Exclusive Offer from Grand Cru Classes

Happy Election Day Eve!

If you are at all like us at Maven Events, this election season has left you feeling like a glass of wine may not be the worst way to end the day. Added to all the economic news, layoffs, and other depressing stuff it could make your head spin. And now even if you have a budget for your event you may feel guilty doing something flashy, so read on for an option that is fun, educational, and only as snooty as you want it to be.

Our friends at Grand Cru Classes are offering the following for Maven readers and clients as an add on to events or as an event in itself:

• Champagne Arrival Reception
• Guided tasting of 7 wines to complement the theme or topic of your choice (wines under $20 would be a big hit!)
• Complete tasting stations with elegant crystal stemware
• Educational materials and tasting sheets

For $2500 they will bring this to your event or office for up to 25 people, or you can go out to their classroom in Mattituck and make a day of it and they will throw in lunch. Custom packages can also be created for larger groups.

Call or email Maven Events and we'll get it all set up for you gratis. Mention CRUMAVEN08 so we know where you heard about this deal.

So, learn while you imbibe and you could come away with greater knowledge about how to drink better for less.

Have an eventful day!

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Have an eventful day!

Event Budgeting 101 - Decor

Are you wondering how much more you can do than provide the requisite food, beverage, and music for your holiday party with your shrunken budget? The answer is lots, and for a lot less than you may think. It may take a little more legwork, but what better than a field trip to the flower district to escape the office for a few hours.

28th Street between 6th & 7th Avenues is my personal event decor Mecca. It holds many treasures for the savvy shopper...and I'm not even that in to the actual flowers. I personally believe that some event elements must be left to the pros - I vow to never set foot in the DJ booth or to try to arrange flowers a la L'Olivier - but there is still hope for beautiful events in the DIY department if you can channel your inner Martha just a little.

Head to my favorite place, Jamali Garden, and inspiration will find you. They offer countless garlands, containers, trays, ribbons, lights, sand, sea glass, hanging do-hickeys and more. If you walk in to this place and nothing strikes you, follow these simple steps to create an easy and oft forgotten decoration:

• go to the glass aisle
• pick out a tall(ish) container with straight sides
• en route to the register pick up a bunch of round ornaments in whatever color(s) suites your space/theme/desire, (the number will depend on the size of the balls you choose and the container, and try a variety of sizes in the same color for a cooler look)***
• at event, place the balls in container. Surround with candles (hopefully provided by venue) if desired.
• enjoy holiday decor
  

***If you need to avoid any sort of Christmas feel, this Jewish girl recommends the very cute snowball ornaments (cut the string off before putting in vase) with a snowflake ornament or two thrown in to the mix to make an elegant, simple, wintry piece. Or glitter up some pinecones and and stuff those in your vase...the glitter will catch the candle light and look festive.

Depending on the container you choose and how expensive you like your balls, it is entirely possible to do these pieces for less than 1/4 of what you would pay a florist for a centerpiece. Choose your containers smartly, and for your next event you can fill the same containers with fruit, corks, colored liquids, spray painted paper balls or any number of things that play in to your theme.

When the rain holds up and I have a chance to venture over there I will build a sample and show you how it looks...and we'll also get to learn how I fare as a photographer.

Have an eventful day!

Exclusive Offer for Maven Events Readers and Clients

In an effort to help Maven Events blog readers and clients, we have been reaching out to a variety of vendors and asking them to create special deals for our special friends.

Just because the economy is acting like a 4 year old doesn't mean every last drop of fun needs to be sucked out of our worlds. It just means we have to be smarter with our dollars and get more for less. So, in the world of getting more for less, we bring you our first exclusive offer...


The Deal:
Pressure at Bowlmor Lanes Present:
3 hours of exclusive use of the "Runway" area in Pressure
3 hours of Open Bar
Buffet Dinner with Passed Hors d'Oeuvres
12 Pool Tables
Wii Gaming System on a 24' Screen (WOW...now THAT seems like fun!!)

The price: $125 per person plus tax and service
The rules: Minimum guarantee of 100 guests. Must mention booking code PRESSMAVEN08 or book through Maven Events (it's gratis for us to help you with this). Additional food & beverage are available for purchase to add to the package if desired. Additional restrictions may apply.

