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May 30th, 2009UncategorizedFirst off this is a great book written by Mireya Navarro, an environmental writer for the New York Times. Her new book was released at the beginning of this month. Whether you are a wedding planner or an engaged bride (or groom), you absolutely have to pick up this book.
You will learn about many ways to make your event(s) more eco-friendly in every phrase of your planning from choosing a green engagement ring and jewelry to selecting a green venue to host your event, to choosing a gown made of eco-fabrics to planning an eco-honeymoon and everything in between that may have never crossed your mind. You will even learn about how to tell what's really green and what's really not. I learned quite a bit of very useful information and the book has encouraged me to seek even more knowledge about living a greener lifestyle. That said, I give the book a "two thumbs" up!The book itself is even "green" in that it was made with recycled paper as well as printed with soy-based ink. Please be sure to checkout Mireya's blog and order your personal copy of the book.I wanted to not that I do strive to run an eco-friendly wedding consulting firm with our day-to-day operations as well as in my personal life...thanks to my other half who is all about living a sustainable lifestyle. However, I must admit to you that after reading the book, I had some personal convictions. This is not a bad thing at all. It just means that the author got her point across and I am compelled to put forth even more effort.Are you planning a green event? If so, share with us how you are making your event more eco-friendly by commenting. If not, I challenge you to do some research and discover a couple of ways to decrease your as well as your event's carbon footprint. -
May 29th, 2009UncategorizedThis year has seen Jaquet Droz slowly supplementing their standard Grande Seconds figure 8 watch design style with more traditional watch layout designs. It almost feels odd seeing a Jaquet Droz watch with standard hands. While this Jaquet Droz Quantième Perpétuel Céramique watch does have a standard hour and minute hands layout, the rest of the watch is rather unique. No doubt with assistance from their corporate parent the Swatch Group, they developed this well conceived perpetual calendar watch. The case is ceramic, which is ideal as the curves are gentle and allow for a very good use of the material. Some surfaces appear to be in a matte finish while others are polished.
Two retrograde hands flank the middle of the watch with day of the week and date indicators. The upper subsidiary dial indicates the month, while a small window inside indicates the leap year cycle. In the lower middle of the dial is a subsidiary seconds dial using Jaquet Droz's typically shaped seconds hand with ringed counter-weight. The design overall is very satisfying to the eye. Small elements prevent it from being as legible as it could be. I would have liked the hour and minute hand to be in a different color than the other hands as to make them stand out and be more legible. Also, the layout on the retrograde date indicator will require some mental calculation to determine the date as you'll need to stare at it a bit longer than you'd like to determine the information. Regardless, these are minor points as buyers of watches such as this aren't usually too concerned with factors such as precise legibility. The watch looks very nice, and that is what is important to the target market.
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May 28th, 2009Uncategorized
The Obama Administration has hired actor Kal Penn as a liaison officer who will be the ‘key’ between Obama’s office and Hollywood. White House has officially contracted him into the President’s staff as an associate director in the Office of Public Liaison.
Penn has starred in a movie “Harold & Kumar Escape From Guananmo Bay” where he played Kumar. Well Kumar sound more like a Bollywood import wonder why he has been asked to handle Hollywood affairs it seems he is more qualified to handle Bollywood dealings or matter of interest in the Indian Subcontinent.
I think President Barack Obama is getting some of his policies wrong now, recently when he was in the UK he present the Queen with an iPod and now he wants someone to assist him on matter pertaining to Hollywood.
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May 27th, 2009Uncategorized
There is an mid-size art gallery on U Street (near 14th) that will occasionally open its doors for private parties called The Hamiltonian. Blank walls and floor, but they will probably want to leave the art on the walls. Artomatic has a very large raw space and I know BrightestYoungThings.com used it for a party once. The Space, where I had my re-launch party, is somewhat raw. Oh, and if it’s for something edgy, there is a hidden spot called Fight Club, but it’s like port-a-potty raw.
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May 26th, 2009UncategorizedPreviously, I discussed three things you need to determine when choosing your destination wedding location. Today, I wanted to expand on that blog post briefly by discussing another factor to take into consideration. Just as your options of where to host your destination wedding are plenteous, so are the rules and regulations in many locations.Another factor to determine when choosing the location is whether or not you envision a religious or civil ceremony for your destination wedding. This is very important because in some locations a religious ceremony may not be legal or vice versa. For example, if you have your mind set on a having a religious ceremony and your top choice to host your nuptials are in the Mexican Caribbean, then you should note that only civil ceremonies are legal in Mexico. You can still have a religious ceremony, but you will have to opt to do both a civil service and religious ceremony for it to be binding.On the other side of the coin, if you wish to get married somewhere like Bali, a beautiful and exotic island of Indonesia, you should note that only religious ceremonies are binding. Civil ceremonies are not acknowledged. In other words, you must declare a religion to be married in Bali and the wedding ceremony has to be performed in accordance with the laws of your religion. Even more, both parties must have the same religion. So, if you are a Christian and your fiancé is a Buddhist, one of you will have to file a written declaration to change your religion to that of your partner’s to be legally married in Bali.
