ISES NY Metro Twin Chapter Program Fundraiser for the SEARCH Foundation

Although I visited London for the ISES UK REC this past March, London came to New York in April. After months of hard work, planning, and pitching, Crossing Channels: Next Stop London became a reality. A collaborative effort of the “Twin Chapter” committees of both the ISES NY Metro Chapter and the ISES UK Chapter, this semi-simultaneous fundraiser benefited the SEARCH Foundation while showcasing exciting digital connectivity linking members from each side of "The Pond."



Both Chapters decked their venues out in red, white and blue, used video and social networking outlets such as Twitter, YouTube and Skype to turn two chapter events into one continuous experience. On the afternoon of the New York event, London attendees connected to New York via Skype and Will Broome, ISES UK President sent well wishes to New York for a successful event. During the evening our UK friends were on standby calling in to pass the torch to New York to begin our part of the fundraiser.

As guests entered the venue at the chic Hudson Terrace, they were greeted by London Bobby's along with life size London Guards created out of balloons. Throughout the evening guests were delighted by fabulous entertainment , while dining on delectable tea sandwiches and hors d'ouevres.





A unique element of technology was used in the event, a digital silent auction. Wireless keypad technology provided guests with a digital bidder card to use throughout the evening to both bid on auction items and make personal donations directly to the SEARCH Foundation. Silent auction items and bids were displayed throughout the evening on multiple plasma screens.

Aside from heading the Twin Chapter Committee, my company, C. Brower & Co Creative Events, sponsored the authentic London decor elements—purchased while I was there for the UK REC! A Twin Chapter ice sculpture added to the hip London club atmosphere. To carry on the theme, Twin Chapter Committee members wore Mind the Gap and Union Jack Flag t-shirts, also collected while I was on holiday in London!

A special thanks to the evening host, Michael Cerbelli, Immediate Past Chairman of the SEARCH Foundation and to our special guest Larry Green, current Chairman of the SEARCH Foundation. As our DJ spun some London tunes to close the evening, the perfect end to a perfect night was Larry Green purchasing the winning key to unlock the box to win a diamond. As guests departed the event they were treated to a dazzling party favor from Swingbox gift box which included custom branded ISES NY Metro and ISES UK M&M's by My M&M's.

Here I am pictured with Michael, Alex Virvo from Swingbox, and Altair Rasco, a Twin Chapter Program Committee Member who is also part of my freelance team and a tremendously hard worker. Behind the scenes, she and I spent hours putting the program together. Up through her Stage Managing on the night of the event, she quickly became my right hand and was truly instrumental in making this program happen.



I have to say, the event would not have been possible without the help of my amazing team, some of whom are pictured below. It was such an honor and a pleasure to have worked with them. The event brought a lot of awareness in both the UK and the US about the Twin Chapter Program.



Collectively the Twin Chapters, ISES NY Metro and ISES UK, raised $8000 for the SEARCH Foundation! The event made ISES history as our first transatlantic event of its kind. I am so proud of what we were able to accomplish, that we had the turn out that we did, and that the event was so incredibly successful! Cheers!

All of the photos in this blog are from our fabulous sponsor, Christopher Duggan. To view all of the official photos from the Twin Chapter Event by Christopher Duggan of Threshold Visions Photography, click here. (Password: ISES)

To view the YouTube messages sent to the UK filmed and edited by My Tech Guy and Hi! Hello!, click here.

To read the UK article about the event featured in Events Magazine, click here.

Bling Bling!

Hello folks! Yes, I know.....delinquent once again but for good reason. It's been quite busy since my Valentine's Day wedding event and this is a good thing! I promised pictures from the event and I'm finally delivering. Though there was no time for "how-to" bridal bouquet pictures (there never is---such is the life of the event designer), we have some wonderful photos courtesy of my husband Ken, photographer extraordinaire, to give you the idea of some of the things we spoke about on our last blog. This is a picture of the lovely bride, Lisa, and her "bling" bouquet. This bouquet contained almost four dozen roses, each studded with crystals. This was an absolutely gorgeous bouquet—it sparkled like diamonds from across the room.

Next, we have photos of our centerpieces: crystal-studded red rose balls in cylinder vases wrapped with tie leaves. Incorporating the elements into every last detail, even the frames holding the table names had miniature Swarovski crystals added to them to offer that last little touch of bling.

Lastly, here is a photo of the Swingbox, which I was telling you is my favorite new product. The Swingbox was tied with Swarovski crystal encrusted burgundy ribbon, matching the bridesmaids’ dresses. Once opened, it held a thank you note to each of the guests, Red Hot Heart Candies, which was the special ingredient in the signature drink recipe I created for the couple, the Valentini Martini. As you can see from the photo, the recipe for this drink was also included in the Swingbox as part of the favor.

C. Brower & Co Creative Events won a Big Apple Gala Award for a former signature drink creation. Will the Valentini Martini be the next award winning drink? Stay tuned to find out!

If you have an upcoming event or wedding and would like to have a signature drink created for your event, please email us at events@cbrowerandco.com or email me directly at christine@cbrowerandco.com.

We'd love to work with you on your next event!

Keep an eye out for our next blog—we have pictures from an amazing event the team worked on!

