parties2weddings.com

Open House:      The Ranch House at Teravista

Date:                    TUESDAY, June 30^th

Time:                    6:00p.m. to 8:00p.m.

Address:             4307 Teravista Club Drive

 Contact Phone:     (512) 633-7632 

This new venue is unique and full of hill country charm! Be among the first in the Austin area to utilize this enchanting location for your wedding ceremony and reception or rehearsal dinner. Come check out the panoramic view from our back porch while enjoying complimentary beer and wine.

 Grooms!  Receive a free round of golf (Mon-Thurs) for attending. 

Brides!   Any bride attending the event who books their wedding with us by August 31, 2009 can choose to receive $250 off the facility rental fee, a free champagne toast for up to 100 guests OR a round of golf for 4. 

Please RSVP to Michelle Bromley at michelle@allisonsevents.com                 

Vendors Attending Include:
Allison Events – Raffle prize: 50% off your wedding planning package of choice.  Value $750-$2500
Gino’s Italian Restaurant
Fantasy Cakes
Bella Bloom
Classical Guitar by Emin Navarro
Make Up by Amanda
Eric Hegwer Photograhpy
The Moving Images CompanyCen-Tex Party RentalSilver & Stone Realty Executives

The answer is YES!  In this article I will share with you the different verbiage that many brides mistake for gratuity and explain who you should tip after your wedding and how much.

Being a bartender in a couple of high-volume country bars and later in a busy bar on 6th Street, I have heard a couple of different origins for the word “tips”.  It is an acronym that comes from the words either To Insure Prompt Service or To Insure Proper Service (TIPS).  The word you should focus on here is “service”.  All of the vendors you hire are providing a service to you that when added together should bring to life a spectacular wedding day.  The wedding bartender is not the only person providing a service and therefore should not be the only person tipped.

Some clients see the words “gratuity”, “service charge”, “service fee”, or “coordination charge/fee” on a catering invoice and assume that money will go to the catering service staff at their wedding.  This is not the case!  The waiters/servers rarely see even a little bit of that money.  It is important to ask your catering sales person how much, if any of that money goes to the service staff.  These people will be doing the most labor intensive work at your wedding and deserve to be tipped.  The average amount is $25 per server and each one should be tipped individually.  You should include the Event Manager in the service staff calculations.  Your final catering bill should have the number of staff that will be working your wedding.  If it doesn’t, be sure to ask.

How to do it? Slip cash or personal checks into envelopes and hand them out at the end of the night. Assign this to the father of the bride, the best man, maid of honor or your planner.

Listen to what these future brides had to say about our workshop:

From Sarah Kunze:

I really enjoyed the workshop!! I liked ALL of the information and there was so much of it. I thought it should be longer!!! Thank you so much for the time and effort you put into the workshop.

From another bride, C. Robinson

There is great information in the binder provided with this workshop. I’d like to see a full day class. I’m more that happy to recommend this workshop to other brides!

From Ashton Bull:

I really enjoyed this workshop and four hours seemed to be just the right time to cover all of the details. I have been to other workshops before and this one is the best so far. I really appreciate the binder and vendor recommendations as well.

Based on the surveys that our attendees provided, we have decided to lower the fee for this extremely informative workshop to $150 for a limited time!  If you would like to learn how to plan your wedding like the professionals do, why not learn from the best?  Contact michelle@allisonsevents.com to request more information about “Planning Like a Pro”.

Bridal Open House at Austin’s Trendy Design Center of Austin

Mark your calendars brides! 

On Wednesday, January14, 2009 from 6pm to 8pm you will be able to consult with an array of Austin’s top wedding professionals in a unique downtown venue, Mansion at Judges’ Hill.  Come sample an array of exquisite morsels prepared by Sterling Affairs in a setting that is sure to take your breath away.  Your romantic fairy tale starts here!  If tasting free food, cake, and signature bar drinks isn’t enough to get you to our party, surely a raffle of prizes that will greatly assist your wedding budget can spur you to action.  What have you got to lose but a lot of worry about planning your wedding?

Please RSVP online to michelle@allisonsevents.com or by phone at (512) 267-4544

Participating Vendors: Allison’s Events, Mansion at Judges’ Hill, Sterling Affairs Catering, Complete Music, Sterling Images, Floral Renaissance, Austin Party Central, Simon Lee Bakery, Life Coach and Officiant Mike Rinehart, Up-hair Stylist Tammie Garza, and Booth 66

Raffle prizes include a 16X20 custom bridal portrait, a groom’s cake, a $100 floral gift card, a $100 rental gift card, a seat in Allison’s Events workshop “Planning Like a Pro”, and much more*!                                                                                                 * You must be present to win the raffle prizes.  Certain stipulations apply to certain prizes.  See vendors for details.

Keep checking back to our blog for details on other Bridal Open Houses that Allison’s Events will be producing later in the year for wedding venues such as The Omni Downtown, The Renaissance and more.

Hope to see you on the 14th!  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Allison’s Events Presents

Planning Like a Pro

Four Hour Workshop

Lunch included by a Preferred Wedding Caterer

$300 

Don’t let the struggling economy stop you from having a professionally planned wedding.  Learn to plan just like the professional wedding planners do at a fraction of the cost.  Learn their secret techniques, tricks and strategies to plan your own wedding down to the last glorious detail.  Taught by seasoned and trusted Wedding and Event Planners and the ACC Instructor that teaches Wedding Planner Certification to the pros. 

Classes are scheduled for February 21^st and 28^th as well as March 7^th, 14^th and 21^st  from 10am to 2pm. 

Sign up today because spots are filling up fast!  Call Michelle at 267-4544 or email michelle@allisonsevents.com to request an enrollment form.

