Surprise 50th Birthday Party - 10/17/09

Hi Everyone!

Last Saturday's Surprise 50th Birthday Party was a success! The event was held at a Knights of Columbus Hall in Brooklyn and we were definitely able to bring the overall look of the place up a notch. We started setting up at 11:00am and finished the bulk of it at 1:00pm. We then went back at about 6:00pm to finish the centerpieces and set the food on the warmers. Surprisingly everything fell into place and for the most part I was able to stick to my timeline (the guests as well as the Guest of Honor arrived later than expected, but I adjusted my timeline accordingly). We were done preparing on time and the party exactly when it was supposed to. That's how I like to see things done!

As for the actual event - the birthday girl was SHOCKED! The tears that flowed almost made me cry and I had to look away for a bit. The food was delicious, the multiple toasts that were made all had meaning, and the photo slide show of her life that her sons made was touching. She is truly a loved and lucky woman.

So what was my critique of the event? I think that everyone that showed up had a good time. Note that I said "everyone that showed up". One thing that annoyed me and that I felt was extremely rude were the number of people who RSVP'd, yet did not show up. The hall was paid for 85 adults and only about 60 were there. I don't understand why someone would take the time out of their day to confirm that they were coming and then just not come? In any case, the fact that some people didn't helped solve the "I hope we have enough food" dilemma. Due to the budget we were only able to order but so much so that was a concern, but we were able to leave with left overs which was great. The birthday girl may not have to cook for a few days!

One other thing that I was concerned about was the color scheme (black, white, and silver) as it doesn't really scream "50th birthday party". Originally I wanted to go with an ivory and gold theme, but due to the budget and the red chairs that would need to get covered, we couldn't do it. We decided that the red chairs would look fine with black, and added the white and silver as accents. With the dim lighting and votive candles, no one even noticed that it wasn't a "traditional color scheme". It looked a bit more modern/ chic if anything.

I definitely put a lot into this event since I knew that the budget was tight and so many things were DIY, such as the chocolate chip cookie favors that my friend Sara and I were baking until 2:00am the night before. It was tiring (baking, waiting to cool, and bagging to look like candy wrappers for 3 hours), but it was worth it in the end when all 100 favors were done. In addition to that, her sons made a dedication CD (which I unfortunately do not have a picture of.)

As usual DJ Fame (who is one of her sons!) did his thing and had people on the dance floor.

I want to give a big THANK YOU to all my friends that helped bring this entire event together: Sara, Terry Ann, Calena, and my cousin Sancia. Thank you so much ladies! I really could not have done it without you!

BEFORE

AFTER

Club Birthday Party - 10-10-09

Hi Everyone!

Saturday (October 10th ) I coordinated a birthday party for my friend Calena (the one who wanted me to start this blog in the first place!) at a club in Brooklyn and might I say we had a FABULOUS time! I was given the owner's contact information through my favorite DJ (DJ Fame) and was able to ensure that she was taken care of that night. Our group had about 15 people and since I knew the DJ we were able to receive a free bottle of champagne and a sheet cake! We were able to score seats in the VIP section and only had to ensure that we spent $150 for the night. The funny thing is that even with size group that we had, it was so hard to hit that total! (The prices were that good!). There was good amount of people that showed up at the club that night, but it wasn't to the point where you couldn't move of breathe. The club was called "Brooklyn Crossroads Supper Club" and is located in the Park Slope area. Most of the group got there at about 11:00pm and we didn't leave until after 3:00am! It was that much fun! She was even sweet enough to leave this message on my facebook for me:

"Calena : Elizabeth, thank you, thank you, thank you for planning my b-day party. It was great, all thanks to you! "

Pictures will be posted soon!

Talk to you soon!
XOXO
Elizabeth Joseph

ejosephevents@gmail.com

Caitlin's Wedding Pics - Finally!

Hi All,

I know that I really need to get pictures posted quicker! Unfortunately for this wedding I was also a bridesmaid so I couldn't really walk down the aisle with my bouquet and a Canon snapshot at the same time, LOL! Anyway, I was able to get copies of the pictures from a friend who was also in attendance. Just a recap of the many things that were going on that day, I was running around from about 11:00am until midnight. It all started when I was on my way to meet the bride at the hotel where she was getting ready and got a call from her midway there to go straight to the house where the wedding was being held instead. The groom was freaking out and worried that no one knew what needed to be done and he was already running late getting ready. Once I got there he was able to shower, get dressed and leave the worrying up to me. As for setting up the tent, that was all the catering staff. Caitlin told us what she wanted the space to look like and we made sure that it happened. A hour after I arrived at the house, I received a call from Caitlin's mom. What happened? In her effort to make sure that Caitlin had all the things that she needed to get dressed, the mom forgot her own dress at the house! It was not a problem at all since the house and the hotel were only about a 5 minute drive apart. Once there, mom was able to get ready, Caitlin got into her gown, and we all (bridesmaids, mother of the groom, Caitlin's mom, and Caitlin) were able to make our way to the house for the wedding to begin.

The ceremony itself was short and sweet and Caitlin looked AMAZING! Once the ceremony was over I was back in "event planner" mode and working with the catering staff & DJ to make sure everything ran smoothly (finding the missing cocktail plates, coordinating the first dance, toast, and cake cutting, and making sure that the photographer got all the shots that were requested.) As the evening came to an end, I made sure the bus driver received his tip (the wedding was in Little Compton, RI but guests stayed in Providence Providence which is an hour away; so a bus was provided for transportation) and that important items were packed. I was also in charge of making sure the bride and groom were able sample slices from each cake tier,LOL! (They had a coconut w/ lemon curd layer, lemon poppyseed layer, and white cake with chocolate ganache and chocolate moose.) I think the most important thing to come out of all of this is that the groom now understands that weddings don't "just happen" (which is kind of what he thought when Caitlin first introduced him to me), they actually take WORK!

