Spectacular Summer Birthday Fiesta

Three-year-olds don't have to have Party City, out-of-the-box birthday parties.

As our Wedding and Event Planning students know, a little party planning and theme coordination can go a long way towards creating a memorable event for adults and their children.

Case in point: Dotty's 3-Year Birthday Fiesta! Enjoy this video of her backyard extravaganza click here to see more photos of this special party.

Many thanks to 100 Cake-let, the best Family Blog on the planet, for allowing us to share this wonderful post with our readers! Also visit 100 Layer Cake, the best Wedding and Event Blog ever.

If you're interested in learning more about event planning and decor, we encourage you to explore the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.

Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.

Sheffield School Graduate Shelly Stone Enjoys Success as a Professional Event Planner

When Shelly Stone enrolled in the Complete Course in Wedding & Event Planning, a home-study course offered by the Sheffield School, she was already working to establish herself in the field. Signature Events by Shelly, her wedding and event planning business, is now three years old. And for Shelly, it’s been something that she’s been working towards most of her life.

“My previous experience in event planning mostly regarded my family and friends,” Shelly said.  “I like to entertain – and take it seriously – so I knew that I had the organization skills to create a menu, decorate, and keep things on task.”

Shelly got into the business of wedding planning because she enjoys making people happy. She sees it as an opportunity to allow those involved in the wedding, namely the bride and groom, with a relaxing and memorable experience. The Sheffield School’s home-study wedding planning course allowed Shelly, a working mother, to learn more about the field and how to earn money from the comfort of her own home.

“When I enrolled in the Wedding and Event Planning program I really wanted to make sure I knew how to handle every situation that might come up” Shelly says.  “I wanted to give myself that extra boost of confidence to be able to call myself a Professional Wedding Planner.  Even though I’ve done a good number of weddings and events, when I finished my last unit and received my grades I finally felt like a REAL Professional.”

Based in Wisconsin, Signature Events by Shelly is still growing. With fifteen weddings, and a dozen other events under her belt, Shelly is preparing to expand into new fields.

To request information about the Complete Course in Wedding & Event Planning, visit www.sheffield.edu or call 1-800-445-7279.

About the Sheffield School

For over 25 years, the Sheffield School has trained successful designers and wedding planners.  Founded in 1985 as an Interior Design school, it has since added courses in Feng Shui Interior Design, Wedding & Event Planning, and Jewelry Design.  All of the Sheffield School’s programs are distance education courses and serve students all over the world. The Sheffield School is owned and operated by Distance Education Co., LLC, with two sister schools also located in Manhattan, the New York Institute of Photography and the New York Institute of Career Development.

Spotlight: David Stark, Event Planner

(Robin Hood foundation event by David Stark)David Stark, event designer and planner to the glitterati, recently gave us the insider’s scoop in the world of party planning and shared nuggets of his design philosophy.  We had been following Stark’s impressive career:  his clients include major foundations, institutions, and movers and shakers such as Michael J. Fox and Rachael Ray. 

(David Stark)An example of his exciting designs is the sneaker tornado – seen in the photo above – created for an event for the Robin Hood foundation.

Stark wanted to create a display that not only caught the guests’ attention but also reflected the client’s purpose.  The donated sneakers were eventually taken down and distributed to the needy. 

(New Yorkers for Children event by David Stark)Asked where he finds his inspiration for his designs, Stark mentioned looking at artwork, nature, fabrics, lighting centers and hardware stores.  Stark started out as an artist - graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design – and always relied on his art background for his ideas. He fell into event planning by helping out his friend at creating floral displays. One of his clients said to him: "You know, David, it doesn't have to be all about flowers".  After that ephiphany, he started creating displays out of all kinds of things. Check out his display of paint cans for Benjamin Moore below.

(DIFFA event for Benjamin Moore by David Stark)His thoughts on:

Clients:  “You want to be able to take your client on a journey. Most of them crave a creative experience.”

