The following article is from the June Copy of the NACE (National Association of Catering Executives) trends report
Wedding Trend for Summer 2009
A New Twist on an Old Favorite: Cupcakes
In a recent survey of NACE members, cupcakes were reported as being among the top wedding trends of the summer.
NACE member and Pastry Chef Tiffani-Janelle, with Bobbi’s Cake Creations in Houston submitted this article
and the accompanying photographs that discusses the trend in greater detail.
Cupcakes are a nostalgic favorite that are the hottest trend in bakery retail.
They are everywhere, from small boutique bakeries to large conglomerate grocery stores. Not only is
the everyday convenience of the cupcake on the rise, the treat is seeing newfound popularity as the
perfect addition to a wedding celebration.
More and more brides are requesting that we design the cupcake tower of their dreams. Cupcakes can range in color and flavors
and be ornately decorated to match the theme and color of the celebration.
Cupcakes may or may not represent a savings. Rather, cupcakes are a trendy execution of a very traditional
celebratory staple, the wedding cake. In the specialty cake design firms, cupcakes can be “over the top” and
outlandish, and can rival even the best wedding cake designs.
A cupcake could surprisingly be priced around $3.00-$5.00 per serving depending on where you are in the
country. At some weddings, the bride will display a “dummy” cake, while others will have a traditional wedding
cake complimented by cupcake favors to take home.
Either way you cut it, with individual cupcakes or a tower of traditional tiers, your guests will be impressed.
J Patrick is the owner of J Patrick Designs, an Atlanta Based Event Design Company.
www.jpatrickdesigns.com
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Why should I hire a Designer/Planner
Many people in the corporate and private sector are put in charge, or take on producing an event with little or no knowledge of what is involved. Let me say that organizing a sorority event or a college kegger is not a qualification! The pitfalls of a badly produced event are enormous and stories abound in the event world, here are two examples.
An outdoor event for 500 employees and family members set in a public park
With public rest rooms consisting of four toilets…no one thought to order supplemental port-o-lets.
A wedding Catered by a friend of the bride (not a professional caterer)…no one thought of having plates and utensils for 125 guests.
These fiascos make for lasting memories but not the ones you hope for!
When you start to look for an event designer or event planner you may want to see that they are connected within the event industry. There are several professional organizations: M.P.I. Meeting Planners International, N.A.C.E. National Organization of Catering Executives, and I.S.E.S. International Special Events Society to name a few. Members of this kind of organization have professional relationships with vendors in their community and the capability to network nation/worldwide when necessary. They receive publications informing them of all the latest market trends and new products and most of all, for you, ways to save money.
How much is your time worth?
How much is your sanity worth?
How much is your job worth?
These are real questions and are all reasons to work with a designer/planner: they save you time by being your single contact for all of your needs and knowing how to follow up and follow through. You can sleep at night knowing that you have complete listings of everything from time schedules to menus put together in an orderly fashion. A professionally produced event may not only save your job but could even lead to a promotion!
An outdoor event for 500 employees and family members set in a public park
With public rest rooms consisting of four toilets…no one thought to order supplemental port-o-lets.
A wedding Catered by a friend of the bride (not a professional caterer)…no one thought of having plates and utensils for 125 guests.
These fiascos make for lasting memories but not the ones you hope for!
When you start to look for an event designer or event planner you may want to see that they are connected within the event industry. There are several professional organizations: M.P.I. Meeting Planners International, N.A.C.E. National Organization of Catering Executives, and I.S.E.S. International Special Events Society to name a few. Members of this kind of organization have professional relationships with vendors in their community and the capability to network nation/worldwide when necessary. They receive publications informing them of all the latest market trends and new products and most of all, for you, ways to save money.
How much is your time worth?
How much is your sanity worth?
How much is your job worth?
