effortlessoccasionsandevents

Upstate NY Barn Wedding

Published on March 21, 2018March 21, 2018 by effortlessoccasionsandeventsLeave a comment

When Sarah and Wade contacted me about having their wedding in Upstate NY at Sarahs family barn, I was beyond excited. Starting from scratch for a wedding can be daunting but making each detail fit the bride and groom is so rewarding.

We worked together for just over a year, the details all came together and the end results was amazing.

The day started at Sarahs parents place, right next to the barn. Special Occasion Hair Design did an amazing job making each of the woman look fabulous. The dogs even joined in on the fun.

Photo Credit: Michael Fisher Photography

That dress though.

Photo Credit: Michael Fisher Photography

Sarah and Wade’s first look was so adorable it almost hurts. Their love for each other is infectious!

The flower girls during the ceremony almost stole the show, but Sarah and her dad and then of course the Sarah and Wade really made the whole ceremony so special.

Photo Credit: Michael Fisher Photography

The barn set up was gorgeous. A grand entrance, with family style seating within and a dance floor with a covered tent just outside the barn. Perfect place for a party!

Sarah’s dad actually made the escort card holders.

Photo Credit: Michael Fisher Photography

Every details was thought out, even keeping the kids occupied with these adorable kids activity packs.

Photo Credit: Michael Fisher Photography

Amazing desserts provided by Scratch Bakeshop

Photo Credit: Michael Fisher Photography

A beautiful sunset, and lots of dancing made the day complete.

Photo Credit: Michael Fisher Photography

Thanks Sarah and Wade for letting us be a part of your wedding day!!!

Rochester NY Oak Hill Wedding

Published on January 16, 2018January 27, 2018 by effortlessoccasionsandeventsLeave a comment

This wedding started and ended at Oak Hill in Rochester NY and was gorgeous from start to finish. From the big to little details, it was all there. Add in that it was the first wedding of the season for us… perfection.

Lets start with the gorgeous and move from there…. The veil and dress gaaaahhhhh.

Photo Credit: Natalie Sinisgalli Photography

You can see the full effect here when she was going to do a first look with her father. Huge props to Natalie for this shot. It is one of my favorites.

Ahhh the anticipation… I love a first look!

The wedding ceremony was held at Linehan Chapel, beautiful inside and out!

The details for this wedding were to die for… The head table had napkins that were embroadiered with their initials. Such a great idea, as they can take them home and use again for all the future family dinner parties.

Champagne makes people happy, champagne bars… even happier.

Doesn’t get much more regal and romatic as this!

Desert by the amazing, five of each please. The Groom went to Villinova, so Scratch came up with this dessert display as the grooms cake.

Orient Express kept everyone moving all night long, including the bride and groom who pretty much didn’t leave the dance floor all night.

Late night snacks finished the night off.

Seriously there was not a detail that wasn’t addressed. Such a fun day, great weather, great company and above all an amazing couple.

Rochester NY Wedding – Eileen and Nate

Published on September 1, 2015September 3, 2015 by effortlessoccasionsandeventsLeave a comment

I know Eileen because her big sister is my best friend. So I can honestly say I got to see this engagement from the start to the finish as I was at her sisters house the night Eileen got engaged to Nate and was able to see the ring on the first day they were engaged.

Eileen and Nate are probably one of the most relaxed couples I have ever had the pleasure to work with. They honestly just wanted to have a big party, and them getting married was a great excuse and wow what a party it was.

The timeline for this wedding was so relaxed! We started the day with the girls getting ready and Eileen’s parents house.

We moved on to Plantation Party House for a gorgeous ceremony. It was blazing hot as we thought it would be so we had adorable fans for programs.

How much these two love each other and have such a unique relationship is so apparent and amazing to witness.

Of course there was the party afterward, in which no one was sitting and everyone was dancing. Seriously how fun are these guys!

That little guy in the corner I even got to drive around for the 30 minutes to put him to sleep so his mama (my best friend) could keep dancing. Your welcome Erin 🙂 Thank you thank you Eileen and Nate for allowing me to be a part of your day. I had a blast!

All above photo’s courtesy of Ryan Ballinger Photography. You rock!

Rochester NY Wedding: Westminster Chapel and Hall

Published on August 5, 2015August 5, 2015 by effortlessoccasionsandevents2 Comments

Let’s just start off with I love my job. Seriously there is nothing more satisfying than working with a couple for a year+, getting to be a part of their day, and have it go well. It is a trifecta that I will never get sick of.

