My thought on Valentine’s Day is, if I get flowers from my man on this ONE DAY, but not any of the other 364 days, then he’s not for me, but….we don’t look a gift horse in the mouth right girls? AND yes, I think Valentine’s Day is just for us ladies. Men, so sad, too bad.

But, if you are coupled up or single, here are a few things I love that makes my day a bit brighter regardless…

* Buy your self a new lip gloss…it’s always a HUGE pick me up…my fave is Chanel ‘giggle’ I swear it looks good on everyone.

* A cookie from Levain Bakery ( www.levainbakery.com). They are to-have-a-nervous-breakdown they are so good. Probably 1,000 calories in one cookie, but, so worth it (I’m partial to the Choc choc chip, but the Oatmeal Raisin is to die too), if you are not in NYC, then I do love Godiva truffles.

* Listen to the song ” I’m Sexy and I Know It” by LMFAO and get your swerve on.

* Take a Soul Cycle class…(now open in LA too) nothing is sexier than you feeling powerful. www.soul-cycle.com

* If a couple, read ’50 Shades of Grey’ to each other and visit Babeland. No need to say more.

*Or take your honey to a fabulous dinner – I love Imperial No. 9 in the Mondrian Soho (www.mondriansoho.com) or the cozy neighborhood gem, Red Farm (www.redfarmnyc.com) in the West Village

*If single, or like me, married and don’t believe in hallmark holidays, we stay in, drink our own good wine (just drank a great one today with a retail price of $13.00 and it was GREAT called QUATTRO from Chile) order veggie dumplings from China Fun (still my fave on the UES, or Dim Sum a Go Go downtown) watch the entire season of Nurse Jackie (LOVE) and laugh.

Xxx
Jen

After almost nine months of planning, not even a few sprinkles of rain could stop us or the huge success of Casa Barilla & the Andrea Bocelli Concert this past September. Save the Date partnered with Young & Rubicam as project manager on Barilla Pasta’s famous “Summer of Italy” in New York City. We managed each of the seven agencies involved in planning this event as well as the execution of multiple events leading up to Casa Barilla.

Events leading up to Casa Barilla:
- “Meal for a Meal” truck initiative
- Fiat “Hidden Gem” guerrilla marketing campaign

Casa Barilla
A week long celebration of Italian food and Culture in Central Park where guests enjoyed food sampling, cooking classes and seminars with some of New York’s most famous chefs.

Andrea Bocelli Concert
The week ended with the highly anticipated Andrea Bocelli concert in Central Park as 60,000 people enjoyed authentic Italian fare prepared by Barilla Chefs.

Read more about this event:  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/17/business/media/pasta-maker-barilla-holds-summer-of-italy-events.html

We know it’s been a while, but we’ve had a busy event season and have so many exciting events to share!

As Save the Date continues to grow and expand, so does our scope of events. In addition to working with corporations and non-profit organizations, we have had the opportunity to work with clients on the biggest moments of their lives. Here is one of our favorite bar mitzvahs from the past year….

This bar mitzvah was one of the most fabulous events we’ve done to date. Held at a large downtown loft-space, we transformed the room from a blank canvas into a technology wonderland. Here are some before and after photos of the venue:

Dining Room - Before

Dining Room - After

Dance floor - Before

Dance floor - After

Guests entered the event through a electric blue light tunnel and were greeted by our uniform-clad ‘tech support’. Armed with a customized iPad, the tech support gave each attendee a USB drive with their designated table number. All the latest video and arcade games as well as roaming magicians entertained the younger guests before the main event. Personalized pillows with “LOL” ‘OMG” and “ROFL” decorated the oversized furniture. Adults sipped on drinks from our “Genius Bar” and danced the night away – there was even a surprise black-light dance set! At the end of the night, the Treats Truck, which was parked outside the venue, sent guests away with a little something sweet. Below are some more pictures from this amazing night.

Dance floor filled with weather balloons!

Stay tuned for more posts on our latest and upcoming events to include Barilla in Central Park, the New 42nd Street Theater and the Fifi Awards!