See the space at www.pressurenyc.com

Check back regularly for more offers!!

Have an eventful day!

Event Budgeting 101 - The Venue, Part 1

One of the biggest opportunities to save in event planning is at the venue. Being smart in your selection can have a huge impact on your budget. The more you know about the position the venues are in, and how they operate, the bigger the impact can be.

General Economics
We're guessing you've found the market fluctuation over the last few weeks to be really uncomfortable - you're wondering how you and your company are going to fare, how you will afford holiday gifts this year when your budget may be smaller, and are you going to get the bonus you had expected as little as three weeks ago?

You're not alone...the venues are wondering the same thing. December is their bonus. Many venues see their highest revenues in December, multiple times higher than their next highest month, and they count on the financial cushion it creates to make it through the typically sluggish first quarter that follows.

So, they need you and your company's party this December and will do whatever it takes to get it, particularly if they have excess capacity. This December the ball is in your court - it's an event consumers market.


How Venues Work
Many event locations operate on the principle of a "perishable inventory". They have an intangible item for sale, space, and if it's not sold for today before today is over they will never again have the chance to sell it and generate revenue for today. This fact is your friend.

Venues have a choice - do they want to sell the space to you and make some money or would they rather make none at all? Their rent's not changing, so do they want to cover some of it and make a little money or not? Most smart venues will take the smaller margin percentage in order to take some dollars to the bank. If all their costs are covered and they make $1000 on a $10000 event instead of the usual $5000 profit they may make, the $1000 contribution to their rent or savings for the first quarter is generally worthwhile.

The Best Choices
Some locations are smarter and more willing to work with you than others, generally depending on their cost structure. Look for the following types of venues that will be able to give you the best deals:

• those that will be open whether or not you have an event where your event will not disrupt their usual business, such as restaurants with private rooms
• those that will only have to open a few hours earlier for your event, such as nightclubs
  
• those in neighborhoods that have been particularly impacted by the economy, suck as the Financial District in NYC
• those that cater solely to corporate events
• those that offer food & beverage and will not require you to bring in a caterer

Other elements to look for with venues that can lead to great savings for you are:

• decor that will require little additional work on your part
• those that provide tables, chairs, linen, lounge furniture and votives
• overhead sound systems for background music
• microphones for speeches or remarks
  
• DJ booths if you are planning to use a DJ

These are just a few of the things that you need to know about venues before you start looking to book your holiday party. Taking heed can net you savings of over 25% of your budget.

Questions and comments are welcome, and we hope we have helped you figure out how to make the most of your event budget.

Have an eventful day!

Introduction

Welcome to the Maven Events blog!

Maven Events is an event planning and venue consulting firm based in NYC. It was founded by Jes (Weinberger) Parker in 2008. Jes has vast experience in event planning on both the vendor and client sides. Vendor side experience allows Maven Events to have special insight in to what makes vendors tick leading to special deals for Maven clients.

The mission of this blog is to share some of this insight and discuss all things event related: how the economy impacts the event world, how to create impressive events with a not-so-impressive budget, who the best vendors are, home entertaining tips, favorite recipes, the navigation of party politics and more.

Stay up-to-date and be notified of new postings by becoming a fan of the Maven Events Facebook page at:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/New-York-NY/Maven-Events/30244722238


Have an eventful day.

Events in the Current Economy

As holiday event planning season kicks into full gear and the economy falls flat on it's face, it's time to reevaluate our event priorities and figure out how to squeeze the most out of minimal budgets.

In the immediate future we will continue to see big events that have been in the pipeline for months, but everything from weddings to office parties and fundraisers will have to face the reality of the current economy going forward. With this, Event Budgeting 101 begins.

The Event Budgeting 101 series will contain tips about how to get more for less and special offers from the Maven Events partner vendors. We have special offers from photographers and venues, specialty food vendors and more. Our creatives have also come up with some great saving tips from eating the decor to creating events that simply don't require any.

We hope you find the series helpful and welcome questions and comments so we can be as beneficial as possible for you.

Have an eventful day!