These are real questions and are all reasons to work with a designer/planner: they save you time by being your single contact for all of your needs and knowing how to follow up and follow through. You can sleep at night knowing that you have complete listings of everything from time schedules to menus put together in an orderly fashion. A professionally produced event may not only save your job but could even lead to a promotion!
applying theatre to your events and receptions
I recently had the pleasure of designing the 2008 Anti-Defamation League, Abe Goldstein Community of Respect Dinner, Honoring U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson and Marty Kogan. With a title this long I knew I would have to step up my game!
The organization was returning to a venue at which the event had been held several times in the past and I wanted to breathe new life into the evening. For years the stage had been set in the same location with large screens to either side affording everyone in the back a view of the proceedings. The first thing to do was to come up with something to energize the space and give the attendees a sense of “happening”. To do this, I went back to my experience of summer stock in the Melody Tents of Northern New York and the New England Coast. “Why don’t we present the evening in the round” I suggested. This will bring every one closer to the stage and truly give a since of “community” to the evening”. There will be no one who is in the front or the back. By placing tables off from one another I was able to totally avoid the effect of rows and offer everyone an unrestricted view of the stage.
The stage was a raised ten foot diameter stage with four giant projection screens mounted eight feet from the stage level. Many of the presenters and honorees for the evening were not professional speakers and there was concern that they may feel some discomfort not having a stationary podium and addressing a group to which they would have their backs turned at some point during their presentation. The opposite result was true. The small dimensions of the stage, the intimacy created by the screens hanging overhead and the fact that only a small portion of the almost five hundred guests was in view at any given time created a sense of intimacy for the speakers. As they moved about the stage there was an ease that does not often happen when people are trapped at a lectern. Something that further enhanced the presenters was the use of lavaliere microphones; this eliminated the in/out audio that so often occurs when inexperienced speakers turn away from the stationary microphone.
In our early meetings with the hotel, discussing the set up of the space and the kosher menu for the evening, the issue of placing the desserts on the tables at the beginning of the dinner was a major topic. The table seating for ten and in a few cases eleven and twelve already created a crowded situation; to place that many separate desserts would have made the situation even worse. Since the theme was community I thought it would be good to present the desserts family style. Four desserts were chosen to represent the four seasons of the year; these were served on four plates at each table, and passed among the guests. Not only did this further enhance the since of community and family; it provided a lot more space on the table.
One other device I used to create a feeling of intimacy was to place impactful décor in the four corners of the room. Vignettes consisting of three large four foot urns were placed on plinths of varying heights. The urns were filled with natural branch and the vignettes were backlit in a soft blue. Many times when a space is left dark it ends to come off as a huge void but by placing these elements there and lighting them there was an ending to the space and a feeling of closeness.
I hope this will offer some alternative ideas for you to consider for your next event whether social or corporate; some, or all of these ideas may prove useful.
The organization was returning to a venue at which the event had been held several times in the past and I wanted to breathe new life into the evening. For years the stage had been set in the same location with large screens to either side affording everyone in the back a view of the proceedings. The first thing to do was to come up with something to energize the space and give the attendees a sense of “happening”. To do this, I went back to my experience of summer stock in the Melody Tents of Northern New York and the New England Coast. “Why don’t we present the evening in the round” I suggested. This will bring every one closer to the stage and truly give a since of “community” to the evening”. There will be no one who is in the front or the back. By placing tables off from one another I was able to totally avoid the effect of rows and offer everyone an unrestricted view of the stage.
The stage was a raised ten foot diameter stage with four giant projection screens mounted eight feet from the stage level. Many of the presenters and honorees for the evening were not professional speakers and there was concern that they may feel some discomfort not having a stationary podium and addressing a group to which they would have their backs turned at some point during their presentation. The opposite result was true. The small dimensions of the stage, the intimacy created by the screens hanging overhead and the fact that only a small portion of the almost five hundred guests was in view at any given time created a sense of intimacy for the speakers. As they moved about the stage there was an ease that does not often happen when people are trapped at a lectern. Something that further enhanced the presenters was the use of lavaliere microphones; this eliminated the in/out audio that so often occurs when inexperienced speakers turn away from the stationary microphone.