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May 25th, 2009Uncategorized
Salma Hayek shrinked at the thought of having a multi million dollar wedding at this time when the recession is affecting everyone. Salma Hayek and billionaire boyfriend Francois-Henri Pinault can very well afford a lavish wedding but instead they opted for a quiet one last Valentine’s Day. Salma Hayek denied they have plans to follow the quiet wedding with a lavish ceremony and reception at the end of this month.
Salma Hayek said a wedding is all about love, family, friends and fun. She said it is ridiculous to spend millions on a wedding since this has never been her dream. Salma Hayek and new husband Francois-Henri Pinault already have an almost two-year old daughter who was born in September 2007.
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May 24th, 2009Uncategorized
Zac Efron was confronted by a TV host in hair curlers after he poked fun at her son on a comedy show.
Kathie Lee Gifford burst into Efron’s interview on NBC’s Today Show to tell the teen heartthrob that her son Cody was ‘better looking’ than him.
Efron, 21, mimicked Cody in a Saturday Night Live sketch poking fun at Gifford, who hosts the final hour of the Today Show.
“How are you doing? Nice to meet you. So you played Cody over the weekend?” Gifford joked as she walked in on the interview from her dressing room.
“Cody called me, this is his number he wants you to call him. This is what he looks like (showing a photo).
“He is way younger than you, way taller than you and way better looking. Thank you very much.”
High School Musical star Efron laughed and smiled as he assured Gifford it had all been done in ‘good humour.’
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May 23rd, 2009Uncategorized
Lindsay Lohan refuses to let her breakup with Samantha Ronson put her spirits down. Instead of moping around crying for spilt milk Lindsay Lohan was spotted getting a new tattoo. Lindsay Lohan earlier said she was in absolute hell after Samantha Ronson dumped her but after a few days only she was back to her old self and even went to the Shamrock Social Club tattoo parlor with her sister Ali and got a tattoo for her wrist.The new tattoo was not however the only thing new with Lindsay Lohan. She was also spotted at the Byron & Tracey Salon in Beverly Hills where she had her hair dyed darker red. Lindsay Lohan proudly showed her new body to Rumer Willis while dining at Nobu in West Hollywood with her mother Dina and Ali. Lindsay Lohan was still sporting her reed-thin body which made a lot of people suspect that she has an eating disorder problem. The Herbie actress did not drink any alcohol but opted for bites of cucumber salad and a few edamame.
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May 22nd, 2009UncategorizedFirst I should say that I completely understand that every bride desires to create a perfect wedding, but if there is one thing I have learned since I have worked in this industry is that there is no such thing as a perfect wedding. If you really think about it objectively, what is a perfect wedding?So, if there is no such thing as a perfect wedding, what should you do to ensure your wedding is one that you will enjoy?My first piece of advice is to erase the illusion of a perfect wedding from your mind because there is really is no such thing. It's better to be realistic than to be unrealistic. In this way, you are better prepared mentally if faced with any of the following: the groom getting sick with the flu, severe weather advisory for hurricanes that result in mandatory curfews or evacuations, Uncle Ken getting drunk and acting a fool at the reception, or even worst a vendor not showing for your event. It happens!Secondly, you should be flexible. Now, I don't say this to mean that you should not get what you desire because after all it is your wedding. However, I do believe that it sometimes pays to be flexible. Listen to the advice that family and friends may offer as well as the suggestions of your wedding vendors. The advice they offer just may be prove to be invaluable. It can never hurt to listen.Thirdly, you should hire wedding professionals who can not only manage the logistics of your wedding, but who have the ability to troubleshoot should problems arise. As paraphased by Andy Ebon, Colin Cowie (one of the best event planners of all time) says:“An entire event is never perfect. At the end of the day, if you’ve surrounded yourself with competent, qualified professionals, they will solve whatever problems or challenges come up, and will insulate the client from them.”There are a lot of things that go on behind the scenes--problems and challenges will arise on the day of your wedding--that you may never know about. When you hire "competent, qualified professionals" their job is not to make sure your event perfect (remember there is no such thing), rather their job is to keep the festivities moving along and to troubleshoot and improvise when problems and challenges do arise. There's more to come. Stay tuned!
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May 21st, 2009Uncategorized
You know it's bad out there when one of the world's richest men, Prince Alwaleed of Saudi Arabia is divesting himself of his assets like it's going out of style. We last wrote about Prince Alwaleed last month when his Kingdom Holding company sold its 50 percent stake in the exclusive Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva and he's not done yet, two of the world's most famous hotels may be up for sale.
Prince Alwaleed, who is worth $13 billion after seeing his wealth tumble from $21 billion last year, is putting the Raffles of Singapore hotel up for sale for $450 million. The legendary hotel was once the home of writer Somerset Maugham and has been around since 1887. This is the hotel that gave us the cocktail known as the Singapore Sling and has been a stopping place for decades of movie stars.
Also said to be up for sale is London's Savoy hotel. The historic London hotel is currently receiving a major renovation. Its sale price could be around £200 million, the same at which Irish property investment specialists Quinlan Private sold it for in 2005.