The Warren Conference Center & Inn

Last week Tammy Golson Events exhibited at Wedding Boston's Bridal Show hosted by The Warren Conference Center & Inn.

It's wonderful to have an opportunity to meet newly engaged couples at the very beginning stages of their wedding planning journey. I love hearing how they met, their engagement story and what they are envisioning for their wedding day.

The afternoon was sweetened by Kane's Donuts. They provided samples of their pumpkin donuts and sent everyone home with the most delicious honey glazed donuts. Kane's offers great alternatives to cake for wedding receptions. Donuts also make a delicious edible favor.

The interior and grounds at The Warren Center are beautiful and their sampling of appetizers were delicious. They also offered a bloody mary bar with all the fixings.

It was an excellent opportunity to connect with talented vendors, engaged couples and a great venue.

Thanks to Jenny at Weddding Boston for planning, coordinating and including me in this event!

xo,
Tammy

Wedding at The Bell House

I really enjoyed working with Alison and Erin. They are awesome Brooklynites, good foodies, a great couple and cool people in general. They had load of great ideas. The Bell House provides a great atmosphere for casual fun.

Love this something old and think it's great that the older generations have documented who wore these pearls and when. 

 

The ladies had no idea what each other was wearing, so they were really surprised when their first look revealed how similar their wedding day attire choices were. Erin's dress was from Sak's Bridal Salon and Alison's outfit was custom made by Dara Lamb.

 

Brooklyn Bridge Park is a great place for portraits. Here's to a Manhattan backdrop for your wedding photos. 

Don't forget to get a photo with your partner and both your parents.

 

Their design was simple almost minimalist, but lighting dressed up this music venue. Stortz Lighting did a great job of creating this look with paper lanterns and strands of bistro lights.

 The single peonies were perfection and the statement piece for the ceremony was created by Saipua.

 

One of my favorite ideas of the night? The couple brought their The New Brooklyn Cookbook that has recipes from favorite restaurants in the borough. They encouraged  guests to attach their photo booth picture near their favorite restaurant or recipe and then write a message to the couple near by. What a fun, personal and useful guest book.

These custom labeled beers were so beautifully done. Each represents a neighborhood of significance in this couple's courtship, first meeting, proposal, etc.

This couple skipped a cake but surprised their guests with a food truck serving ice cream, The Big Gay Ice Cream folks service crazy delicious flavors including unique ingredients like: wasabi!

The Bell House's photo booth entertained everyone late into the evening.

Allison's sentiments about my service after the wedding, "Hiring you was the best decision we ever made, besides the marrying each other bit."

Thanks to Erin and Allison for entrusting their wedding day to me and for giving me so much goodness to work with. It was fun!

xo,
Tammy

Best Bridal Shower of 2009

During these final weeks of the year, I am sharing some of the wonderful events I have worked on over the course of 2009.

Citrus and Sunshine


Avivit Fisher, the bride's friend and shower co-hosts designed this logo for the event.


This summer loving bride was showered on a private city rooftop terrace under the bright sunshine, sipping sparkling lemonade.


The guest of honor is a savvy vegetarian with excellent culinary skills. The bridal shower menu was planned using local and seasonal ingredients and carefully reflected her taste and personality.



The bride and groom are wine enthusiasts. There were four different white wines and four different red wines available for a tasting activity. Each bottle was disguised and labeled using photographs of the bride and groom from childhood. Burlap bags were not available at the last minute, brown bags were a suitable alternative. Guests were given a fill-in-the-blank sheet and challenged to guess what each wine was. If they needed a second sip, they'd ask for a Gabrielle at age three or Michael at age one. The activity got progressively entertaining.



The brides family and friends were asked to e-mail their favorite recipes and stories to the hosts. The turnout was excellent and this book was the end result. A recipe book is an excellent personalized favor for each guest to leave with. Avivit did an amazing job with the design of Our Culinary Collaboration.


The groom's sisters and nieces could not attend this shower but sent many family recipes including this one. This book is a great opportunity to acknowledge those who are far away and can only celebrate in spirit.


These cake like lemon flavored cookies were affixed with yellow raffia and a coordinating label with the shower design. They accompanied the book as a favor for each guest.



Personalized M&M's are still one of my favorite personalized details. While we've been writing messages on chocolate candies for years, photos on candy is relatively new option. What will M&M's come up with next?

**************************************************************************

Thanks to Gabrielle and her friends for allowing me to share the details of this bridal shower. Huge thanks to Christopher Duggan of Threshold Visions Photography for capturing the details of this event in images.

Tell me about the most original shower you've ever been to? Have fun planning your next shower.

Best Kid's Party of 2009

As I look back on 2009 with enormous pride and joy, I am grateful for the abundance of professional opportunities I have had in the last twelve months. I also realize while I have offered bits and pieces of some of my most memorable events, I have not thoroughly shared the beautiful images and details of them. As we begin to bid farewell to the year, please join me as I showcase some of the best events I have had the privilege to plan and coordinate in 2009.

Andrew’s Third Birthday Train Party

There was never a question of what the theme of this party would be, as this three year old boy is deeply committed to his train tracks, engines and play regime. While Thomas the Tank Engine is his favorite, his mom wanted the party to be personal, creative and thoughtful.


The information on the invitation was thorough, yet presented in a creative verse. This set the tone for the party and gave guests an idea of what to expect.


The wooden train glued to the loot bag was purchased pre-cut at a craft store (they have many other non train options) and gives the bag a clean and natural look. Painting them at the party was an activity on my rain plan alternative in the case of inclement weather. Each bag had a pin stripped conductor hat, a red bandanna, a wooden train whistle (sorry parents!) an individual box of train shaped cookies and candy.