We had a jammed packed day. My schedule at points was planned in 5 minutes increments, but at the end of the day it went off on time! (One person party over here).

Thank you thank you Shana and Max for letting me be a party of your special day!!!

158 — I found this old sewing chest and repurposed it to a cute card box.

442 — When Shana asked me to plan her wedding, this is the first project I did. So happy that I could be a part of it!

692 — Shana was an Irish dancer when she was younger, and her dad surprised her with an Irish dancing performance, she even joined in. Check it out she is dancing in those heels!

786 — Another of my projects, the gold cake table.

(All the above photos taken by Chris Ocean Photography)

Rochester New York Event – Hot Summer Nights Fashion Show

Published on June 30, 2015July 1, 2015 by effortlessoccasionsandeventsLeave a comment

When I moved back to New York, one of the first things I did was look for something to do. I was under the false impression that I would be bored compared to living in DC. This of course could not be farther from the truth, Rochester almost has too much to do, to the point where I feel like I miss put on things if I take a weekend off.

Anyhow, naturally when I found out that Rochester has its own fashion week I bought tickets to three of the shows. Each of the shows were amazing, distinctive and each could have stood on its own. The people that were involved were all from Rochester and the show is to benefit The Center For Youth. I knew that I wanted to be part of such an amazing event.

So fast forward to now, Fashion Week is slated for October 13th to the 18th, and I can NOT wait to be a part of the action. So mark your calendars people it is going to be awesome. More on that later…

This event was our summer kick off, I was involved in the social media coordination. Follow Fashion Week of Rochester on Facebook, @rochesterfasionweek on Instagram and @ROC_fashionweek on Twitter to be up to date on all the behind the scenes action, models, fashion, stylists, boutiques and fashion designers.

Midtown Athletic Club was nice enough to be our hosts, and the weather could not have been better for a pool side party! The event featured Emmy Award winning stylist David Zyla the author of “How to Win at Shopping” as a guest speaker. I of course was live tweeting, facebooking and instagraming the entire time (it was exhausting… jk jk jk). I finished off the last designer/boutique with 4% battery left, obviously need to get one of those mobile battery chargers.

Can’t wait for the next event, and don’t forget to follow us, I will make it worth your while!

Fashion Week of Rochester 2015, runway show at Midtown Athletic Club, Rochester, NY. The event featured clothing for men and women, and a book signing by Emmy Award winning stylist David Zyla, author of “How to Win at Shopping.” Photo by Brandon Vick Photography LLC, http://www.brandonvickphotography.com/

Punta Cana Wedding – Trash the Dress Session

Published on March 19, 2015July 1, 2015 by effortlessoccasionsandevents3 Comments

When the you are in Punta Cana and the brides asks you where and what to do for her trash the dress, the ocean is the obvious answer, and when your friends are there as well, of course they should join. Of course we had to add on some another trash session, in the pool, because it was there and we were having fun.

Nothing like a good frolic in the water.

(Photo credit Boris Kilimnik)

You know just throwing left over rose petals (they are real so we are not polluting the world FYI).

(Photo credit Boris Kilimnik)

The best shots (IMO) came after the beach, right into the pool. The faces could never be replicated even if we tried.

(Photo credit Boris Kilimnik)

And last but not least because we needed to get our money worth, there was champagne, because we had some left over.

(Photo credit Boris Kilimnik)

Rochester NY Birthday Party – Movie Themed

Published on February 26, 2015January 23, 2018 by effortlessoccasionsandeventsLeave a comment

About a month and a half ago I started to try to plan my oldest daughters (BG3) seventh birthday party. I don’t know what goes on in everyone else’s house hold but my kids start planning their birthday parties 364 days out, and it changes 364 times. So I never know what to expect when I ask them what they want.

She wanted a movie themed birthday party. I was like… AMAZING… we can do it AT the movie theatre.

NOPE…

BG3- “But Mom if we do it at the movie theatre I can’t have an ice cream sundae bar! You can just set up a movie theatre in the basement and Grandma can make a movie theatre themed cake”

Well she just had it all figured out for me.

It was actually pretty awesome to design a party for one of my girls that didn’t have any pink in it. What was even more awesome was that it was Oscar night the day after the party, so all the decorations in Target were Oscar/Movie themed. So I took some of those, added a few more things, repurposed a few and voila, movie themed birthday party.

Oh and how cute are the marquee letters, Michaels for the win.

