UNCORKED 2012!...The Bucket List

On March 19^, 2012, Baltimore NACE celebrated its 8^th annual UNCORKED fundraiser.  This wine dinner is a great opportunity for Baltimore NACE members to show of their cuisine and design talents, provide great services and items for the silent auction, and get together to raise money for some great causes – Meals on Wheels, NACE National, and Baltimore NACE. The theme of this year’s UNCORKED was “Live Your Life to the Fullest…Bucket List.”

This year the event was hosted at the Baltimore County Club just of Roland Ave in Baltimore, MD.  A valet met each guest in the drive before guests were ushered into our airport terminal, received their passport, and then were whisked away to the various destinations represented under three different tents.  Each tent offered a variety of appetizers, drinks, music, atmosphere, and a stamp for their passport to get the crowd ready for the main event.  While the guests were outside enjoying the food and drink, our wonderful judges were inside admiring the thirty very different takes on the Bucket list shown in the table designs.  Invited inside by the sound of the horn, guests were encouraged to wander through the split dining room to see all of the wonder table designs. Guests visited different countries, traveled in space, swam underwater, and so much more.

While guests feasted on a three-course dinner paired with a great selection of wines, the winners of the table designs were announced and ….DistinctivelyYours Event Management was voted the Best Interpretation of the Theme for our table design “Writing the Next Best American Novel.”  We were so excited. We have participated in the table design contest for UNCORKED for several years and this was our first time being recognized.  There were prizes given to the Best Overall: Innovative Party Planners, Honorable Mention: Select Event Rentals, Most Creative: Table Toppers, and People’s Choice: Boutique Events.  Congratulations to all the winners and a thank you to all the companies that designed tables!

After dinner, guests were invited to take part in the New Orleans inspired karaoke bar.  Guests sang the night away until 11 pm.

Each year UNCORKED gets better and better.  The day after UNCORKED  designers were already wondering what next year’s theme will be. 

Need help making your loves Valentine Extra Special….

Look no further.  Let Intimate Events Designer, Leigh Ann Lawrie of Leigh's Signature Touch help.  LST creates intimate and customized events that allows EVERYONE to be an intricate part.  For Valentine’s Day let Leigh customize special Valentine's Day date ideas for only $30. Customers will receive two customized idea options based on their responses to a questionnaire.

Each event is not just planned from the eyes of the host. It's planned with the intention of including the personalities of each and every participant. For example, with the Valentine's Day special, the purpose of the questionnaire is to make sure that whatever options provided are centered around the person receiving the gift/date. Often times when it comes to things such as dating, individuals plan it from their perspective and what they THINK the other person will like. LST's goal is to help you coordinate a special moment that truly incorporates the personalities of others.

To get help with you Valentine’s Day idea go to www.leighssignaturetouch.com and get started. 

Sip and See – Not just for babies

A southern tradition that is making it way north is the sip and see.  New parents host a sip and see to allow their friends and family to come and meet their new addition shortly after the baby has arrived home.  The new parents provide light refreshments.  Essentially, it is an ex post facto baby shower, without the gift.  However, having a sip and see is not just for celebrating the arrival of new babies. Throw a sip and see for that new addition on your house, to introduce a visiting relative to your friends, or to celebrate an engagement.

From finger sandwiches and punch to caviar and champagne, the sip and see can be as formal as your taste dictates. 

Client interview with Johari A. Barnes, President of Distinctively Yours Event Management

How long have you been planning events and how did you become a wedding/event planner?

As far back as high school, I had friends and family members ask me to plan events for them.  It did not take long for me to realize that I loved it!  I have planned events for major corporations, small businesses, and individuals professionally for the last ten years.  All of these experiences inspired me to start Distinctively Yours Event Management, LLC in April 2005.  We strive for professionalism, integrity, exceptional service, and creativity in every event we coordinate.

 

Distinctively Yours Event Management is a full-service event planning company specializing in weddings. We understand that you have waited a lifetime for your wedding and you want it to be beautiful, special, and YOURS!

A limited number of events are booked each month to ensure you receive the personal
attention you expect for your wedding. We handle every aspect so you can have a worry-free day. Our staff is dedicated to your happiness and understands the importance of making your wedding memorable.

What sets you apart from other Wedding/Event Planners?

Our focus is to provide professional service to our clients and make their event memorable, inspiring, elegant, and most importantly stress free. We make it our priority to build a rapport with our clients so that we become the first number they dial when it comes time to celebrate any occasion.  We motivate our clients to be creative, help them to realize their dreams, and we thrive on novel solutions and concepts.

Why do I need a wedding planner?

There are only 24 hours in every day and with work schedules and family responsibilities, planning even the simplest of events can be difficult.  Distinctively Yours Event Management, LLC can help locate a venue, recommend vendors as well as provide on-site supervision at your wedding.  We allow you to enjoy your wedding and leave all the worrying to us. We provide wedding planning expertise; we do not take over your wedding. You will benefit from our experience and relationships with highly qualified vendors making your wedding the most unforgettable day of your life.

Are your services affordable? What services do you offer?

When it comes to planning a wedding or special event, you want to ensure that you work with reputable professionals to execute your dreams. At Distinctively Yours Event Management, LLC our service is such that clients feel that they have made a great investment.   We offer full production planning, partial planning, and wedding day management. We support LGBT weddings/commitment ceremonies.

Whom do you work best with?