Here are some great superbowl tips that were recently featured on www.pagedaily.com written by our owner, Jennifer Gilbert:

Who’s All Excited About the Big Super Bowl Party This Sunday?
Quite frankly, I don’t watch football. I had to google who is playing this weekend. (All other football-phobic girls out there, it’s the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the Green Bay Packers.) But I LOVE a good party, football-related or not. So what makes this party different from other Super Bowl parties? The game is the game, but the experience your guests have from the second they enter your home for a Super Bowl party . . . well, that can be different.

Super Bowl Party Décor That Scores Points with Guests
Your home’s entry can make your guests feel as if they’re stepping into Cowboys Stadium. To create the tunnel that leads to the field, tack a sheet around the ceiling and walls of a hallway. Then, instead of using a typical sports-bar look or team colors, here’s a clever spin. Recreate a football field on a large table using artificial or natural grass, or a piece of green indoor/outdoor carpet. With white tape, mark the field’s yard lines. Then, spread the bowls and platters of food on each side of the field. You can even blow up a photo of crowds or a football scene, and use that to transform your home into a Super Bowl stadium.

Other Super Bowl Sunday Decorating Ideas
• Place your grass or green carpet on your tables and bar area. Then, plant Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers team flags into the turf to complete the look.
• Create seating signs for “cheerleaders,” “players,” “press box,” “owners box,” and more. If you’re partying in several rooms, use one of them for “tailgating” and conversation.
• Get life-size posters of the teams’ MVPs, and photograph guests with their favorite player.
• Use colored plastic cups to identify fans for each team.

Go Native with Your Super Bowl Party Menu
Forget the nachos and subs. Your menu can celebrate the Super Bowl teams, while still being easy and fun. It’s time to look forcookbook recipes and make dishes that cheer “Pittsburgh” and “Green Bay.”
• Put the Pittsburgh Steelers on Your Super Bowl Menu
The Roethlis-Burger is a hamburger named after Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger—ground beef, sausage, scrambled eggs, grilled onions, and American cheese. Or try pierogi, Polish dumplings filled with potato, cheese, onion, or sauerkraut. They’re Pittsburgh favorites.
• Perfectly Cheesy Party Food for the Green Bay Packers
Packer fans are known as “cheeseheads,” so a cheese platter or cheese fondue are perfect for the Wisconsin side of your football field. Or go for small dishes of mac-and-cheese. For dessert, cheesecake or cheesecake lollipops are naturals.

Super Bowl Sunday Drink Picks
No need to do shots with your best hard liquor. Pour signature drinks for each team, and stock your bar in advance with the makings for these cocktail recipes. For Green Bay, complement the Wisconsin cheese theme of the food with a tequila-happy fruit punch—the Green Bay Punch. Pittsburgh Steelers fans can toast their team with the Golden Goblet, which is like a vodka-soaked Jim Palmer. (See recipes below.)

At Meal’s Endzone on Super Bowl Sunday, the Ref Calls Dessert
Round out your menu with gourmet treats and sweets in the team colors (gold and black for the Steelers, yellow and green for the Packers). Not up for baking cupcakes frosted in green and gold? Try your local cupcake trucks or candy store.

Super Bowl Party Games: Fun on the Field & Out of Bounds
On Super Bowl Sunday, having fun other than watching the game isn’t a penalty. Try these “sports.” Whatever Super Bowl party game you choose, your guests will feel like winners!
• Play a Super Bowl Trivia Game: Write Super Bowl XLV-related questions—the teams, the players, the states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin—on index cards, and post them on a wall in the shape of a goal post. Or try football bingo. Use traditional bingo cards, and award prizes for cards that show the game score at the end of each quarter.
• Super Bowl Product Placement Game: For me, the best part of the Super Bowl is the commercials. Advertisers pay millions of dollars to premiere new, creative commercials during the game. During each spot, let guests compete to guess the product first. Or ask your guests to rate the commercials, and then take a vote to determine who picked the best ones.
• Super Nerf Bowl Games for Kids: For the pee-wee footballers on your guest list, keep them entertained with Nerf footballs in the team colors, a roll of craft paper to decorate with football-themed stickers and crayons, or a football-shaped piñata to break open during halftime.

