Signature Personal Videos for Events

A personal video documentary is an incredibly effective way to not only add great entertainment for your event, but a special way to connect with your guests and pay tribute to your honoree in a unique way.

Whether you hire someone to create a video for you or plan to do it yourself, here are a few quick tips on how to make the most of your video:

• Move People With More

It’s quite common these days to see a photo movie at an event – moving pictures set to music. While it’s always wonderful to see photos at an event, stand out from the crowd by making this just one small part of your video. What really moves people is words – voices that have feeling and emotion. A bride and groom telling the story of how they met or why they fell in love, juxtaposed with old photos, is much more powerful than just seeing photos of them when they were young.

• Ask Great Questions

Interviews can be powerful. Make the best use of them by asking great questions. Video is at its best when people express themselves thoughtfully. Save details such as dates and timelines for the written word. Ask questions that challenge, such as how they felt about a particularly difficult decision. Major turning points in people’s lives are great launching pads for discussion and offer a window into their personality and life.

• Speaking of Words, Make Sure You Can Hear Them

Nothing is worse than watching a movie and not being able to hear what the people are saying. There are so many great cameras on the market today that have incredible high definition video, and yet most of these same cameras have only a built-in omni-directional microphone (picks up sound from everywhere, instead of directly in front of it) and from only a few feet away. If you plan to capture a sit-down interview, make sure the person wears a directional lavaliere microphone that plugs into your camera separately.

• Keep It Short & Sweet

Guests at a special event about to watch a personal video always begin their viewing with excitement and anticipation. Make sure you keep the enthusiasm going by not boring your audience! (They love you but most will not want to sit through an hour of your unedited interviews or home movies). Make use of editing software such as imovie or Adobe Premiere to edit down your interviews and add music and photos to your film. If your movie is just one part of a special event, it ideally should be no longer than about 10 minutes – 15 minutes max. Anything more and your audience will start to get restless, no matter how great you think it is!

For more information and the free report, “Capture Your Family History in 6 Easy Steps,” go to http://www.dmbpictures.com and sign up for our newsletter.

Signature Meatloaf Cupcakes

As an event planner, I am always keeping up with the lastest trends in food and decor. One of the hottest trends in food design is, Meatloaf Cupcakes.  This mini bite meatloaf is great to serve at your next event. You can personalize them to your event color scheme like Mark Addison did on the Today Show with his Red, White & Blue party theme. I personally like Rachel Ray's healthier version of Meat and Potato Cupcakes because she used turkey groundmeat and sweet potatoes for the topping. Here is the recipe from her website;

Ingredients

4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

Salt

2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus some for brushing

1 Gala apple, finely chopped

2 ribs celery, finely chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey

1/3 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs

1 egg

1 tablespoon poultry seasoning, about a palmful

Pepper

1/2 cup buttermilk

3 tablespoons honey

Salt and pepper

Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

2 tablespoons fresh thyme, finely chopped

Poppy seeds, for garnish

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425˚F

Place the potatoes in a pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Salt water and cook potatoes to tender.

Brush the inside of a 12-cup muffin tin with EVOO.

Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat with two turns of the pan of EVOO. Add apples, celery and onion, and cook until softened, about 5-6 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine turkey with breadcrumbs, egg, poultry seasoning, softened apples, celery and onion mixture, salt and pepper. Separate mixture into 12 equal portions and shape into muffin cups. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Drain cooked sweet potatoes and put into a food processor. Add buttermilk, honey, salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and purée.

When cool enough to handle, remove muffins from cups and “frost” mini meatloaves with sweet potato purée. Roll the sides in herbs and top with poppy seeds.

Meatloaf Cupcakes will be loved by both children and adults alike, when served at your next event. You just need to decide how and when you will serve it and go for it. Bon Appetit!

Signature Treats Too Good to Eat

Mmmm....a custom dessert bar! This dessert bar was beautifully decorated with tasty treats and flower buds. The items were beautifully displayed in a custom plexi glass table at a dessert reception held at the American Institute for Architect (AIA). My hospitality networking group the International Special Events Society (ISES) held our monthly networking meeting at AIA which has several spaces for event rental. The beautiful dessert table was designed by Ridgewells and Janet Flowers and they did a spectacular job. This dessert bar served as two functions, as decor and a grand dessert display.

The drink bar was also spectacularly displayed with flowers on the inside of  plexi glass tables. This made the bar interesting and all the more inviting for guests to order their drinks and network. These two bars are wonderful examples of how to customize your event and how to create conversational displays.  These two spectacular bars will definately add that wow effect to your next event!