We work well with individuals that recognize quality over quantity and realize that we provide a service that will give them a piece of mind to know that their event will be executed just as they envisioned. We also work well with clients that love to have their expectations exceeded.

Who is not going to benefit from working with Distinctively Yours Event Management, LLC?

We would love to assist all couples that inquire about our services; however, this is not a reality. Our love of planning weddings is superseded by the desire to work with couples in healthy relationships.  As marriage is the blending of families, love should be at the forefront of the union.

What forms of payment do you accept?

We accept checks, cash, money orders, and all major credit cards via PayPal.

This sounds like everything I have been looking for….What happens next to get started?

We are so excited about your engagement and upcoming wedding! We cannot wait to get started….You can schedule a consultation with us via e-mail at info@distinctivelyyoursevents.com .  You can also speak to us directly at (410) 905-6178. We look forward to working with you!

Memorable…Elegant…Inspiring

Kennedy Krieger Festival of Trees

Photo by http://christinebarkerphotography.com/

For the third year we have decorated a tree for the Festival of Trees held at the Maryland State Fair Grounds in Timonium, Maryland.

The Festival of Trees benefits Kennedy Krieger Institute, a comprehensive resource for children with disorders of the brain, spinal cord, and musculoskeletal system.  The Festival is a holiday themed event with local music and entertainment, beautifully decorated trees, wreaths, gingerbread houses, shopping, a children’s sports, games and crafts area, and of course, Santa Claus.  Held in the Cow Palace at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Festival of Trees 2011 will take place from Friday, November 25 through Sunday, November 27, 2011.  Families throughout the region eagerly look forward to this event and consider it a holiday tradition.  Last year’s event attracted nearly 40,000 visitors and raised close to $900,000 for the patient programs and research performed at Kennedy Krieger Institute.

Those numbers are HUGE and helps to provide necessary care for children within our communities.  After last year’s wonderful experience we decided to participate again and starting planning last December for this year’s tree.  This year we named our tree Colors of Christmas and used lots of different shapes and sizes of ornaments in shades of pik, blue, green, purple and silver, and tons of lights.  We think our tree came out great. 

http://festivaloftrees.kennedykrieger.org/

WHY ARE CUSTOM & WEDDING CAKES SO EXPENSIVE?



Elion Wedding March 2011

 The other day I received a call from a potential client for a cake order. After talking in detail with her about what she wanted, I told her I would get back to her within two days with a quote. I emailed her quote along with a description of her cake and her response was “What?!?!? Why is it so expensive??”

My response was “Expensive compared to what?”

I came to the realization that people really do not know or understand all that goes into creating a custom or wedding cake. So, I decided to take a few minutes to explain to the best of my ability.

You can’t get custom / wedding cakes for grocery store prices – Many people are accustomed to “picking” up their cake order from Safeway, Walmart or Costco. These chains can afford to charge lower prices for their products because they are mass produced! And, when you look at their available designs, these same designs are available to EVERY customer! You definitely will not get a one of a kind piece created just for you. Their employees are trained to create the same designs over & over & over again….no creativity is ever required. It’s sort of like colors by numbers…..same ol’ same ol’.

It’s JUST flour & butter – Actually…..it isn’t. In a standard 3-tier cake which serves 120-150 people, there can be as many as a dozen eggs, 5 pounds of pastry flour, half a cup of real vanilla, several pounds of unsalted butter, several bars of premium chocolate, large quantities of fresh fruit or nuts and more! The filling and buttercream may contain 3 or 4 more pounds of unsalted butter, another dozen or more egg whites, and several pounds of sugar plus the chocolate or fruit to flavor it. If you have a fondant covering, add about 5-8 more pounds of sugar and butter. Do you see how this can add up?

And then there is equipment…pans, mixers, basic cutters and quite possibly molds might be required to create your masterpiece. Then, how will your cake be presented? Well, it definitely will need to be placed on a board, sometimes even a custom made board to carry the weight. Now, if structural elements are required, there’s a trip to the hardware store. Do you see how these numbers add up?

In addition to the basic elements needed for your design, there is the cake artist’s time to bake and create your masterpiece, her/his experience, and potentially thousands of dollars and countless hours in workshops, training courses, and conferences spent improving upon her/his craft. You are paying for her/his baking experience in using recipes that are tasty but can stand up under the weight of being stacked and shaped, artistry in decorating, and sculpting skills in creating a topper or flowers (some flowers can take up to 4 hours each to create).

Know this – some designs can take eight to ten hours to complete! While other, more elaborate designs can take up to forty hours to complete! Yes…. forty hours!

The best plan for ordering your cake – The first question I ask all potential clients is “What is your budget?” The best thing you can do is be honest with yourself, while being completely realistic! If you know for a fact that your wedding cake budget is $300.00 to feed 125 guests, then you might have to consider purchasing a mock cake and serving sheet cakes to your guests, or you might need to revisit your over-all budget and make some adjustments. You definitely will not get all the bells and whistles you desire at that price. Your two most expensive ticket items for a wedding will be….your dress and your cake. Do you research….check out the bakeries in your area to see how they price out their cakes and make sure you don’t sacrifice quality for price. If you don’t believe me, then take a few moments to check out the disaster stories posted on Cake Wrecks! Also, understand that you can’t expect to get a custom cake for the same price as a retail cake. It’s just not going to happen.

Article by Mimi Hood, Owner of Mimi's Mocha Treats

http://www.mimismochatreats.com/

Help us celebrate!