SPECIALITY INSURANCE GROUP'S LUAU ANNIVERSARY

Pictures of Specialty Insurance Group's summer luau

to commemorate their company's one year anniversary.

Thank you for choosing Alce Events!

We wish you many more years of success to come!

Wedding Luau

Summer is here!

And what a great time to have a wedding luau with beachside pictures that are both graceful and romantic. The team at Alce Events has put some ideas and pictures together that will help you create that beach luau without an expensive price tag. We have found glass, round and square vases at Dollar Tree stores for $1.00, that are perfect for your floral arrangements. They also carry a variety of luau party supplies, including children's raffia skirts that can serve many purposes for your luau decorations.


Instructions for DIY Luau floral arrangement:
As seen in the picture below, separate the raffia skirt into sections (approximately 3 inches wide) and place the glass vase in the middle of the strands so that you have the same length of material remaining on both sides of the vase. You can glue the bottom of the vase to the strands when you initially place it on top to secure them in place, and make it easier to work the ends when gluing them over the edge of the vase.

Cut the loose ends of the raffia skirt (approximately 1 inch) to make the ends even. Select one end of the raffia strands to begin gluing them onto the glass. Use a hot glue gun and sporadically put glue on the ends of the strands. Fold the strands over the edge of the vase. Be CAREFUL! The glue is EXTREMELY HOT and can burn your skin! It's recommended to use a disposable plastic utensil to press the strands against the glass until they stick to the vase. The plastic utensil will not stick to the glass unless you allow the glue to harden. Cut the rope from the other end of the skirt and follow the same procedure. Half the vase will be covered with raffia. You will then follow the same steps again on the remainder of the glass to cover the entire vase.





Let the glue dry for approximately two hours. Then go back and secure loose strands, if any. Once the glue is dry, you can begin arranging the flowers in the vases. Certain Publix grocery stores sell multicolored lilies, and an assortment of other flowers, at 3 bunches for $10. Please not that these flowers may not be available at your local grocery stores and you may need to purchase them from a wholesaler. The vase can hold 3-5 lilies with additional accent flowers. **Please note that the flowers used in the pictured arrangements are not lilies.

To add to the overall theme, you can also incorporate seashells on the guest tables to complete the luau feel of your wedding day.

Stay tuned for more decorating tips and wedding advice next week!

WEDDING PLEDGE 2009

I pledged to write about someone that has made a great impact in the wedding industry and whom I truly admire. Beverly Ann Bonner, the Master Planner of the Association of Bridal Consultants in Massachusetts, was the first person who came to mind. As a member of ABC myself, I was fortunate to train with Beverly Ann, and coordinate the first of many prestigious weddings.

Beverly Ann is a true example of an entrepeneur, and mentors many planners to be successful in the event planning business. She coordinates ABC's networking events in the Boston area. Being able to meet with various event planners and vendors was beneficial because I would not have networked with the belly dancer, candy favor specialists and regarded photographers that were invited to these events, had I researched them on my own. She is also very approachable and makes the time to make sure you have all of the necessary tools to be great.

In closing, being able to see an experienced wedding planner's master craft has been very encouraging to hone my own skills and make weddings ultra special for my clients. Meeting and working with some of Boston and Orlando's finest vendors has afforded me the opportunity to provide my clients with the ultra chic and fabulous events they expect from their event planner.

I work primarily in the Orlando area, and still maintain contact with Beverly Ann. In November, I'll get to meet with her again at ABC's annual conference, and continue to network with many other great vendors.

AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE

Have you and your groom discussed if you'll have one joint checking/savings account? Do you know your credit score? Discuss your goals as a couple and establish a timeline to reach them together. Always be honest with each other so you can take the proper financial steps to purchase your first home, start a business, and/or start your family. Financial surprises are never fun, and neither is getting denied for credit.