In our early meetings with the hotel, discussing the set up of the space and the kosher menu for the evening, the issue of placing the desserts on the tables at the beginning of the dinner was a major topic. The table seating for ten and in a few cases eleven and twelve already created a crowded situation; to place that many separate desserts would have made the situation even worse. Since the theme was community I thought it would be good to present the desserts family style. Four desserts were chosen to represent the four seasons of the year; these were served on four plates at each table, and passed among the guests. Not only did this further enhance the since of community and family; it provided a lot more space on the table.
One other device I used to create a feeling of intimacy was to place impactful décor in the four corners of the room. Vignettes consisting of three large four foot urns were placed on plinths of varying heights. The urns were filled with natural branch and the vignettes were backlit in a soft blue. Many times when a space is left dark it ends to come off as a huge void but by placing these elements there and lighting them there was an ending to the space and a feeling of closeness.
I hope this will offer some alternative ideas for you to consider for your next event whether social or corporate; some, or all of these ideas may prove useful.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
intro to J Patrick Designs blog
FOR STARTERS
I have many friends and clients who ask for advice on upcoming events in order that they may produce a seamless "production". I use the word "production" to describe all of my events, whether they are a wedding, a convention booth, or a corporate dinner, because, to me, that is exactly what they are.
The stars of these productions are my clients or sometimes their products and it is my job to make sure they come off looking fantastic. It is my goal, through this blog, to help inform and educate consumers on exactly what goes on in producing an event. To that end, I shall be discussing events I am working on at the moment, or those coming up in the near future. I hope you will find these entries useful.
I am going to start with a novice call I receive often. A potential client will call and ask: "How much do you charge for flowers." or "How much do you charge for an event?" or "What are your wedding prices?"
I hear my friends and fellow designers smiling!
Now, I do not want to lose business by saying: "How much do you have to spend?" But that is the real question at hand!!! With any production the sky's the limit and a designer needs to know what you want to allocate for services. For a designer to invest valuable time designing a $5.00 event when you, the client, only has $2.00 to spend is a waste of a designers time and yours.
When I know what my client wants to allocate to the production I can immediately start finding resources to make it work within their guidelines and then present a realistic proposal that moves us all forward instead of losing time backtracking to make the event work in some fantasy.
If you think you are going to save money by not telling a designer/planner what you want to spend you have already made mistake number one. It is always my goal to provide you with the best service available. It is through this that I can be sure of your repeat business and referrals. Remember; the designer wants you to be the star!
I have many friends and clients who ask for advice on upcoming events in order that they may produce a seamless "production". I use the word "production" to describe all of my events, whether they are a wedding, a convention booth, or a corporate dinner, because, to me, that is exactly what they are.
The stars of these productions are my clients or sometimes their products and it is my job to make sure they come off looking fantastic. It is my goal, through this blog, to help inform and educate consumers on exactly what goes on in producing an event. To that end, I shall be discussing events I am working on at the moment, or those coming up in the near future. I hope you will find these entries useful.
I am going to start with a novice call I receive often. A potential client will call and ask: "How much do you charge for flowers." or "How much do you charge for an event?" or "What are your wedding prices?"
I hear my friends and fellow designers smiling!
Now, I do not want to lose business by saying: "How much do you have to spend?" But that is the real question at hand!!! With any production the sky's the limit and a designer needs to know what you want to allocate for services. For a designer to invest valuable time designing a $5.00 event when you, the client, only has $2.00 to spend is a waste of a designers time and yours.
When I know what my client wants to allocate to the production I can immediately start finding resources to make it work within their guidelines and then present a realistic proposal that moves us all forward instead of losing time backtracking to make the event work in some fantasy.
If you think you are going to save money by not telling a designer/planner what you want to spend you have already made mistake number one. It is always my goal to provide you with the best service available. It is through this that I can be sure of your repeat business and referrals. Remember; the designer wants you to be the star!