Stupid ideas: “I like stupid ideas…I like to turn them into something unexpected.” 

Rejection:  “I don’t take offense if a client doesn’t like my ideas – I’ll just use them for my own bar mitzvah!”

How to top his last design:  “I don’t really think that way.  I won’t create a big orchid extravaganza because most people have already seen that. I'll create something different."

Stark also reminded budding event planners:  “Don’t forget that it’s a service industry.  You’re there to help the client. And let’s face it – most service industries need improvement!”

The discussion was part of a series of workshops hosted by Apartment Therapy.  If you are interested in attending any of the events, please visit their site. 

Event Report: Close Encounters with Elizabeth Gilbert

 

 

I love to attend events, and since Sheffield School offers a Wedding and Event Planning course, I'm always eager to see how different events are planned and coordinated. Sunday, May 20th, was an 84-degree hot one in the idyllic river village of Frenchtown, NJ, but the scene was anything but tranquil. An electric buzz ripped through the main street as folks queued up for a limo ride to Two Buttons, the great Asian and world imports store that Eat Pray Love author Elizabeth Gilbert and her husband Jose Nunez own, along with a complex of other conscious businesses ranging from a Pilates studio to a whole-foods restaurant. But what about that limo ride?
 

 

The special event was a "whole-town celebration" as Liz autographed copies of her latest book, a cookbook reissued with contributions from Liz - the cookbook originally published by her great-grandmother Margaret Yardley Potter called At Home on the Range. The book is fantastic. Whip-smartly written with a real gourmand's eye for the offbeat, the delicious, and the divine.
 

My friend bought an amazingly colorful Thai porkpie hat at Liz and Jose's store, and I picked up two copies of the cookbook and stood in line to say hi to Liz, chat with Jose while we stood in line (busy serving red wine to everyone, always the perfect host), and then have Liz autograph one copy of her cookbook for my daughter Meredith and her partner Chriss and one for me - I had her sign it: All My Love, Julia Roberts. The event was beautifully organized, with volunteers helping people in line, writing the names of special dedications on sticky notes to put into books for Liz to sign, and even Frenchtown police officers providing order to the colorful chaos. Outside the store, the town set up booths in a carnival-like atmosphere, and every restaurant in town was featuring a different special dish prepared from the new cookbook.
 

The event was a whole-town success, and was planned and executed wonderfully. And the core of the event, showing off a small town's best-selling author, was brilliant. The cookbook proceeds will go to Scholar Match, an organization connecting donors with deserving under-served students to help them attend college - so the event had a fundraising twang to it. I encourage everyone to buy several copies of At Home on the Range, give them out as gifts, and feel good about discovering unique recipes and helping deserving students at the same time.
 

Bonus

Click here for How to Be an Event Planner.

As lead curriculum developer, I enjoy covering the "events beat." If you're interested in learning more about the exciting world of event planning, then we encourage you to explore the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

• Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.
• Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.

Here's How to Be An Event Planner

Eventique NYC

There's nothing more fun than attending a successful event, and nothing more disastrous than being trapped in a going-nowhere-fast event. If your event doesn't have its main objectives clearly spelled out, it's doomed - but there are so many other moving pieces to coordinate beyond the initial planning stages. Event planning is an exciting business; the stakes are always high - and it may be your dream profession.
 

Eventique NYC

If you're well organized, enjoy working with people, love to collect the best vendors in your community in order to help others pull off the perfect event, and were born loaded with patience and perseverance and a strong eye for detail, this may be the profession for you. In today's featured video, join Liron David, an event planning with Eventique, a New York City event planning company, as he takes you through a typical event, describes how he became an event planning, and shares what it takes to be a success in this important field.
 

Event Planning Bonus

Click here to read A Week in the Life of a Wedding and Event Planner (and mother).

 

As lead curriculum developer, I attend as many events as possible to learn more about what makes for successful event planning. If you're interested in learning more about the exciting world of event and wedding planning, then we encourage you to explore the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

• Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.
• Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.