Sample Topics for Allison’s Events Workshop“Planning Like a Pro” 

• What to do FIRST!!!
• Setting Your Wedding Goals
• What is a Bridal Profile?
• Controlling the Guest List
• Wedding Budget Basics
• Best Budget Tips
• Dates to Avoid
• Where do you find a Minister or Officiant
• Wedding Insurance - do you really need it?
• Latest and Greatest Wedding Styles, Trends and Colors
• Invitations Ideas and Selection - what to watch out for
• Invitation Wording - ideas for every situation
• How to choose a Venue, a Photographer, A Florist, A Caterer and everything else!
• Vendor Insights that You need to Know
• What does the estimate really cover
• Yuck! CONTRACTS!!!  Getting it in Writing
• How and When to Negotiate with Wedding Vendors
• Who Pays for What
• Gratuities – are they expected?  YES!
• Tips for Planning your Wedding at Work & Tricks for not getting Caught
• Hotel Room Blocks. - how do I get one and what to look for in the contract
• Top Tips for Wedding Cake Selection
• How to Create a Wedding Timeline
• Marriage License Requirements in Texas
• Name Changing Suggestions
• Staffing Your Event
• Bar Beverages and Signature Drinks
• Rentals - what are they and why do I need them
• Linens, China, Silverware, Chafers, OH MY!
• Etiquette Does Matter
• Specialty Lighting
• Music, Music, Music. - how to choose a band or DJ
• Wedding Song Selection
• Run Your Own Rehearsal
• Designing Your Wedding Ceremony
• Managing the Reception when YOU are the Guest of Honor

Each attendee will receive her own binder with details from the workshop to take home

So….you are planning a special event for your company or a wedding for a family member.  Perhaps a product introduction, company picnic or the celebration of a family milestone, like a fiftieth wedding anniversary.  Easy, right? Anyone can do that!  Not so fast.  What will a qualified event professional do for you? 

1. A good meeting, event or wedding planner is worth their weight in gold. They will base preliminary decisions on your budget and suggest what number of guests, atmosphere, location, decor and even date and time the budget can stretch to accommodate.  They will even suggest the degree of formality based on your budget.

2. A pro can plan everything from the venue, florist, audio/visual, lighting, arrange for decorations, valet parking, transportation to catering and much, much more all while saving you from costly mistakes.  Remember this is what they do all day long, they know who the best vendors are who will deliver what they have promised.

3.  They take the guess work out of the planning process.  You might like the price of company A but because you don’t do this for a living you might really be better off hiring company B because they do better quality work.  You don’t know this because this isn’t your expertise.  A planner will steer you in the right direction.

4. A qualified planner will always have a contingency plan.  They will assess the risk factor of any event and make suggestions and offer guidance to accommodate anything that could go wrong

Weddings are an affirmation of love, caring, family, friends and hope for the future.   They are the perfect opportunity to show a couples love, affection and gratitude by giving their friends and family a day they will never forget.  It is a compliment to everyone who attends your wedding and reception to plan out a beautiful, fun, interesting event.  Attention to the details will make the difference.  Remember it is the little details that create the biggest impression.  Start by collecting ideas that capture the mood, feel and style you want to convey.  Pictures from magazines, scraps of fabric, paint samples from your local hardware store, colored ribbons, maybe even a poem, single words or phrases.  Anything that gives you inspriation to leads you to sum up the look and mood of your special day.  Having a clear sence of what you want to achieve before you start will help you with the hundreds of decisions you will need to make when planning your wedding.

The journey toward any celebration can be overwhelming by the huge number of planning and design decisions that must be made.  Then, once the design concept has been chosen you have the task of pulling everything together to make it work.  There are some basic rules that I want to share with you.  They will help you with making these decisions.

1. Don’t worry about “Trendy” The most successful events focus on basic classic details not the latest fad.  Classic is always beautiful.

2. Simple details are not the same as cheap details.  Simple does not need to be minimal.  You can make a simple design by limiting the types of materials but giving an abundant effect by repeating the design many times.

3. Focus on the event environment and design the elements of the event to suit the setting.  Your design for a garden party will need to fit the garden concept while a roof top terrace will lend itself to an entirely different design vision.

4. Design your event to make your guests comfortable.  Never sacrifice the comfort of your friends and family just to highlight a design element. 

5. Limit your design elements to three choices.

6. Know what is important to you when designing your event, then stick to your priorities.  If your priority is fun and dancing then put your efforts towards finding the best dance floor and band you can afford

7.  Worry about providing a gracious, comfortable event rather than making a huge impression and you’ll find the results worth the effort.

8.  Your guests will never notice that you used five flowers in your arrangement instead of three.  What they will always notice is if you skimp on service.  This is part of making the event comfortable.  If your guests are well taken care of they will have a great time

In the past 30 years I have helped hundreds of brides and corporate clients plan and design the decor for their events.  During this time I have been the lucky Event Planner that gets to participate in the celebrations of some of life’s greatest milestones.  Weddings, Birthdays, Memorial Services, Anniversaries, Corporate Galas, or a party to honor a special achievement, each and every one a special occasion and a cause for celebration.  Staging and decoration these events is an art form.  In essence, you don’t plan a party as much as you design it with the venue as your stage.  This room becomes the canvas on which you will apply your ideas and vision.   Experience has taught me to trust my instincts, to conceptualize, then design the event.  Start with a color palette, choose the room layout, select the size tables or cocktail furnishings, choose the linens, flowers and design elements.  Compliment everything with the most overlooked element, lighting.  Then when you select the menu it will be the last element that ties the decor together.  Choose the caterer carefully and make sure that the one you select is not only wonderful with the food but also comfortable with tablescapes that compliment the menu and pull everything together for a spectacular event design that will inspire all that attend.