Monday, June 8, 2009
event news
It Is Time To Spend Money
I heard Ben Stein speak this weekend on the state of the meeting industry. He was appearing on the CBS Sunday Morning news show. I was hoping it would post to the web so that I might download it to FB and Twitter however, it has not. I think what he had to say is important to everyone in the events industry so I am going to “para-quote” him and get this out to all of you ; please share it with any of your clients and fellow industry friends.
If you remember; AIG received a huge bailout from the US government (85 billion dollars) and shortly after that treated high ranking CEOs and other top dogs within the company to a getaway totaling $440,000.00.
President Obama wasted no time condemning this action and stated that AIG should have to give back the money if this was the way they were going to behave. This kind of spending is not acceptable. Now President Obama needs to explain himself, and make another statement that could very possibly save the Convention, Hospitality, Airlines and Entertainment Industry from ruin. Because of the Presidents words industry leaders have gotten the idea that it is wrong to have any kind of meetings, that to gather sales forces together for the exchange of and exposure to new ideas would be against what the majority of the population should be doing at this time.
THIS IS WRONG!!!
Certainly the President did not intend for the airlines to lay off hundreds of pilots, flight attendants and service personnel. He could not have meant that hotels should lay off catering staffs, front of house employees and render hotel maids destitute. Did he really want to ruin Las Vegas by killing the entertainment and convention services industry there? I am sure he did not!
I am relatively certain that what the president wanted to do is send a message that when you are using GOVENRMENT MONEY you must behave responsibly.
99.9% of events do not involve the use of borrowed government funds and thus infuse the economy with jobs, spending and a rebuilding of the economy, THIS IS A GOOD THING! If you are in that 1/10 of one percent who are using government allocated funds, you might have a problem.
It is my hope that our President will come forward and make such statements that will encourage corporations to create conferences and conventions that will stimulate our economy and drive us back to a flourishing event industry.
J Patrick McCann is the president of J Patrick Designs, an Atlanta based event design and planning company.
I heard Ben Stein speak this weekend on the state of the meeting industry. He was appearing on the CBS Sunday Morning news show. I was hoping it would post to the web so that I might download it to FB and Twitter however, it has not. I think what he had to say is important to everyone in the events industry so I am going to “para-quote” him and get this out to all of you ; please share it with any of your clients and fellow industry friends.
If you remember; AIG received a huge bailout from the US government (85 billion dollars) and shortly after that treated high ranking CEOs and other top dogs within the company to a getaway totaling $440,000.00.
President Obama wasted no time condemning this action and stated that AIG should have to give back the money if this was the way they were going to behave. This kind of spending is not acceptable. Now President Obama needs to explain himself, and make another statement that could very possibly save the Convention, Hospitality, Airlines and Entertainment Industry from ruin. Because of the Presidents words industry leaders have gotten the idea that it is wrong to have any kind of meetings, that to gather sales forces together for the exchange of and exposure to new ideas would be against what the majority of the population should be doing at this time.
THIS IS WRONG!!!
Certainly the President did not intend for the airlines to lay off hundreds of pilots, flight attendants and service personnel. He could not have meant that hotels should lay off catering staffs, front of house employees and render hotel maids destitute. Did he really want to ruin Las Vegas by killing the entertainment and convention services industry there? I am sure he did not!
I am relatively certain that what the president wanted to do is send a message that when you are using GOVENRMENT MONEY you must behave responsibly.
99.9% of events do not involve the use of borrowed government funds and thus infuse the economy with jobs, spending and a rebuilding of the economy, THIS IS A GOOD THING! If you are in that 1/10 of one percent who are using government allocated funds, you might have a problem.
It is my hope that our President will come forward and make such statements that will encourage corporations to create conferences and conventions that will stimulate our economy and drive us back to a flourishing event industry.
J Patrick McCann is the president of J Patrick Designs, an Atlanta based event design and planning company.
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