As you can see we had a plethora of pillows and blankets for the kids to watch the movie (Despicable Me 2). Once the craziness of the food, cake and presents was over I was able to sit back and just listen to them laugh hysterically at the movie. A pretty great #mommoment.

My mother in law was able to pull off an amazing cake, all the kids were so excited that there was pop corn on the cake. One actually complained when his piece didn’t have any on it (we were scraping it off because we figured they wouldn’t want it).

Also for dessert we had the infamous ice cream sundae bar.

Each of the kids was able to take home a box of candy from the “Concession Stand” a pop corn container (thanks to the $1 section at Target) and a “Hollywood Walk of Fame” handprint.

When the party is over, all the kids have gone home and your oldest daughter thanks you for such a “really awesome party Mom”, there is nothing greater.

Punta Cana Wedding – Fire in Paradise

Published on February 17, 2015January 16, 2018 by effortlessoccasionsandeventsLeave a comment

So when of your best friends is getting married and you get to help plan it there is literally nothing more exciting…. Or terrifying lol.

Next best thing, the couple decides to have a destination wedding. I definitely jumped around my living room when they said they wanted to go some where tropical. Beach wedding?! Yes please.

Last but not least when I suggest a fire show (because seriously what could be more awesome) they were completely on board. Granted I knew that Brandy would be down with it because she is awesome and likes my ideas, and what guy doesn’t like fire?? So thanks Shou and Brandy for trusting me with this awesome experience, can’t wait for the next party! I am thinking five year anniversary party in Europe, I will start planning it now 🙂

(Photo credit Boris Kilimnik)

Boston MA Event – Signature Drinks at #partyattheharrisco

Published on December 18, 2014January 23, 2018 by effortlessoccasionsandeventsLeave a comment

My sister-in-law and brother have a pretty amazing gig going on in Boston. They take pictures and video of some of the most gorgeous people and they love their job. They decided to do a brand launch for The Harris Company their newly combined company. The party went off without a hitch. Food was delicious and the signature drinks were on point.

So on to the signature drinks.

I wanted two choices, because two is always better than one. Plus since this was in November, they also needed to be fall drinks, rich colors and flavors. Makayla and David like gin and tonic, so I wanted to do a play on that. We named them “The Selfie” and “The Mugshot”, aren’t we clever….

Cinnamon is a great flavor especially for the fall, and prosecco is just more delicious than tonic. After a cursory google search I found this Cinnamon and Pear Fizz . The simple syrup and pear puree were made the night before, leaving the cinnamon stick in but removing the rosemary, to give the simple syrup that much more cinnamon flavor. That way the next day the everything just needed to be combined, quick and easy.

Next was a whiskey drink. Nothing says warm and cozy like whiskey. Also I love ginger, and apparently so does everyone else because Moscow Mules are so popular right now. I did a slightly modified version of a “Horses Neck”.

1.5 oz Jameson
2 shakes of bitters
Top with ginger beer and a twist of lemon

Cheers!

Buffalo NY Event -“The Swing” Book Launch

Published on December 4, 2014January 23, 2018 by effortlessoccasionsandeventsLeave a comment

When Heather first called me to help her out with the launch of the her new book “The Swing” by Robert Louis Stevenson, which she illustrated I was beyond thrilled. Firstly because she is amazingly talented and seeing her success is extremely exciting, and secondly I LOVE this book.

The venue was the Roycroft Power House and it was perfect to display her work. This space is awesome, wide open, lots of room to mingle and tons of light. My sister in law the photographer would go gaga (if she did that) over this space. These black art displays were on either side of the room so Heather was able to display the books artwork.

As “The Swing” is a children’s book, there were kids crafts designed by yours truly and an entire kids corner where kids could craft, draw or read, while their parents socialized, ate and waited in line to get their book signed. These really cute book marks that the kids could decorate were designed to look like Bean the dog from “The Swing”.

There was a line of people waiting to have their new book signed from the time we started until we left. We set up a display to showcase her work so guest could see the progression of Heather’s work. I picked up the old ladders, used some twine, and some spray paint. Viola…. art display. How cute are the little swing details?! As you can see Heather is pretty awesome and donated 50% of the proceeds that day to

Of course there was food, and per usual my mother-in-law did an incredible job with the dessert. How cute are these dog cookies. Just like the kids craft they also match the dog Bean from the book. She is one talented lady.

If you are interested in buy the book you can get it through Amazon.com .