Site Visit: Mexican Cultural Institute

16 12 2008

I recently attended my husband’s company holiday party at the Mexican Cultural Institute in the Columbia Heights area, just north of Meridian Hill Park. What a magnificent building! Built in 1910, it later served as the Mexican Embassy. Main Event catered the event and did an excellent job (loved the prosciutto and brie mini sandwiches!) and the Moonlighters band kept up the festive atmosphere. I hope to be able to post some pro photos soon from Tony Brown of Imijination Photography.

Advantages: about 4 block walk from Columbia Heights Metro station; great for 100 people or less. Could do wedding ceremony and reception in same location; elevator available for those who could not climb stairs.

Challenges: no on-site parking. only a 2-stall ladies room; some of the lighting could not be dimmed.

Mexican Cultural Institute

Mexican Cultural Institute entrance

dsc02709Amazing murals all along the stairwell

Amazing murals all along the stairwell

Spacious foyer

Spacious foyer could be good for cocktails. Art exhibition space to the right.

Another beautiful room which was used for cocktail hour

Another beautiful room which was used for cocktail hour. One side has a piano and pipe organ.

The room between the ballroom and cocktail room was were the bar was located.

The room between the ballroom and cocktail room was were the bar was located. Note the beautiful fireplace and mirror.

Main ballroom, looking back into the hallway.

Main ballroom, looking back into the hallway.

The magnificant tiled alcove, which is attached to the main ballroom. Perfect spot for a band and dancing.

The magnificent tiled alcove, which is attached to the main ballroom. Perfect spot for a band and dancing.





DC ISES Expo

8 12 2008

A few weeks ago, I attened the Expo for the DC chapter of the International Special Events Society. It a great trade show to meet new vendors, see the latest wares, and get reacquainted with old friends. Because I was volunteering to work registration, I had missed the educational seminars which provided discussions with expert panels on topics for the novice to expert event professionals.

This year’s expo was held at the Marriott Bethesda North and the theme was Cirque du Soleil, complete with aerial artists by Arachne Aerial Arts, an Obama impersonator by Cast of Thousands (click here for photo from Wish Special Events), and a talking robot named Sprockit provided by Wasthing Talent.

That's me in the black Expo staff t-shirt processing on-site registration. Photo courtesy of Event Digital Photography Inc for DC ISES.

That's me in the black Expo staff t-shirt processing on-site registration. Photo courtesy of Event Digital Photography Inc for DC ISES.

Sprockit the Robot chatting up one of the guests

Sprockit the Robot chatting up one of the guests. I got to chat with Sprockit, who is very funny!

Arachne Aerial Artists

Arachne Aerial Artists

Room Service Rentals

Room Service Rentals. For a while, Cort Furniture, I felt, corned the market on furniture rentals. I'm glad to see others have come into the market with more choices.





Wedding Planners Get-Together

16 11 2008

It’s like with everything else in life, you don’t get together with the people you should often enough until something prompts you to do it. Liene Stevens from Blue Orchid Designs of Scottsdale/Phoenix, AZ was in town and invited several of the DC area planners from the i-Wed forum for a get-together. i-Wed is an international network of wedding and event designers and has a great forum where we can discuss how to manage our businesses, share ideas, and vent after a bad day. It’s a great sounding board.

It was fun to finally meet all the ladies in real life at America in Union Station over a delicious brunch. Although we had already spent 3 hours there and the staff was ready to kick us out, I think we could have done it for a few more hours. Thanks to Stephanie Aspinwall from Ayr Hill Events for organizing this!

Letetia Nicole (Simply Beautiful Concepts), Laura Auer (Wish Special Events), Stephanie Aspinwall (Ayr Hill Events)

Front Row: Sara Bauleke (Bella Notte), Liene Stevens (Blue Orchid Designs), Andrea Hansborough (A&H Events), Isis Petrie (Posh Events). 2nd Row: me, Kawania Wooten (Howerton+Wooten Events), Maria Cooke (Ritzy Bee), Lakendra Kennedy (Affairs with Elegance) Back Row: Letetia Nicole (Simply Beautiful Concepts), Laura Auer (Wish Special Events), Stephanie Aspinwall (Ayr Hill Events)





Follow up to Table Top Competition

24 08 2008

A couple of months ago, I blogged about a Table Top Competition held by the DC International Special Events Society. Here are the professional photos by Ralph Alswang Photography and courtesy of the DC ISES website. You can get some cool ideas for your tablescape!

All photos by Ralph Alswang Photography from DC ISES website.




DC ISES Capital Awards Gala 2008

28 04 2008

I always try to volunteer at various events in order to learn more from seasoned professionals and see how different events are put together. So this year, after returning home the night before at 1:30am from a wedding and having no feeling in my feet, I got up early the next day to volunteer at the DC ISES Capital Awards Gala. I had a great time volunteering last year. Held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in DC (we were here in 2006 for a wedding), this is an annual event that recognizes the best in the special events industry in DC. This was a huge team effort to put the whole thing together. In some of the pictures, you can see lighting, sound, floral design, hotel staff, performers, volunteers all working at the same time in the same space. It was a huge undertaking! I had the pleasure of helping Janet Flowers with the tablescapes and Jodi Moraru‘s team with setting up the VIP reception and the awards portfolio room. Here are my photos. I’ll post the professional ones when they become available.

Click on the thumbnails to learn more about each photo.