We were honored to plan and produce the Annual Women for Women International Gala, held at Pier Sixty, for the 2nd consecutive year. As a women owned business, Save the Date was even more invested in this amazing cause which helps empower women all over the world. Our expert planners worked tirelessly for one year coordinating logistics, handing money reports, managing seating for 700+ guests, and much, much more. With honorees like Mary J. Blige and guests including Yaya Da Costa and Rosa Rios, we knew this night would be one to remember. Guests travelled from California and Congo to come to this power-house event that featured a special opening dance from the Martha Graham Dance Company and concluded with a moving tribute by local high-school students to the night’s honoree, Mary J. Blige. In lieu of a plated dessert, which was donated to a local women’s shelter, guests were given Dove chocolate, another strong supporter of women’s causes! An overall fabulous event for a wonderful cause.

As 2010 comes to an end and the winter is here, this is an appropriate time of year to reflect on the past as we look forward to what life holds for us in the coming year.

I know it’s been quite a year for us in this industry and at Save the Date. The good, the scary and the unexpected. New business endeavors, a reality show (HA!, still can’t believe I did that one), new clients, a Biz Bash Keynote, and an upcoming book, we’ve had it all this year. We are still left trembling from the hit our industry had suffered, but are hopeful the trend we are seeing towards spending on events again continues. At the end of the day we are thankful for each other, and our incredible support system in our wonderful clients, vendors and friends, for you are the cornerstone of our business and the driving force behind our happiness and our accomplishments. So we wanted to express our gratitude to you.
The happiest and healthiest of new beginnings and new explorations for you and your loved ones.

With our love,
Jennifer and the entire Save the Date team

To get you all in the holiday spirit, we wanted to share a fabulous and easy specialty cocktail from one of our favorite caterers, Thomas Preti….
Cinnamon Apple Martini
1 part cinnamon schnapps
1 part sour apple liqueur
2 parts caramel vodka
Shake vigorously with ice, strain in a Martini Glass and top with cranberry juice cocktail for color.
Serve with a cinnamon stick and enjoy!

Everyone dreams of their fairy tale wedding… the beautiful venue… the perfect dress…the never-ending flow of champagne.…
But rarely do we get to experience a truly magical event like the wedding of Sally Pratt-Heaney and Matthew Wu. The venue: the iconic Plaza Hotel. This landmark, which represents the all the glitz and glamour of classic New York, was the perfect backdrop for such a fabulous event. Our expert wedding planner, Courtney Preston, worked with the couple for over a year to ensure that their wedding would be unforgettable. Our decor specialists enhanced the beauty of the space with dramatic and gorgeous centerpieces (check out the photos below!). The energy was unlike any other event we have planned. The band, one of the best we’ve ever seen, got the party started and it never stopped. Guests danced until 1 in the morning and were treated to an after-party at the Rose Bar.

It was one of those nights where everything just fell into place… the stars aligned. No event planner disaster story, no wedding catastrophe. Just perfection.
And in true fairy tale form… Sally and Matt lived happily ever after.

In New York, the end of summer means the beginning of Fashion Week. It’s the unofficial start of life in New York again. People return from their summer getaways and the city is energized with events, fashion shows, after parties. And just in time for fashion week, we were asked to help Vince Camuto, the successful shoe mogul, launch his latest namesake brand. This year’s inspiration was the exotic colors and textures of Morocco. We transformed the white walled showroom into a sensual, red and pink escape from the bustling streets of Manhattan. This event came together in about one week- we brought in 10 foot high cabanas, glittering lanterns, lush tapestries, hundreds of rose petals and orchids, a tarot-card reader and an air conditioning unit the size of a small car! We lined the foyer and the hallway leading into the showroom with floor-to-ceiling sheer panels that transported our guests to an exotic new place. All of the guests’ senses were invigorated… DJ Rekha was spinning Middle Eastern club music, pomegranate incense burned throughout the room, the taste of mini kofta with yogurt sauce lingered on the their palettes, LED candles flickered in between the beautiful jeweled shoes….A truly fabulous Arabian night.

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