Seaside Vacations: End of Summer Outdoor Dinner Party

As the summer quickly comes to a close, we can reminisce on the vacations we took, the great food we ate, and the friends we spent countless hours with. Beach vacations are usually a call for some great seaside cuisine. As Labor Day approaches in the next 6 days, this weekend is an excuse to bring back some of those memories for a last hoorah and host a smashing good time in your backyard with some of your closest buds for a Summer Outdoor Dinner Party.


Party Basics:

There are few essentials that come to play when organizing a smashing good party.

• Venue
• Entertainment
• Decor
• Guest List
• Food & Beverage

and last but certainly NOT least....

• BUDGET!

VENUE: For the purposes of today's post and the reason for the season (**yes one of my faves is the holidays and holiday entertaining is the absolute BEST....only a few months left**), we will set the venue for the festivities to be held in the quaint backyard, deck, or patio of your home. Setting the scene, its a fairly large space to hold comfortably about 40-50 guests for your dinner party, complete with high boy tables, rounds for comfortable seating and a dance floor too!

ENTERTAINMENT: The entertainment for the evening, would be a nice mixture of contemporary music. From various genres so that everyone in attendance is comfortable. Since this is going to be an adult affair, lots of mixing and mingling of acquaintances will happen so there is no need for anything too formal for this casual gathering of friends coming together for a end of the summer shabang! **Hint....a live band wouldn't set well in this casual affair**

DECOR: I absolutely love piecing together arrangements for parties. For this fun and festive occasion, you would definately need lighting to get through the rest of the night. So some hanging lights, maybe some chinese lanterns hanging from the trees and white lights lining the fence. On the tables, I'm a lover of round tables, but have white/aqua linens with some small votives illuminating the space as well sitting atop glass chargers. In the votive centerpiece, since we are remembering our Seaside Vacation, include some sand or blue marbles to resemble the water aspect of the beach.

GUEST LIST: Wrapping up the summer festivities, including your closest friends and some work acquaintances it should be a great time! A simple evite is the easiest way to communicate your upcoming event and also be able to keep tabs on the RSVP's....a must in party planning.

FOOD & BEVERAGE: Time to eat! Having an array of finger foods, kabobs, and anything else that will just give your guests a little bit to eat, mix and mingle....cocktail style. You don't have to have anything heavy, it is a party you know! To drink....I'm all about the siggy drinks. Since this is a seaside vacation remembrance dinner party, incorporate a tropical paradise alcoholic or you can make it non-alcoholic as well. It's your party, engage your guests as much as possible and make it fun. Of course, have some other non alcoholic options for your guests who are non drinkers.

Last Point......BUDGET (but it really comes in first before ANY planning can begin). Your budget is your single handed most important piece of the puzzle. For any event, big or small, you have to know the funds your are working with to make it come together. When you have your total number, then you can find out which direction you are going to go for the pieces and which is most important in your party to WOW your guests.

After you put all these pieces together, don't forget to thank your guests for coming at the end of your smashing good party!

Happy Labor Day!

Until next time....

ENVIExec

Cherry Blossom Elegance: Favor Ideas

Going back with our Cherry Blossom theme, Get Married, has the cutest pillar candles for sale! A sweet and lovely sign of spring masterfully painted on a simple, square, white candle brings elegance and promise to any event. The “Cherry Blossom” Candle, beautifully adorned with the Asian symbol of love, affection and good fortune, invites your guests to dream of faraway places while basking in the warmth of where they are.

Something Fun for a DC Summer Day

Are you looking for something fun to do this weekend? On Saturday, July 18 from 12-5pm Uptown Girl Ent, LLC is hosting Cocktails & Glosses at Helix Hotel. This ultra-swank affair is for those ladies who just can't find the best lip color and also want to have a great time. Come and see this season's lastest lip colors, be pampered by makeup artists, and have a cocktail. You're in for a treat!



Tickets for this event are $35 and can be purchased here at Cocktails & Glosses

The Writing's On The Wall

In these times where we are all trying to be more conscious of the environment, cut costs in all corners, and be as trendy as possible....ALL at the same time, there are various factors that we have to assess and throw in to make it happen.

