Entertaining Ideas: Eco-Friendly Gift Ideas

Here’s a fun way to keep eco-friendly for the holidays, and add a special touch to a gift!

As we approach the holidays consider mother earth in buying your wrapping supplies. World Market sells adorable recycled wrapping paper. Additionally, recycled aluminum foil is a great alternative to the shiny silver paper that sits in landfills for years. You can also make the wrapping part of the gift…Scarves are a huge hit right now and double as great gift-wrap, just tie with a eco-friendly ribbon! Or consider purchasing a reusable cloth bag as the wrapping and fill with goodies!

Jo goes East for Ginger Donnan Events

Once again JNB president Jo Beyersdorfer headed East to run one of the three 'Light the Night' Walks for the Luekemia Lymphoma Society and Ginger Donnan Events.  Rock star event planner and JNB friend Ginger Donnan planned all of the New Jersey Chapter walks and asked Jo to step in and run the Camden, NJ walk on Oct. 22nd at the Camden Riversharks Stadium for the second year in a row.  The stadium overlooks the river, bridge, and downtown Philadelphia - a gorgeous setting!  An estimated 2,500 walkers and fundraisers showed up to participate the event was a really really fun event for the whole family.  We can't wait for next year!

2nd Annual Dirty Dancing Festival at Lake Lure (NC), Sept. 16-18, 2011

The 2nd Annual Dirty Dancing Festival (an event founded by JNB) blew the first annual event out of the water!  JNB produced the weekend-long festival on September 16-18, 2011.  Here's a recap in photos:

The weekend opened with a Lakeside Screening of Dirty Dancing next to the  famous Lake Lure!

 

Followed by the Daytime Family Dance Festival on Saturday, including live music all day, professional dance performances by The Asheville Ballet, food and craft vendors, beer and wine garden, kids games, a dance lessons tent, and even a 'Lake Lift' competition!

The weekend closed Saturday night with the Dirty Dancing Festival Lakeside Concert at Rumbling Bald Resort - another amazing lakeside event featuring Billy Scott & the Party Prophets who opened for The Clovers (of Love Potion #9 fame, with performances by the Asheville Ballet including a re-creation of the final scene of Dirty Dancing - the 'Time of My Life' dance, complete with audience participation!

Wohlstadter Wedding, July 3rd 2011, Sherman Oaks CA

On July 3rd we produced a wedding for Tom and Hang Wohlstadter.  We were so excited about this wedding because we've been on board with the planning from the very beginning!

   The sweet bride and groom wed in an intimate and lovely backyard ceremony at the home of the Groom's brother, where a delicious dinner was also served courtesy of Contemporary Catering. The Summer menu included herb de provence crusted chicken, chilled poached salmon with a dill cream sauce, grilled vegetables with balsamic reduction, and much more.  Beautiful flowers in all shades of white, ivory, and yellow brought somewhat of a theme color to the already very colorful and beautifully landscaped backyard.  Draping on the existing pergola created a chuppah for the Jewish ceremony, and created shade for guests on another nearby pergola.  

    Guests were treated to some dancing after dinner and live music throughout the night by the Sam Graham Trio - a WONDERFUL jazz trio that fit the audience, the vibe of the backyard affair, and appropriate volume to be considerate to the neighbors.  It was a beautiful and fun wedding!

Rentals: Classic Party Rentals 

Photography: Embrace Life Photography 

Music: Sam Graham Trio 

Flowers: Floral Fields 

Catering & Bar: Contemporary Catering 

Hair & Makeup: Julie Quintanilla 

Design, Planning, Coordination: JNB Marketing & Events 

Electronic Invitations...for a Wedding?

Well they are eco-friendly, quick, efficient, easy to track, and tech saavy, but what are the benefits and downfalls of using an electronic invitation for a large or classy event such as a wedding?  Can you really get away with going fully-electronic for your wedding day?   It is common nowadays for newlyweds-to-be to send out a paper invitation and have a 'wedding website' where guests can submit their RSVPs, get directions, see pictures and more.  However if you decide to go the fully-electronic route, a few things to consider:

Yes an electronic invite is instant but remember your audience.  If they're older they may not check their email too often, or they may frown upon the 'electronic' version of what is traditionally embossed and tangible.  But then again it's your big day so if you want to save some time, money, and trees - go for it!

We recommend Pingg for fancy invitations, thank you cards, and more, but first, here are some pros and cons of electronic invitations to consider....

Some Pros:

1)  You know when someone opens the invitation, reads it, and whether or not they respond.

2)  People can easily access the schedule, directions, etc. on the invitation website any time they like, rather than potentially losing the tangible invite.

