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 :)