In this Green effect of the country being more environmentally friendly, how does one incorporate that into their wedding along with making the decor uber chic?

Well, one way through MyWedding.com is to have wall graffiti!

That's right, writing on the wall!

Isn't this cute???? When I saw this photo I immediately thought of the Clubhouse at my subdivision and how it would serve as a quaint space for an intimate wedding affair....and then outside near the pool, have a poolside cocktail reception with high boy tables and signature martinis! Sounds lush....

Isn't this absolutely gorgeous? Think about how nice and calming it would be to retreat outside for a poolside reception at dusk....

Try some of these ideas for your next wedding, party, or cocktail soiree!

Eventfully Yours,

ENVIexec

What does the High End, Quality Bride look like?

This question is one that poses many event planners and vendors in the Wedding Industry to raise a brow and ponder...what does SHE look like? The bride, the contract that we all wish to acquire. The bride whose budget is upwards $60K, whose father and other contributors to the funds of producing this lavish affair say "Money is no object", the bride who after all is said and done is happy because her Princess Fairytale Wedding with Glass Cinderalla Slippers and all has come to an end and she and her prince charming threw the event of the century....THAT bride is who us as event planners dream of being able to sit across the table in our corner office and WIN that contract.

However, when you are so focus and consumed with catering to that bride, how many other brides who may not have those 6 figure budgets, but want to pay you for your services and expertise are you bypassing just to get that 1 contract???

Well, the ECA team is focused on not on producing Upscale Social and Corporate Events, but we are focused on producing these events with all types of clients in mind. From the $5K budgets to the $500K budgets, we are equipped with the resources and the knowledge to cater to all needs, tastes, and preferences.

Today's post is going to hopefully assist some other vendors, planners, brides, MOB's, and readers of our blog with some helpful business savvy etiquette ~ don't rule out potentials waiting on that ONE big bank contract. You could easily build up lots of clientele with smaller budgets while you continue to sit and ponder on the $100K bride.

Now, this high-end, quality bride....what does she look like? Is she blonde, brunette, or a red head? Does she have a specific profession or is she just a daddy's girl who was born into wealth? Is she a Bridezilla or is she cool calm collected? There are so many scenarios to this riddle, but the truth lies in that waiting on Princess Bride will keep you from building your business to the higher heights that you can reach.

See you at the top....

ENVIexec

Cummerbunds and Tails???

Recently I was posed with a question over what is acceptable attire for a specific social event. I was sitting with the Best Man of an upcoming wedding and was looking at the tux that was chosen for the groomsmen. To my surprise, it was a tux with tails....


I immediately asked him, well what time is the wedding scheduled for? He wasn't sure, so we headed to the wedding website of the couple and found out that it is scheduled for 2 pm. Do we continue to focus on the social stigma of semi-formal, after five, formal, white / black tie....OR for our events and the accompanying attire matter simply on what we like and want?

If we are focusing on what is 'correct' attire for the occasion, then tails on a tux at 2pm in the summertime would be ALL WRONG! For a daytime wedding, even though a wedding is a formal event and you should ALWAYS be in Sunday's best, you would be ok in wearing a tailored suit, light or dark colored, and the tails, cummerbund, bow tie isn't necessary.

However, there are daytime formal weddings, which would incorporate tails or other formal dress such as long bridesmaid dresses and a formal wedding gown.

For guests, what would you wear or what is acceptable attire to such an occasion? In order to determine the formality of the wedding or special event, the first place to start is to consider the invitation. If the invitation is on heavy card stock, with calligraphy, then you can expect at least a semi-formal affair. If you are receiving an invitation via Evite, then it screams casual.

Whatever you do, make sure that you research the formality and are prepared for the occasion. If you have questions about do's and dont's for attire you can reference this site.

ENVI making a HUGE change

Get ready for some real changes! ENVI is now opening its operation in the Greater Washington, DC area. We are so excited to be able to offer our outstanding services, as well as starting to make plans for the ENVI Design Studio!

Keep following us....

Have a Happy Memorial Day weekend!