Wise words

If you don’t love what you do for a living, at least find a way to start doing what you love… Part time.

Come on in, sit right down!!

Welcome to Sofie and Billy! I think I may have already welcomed them but I am soooo excited about the Greek wedding that I will do it again!

I’m so lucky!

I get to do what I love and do it well… I have a good life, a great family and a thriving business. Life is great! I’m sad for those who don’t. Now, let’s get on to planning dime great events!

5 “Must haves” for a successful corporate event!

Good corporate events lead to sales and alliances. Whether it’s a business mixer, a product or vendor expo, or even an employee appreciation function, a well executed event can add a visible boost to your net profits. Here are the five things you must have in place to run a successful corporate event:

1. You must have a strategy. A properly conceived corporate event uses an overarching strategy as its road map to success. Strategy includes such essentials as business plan and budget preparation, sponsorships, audience acquisition, creative direction and content development.
2. You must have brand unity. Each building block of your event must be consistent — consistent with each other and consistent with your company’s brand and culture. This congruency is what makes a message powerful, and it’s what makes branding work. Align your brand communication and watch your event make an impact.
3. You must have a plan. A strategy without a plan is like a conceptual drawing without a set of working blueprints. Every logistic must have a management plan, complete with goals, processes to accomplish those goals and milestones to mark your status.
4. You must have your teams in place. The best-laid plans are worthless without smooth execution. You must know who’s handling your site logistics, attendee registration, billing and customer service tasks. You must establish strong lines of communication with them and make them accountable for their progress. One of NOVA 535′s strong points is its ability to expedite these processes with professional aplomb.
5. You must have metrics. Speaking of accountability, you must have systems in place that record and make sense of your attendance and registration statistics so you can get a clear sense of the event’s ROI. If you don’t treat your event as a business, you’ll have no idea of how well you did or how you can do even better next time.

Mother of the bride extraordinaire!

Look what our MOB Martha made for her daughter Rachel’s wedding in April! The initials will be used on the church doors and then transferred to an acrylic box under the cake! Talk about a family wedding. The MOB made all 200 invitations by hand, embossed them all and made the inserts, place cards, and menu cards and is now making the welcome bags by hand. We have made her a job offer after the wedding and would be lucky to have her.

This just in!

I worked with Chrissy Craft on my February wedding in St Pete Beach. I live in Virginia, so needless to say I was a little nervous and freightened about planning from so many miles away. I was working with Chrissy on my “day of” services and vendor assistance and decorations. First of all, she went so above and beyond the “day of” and was always available by phone or e-mail throughout the planning process at a moments notice. She helped in so many ways I could have ever imagined that I would need help in and I am so thankful for that! The flowers were drop dead gorgeous by Bay Bouquet and everyone at the wedding was commenting on them and calling dibs on taking them home. On the day of my wedding, she was so attentive and her team was just as fantastic. Robin and Lorraina were indispensible. While my husband and I were taking photos on the property Lorraina ran out with cocktails and bottles of water and plates of finger foods just to make sure we were okay. That pretty much sums up how awesome Chrissy is. She is completely on top of every last detail, which in the end leaves you so happy and relaxed on your wedding day. My wedding day wouldnt have been as amazing as it was without her. Her services are truly priceless. I would highly recommend her to any other bride, and I am picky! If you can afford the full service package, her treasures at her warehouse are worth every penny.

Alisha & Bob Evans

February 18, 2012

 

Did you know???

We offer a tour of our facility and inventory to everyone who would like to come see what we do. There is no obligation and of course, no cost! We just love what we do and want to show it off! Want a peek? Call and schedule one today or just stop by! If we are in the office, one of our great associates will show you the place!

Welcome Chris Fecke, our new associate wedding coordinator!

We are excited to announce our new associate Chris Fecke who will be coordinating weddings as of March 1, 2012. We choose Chris out of 27 applicants for his  We asked Chris to tell us about himself and here is his reply!

