Category: Tips, Tricks, Ideas

Print Not Dead! { Digital Magazine Giveaway – Offered by Zinio}

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

** Free digital magazine giveaway, see below! **

I admit, I am a bit of a clinger when it comes to technology. I cling to my rapidly-aging devices, refusing to let the latest new gadget woo me away from what is tried and true. (I'm typing this on a 2008 MacBook running Leopard, if you must know!) So, no, I do not yet have an iPad, for the above reasons, and also for fear of the havoc it will wreak on my children's minds if they get a hold of it and get too much screen time.

However. I was checking out the Zinio digital newstand recently, and oh! how pretty all the bridal magazines look. And how little office space they would take up! I love a good, glossy bridal or fashion mag – and now there are hundreds of titles available to me if I just break down and get that iPad that I secretly want. (Actually, the issues read just fine on a laptop as well.)


Bridal-magazines-zinio-digital-newsstand
Tons of great bridal titles available, such as The Knot, Grace Ormonde
Wedding Style, and Indian Bride Lookbook.

We'll see. It's enough to break this technology-clinger out of her rut.

You, my readers, are probably not as Luddite as I, so Zinio is currently offering you "Sweet Deals", which means you can save 50% off many of their already-discounted titles. To get the deal, click through to http://bit.ly/ziniosweetdeals and have fun shopping! The promotion ends February 21.

Zinio-Valentine-digital-magazines
** Oh! AND. I have also been given, by Zinio, ten free subscriptions to give away. To enter the drawing to win a free digital magazine subscription, simply comment anywhere on this blog, as many times as you like, and email me a link to your comment, as well as your real first and last name, and the title you would like, if you are drawn as a winner. Comments must make a reasonable level of sense. Each comment will count as an entry, and I will choose 10 names randomly from all the entries, on or before February 23, 2013. Winners will be notified and be sent redemption instructions by email.**

FTC Disclosure: I haven't been offered any monetary compensation to mention Zinio on my blog, but they have offered me one free subscription in return for posting the link to their deals page.

More fine print: Winners can:

  • choose any title Zinio carries
  • get the full subscription period as indicated on the site (some are 6 months, some are 1 year, etc.)
  • the 10 giveaways must go to 10 different people; thus only one prize per person
  • subscription winners can live anywhere in the world – as Zinio titles are all in digital format

 

Avoid having invitations, save-the-dates, or RSVPs returned to you – Postal Rates Increase Jan 27th

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

 

via alesiazorn.typepad.com

This just in from our good friend Alesia at Alesia Zorn Calligraphy – US postal rates go up January 27th. Many of you are about to get to mailing your save-the-dates or wedding invitations, so head on over to Alesia's blog and read all the details.

My takeaway from all this: Always use the Forever stamps, so no matter when your guests mail back their RSVPs, the postage will be valid and the responses won't be returned to sender.

Whew – as if engaged couples didn't have enough to worry about already!


Related articles
Annual postal stamp increase
Stamps Going Up a Penny

Trying out Postable – online mailing list organizer

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

Social media is so great. If you follow me on any of the services I use, you know that I’m a lover. I also love the ease of use that goes with connecting over email, FaceTime, and texting…all the wonderful technologies we have.

However. HOWEVER. I miss the fun of getting letters, of finding a gorgeous envelope peeking out from amid the magazines and business mail. I know – we have to conserve resources. And postal mail should be saved for special occasions. Still, I’ve resolved in 2013 to be more personal in my communications, because I realize that is what speaks to me as a user of social media, as a consumer, and as a person. Part of that will be to send more letters.

Strangely enough, it’s hard to keep track of everyone’s address. I remember having a black leather address book, with tiny alphabet tabs down the side, edged in gold. Those days are gone. Excel isn’t really cutting it for me, not with the multiple groups and interests I have as an event planner. So I’m trying out Postable, and I would love for you to connect with me there. Who knows – perhaps you’ll get something fun in the mail from me soon.

Oh, a bonus – Postable is also great for your bride and groom clients to collect addresses in order to send wedding invitations. I imagine it could also be opened on a tablet like iPad and used at an event to facilitate signups or registrations. Enjoy!

Preparing for Summer Weddings In Portland

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

Is it time for preparing for summer weddings In Portland yet? I know, you probably think I’m premature for talking about summer weddings. I can’t help it! This time of year when our fingers and toes are freezing just from walking to the mailbox and back, it’s almost impossible to remember what the kiss of the sun is like. Thank goodness for photographs. This beauty sent to me by Evrim Icoz shows a wedding we coordinated last year for Heather and Joe.

And what a day it was! Evrim goes in to more detail on his blog (and you can see all the great pictures there), but in a nutshell:

11:am Wedding ceremony in the urban forest

12:00 Brunch in the park

1:00 Pedicab and trolley rides around Portland

2:45 Jet boat rides on the river

4:00 Change clothes for the reception

6:00 Super glam/boho reception at Castaway with Simpatica Catering; and dancing ’til socks were worn through.

Hoyt Arboretum summer wedding in Portland, Oregon

A few tips for your own Preparing for Summer Weddings In Portland, and outdoor weddings in Portland and how you can be ready:

– Make sure cold beverages are plentiful upon arrival. For an informal wedding, tubs or deep trays filled with ice can surround bottled drinks or heavy glasses.

– Have a plan for shade. Too often, couples only plan for a rain back up. But a sun plan should also be in effect. Parasols, extra tents, mist fans, and table umbrellas can all help.