3)  It's cheap!  Well it's free but for an ad-free invite it's only $10, total!

4)  You can easily send reminders and updates to guests regarding registry, or reminders to RSVP

Some Cons:

1)  People can CHANGE their RSVP from No to Yes - which can be bad for your budget and timeline

2)  Guests have the option of saying 'maybe' which makes it very hard to get a head count in a reasonable amount of time because people often forget

3)  Some people don't check their email as often as others.  People can't avoid tangible mail!

So even though we have one more pro than con on this list, we think the decision will depend on your audience.  For a weekend bbq or a family potluck yes - do it!  For a wedding, we suggest sticking to the old fashioned sensibility and reliability of printed invitations.  It seems that in trying to make it easier for people to RSVP, they are given so many options that it creates more work for you the bride, planner, etc!

A Casual Manhattan Beach Wedding Reception

On June 18, 2011 JNB produced a 100-person wedding reception party for a couple local to Manhattan Beach, CA  who had recently wed in another state. They wanted to have a big, casual party for 100 of nearest and dearest friends at a private residence and JNB was happy to oblige! The event included a DJ, full service taco bar, dancing and a margarita and mojito bar.  The full-service taco bar, by Contemporary Catering, included every topping option known to man! The group danced the night away to Lady Gaga and Ke$ha,courtesy of DJ Tyler Dempsey, and it was a fun time had by all!

Wedding Planning - JNB's Golden Rule

We are in Florida this week and it's official, JNB has got wedding fever!  We are opening our services to wedding planning and are excited about the June wedding we are a part of here in Venice, Florida.

A few words of advice brides....well, one main rule.  JNB's Golden Rule for weddings, picked up from a friend at her own wedding years ago:  On the day of their wedding, neither the bride, nor the groom, should be asked ANY QUESTIONS.  For example...

"We're out of asparagus and switching to broccoli is that okay?" - Don't ask the bride or groom!

"We had a little accident and could only put out half the candles as we originally planned would you like tea lights instead?" - Leave them alone!

"Should we start packing up cake for guests to take home or wait 10 more minutes?" - My goodness find someone else to answer this question!

Do you see how if it were your wedding, even if you really DID care about WHEN they start packing up cake for people, these are things for which there should be a designated person your vendors and venue can turn to rather than interrupting your fun on your big day?

See the logic?  It is his and her big day, and that should be their focus.  Not broccoli covering for the lack of asparagus, or a timing decision that will likely go unnoticed if dealt with by a cool calm professional in a timely manner.  This day is about the bride and groom and their friends and family.  So keep the vendors away from them!

THUS - if you don't have a wedding planner, get an onsite coordinator!  Get someone that is not in the wedding or a guest at the wedding (preferably a professional) to make sure all of these questions can be answered, handled, and God forbid something goes wrong, which 9 times out of 10 is NOT a big deal, there is someone there to make a decision without causing the bride a coronary on their wedding day.

And on that note, here's our most recent favorite place cards for a vineyard wedding....inexpensive or very easy to make yourself....especially the drinking of the wine part!  Simply shave off one edge to create a bottom that will sit flat on the table, then carefully cut a slit in the top for the place card!  Then write the place cards yourself, insert, and you have an affordable, adorable set of place cards for your wedding!  Now get to drinkin' that wine :)

Crowd Funding: Money no longer the issue? What?

A new concept in fundraising - crowd funding.  If you haven't checked out these new sites such as Kickstarter and IndieGoGo, and you happen to be embarking on any kind of project that needs...youknow, funding....you should!  As founder of IndieGoGo, Danae Ringelmann told me, "Funding is not longer an obstacle." and she's right.  With the power of social media, spreading the word about a worthy cause or a stellar business idea is doable, so why not leverage that access to the mass market of fans, customers, investors, and more by putting your idea online and allowing people to give you $5, or $100, or $1,000?  Well now you can.  You can offer simple perks in exchange for straight donations.

For the Dirty Dancing Festival this is key because the geographic area in which the festival takes place is one of the poorest counties in the state, so we are looking outside of the event's area for funding.  In addition to reaching out to corporate sponsors, this campaign will raise money for one portion of the weekend, the lakeside screening, which is free for all to attend and therefore cannot depend on ticket sales to support production costs.  On another note, the campaign is spreading the word in general about the festival, reaching potential new attendees, press, and sponsors.  So what do you have to lose?