Warm regards,

Christine

Guilty As Charged

OK--I know, I know. I am a totally delinquent blogger. Apologies to all my fans out there but life has been very busy since last I've blogged but hopefully I'm back on track for the New Year.

Hear that Christian! (Christian is my web designer who always tells me to blog away. See...I'm blogging!) While we are on the subject of Christian, I have received so many compliments on my website, I've decided to share with you all, Christian's contact info since he is such an amazing web designer. His company is Diseno Lopez www.disenolopez.com and he can be reached at (201) 575-6421. OK Christian--I want a commission for all the jobs you get from this. (Just kidding.)

Lots and lots of exciting things going on in the world of C. Brower & Co Creative Events since last we've spoke. I've got plenty of new pictures from events to post, so be on the look out for them on my photo pages and maybe I'll throw in a few here on the blog real soon. I'm still playing catch up from all the events during the holidays so the photos are coming--I promise! December was the busy season and also my favorite time of year. I love designing holiday events.

Anyway, the latest fun is I just got back from The Special Event Conference in beautiful, sunny San Diego, California. What a conference! For those in the events industry--this is the conference to beat all. Jam packed with top notch educational seminars, events and hundreds of vendors at the trade show booths. I've made some great connections and found some new products. I spent time working on the Hands on Hundred Program where I volunteered time to help at The Wedding Gallery event. I got to work with a phenomenal floral designer, Rene van Remes, who is well renowned in California. What a treat that was! For any designer out there, you know what a thrill it is to get to work with some of the masters.

Adding to the fun, I got to work with my favorite team at Total Entertainment, Michael Cerbelli, Julie Estes and Jaclyn Ownes at Michael's course "Hot Event & Entertainment Ideas for 2009 (tm)." This class is where Michael shares all his resources for the hottest new ideas and products in the events industry.

While my husband got to sit in the audience and enjoy the class, somehow I managed to get recruited to work with Team Cerbelli (hmmmm......how did that happen.....but oh what fun it always is!) I worked backstage helping Jaclyn and Julie with entertainment management. As much as I love to design, it always fascinates me what goes on behind the scenes. I love to be a part of it. It's like seeing how the mechanics of a clock works. So...for those new to the industry....a small piece of advice...if you want to be in the forefront, you first have to learn how the back end of the events industry works.

So what's next for C. Brower & Co Creative Events? This weekend we've got a Valentine's Day wedding coming up! Hundreds of red roses and tons of bling. I've got miniature Swarovski Crystals that are going to be attached to the red ribbons on the party favors (totally GORGEOUS!) and lots of bling in the bridal bouquet. I'll post some images and maybe some "how to's" so you all can see how to dress up an otherwise plain bouquet. By the way, the party favors are a great new product courtesy of my friend Alex Virvo of Swingbox. They are the coolest product in the way of party favors--check them out at www.swingbox.com

At the end of the month we've got a Mardi Gras 50th Birthday, but more on that next time. It's been lovely chatting but I'm off to go design another spectacular event!

Sharing Resources

I find that at times the event industry can be very competitive. I attended a class a few years ago at the International Special Events Society Regional Education Conference. This class, Hot Entertainment Ideas, was held by one of the industry leaders, Michael Cerbelli, President of Special Events at Total Entertainment. Though I walked away with a ton of resources for entertainment, the thing I remember most was Michael saying 'share the wealth - don't be afraid to share your resources. We are here to help each other become successful.'
I realized then and there why this man is such a successful person. He is consistenly referring his fellow colleagues to clients to help them grow their business and in turn, has developed an incredibly loyal following where he has become the preferred vendor to these colleagues. I personally have become one of his loyal followers. He has been a mentor to me and has been highly instrumental in helping develop my career. Inspired by his words and his class, I went on to teach my own class, "The Art of Smoke & Mirrors: Design & Decor on a Tight Budget", sharing my resources for decor with my industry colleagues.

This conversation leads me to share with you some of my preferred vendors in the events industry.

My one and only preferred source for entertainment:
Total Entertainment (offices located out of New Jersey, New York and Chicago, serving clients worldwide!) http://www.totalentertainment.com/

My favorite historical venue located in lower Manhattan:
The Broad Street Ballroom http://www.broadstreetballroom.com/

My favorite lighting company with offices out of New York, Washington DC, Florida & Chicago: Frost Lighting http://www.frostlighting.com/

My favorite, and New York's premiere, ice sculpture company:
Okamoto Studio http://www.okamotostudionyc.com/

Loving these invitations:
Bizzy Bee Boutique http://www.bizzybeeboutique.com/products.html

I was also recently introduced to a wonderful furniture rental company located in New York:
American Furniture Rental http://www.afrevents.com/

Last but not least, (and I'm a little bias), my favorite event production & design company:
C. Brower & Co Creative Events!
Thank you for visiting our website and thank you for your business!

Warm regards,
Christine

Creative Events Quote of the Week

This quote goes out there to all my creative designer friends and was sent courtesy of my wonderful, brilliant, science-minded cousin, Bianca.

"Imagination is more important than knowledge."
--Albert Einstein

It's through our imagination that we have the ability to create the wonderful things that we do for this Event-ful industry.