Signature Hotel-The Latham Georgetown

       



French Chef Michel Richard & Y Lowe

As an event planner, I visit a lot of event spaces in the Washington, DC metro area so that I can make suggestions to my client's regarding where to have their events. I recently visited the The Latham Hotel and had the pleasure of dining on an exquisite luncheon prepared by none other than James Beard Outstanding French Chef Michel Richard. Chef Richard's restaurant Citronelle is world famous and the first couple of the USA did have their date night there. The restaurant boasts a huge wine room which Master Sommelier Kathryn Morgan keeps well stocked. For wine connoisseurs, classes are offered at the restaurant throughout the year. There are only 15 women in the USA and 26 women in the world to hold this title. Kathryn's wine tastings would be a great addition to any event whether social or corporate.

               

All Photos by William H Joseph

The Latham Hotel is a luxury hotal with unique event spaces for your next event. The Citronelle restaurant is located inside of it and they do all the catering for all the events there. The rooms are beautifully appointed and would provide a great experience for all your overnight guests. The hotel and restaurant is located in Georgetown and have a roof top pool for the guests to enjoy. If you are seeking a boutique hotel to host your next event....I would strongly suggest that you check them out!

Signature Luxury Wedding Event

Christian Siriano & Y Lowe



The Princess and her Prince



The Princess awakened by her Prince



Chef Jacques Haeringer of L'Auberge Chez Francois & Y Lowe

(All Photos courtesy of William H Joseph)



This past Sunday, my photographer William H Joseph and I had the pleasure of attending A Chic Affair DC held at the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. At the event there were chef demonstrations, expert wedding panel advisers and an Enchanted Forest Wedding Fashion Show. The chef demonstration was done by Chef Jacques Haeringer who showed us how to make chocolate truffles. The expert advice panel consisted of Project Runway season 4 winner fashion & bridal designer Christian Siriano, Heidi Kallet who owns the The Dandelion Patch and Jamie Greenwald of Gala Events. The highlight of the afternoon was the Enchanted Forest Runway Show where bridal gowns were featured by Chevy Chase Bridal. A wide range of gowns were featured and a few that we saw is featured above in the photographs. For the modern bride with discerning taste, this was the place to be.

Signature Location Visit



I know...I know....I got carried away with the photographs, but I couldn't help it. All these beautiful photographs were taken by William H. Joseph (pictured above) at the The US Botanic Garden-Wasington, DC. I am a lover of flowers and of such, I suggest that you visit the beautiful gardens there. When we visited there was a special display from Scotland,  we were able to see some of the most beautiful gardens there. The display covers flowers, spices and herbs from all around the world. There is a forest area that has an elevated view area that is just spectacular because of the view of the Washington Capital. Take the children because they have children gardens there that will engage your young ones. This location is great for photo shoots. This is engagement season and this is a great location to take those engagement photographs. Have a milestone birthday coming soon, take photographs here and give them  as momentos at your birthday celebration. For the Green Bride this is a great location for your pictures. With a beautiful location as this, your imagination is limitless. Have fun and take great pictures!

                     

Signature Popcorn Bar

Having a Popcorn Bar at an event is fun! Since this is Oscar weekend, this is a great DIY entertainment idea for your Oscar's celebration. Popcorn Bar's are great at weddings, birthdays, open houses and special celebrations. The first picture above shows the popcorn bar used at Carla David's Design open house. She collaborated with Chef's Expression to come up with some unique flavors. You can flavor your popcorn to you and your guests liking and decorate your buffet to reflect your theme or personality. I always emphasize to my clients to stay true to who you are as a person and that will shine through in your celebrations. Yours guests will have more fun because you are being authentic and true. Well, here are some popcorn recipes that Chef's Expressions came up with and I hope that you will enjoy them.

Cocoa Fireside Rub

1/4 cup of New Mexican Chili Powder

1/4 cup Dutch Cocoa powder

1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar

1 tablespoons of Kosher Salt



Moroccan Blend

1/3 cup Coriander

1/3 cup Ginger

1/3 cup Tumeric

1 tablespoons of Kosher Salt



Casablanca Blend

1/3 cup Sumac

1/3 cup Fennelgreek

1/3 cup Amchoor

1 tablespoons of Kosher Salt

So roll out the red carpet and come up with your predictions for an Oscar win and enjoy these delicious varities of popcorns!