The play list of train themed songs we created for the party was burned to blank CDs for guests to take home. This is an inexpensive favor or filler for any type of party. The CD cover was customized to coordinate with the invites, loot bags and over all concept of the party.


This activity book was made special for Andrew. It featured trains and his birthday. It was filled with pages to color, mazes, puzzles and photos.


I used Martha Stewart's train punch to make the cardboard trains resting on each miniature cupcake. The cupcakes sat on wooden train tracks surrounding the cookie bouquet. They took main stage so no traditional cake was needed. The birthday candles rested in a deep glass of m&m's. Train lollipops and railroad gum adorned the table. When entertaining in a client's home, I try to use their service pieces when it's appropriate. It seems fitting, but in this case the client's beautiful crystal vases would have been a classic contradiction to this casual kid's birthday party. Instead I found Pellegrino bottles in their recycling. The colors coordinated perfectly!


These are Brigadeiros, traditional Brazilian candies. The young guest of honor is half Brazilian so in honoring his culture these were served with dessert. Made with sweetened condensed milk, they are beyond delicious!

The activities were a train pinata, Put the Conductor in the Train Game and swimming.

Good luck planning your next birthday party!


************************************************************************

Thanks to Andrew and his family for allowing me to help them celebrate this special day. Thank you to fabulous Michigan photographer, Jen Kroll for capturing the details of this birthday party.


What are the fondest birthday memories from your childhood?

Thoughtful Wedding Favors

Do your guests a favor and avoid favors that may fall under the category of trinket and tchotchke. These run the risk of being left behind or thrown out at home, They are not a good use of your wedding budget.

An edible favor is always a good idea and rarely wasted. Personalized cookies,
nuts, a favorite snack or a family recipe is often very well received.

Choose something that is a nod or unique to the location. Share something meaningful or significant to you as a couple.

For example, I recently suggested a Milwaukee, Wisconsin couple offer her guests:

Coffee from Alterra. Alterra is a popular local coffee shop on the lakefront in Milwaukee. This will give guests that jolt they need the day after celebrating at your reception. Attach it to a cool coffee mug or travel cup if your budget allows. Take it a step further and include a miniature loaf of bread or a muffin and you can package it as breakfast in bed.

Milwaukee is famous for beer. Send each guest home with a bottle of local brew with a note that reads “Cheers to you for coming to our wedding!” Add on a bottle opener if you want to add on a keepsake.

Wisconsin is the Dairy State. Give guests a gift certificate for frozen custard if people are local and if you think traveling guests will have time to try this local specialty.

Here are other thoughtful wedding favor ideas I like.

Making a donation to a cause in honor of a loved one is lovely sentiment.

Sharing a family recipe for cookies, jam or tomato sauce that you love and want to pass on. Attach the recipe to a jar of jam, sauce or a bag of homemade cookies.

Create a CD of your favorite songs. A couple married in Rochester, Minnesota a few years ago did this and I still love the music they introduced me to. The had a winter wedding and hung the cd’s from a Christmas tree. Some songs were played at their wedding and other songs were their favorites or had significance to them as a couple.

Holiday ornaments. Being sentimental, I love decorating my Christmas tree and my ornaments have significance. An ornament from your wedding will encourage me to remember you and your wedding each year as I hang your favor on my tree. I attended a wedding on Block Island and their ornament, a house on Block Island, has earned a special place on my tree each year. I love remembering the beauty of this lovely New England treasure.

Lottery Ticket. We are so lucky to have you in our lives!

Candy Stations and Photos Booths both add life to the party and are built in favors.

Whatever you choose, keep it simple, present it well and people will appreciate it.

Personalize the favor with a well-designed label, creative packaging, a personal message or note, your names and the date.

Do me a favor, what is the best favor you ever received at a wedding or event?

Favors with Flavor

Looking for a traditional favor with a twist? You agree on everything except the flavor of chocolate. He prefers sweet and you like spice. Meet Heidi Cinicolo of Heidi and Arthur Chocolatiers. She will custom design chocolate to taste. Some flavors offered included: white Russians, peanut butter ganache and jelly in white chocolate, pina colada, green tea, pomegranate and chinese five spice truffle rolled in cystalized sugar. Your flavor isn't on her list, ask and she may be up for the challenge of creating a flavored chocolate specifically for you. The packing is ironically as rich and tasteful as the product.

Chimmi-Churri

Sheila Kurtz, of Graphology Consulting a handwriting analyst company, and I recently had an excellent meeting and brainstorming session to discuss how we can collaborate in the future. Do you know what your handwriting says to the world about you? Perhaps the guests at your rehearsal dinner or bridal shower would like to find out. This would be a beautiful table setting, place card or favor and an excellent way to get conversations started.

As I was leaving her office, she gave me a bottle of Gaucho Green Chimmi Churri Sauce. What is chimmi churri sauce? Good question!

Chimmi-Churri is the culinary soul-sauce of the grasslands of Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and the cattle grazing territories of Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. Chimmi-Churri was developed by gauchos [cowboys] who used it to tenderize their lean, grass-fed beef. The natural enzymes in parsley and acidic qualities of vinegar give added flavor to all meats. Some call Chimmi-Churri the Catsup of Argentina — a bottle or bowl of it is on every table.

So when trying to come up with a menu for a small midweek dinner I hosted recently, I found inspiration in the bottle. I let the chicken breasts bath in the green sauce all afternoon, then just cooked them on the stove and served them with roasted potatoes, green beans and salad. My midweek dinner was a success!