For an example, check out JNB's fund raising campaign on IndieGoGo:

www.indiegogo.com/dirtydancing

Dirty Dancing Stage Show - London

While on the Face to Face contest trip to London to conduct business with a new UK-based client, I took in the Dirty Dancing Stage Show!  Created by the original writer of the movie Dirty Dancing, Eleanor Bergstien, this stage show has taken the UK by storm, and is also making waves in Germany!  It is only a matter of time I hope until it hits the US!  After the show we bumped into Johnny Wright, who plays Johnny Castle in the production.  He was so nice and really thrilled to be part of such an amazing production.  Here are a few pictures.  There are a few of us attempting the lake lift on the sidewalk....we won't include those!

- Jo Beyersdorfer, President, JNB Marketing & Events

JNB President Jo at the British Airways Face to Face Conference! NY/London, Feb. 2011

After winning the 'Face to Face Opportunity' contest with British Airways, JNB president Jo Beyersdorfer flew to New York where she participated in day of breakout sessions, panel discussions, networking, and fun with the 200 other winners!

The following day all of the winners took over one very rambuncious flight from New York to London Heathrow, where more networking, and a quite a few cocktails, were had and enjoyed.  The next morning closed the conference with a lovely breakfast including presentations from past winners, British Airways Executives, and the UK Minister for Trade and Investment.

We are expanding and loving it!  THANK YOU British Airways for a wonderful time and a wonderful opportunity!

Stepping Up in the City

Recently JNB assisted the wonderful non-profit organization Step Up Women's Network with their annual membership event, 'Stepping Up in the City.'  Jo Beyersdorfer, Jordan Toppin, and Lauren Nunn were onsite for load in, event management, and load out of the event at Vibiana in downtown LA.

The event included a membership area, a Patron make-your-own-mojito bar, a Patron photo booth, a special awards presentation, and of course some LOVELY giftbags!  The event was proof that in a beautiful space all you need is a little decor, a lot of organized planning, and some lighting to put on a really beautiful event!  For more information on Step Up Women's Network, visit their website: www.SUWN.org.

Pictures coming soon.....

JNB is Going Abroad!

JNB recently won the British Airways 'Face to Face Opportunity' contest and is on the way to London!  As President of JNB Marketing & Events, I (Jo Beyersdorfer) will be having meetings in London to bring a series of biotechnology conferences from Europe to the US.  These conferences have been successful in the UK and throughout Europe for over 10 years, and are now ready to expand to the US. 

It will be interesting to see the differences in budget, hotel negotiations, marketing for the event, outreach to sponsors and so on when planning and executing these events. 

Also while in London, I will be seeing the Dirty Dancing Stage Show!  After the success of the 1st Annual Dirty Dancing Festival at Lake Lure in September of 2010, we are agressively planning and soliciting sponsors for the event's 2nd year, scheduled for September 16-18, 2011. 

The Dirty Dancing Stage Show has been a huge success internationally and will be coming to the US soon enough.  The stage show was launched by the same amazing writer of the original movie Dirty Dancing, Eleanor Bergstein.  Eleanor was in contact with myself and my co-director of the Dirty Dancing Festival in 2010, lending support and excitement to our project.  I am personally very excited to see the show but also to show my support to Eleanor for the amazing story she's brought to the world without which our project never would have come to be!

I will be blogging throughout the trip so stay tuned for more updates, tips, and fun stuff from JNB abroad!

EVENT PRODUCTION: Light the Night Walks with the Leukemia Lymphoma Society

In October of 2010, JNB went to New Jersey then Philadelphia to manage two Light the Night Walks for Ginger Donnan Events and the Leukemia Lymphoma Society!  It was a long and fun trip and more on that later, but in regard to the amazing events....

On Saturday, Oct. 2nd we were in Princeton, NJ and had a huge turnout!  The Light the Night Walks are a special and easy walk for participants that raise money for the cause by walking the 1-mile course at night, each carrying an illuminated balloon.

The touching and beautiful site of thousands of walkers with their balloons (red for supporter, white for survivor, gold in memory) was enough to make the long day worth it.  The fun before the walk also included games for the kids (complete with bouncy house!), food for walkers, t-shirts, a special tent for survivors, live music, speeches by supporters and survivors, and more.

The second walk was a week later in Camden, New Jersey, along the riverside of downtown Philadelphia.  After numerous warning about Camden, we were so pleased with the beautiful venue - the Riversharks Stadium.  What an uplifting and FUN place to enjoy food, games, speeches, and more before the walk of thousands began.

These events were amazing fun to be a part of, and special thanks to the amazing planning skills of Ginger Donnan Events!  She made it easy :)

Fun in London (from Feburary)

A week in London, some meetings, and of course, some fun!

Highlights of the trip included a very successful afternoon of meeting with Management Forum (UK conference company) regarding future business, and of I went and saw the Dirty Dancing Stage Show!  Great inspiration for the 2nd Annual Dirty Dancing Festival!