– If you have an indoor venue, check out the A/C options and rent fans or swamp coolers if the venue doesn’t have any.

Thank you again, Heather and Joe, for sharing the sun with me!

via www.evrimgallery.com

Related Posts:
Columbia Gorge Outdoor Wedding
Lewis and Clark Estate Gardens Outdoor Wedding
Portland Art Museum Outdoor Wedding

Event Design Series: Day 2 – Trends

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

Continuing our discussion of event design (and please, make it a discussion by commenting)…

More about our Event Design Series here at Day 1, and where the questions came from

Day 2: Trends: What are some new trends in event design and how can an event planner keep current? What new color combinations are requested by clients? What are the most popular themes for parties, galas, and corporate events? What themes are overused?

New Trends (2012-2013): The idea of un-themes is big. “Unconferences” with informal agenda-setting sessions and crowdplanning such as WordCamp are influencing the way even traditional corporate and sales events are being planned.  Rapid-fire presentation events such as Pecha-Kucha nights, Ignite, TED and TEDx talks; and storytelling events such The Moth, Backfence, and Portland Storytelling Theater have become wildly popular.

Photo by Kirby Urner via Flickr

These events’ success show that in either a corporate or social setting, attendees want to create the agenda, tell their own story, or have an upfront, personal connection to others’ stories. I’m seeing this reflected in the continued use of performance in special events, whether it’s having dancers from the bride’s culture during a wedding; or using a speaker with an incredible story to uplift and motivate a corporate event audience.

Photo: Craig Strong.

How can I stay current on trends? I think it’s more important for event planners to be creators of new designs, not necessarily followers of trends. At the same time “there is nothing new under the sun” – or is there? I love pop culture from every corner of the globe, and that keeps me on my toes. Online resources are always popping up with something fresh and inspiring all the time. Just a year ago, nobody was using Pinterest, now it’s everywhere. Tumblr seems to be under the radar for mainstream use, but is widely used by fashion brands and designers. Anyone can easily create a Tumblr blog (a mini-blogging platform) to follow and curate their own favorite content from around the web in a mini-blog format. I have several Tumblrs and my main one for event and design inspiration is here. Travel is the best for seeing firsthand what is hot in other places, and then you can bring that back to your home base and reinterpret it.

New color combinations: Fashion and retail are always pushing color in new directions, and of course there are always the color gods at Pantone. The good old-fashioned color wheel never hurt anyone. Right now I’m really loving multicolored event palettes. Take a look at online storefront Hello Holiday to see what I mean. Multicolor doesn’t have to mean garish or childish. You can have smaller swaths of multicolor paired up with a neutral like grey to keep the look balanced.

Photo by Aubrey Trinnaman for Anthology Magazine

Popular and most overused themes? The panel found straight-up “time era” themes to be the most overused. A Fifties sock-hop for example, feels dated right now, not retro in a fun way. But if you want to do an era event, change it up by focusing on something a very narrow topic from that time – maybe one celebrity – and go from there. Call me crazy, but when I think of the 50s I think of Che Guevara. Or  Marilyn Monroe. Social events are still using vintage and shabby-chic looks; bold and preppy graphics and stripes are still big.

Hope you’ve found “Day 2” of our Event Design Series helpful. For background on this series, go here. As always, I appreciate your comments!

Design Competition: ISES Portland’s Art of the Party

Posted on by Emee Pumarega
Photo by Paul Rich. L to R: Emee Pumarega, EJP Events; Cindy Thompson, Cindy Thompson Event Productions; Gene Dent, SCi3.2

Last week I had the pleasure of serving as a judge and participating on a panel discussion for the International Special Events Society – Portland Chapter‘s annual tabletop design competition, called “The Art of the Party”. Inspired by the likes of DIFFA‘s Dining By Design events, the event brings together florists, designers, and planners from all over the area to compete for three awards: Best Use of Theme, Best Use of Alternative Materials, and People’s Choice. Many thanks to the ISES Portland board for including me, and to Food in Bloom / Montgomery Park for hosting the event.

As a judge, alongside event planner Cindy Thompson of Cindy Thompson Event Productions and Gene Dent, of SCi3.2 (the company responsible for most of the floats in the Portland Grand Floral Parade during the Rose Festival), we were tasked with evaluating each of the ten entries according to the criteria given. In addition, we had to sit in the hot seat and answer questions about our own approaches to special event design. It was a great event and I learned so much from my co-panelists as well as the attendees who asked the hard questions!

I will be blogging more thoughts about event design over the coming weeks, as there were many questions we prepared for that we didn’t get to, due to time constraints.

Highlights of the panel: Unconferences and Un-Themes, Che Guevara as a touchstone for a “Fifties” event, what “modern” means when it comes to event themes, which themes are overused. If you missed the event, you missed some great discussions and you should participate next year!

More about ISES Portland and its upcoming educational events here at their website.

The winners:
Best Use of Theme: (a tie) Bird Dog Creative & Peter Corvallis Productions

Bird Dog Creative‘s “glamping”-themed table.
Peter Corvallis Productions‘s “superhero” themed table.

 

Best Use of Alternative Materials: “Time Machine” by East West Floral Arts/Barclay Event Rentals; was also the People’s Choice Award: East West Floral Arts/Barclay Event Rentals.

 

“Time Machine” steampunk-inspired table by East West Floral Arts and Barclay Event Rentals.

Full photo documentation of the event and all competition entries by Paul Rich available at his blog.