I also want to thank DJ Fame as he drove all the way from NYC to provide music for this party. Thanks Fame!

Surprise 50th Birthday and A Wedding 2 Days Away!

Hi Everyone!

Just wanted to pop in and say hi! So what have I been working on since we last spoke? I found a GREAT venue for the Surprise 50th Birthday party that I am working on and are now just working on decorating details. Everything else is done: caterer, cake, DJ, photographer, etc. I'm really excited as this is a "made from scratch" event which I love. It allows me to be EXTRA creative. The look I'm going for is elegance - ivory and gold everywhere. I really want to bring a sense of "glamourous" without breaking the bank.

This weekend is also the BIG wedding that I've been working on since February. (See bridal shower pics from Aug. 30th post.) I'm so happy for Caitlin and her fiance! We really worked hard to plan this whole wedding in 7 months (that's just crazy!). Did I also mention that I'm a bridesmaid in additon to wedding planner?! Pics will be posted soon. :)

I am also working on winning another wedding- just need to book a consultation with the bride. In additon, I just found out that there may also be a baby shower in the works for December. How lucky and I?!

Thanks for all the support guys!


XOXO
Elizabeth Joseph
E. Joseph Events
ejosephevents@gmail.com

Past Event - Company Summer Outing 2007

So back in 2007 I was an intern at the GCI Group (which has since merged with Cohn & Wolfe Public Relations). My supervisor at the time gave me great freedom in the area of planning fun events for the company. I started out coordinating the monthly off-site happy hours, then moved onto starting the "Newbie" parties (monthly on-site happy hours where we would celebrate all the newly hired employees). I had been an intern there beginning in September of 2006 and in the summer of 2007 I was assigned a major task - coordinate the company summer outing for 150 employees. This required me to:

• Find a venue


• Negotiate pricing


• Send out invitations (they were designed by our Creative department, I just sent them out)


• Collect and track all RSVP's (keeping them up to date until that very afternoon!)


• Find a bus company to bring all 150 employees to venue location
  
• Choose the menu (keeping those with dietary restrictions in mind)
  
• Create a signature drink (using the cognac of one of our clients as an ingredient)


• Order leis (as we had a tropical theme for the event)


• Coordinate transportation for leadership team so they could arrive before the other employees so they could greet them (they would greet them with the leis to thank them for all their hard work for the year so far)

And did I mention the "venue" was actually a yacht?! Yes, we had a cruise around Manhattan and it was GREAT! The weather was perfect, the food was delicious, the DJ kept us on the dance floor, and the drinks were flowing! Below are some pictures of the event.

Caitlin's Bridal Shower - July 26, 2009

WOW! It's been over a month! I have not forgotten about my promise to post pics, I've just been busy! I had the bridal shower, then went to Haiti for a week, then came back home for a week, then went to Hawaii for a week, came back- and now I have a surprise 50th birthday to plan! I love it! So without futher delay, here are some pics of my first event since becoming a "company":




Although it was only the 5 of us, we had a GREAT time and I enjoyed planning it! I really love how the favors ended up coming out!! They were cute and you should have seen the reaction when they came out! It was great! Until next time!

E. Joseph Events - Welcome!

My friends finally convinced me to get business cards for my "company" (AKA - side gig) as well as a website. I'm still working on the website portion (what is a domain name and a hosting site and why do I have to pay when some places say I can get a website for free?!), but another good friend suggested a blog. Why not? So here it is ladies and gentleman!

You may be wondering who I am and what I do? My name is Elizabeth Joseph and professionally I am an HR Associate at an Ad agency in midtown Manhattan; however my passion is event planning. I.LOVE.IT! I've been doing events since before I can even remember. Need a party thrown? I can whip one up in under 30 min- from picking a date to finding a location to negotiating with vendors (and no- they will never give you their "best price" up front and no, you don't have to settle for less!). I've done birthdays for my family, corporate parties for company's I've worked, and now as I've gotten older (and my friends as well) I've started doing weddings and bridal showers.

What events am I working on currently? Well this (Sunday July 26th) I am throwing my friend and ex-coworker Caitlin "New York City Chic" bridal shower. We'll be getting manis and pedis at Dashing Diva nail salon (they are big on being clean and hygenic) and then we'll be heading over to brunch at a local restaurant. (I found a great one that has a gives unlimted champagne, mimosas, and Blood Marys with your entree. How great is that?!) I am also working on her September destination wedding (she got engaged over Valentine's Day weekend, so we are basically throwing this wedding together in 7 months!) It's been a crazy but good ride. Of course, I will posting pictures of all the events that I do.

Need help with your next event? Feel free to contact me! I do weddings, bridal showers, bachlorette parties, rehersal dinners, day of coordination, surprise birthday's, favor assembly and more!

Since my "company" is in it's infancy, I am VERY flexible in terms of your budget. NO EVENT IS TOO SMALL FOR ME! I actually like small events (they're easier to manage! LOL!) For me, it's all about adding to my portfolio (why didn't I start taking pictures of events I did a long time ago?!) Maybe one day this can be my full time profession, but we"ll see how this goes. Baby steps!

Until my next post -

Love you for reading!
XOXO
Elizabeth Joseph
E. Joseph Events
ejosephevents@gmail.com