering/shipping it out to the preservation destination. Sometimes brides will immediately have the caterer store the blooms in the refrigerator, or, if it's a hand-tied bouquet, stick the stems in water.

Receiving the finished, fully preserved product should take 8-12 weeks with freeze-drying; 6-8 weeks with silica gel; 6-8 weeks with pressing. Formally preserved flowers can last indefinitely, maybe even up to 100 years. If humidity is avoided, along with direct sunlight and bright halogen lamps, you can expect their bouquets to last a lifetime.

Website facelift!

We've redesigned our website!

Check out our simple new look @ http://www.foryoureventplanning.com/

Tipping Etiquette?

I have received numerous emails from my brides asking my advice on what is the appropriate amount to tip their wedding professionals. Although I believe there is no etiquette in tipping... tipping is just a gesture of appreciation for services rendered, I am posting this to help the brides who wonder about tipping etiquette and norm.

I believe tipping is more of a social custom, not a requirement, it has no set rules.

The following are suggestions in tipping are by frugal bride ;

All tips should be given in cash. If the person serving you is an employee of the company, their tip should be in a separate envelope. No one/single person should get more then $150.00.

i.e: Let’s say your limo bus is $2000.00. 10 or 15% of that total is 200 or 300 dollars, not necessary.
Tips should be given just before your vendor leaves. That way you can judge how much to give, according to the job they did for you.
All vendors would love a thank you card. It is a great reminder of happy clients and let's face it, it'll help them book future clients.

Altar boys or girls - $10-15.00 each

Limousine Drivers – 10-15% of the limousine bill, given at the end of the evening. See "i.e. Tip" above. Sometimes the tip has already been included in the contract. (For great service consider a small bonus tip)
Valet Parking Attendants - $.50 to $1.00 per car, prearrange this amount with the supervisor based on an estimate of how many cars will be arriving and a sign should be posted to guests that the gratuity has been taken care of.
Wait staff - If the tip is not on the contract already, 15% of the total catering bill is tipped.
Wait staff do the hardest physical labor on your wedding day.
Bartenders - 10% of the total liquor bill, presented to the head bartender or divided equally among the total number of bartenders who worked the full evening. Make sure that a tip hasn't been added to your contract already.
Restroom and/or Coatroom Attendants - $.50 to $1.00 per guest, prearranged again based on the number of guests.
Makeup artist or Hair Stylists - You don't have to tip them if they come to you. If you go to the salon, then you should tip them 15%.
Why? you ask, well the salon makes the money, not the individual. If you have received a good job, and you would tip normally, then go ahead.
DJ - If your DJ owns the company then the tip is optional but if the DJ is an employee $50-100.00. If you have 2 DJs (DJ & MC), give each person $50.00 in separate envelopes. When your guests rave about your reception later, it's the DJ that had everything to do with the fun.

Business Owners - You don’t have to tip the owner of a business, unless you feel that they have gone beyond the call of duty and you want to give them a token of your appreciation.
Ceremony or Reception Musicians - $20-30/per person, in one lump sum given to the person in charge.
Banquet or catering manager - doesn’t need to be tipped unless they’ve thrown in extras or saved you a few hundred dollars on your bill. The tip would be between $50-$100.
Photographer and Videographer - If these vendors own the company, then the tip is optional. If they are employees $50.00 goes to the main photographer and he/she can give a split to the assistant.
Officiant - To tip them is to trivialize their profession and extremely bad etiquette. Generally you pay your fee and that's it. If you wish to make a financial contribution to the church, you can do that separately. $50-$100
Florist - You don't need to tip the florist for making your arrangements but you can tip them an extra $5.00 per delivery location (3 locations=$15.00) or $10-20.00 per staff member in one lump sum, for set-up and delivery.
Delivery workers- $10 each if droppping items off, $15 if dropping items off and setting up
Wedding Cake Baker - You don't have to tip for the baking of the cake but if you or your coordinator are at your reception venue at time of delivery and set-up = $10.00 (If cake was baked off premises)
Wedding Coordinator or Room Manager- This is the person managing the reception venues staff and facility the night of your wedding = $50.00
Your Wedding Day Coordinator - If this vendor owns the company, then the tip is optional. If they are an employee = $50.00
Your Wedding Planner - This person has planned your wedding from start to finish. An appropriate tip would be 10% of their total commission or bill.

This should give you some guidelines on tipping etiquette. Tipping etiquette is different in different provinces, cities and towns. Please be sure to add this to your budget. The amounts above are only examples and are not written in stone.

Happy Planning!

Let's eat Cake!

My husband isn't fond of cakes but there is a few he will enjoy, of course a Grand Marnier and Chocolate Mousse filling sounds tempting . Vainilla cake, rolled fondant icing and a few hand-rolled chocolate cigars complete this delish.

Cake credit to Elisa's Pastry Shop @ 1900 Rt-70, Lakewood, NJ

9.27.08 Happy Birthday Celebration Anthony!

I seem to have been procrastinating in the blogging thing recently, but one thing that I feel deserves a blog entry is my husband’s Birthday which we celebrated a la Havana Nights style a few weeks ago.Everything went off without a hitch, well...weather really threatened but we had plan A and plan B all figured out. The most important thing is that my husband really enjoyed the day and night, he loves birthdays and definitely when the party has a theme and is all about and for him!

Guests got to enjoy a Cigar rolling presentation by Tony Santana @ the Cigar Vault now the Santana Tabacalera. They also got to smoke all types of flavored cigars and by the end of the night the novice smokers were pros. Everyone including the kids received a goody bag with 3 to 5 flavored cigars, well the kids cigars were yummy chocolate...he he

Here's Tony working on one of my favorite cigars; the honey dipped.

My mom trying out the cigar, one of her many...puff puff

Thank you so much to everyone who came, especially to everyone that drove from far away and those who flew, it made the day very special for Anthony, to have all his close friends join his celebration. Here's a peek of the favor...a Sweets Rush for the ride home!

I have to give special thanks to a few people that made the planning a smooth transition and the day a success;

My mother in-law, who was our "caterer". Everything was absolutely delicious and everyone could not rave enough about the food...well, coming from mom's Italian kitchen, what is there to complain about? Thanks Mother!

My Mom and Dad, for traveling a couple of hundred miles to celebrate my husband's birthday. Also, mom thanks for helping with the decor (I guess I inherited the planner thing from her), and thanks dad for helping with the set up; tables, chairs, linens, centerpieces and so on...I love you and thank you.

My neighbors and friends Gail and Kelly, who the entire night helped host the event...can't thank you enough girls.

Last but not least to Tony @ The Cigar Vault, in Nutley, you did an amazing job. Your cigars were a hit! Thank you for your awesome presentation.

Elisa's bakery in Toms River ~ Thanks for the gorgeous cake and giant canoli, they were both delish! Everyone enjoyed it, I promise I will post pics!

The Tent man ~ for attending my needs setting up the tent asap although it was a short notice call.