Quick Fixes - Windblocker

No matter how well a wedding is organized and thought out, you can pretty much count on at least one thing going not as planned. Some are minor issues and go unnoticed but others require immediate attention and some creativity! Beyond the broken bustle that can be fixed with a safety pin or a spot on the dress that a nice little Shout Wipes can remove, sometimes we're faced with much more urgent and upsetting issue. But there is a solution to every problem; it just requires some quick thinking and resourcefulness on the part of your wedding planner.

This new series of entries will recap some of those Quick Fixes I've encountered.

The problem
A beautiful wedding at a Hampton's vineyard this past May was only disturbed by the nearly gale force winds gusting past the still empty grapevines and heading straight for the terrace where guests were about to be seated for dinner. Though we had a few heaters pumping in warm air and flaps to enclose the space, the tarp's panels were about a foot short of reaching the ground and the gap allowed for plenty of wind to rush in and chill the room.

The fix
Fill the gap and block the wind. But with what? There were no flower planters or any large objects really that could be moved to obstruct the wind's path and almost everything in the venue had to be brought in from a rental company so there weren't that many spare props to cover the entire perimeter of the terrace. The event manager threw his hands up but I kept thinking and looking around the venue for something, anything! Then it hit me, we're at a vineyard, they must have cases of wine. I had them bring up as many cases as they could and line them up around the outside of the tarp. When we ran out of cases I removed the linens from a service table in the kitchen and used some clear masking tape from my emergency kit to keep the fabric up. The room warmed up immediately and guests were invited to sit for dinner on schedule! Some guests still mentioned that it was a bit chilly for them and I could only think to myself, "Oh man if you think this is chilly, you have no idea what it was like in here about 10 minutes ago!"

Check out the white boxes around the terrace below. I was so happy the cases weren't an eye sore and didn't ruin the pictures either!

Gift Idea - USB drives and Karaoke

This post is the first of a series called "Gift Idea." This will be a personalized flask and monogrammed tote free zone.

Clients are always asking me for unique gift ideas for either their attendants, parents or even for each other so I thought I would start posting some cool and interesting gifts I've come across. You know your friends and family the best so ultimately you'll have to decide what they'd like as a gift but I'll do my best to post a wide spectrum of gifts from the humorous to sentimental, thrifty to extravagant so that there's a wide variety of options for you to choose from!

USB flash drives ($ - $$$$)
USB flash drive sound too technical and impersonal...and geeky? Well think again. $100 bucks, no make it $1000, says everyone in your wedding party has at least two computers between home and work and who can't use more memory! Though at first it may not seem like a sentimental gift it can be if you preload a few files onto the drive like a personal thank you note, that song that brings back memories of your Europe trip together the summer before college, pictures of when you two were kids at camp...scrap the scrapbook and put together a more modern keepsake.

And now for those who want to take it up 10 notches...Yes, cufflinks for the gents and necklaces for the girls, this has been done a plenty. But what if these accessories could hold 4GB of memory? German designer, Tonia Welter has come up with a line of jewelry that does just that and in a very stylish and shiny way. Make your wedding party feel like they're characters straight out of a secret-spy Bond movie with these dual purpose, futuristic fashion pieces.
Learn more at: http://www.toniawelter.de and http://www.dijitalfix.com






Karaoke from your iPod ($$)
We've all sung along to songs on our iPods but wait, now we can actually sing with the correct lyrics thanks to our friends at doPi Karaoke System. You simply download the video or audio format songs from itunes or www.dopikaraoke.com into your iPod, hook the iPod up to the doPi karaoke system, hook the doPi system to your TV or stereo and you've just converted your living room into a karaoke bar! It comes with two mics and everything. Your friends will thank you...their neighbors may hate you.
Learn more at: www.dopikaraoke.com