Here are my 25 things you don’t know about me…
- I went to Florida State University
- My favorite vacation spot is Skagway, Alaska
- I have been competitively bowling since I was 10
- My favorite movie is Napoleon Dynamite
- My favorite food is spaghetti
- I can’t stand being late
- My favorite animal is my dogs, Riley and Jersey
- I’m terrified of snakes
- I love making lists. Lists of things i want, lists of things I need, lists of things to do and lists of things I didn’t do
- I have wanted to be an event planner since I was a kid
- My favorite place to hang out is Cigar City Brewery in Tampa
- I’ve always wanted to drive a Mazda Miata
- When I was in college I competed in triathlons
- I played saxophone for 4 years
- My favorite color is green
- I love to read
- I love camping, especially on the beach
- My favorite book is The Hunger Games
- My favorite store is Target
- My favorite tv shows are The Office and The Real Housewives series
- I can’t stand clutter, I’m super organized
- I love taking naps
- I love romantic comedies
- I’ve never read or seen any of the Harry Potter books or movies
- I don’t like being bored so m always looking for something to do.

I’m sure he will have plenty to do at IDE! We are thrilled to welcome him into our family and look forward to the exciting style and dedication he brings to our company.

Take advantage of our Wedding Wire Deal!

$200 off our Platinum Package!

Offered By:Ideal Design Events

$200 Off

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  $200 Value |Promo Code: WW1

We offer you a $200 discount off of our Planinum Package that includes wedding planning services and execution as well as complimentary use of our inventory including specialty linens, lighting, draping, lounge furniture and floral glassware at no additional rental costs.

Offer Expires: 3/15/12

Available to the first 5 couples

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And now… Sharon Fecke… mother of the bride! A review for you..

With all the dreams and expectations my daughter, Kelly, had for her upcoming wedding, I knew we were never going to pull it off without the help of a planner who could actually see her vision. From the beginning Chrissy knew what Kelly was looking for as far as a venue but still gave options to choose from so Kelly was sure she was making the best decision on the reception site. Being a full time college student and interning while trying to plan the wedding of her dreams didn’t leave Kelly much time to make plans, but all she had to do was email Chrissy and it was taken care of. Chrissy had given wonderful recommendations for photographers, disc jockeys, videographers, and florists. My daughter, for months on end, was constantly communicating with Chrissy on how things were going and all of the things she needed to make decisions on. Kelly, with help from Chrissy, had her save the dates, invitations, and thank-you notes custom made for her big occasion. The person Chrissy recommended did an over the top wedding invitation like we had never seen before. I’m pretty sure most people invited to a wedding don’t call to comment on how beautiful the invites were, we had many family and friends do just that. They were breathtaking if I may say so myself. We had the reception at a hotel on St. Pete beach and Kelly’s theme was gold and white. So we didn’t have to just settle for the plain white linens that the hotel had to offer, we used all of Chrissy’s linens, place settings, and silverware because Chrissy had everything in the colors Kelly had chosen. Chrissy rented gold chairs for the reception and black chairs for the wedding ceremony, who would have ever thought that people pay attention to the color of chairs in a reception or ceremony, but I will tell you they sure made both events a huge hit with an even bigger WOW factor.

She has also become a friend of the family and is still working with Kelly to make sure all of the after the wedding stuff is completed to her satisfaction. I would highly recommend Chrissy to anyone planning a wedding. She did a marvelous job on our daughter’s wedding. We couldn’t have had the dream wedding my daughter wanted without Chrissy’s expertise. We couldn’t have put together this wedding without the help of Chrissy and her staff, she is truly a special person who has a passion for what she does and it shows. We would highly recommend Ideal Design Events and Chrissy to anyone planning a dream event.

Sincerely,

Sharon Fecke, Mother of the bride

Kelly and Justin’s wedding, Dec 18, 2011