Eco-Friendly “Green” Event Planning Tips and Ideas

Happy EARTH DAY!  In celebration of Earth Day and Earth Week, we wanted to share with you some ways you can reduce your carbon footprint and make your next event eco-friendly “green.”

• Consider evites or online invitations instead of traditional paper ones, and offer your guests the option of online registration. If you must have paper invitation, be sure to use ones made with recycled paper.

• Encourage your guests to carpool to your event.  While this option maybe less realistic, asks your guests to walk, bike or take public transportation to your event instead of driving.  For larger events, offer a shuttle service to guest (budget permitting!).

• Re-purpose event decor.  Also, go to consignment stores or prop rental shop to find décor for your event. You just might me surprised with the neat things you find!  Opt for re-usable tablecloths and consider glassware instead of disposable table and flatware.  If you can, try to hold your event at a venue that has plenty of natural lighting.  It will set the perfect ambiance for your event and please your guests.

• Use a local catering company or vendor that offers organic cuisine.  Some of these companies may also offer compost services.  The amount of energy it takes to wash them at the end of a party is much less than the amount of energy spent to produce and dispose of single-use table settings. If you are hosting a large event I suggest renting the tableware from a local rental company. They deliver and pick up the dirty dishes at the end of the night!

• For beverages, consider serving craft beers or wines from a local brewery or vineyard.  And stay away from plastic water bottles, opting to use filtered tap water instead.

• Recycle, recycle, recycle! Be sure that recycling receptacles are readily available and easy to access for your guests, and make recycling a priority during post-event clean up.

Are you creating the PERFECT PITCH?

When pitching the media, it can seem like a difficult to know and understand what they want and if they believe your pitch is newsworthy for their audience.  The media could be a television producer, magazine editor, blogger, newspaper editor, reporter or journalist.  They are the “gatekeepers” to your public.  You must ensure that you establish credibility and connections to build media relationships.  In today’s social media driven world, more and more of these “gatekeepers” get flooded with pitches everyday, so establishing a relationship and connection with them can definitely get your  pitch some attention.  Outside of the  “must haves,” such as spelling, punctuation, grammar and providing contact information,  here are some key elements to include to “create the perfect pitch!”

1.  WHY ARE YOU PITCHING TO ME?

The first words the media will see is your subject line.  Make it catchy to grab their attention and arouse their curiosity.  Find an interesting angle and do not mention the company name, yet.  Most times, you will be pitching a new client so they will not having any connection or knowledge to your client anyway.  Tell why their audience would be interested in your product or service.  Communicate your passion about the product or service.  In the first paragraph, get to the point and pitch your product or service.  You will lose the reader if you do not put the main reason of why you are pitching to them in the beginning of your letter.  Make the first sentence an extension of the subject line.  Also, do not make your pitch seem as though you are sending to a distribution list – they will automatically hit the DELETE button!

2.  THE FIVE W’s

As you learned in grade school, the 5 W’s (Who, What, When, Where, and Why) are important in letting a journalist receive the full picture of your pitch.  These are the basic elements of journalism and should not be taken for granted in a pitch.

3.  SHORT AND SNAPPY

The media gets bombarded with pitches and they still have to make time for their other journalistic duties.  So, as you can see, reading a long pitch will more than likely get ignored and/or deleted.  Like pitching in person, keep your pitch to no longer than three (3) minutes.  The same with email, keep it equally short with the most relevant information a journalist needs to show interest in your pitch.

4.  CALL TO ACTION

Be clear and to the point of what you are asking of the journalist.  After explaining your client’s product, service or situation, ask a question or set a clear action step.  If you want a journalist to consider reviewing your client’s product, offer a sample.   A pitch letter is designed to create a dialogue with one journalist.  Don’t sell your product, sell your story.

What are some other elements that have proven successful to you or you like to see in a pitch letter?  Share your thoughts!

Three “TAX-SEASON” Cocktails for Tax Day

Whether you owe or will get a refund from the Internal Revenue Service this year, you will more than like want a drink to either celebrate (refund) or take the edge off (owe) Uncle Sam.  In recognition of U.S. Tax Day, April 15, we have provided three (3) cocktails that should put you in a celebratory mood, either way!

Income Tax Cocktail

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Total Time: 3 minutes

Yield: 1 Cocktail

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces gin
• 1/4 ounce sweet vermouth
• 1/4 ounce dry vermouth
• 1 oz orange juice
• Angostura bitters to taste
• Orange twist for garnish

Preparation:

1. Pour the ingredients into a shaker with ice cubes.
2. Shake well.
3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
4. Garnish with the orange twist.

Lucky Deduction

The Lucky Deduction is classic mix with a modern twist, this being a fruity, refreshing version of port via Croft Pink. Also, with any of these finely tuned drinks, you should use the freshest orange juice possible. True, it is only a splash, but even in the smallest amounts you need to think of quality and refrain from compromising the rest of the drink.

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Total Time: 3 minutes

Yield: 1 Cocktail

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Camus VSOP Cognac
• 2 oz Croft Pink Port
• Splash of orange juice
• Orange wedge for garnish

Preparation:

1. Build the ingredients in an old-fashioned glass filled with ice.
2. Stir well.
3. Garnish with an orange wedge.

Procrastinator (Shooter)

 

This shooter was designed for those tax season procrastinators and makes a great celebratory finish to another successful filing, no matter the outcome.

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Total Time: 3 minutes

Yield: 1 Shooter

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Frangelico Liqueur
• 1 oz Wild Turkey American Honey

Preparation:

1. Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
2. Shake well.
3. Strain into a shot glass.

SOURCE: about.cocktails.com

2013 Color Trends for Spring and Summer Events @pantone

With the Pantone Color of the Year being Emerald Green, you might be asking yourself,  “Green is not my color?”  Well, we have some additional trending colors for events this Spring and Summer that will allow you to display your creativity and amaze your clients and/or guests (without the Green)!

Here are some of our favorite colors on event boards.

Photo credit: Peony Events Co.

Photo Credit: Darian and Dechele Events

Photo Credit: Luxe Wedding Blog

Photo Credit: Posy Rosy

Photo Credit: Pinterest