Fete Events

It’s always a fantastic night when you get invited to a wedding with a great raw bar!  At this wedding at the St. Regis Hotel in New York, we turned this alcove area into the groom’s own “Shuckleberry Mike’s”.   The signage was inspired by the old New England seafood shacks.

Event Solutions Magazine was kind enough to nominate me and my company as Event Planners of the Year.    2009 was an incredible year for Fete and our team is truly honored.  The winner is selected by  general public voting so please visit the link below and vote for your favorites in each category.

http://www.event-solutions.com/spotlight/vote/

I hate coats over a chair, sofa, table… very unsightly.  I recently purchased three of these for a holiday gift for my brother.  He has a bench in his entry way- perfect place to take your shoes off and hang your coat – stylishly!

These Erich Ginder Ghost Antlers are available in many places including:

designpublic.com

People love paper lanterns.  They make a space feel festive, intimate and fun.   However, how you use them properly is the tricky part.   Here is my advice for using them for your own event.

1) Paper Lanterns create an “outdoor” feel. They don’t make sense in a refined ballroom/ space. I tend to use them outdoors, in a tent or a venue that conveys an outdoor vibe (think loft for example).

2) Use lanterns that are color “natural” with the “irregular ribbed” pattern. For a relatively inexpensive item, these look luxurious when lit.  The white and regular ribbed tend to look cheap.

3) Bigger is better. When hanging lanterns in an event space, smaller ones get lost and look tiny. I use 24″ diameter and up.

4) How you hang them is key. Cluster the lanterns so they are touching slightly and hang at varying heights. The bottom of the lanterns should be at least 8 feet off the ground.

5) For evening event, they need to be lit properly, either externally or internally.  Talk to a lighting person about how to do this.

5) I love to hang them over the dance floor or target a designated area for them to hang – see 2 examples below.

There are many places online that sell paper lanters but one of my favorite sources is

http://www.paperlanternstore.com/nairriropala.html

Paper Lanterns Over the Dancefloor

Paper Lanterns in Smaller Room to Create a Beach Feel

We created this organic dinner table for one of our fabulous gourmet chef brides. The table was composed of tobacco-colored linen, beeswax candles, small thyme, sage and basil arrangements and the bride’s favorite, donut peaches.   Large branches covered with mini-LED lights and dripped with crystals hung as lighting fixtures over each table.

Organic Tablescape

When I design invitations, I don’t just think about the invitation itself.  Every visual detail needs to tie in and make sense.   And it is about the invitation, reply card, response and outer envelope, calligraphy style and sizing, stamp selection and even the way the post office cancels it.   Quite often, I can’t find the right stamp from the US Post Office.  When that happens, I turn to Zazzle  (www.zazzle.com) to print up my custom designs.   And I love the fact that the stamps can be ordered in three different sizes.

Here are some custom stamps we’ve created in the past. 

We had a lot of fun creating this fantastic beach party.    We played off the host’s Brazilian heritage and love of surfing.   Bartenders made fresh caipirinhas and caipiroskas (made with vodka instead of cachaca) all night.   Samba, capoeira dancers and this fire-dancer pictured below were incredible.  At one point, I thought her arms were going to fall off.    Thanks to Bambi Cantrell for these photos.

This custom designed surfboard anchored one of the big bars

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We were very excited and honored to hear that Fete was nominated for a 2010 Juli B Style Award, recognizing “the best of the best” in the fashion, beauty, dining, design, travel and other categories.  juli b is a lifestyle and luxury column providing the latest and greatest for all of your restaurant, fashion, beauty, and, travel needs, from new york to paris.

www.julib.com

If you have just started planning your wedding, you are surely feeling excited and exhilarated yet slightly anxious.  First, make sure you treasure this moment in your life.  When you are ready to start planning, don’t rush to find your venue just yet.   Large projects like a wedding require proper management.  That is why I insist you start with these three questions.

1) What kind of Wedding do you want?

Picture your ideal wedding—the one that would make you and your fiancé happiest. Think about where it is taking place, the atmosphere/vibe of the evening, what are people eating/drinking, is there dancing, who is there, etc…. In this exercise, forget any rules or assumptions you have in your head.

2) How many people will be invited and ultimately attend?

This usually requires list making but the goal is to create a realistic range.

3) Who will contribute to overall cost and how much can each contribute?

The goal is not to clearly answering these questions but rather to jumpstart the process. Planning a wonderful wedding is a process that takes time. This exercise will help you start developing answers the the key questions. Next steps will focus on how to properly bring the two together your fantasy and your reality.

During a food tasting for an event in St. Barths, I had one of the most innovative passed hors d’oeuvres that I have tried in a long time. It was a Frozen Bloody Mary. It’s not for everyone but I give it an A for creativity. It’s a great concept for outdoor weddings in warm weather.

Canapes for Events