Know where you stand with all three credit bureaus. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are the three largest agencies, and they do not all report identical information. A low beacon score and derogatory information can raise your automobile insurance premiums, cause you to miss a job opportunity and/or pay higher interest rates on mortgages and loans. Any erroneous information should be disputed right away directly with the reporting agency, and they'll investigate it with the creditor at no cost to you.

Though there are many unforeseen circumstances that may have been out of your control, and affected your payment history, do not let a bad credit rating discourage you. Instead, make the necessary changes to improve your credit standing. Check out freecreditreport.com. For a monthly fee, they'll monitor and inform you of any changes to your credit report. Having a game plan can help to minimize the arguments often caused by financial stresses.

FOR THE DIY BRIDES

Alce Events offers new services for the DIY Brides! Stressing over planning your wedding? Let Alce Events kick off your planning process by being your representative and doing the initial contacts for your vendors and negotiating your contracts. This service will help you have your dream wedding without having to research countless vendors. We only work with trusted industry experts that are experienced in providing utmost customer satistaction. For more information, or to set up an appointment, please contact Vanessa at info@alceevents.com.

FOOD IS AN EASY OPTION

I've been reading Life Is Hard, Food Is Easy by Linda Spangle, RN, MA, and wanted to share some insight to brides during what can be an extremely stressful time - planning your WEDDING! From the moment that you get engaged, panic strikes about looking perfect in that wedding dress. The added stress of planning your wedding, family issues and life can fling a normally casual gal into a frenzy. Throw society's pressure on being skinny and you may set yourself up for failure.

Spangle shares some tips about using food as comfort, which is where most of us with weight issues fail miserably. Most envy those brides who lose weight during the planning process. But, truth be told, we do not all fall into that category and do the exact opposite. Those pounds creep up unnoticeable until that dreadful dress fitting or when a rude family member takes audible notice.

Managing stress is key to maintaining a level head and healthy balance between life and what can be one of the most stressful times of your life. Learning to recognize what is causing you to eat, and working through those issues will be helpful in addition to eating healthy. As some of you may look into various weight management programs like Jenny Craig, eDiets, Nutrisystem or others, learn new eating habits and new ways to handle stress. Learn why you're eating so that food doesn't become a comfort or outsource for negative feelings, and help to deflect weight gain. I too have had to learn how to deal with frustration, boredom and underlying emotions that drove me to eat. It's been a journey, but I continue to learn. And when I mess up, there's always tomorrow to eat better and get back on track!

Take good care of yourselves and start married life a healthy you!

Contents on this blog page are not meant to provide medical advise, and are only the personal opinion of the author. You should always talk to your doctor before starting any diet or exercise regimen.

FIGHT AGAINST NIEMANN-PICK TYPE C DISEASE!

Dust off your bowling shoes for a great night of bowling for a great cause! On Tuesday, March 31, 2009, from 7:00pm-9:00pm, MarketLeverage helps raise awareness and proceeds for one of their network’s publishers, Mike Stults, the founder of the Niemann-Pick Children’s Fund.

Sadly, two of Mike’s three sons, Brisan and Parker, have recently been diagnosed with a rare, incurable, and terminal childhood disease called “Niemann-Pick Type C disease”. To raise awareness about this devastating disease, and to raise funds to help find a cure, we’ve set aside a special night of bowling at the Airport Lanes bowling alley, located in Sanford, just off of 417 and Highway 17-92.

Our goal is to generate $5,000.00 or more for the Niemann-Pick Children’s Fund with this event, so we need your help to make this a success! We want as many people to participate, so book this date in your calendar and spread the word -- invite your family, your friends, and your neighbors!

Additionally, if you know of any businesses or companies that would like to sponsor this great cause (with food, prizes, shirts, lane sponsorships, monetary donations, etc.), please contact Dina Riccobono at dina@marketleverage.com!

If you or your invitees cannot attend this event but would like to contribute financially, please visit the Stults’ family website at http://www.bripardun.com/, where you may PayPal your contribution instantly to their foundation.

We look forward to seeing you there!