|real party|: we ♥ fashion & inspiration too

Earlier this year, we were blessed with the opportunity to style a small event at Ann Taylor at the Oaks Mall featuring stylist to the stars, Michael Bassolino.  To say that we were more than excited to participate in this Pocketbook Magazine event is an understatement!  I was given creative control and LOVED every minute of putting the “pretty” side of this shindig together.

To match Pocketbook’s brand, I decided to go with a monochromatic color scheme. RED…ALL RED.  Below are pics of our setup, and I hope you like it as much as we did!

Now, I could go on and on about the design side of this project (okay, not really), but this post really isn’t about that.  THE most exciting part of my night was getting to spend a few hours in great company, with good food and unexpectedly being ENCOURAGED beyond measure to continue my pursuit, no matter what the circumstances look like around me.

Most of you that follow, know that my business is fairly new, as we became official  in the fall of 2010. We have seen many challenges (as most upstarts do), but we have also seen great successes.  I can’t tell you how inspired I was to sit with such an amazingly talented group of people and share stories of temporary defeat, trials and triumphs.

Was it cool to hang out with a guy that’s styled Kim Kardashian…HECK yeah! But honestly what was even more cool, was the encouragement and inspiration that came out of that night.  When this event was over, I was beaming from ear to ear because I had been given the opportunity to once again DO WHAT I LOVE!  I was reminded that even when it looks bleak, I MUST KEEP MOVING and no matter how others feel I MUST FOLLOW MY DREAM, and no matter what others do, I MUST pay my dues and continue to BE THE BEST ME possible.

I know all of you know this, but sometimes its so nice to hear it!  I am really grateful for each opportunity I receive no matter how BIG or small.  I love that my clients and I fall in love with each other, I love that I am building a brand based on honesty, sincerity and integrity.  I love that so many follow along (whether openly or anonymously) for the ride. I am GRATEFUL for each of you.

For all of you pursuing dreams, no matter what…do not let ANYONE become a roadblock to your success! I encourage you to keep pressing.  Soon enough the RIGHT people will walk into your life and it will all make sense.  Don’t just dream the “dream,” open your eyes and hearts and LIVE the dream!

Cupcakes – A Party for One Bedazzled Bon Bons

Adventures in Paradise – 4 Venues 3 Days and a 30th Birthday to Remember!

On the weekend of November 18th -20th in South Beach, Miami; we were blessed to execute our largest event (logistically) to date.  This is event made us so proud because we planned it for almost 6 months and ended up with a weekend of fetes that surely pleased our client and her guests!

Throughout the months leading up to the event we experienced some interesting occurrences including a job change, a move from Tennessee to New York, and even emergency surgery! But one thing that never wavered was the will to PARRRTAYYYY and do it big! So that is what we did.

What you have to know about Suezette is that she is SO FULL of LIFE with immeasurable SWAG! The theme all started with designer scrapbooking paper that I saw in a craft store. I saw it one night and said “that has Suezette written all over it, we HAVE TO DO THAT!” What is it you ask? Well vibrant Peacocks of course that would focus on OUR (hers and mine) favorite color PURPLE with accents of gold!  When I say it was ALL PLEASURE planning this event, I couldn’t have asked for a better client.

The weekend’s events included a Welcome Social on Friday night at the Riviera South Beach Hotel, a Pre-Party Social at the Clevelander Hotel, Adventures in Paradise- the Official Birthday Celebration at the Chart House Miami on Saturday, and a Farewell Brunch on Sunday at News Cafe.  Decor and styling was provided for the Welcome Social and Official Birthday Celebration! We had the pleasure of designing all the printables, invites, itinerary and several HAND-MADE decor elements! We even shared our vision for the cake and the fabulous Courtney Taylor made it come to life!!! Below are a few of my favs from the weekend! You can view the full album here.  I hope you enjoy!

Birthday Celebration

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Personal Quotes (borrowed from her Facebook page) were on the tables

I asked guests to describe Suezette in one word and tie their description to the tree

A gift to her mommy (Fracture) These were a surprise bonus…you know every planner’s dream? The little party magic that happens when you least expect it!

The Birthday Girl at her Farewell Brunch!

I love my client, she is such an inspiration and a fabulous woman in general.  She is also a very talented writer.  If you would like you check her out you can find out more about her and her work HERE and here!

| real party | a hip hop bash – CRJ turns 1

In early November, I was fortunate to share in the 1st Birthday party of a wonderful little man.  His parents are no strangers to Luxe. fetes as I styled their wedding and elaborate rehearsal dinner in 2008, and then their baby shower in 2009. After a few conversations  I told PJ,  his mommy, that with all her creative genius, she had this in the bag…but she insisted that I consult to pull together DETAILS and style for her…so that is what I did.

PJ had a clearly defined theme for CJ’s party, because he loves old-school hip hop and loves to dance, but she needed help with the development.  The centerpiece/focal point of the party was to be a “brick” wall with a message “tagged” on it for CJ’s birthday! I loved the idea! So we built the theme around it.  You know what I LOVED about this party, it was extremely interactive and fun for both parents and kids.  They played a whole lot of GROSS OUT games, for which I got NO PICTURES because I was gagging…LOL…I DO NOT DO GROSS…I mean chocolate mixed with mustard, mayonnaise and I think even peanut butter on oranges…who knows I was too grossed out to care!

This was such a pleasure to work on not just because it was for a friend-turned-client, for whom we have shared many major milestones, but because it was done with so much L-O-V-E by his mommy and it was all about Caleb’s personality.  Here are a few pictures from the day, I hope you enjoy, because…we SURE HAD a FUNKY Good time! LOL!

Upcycled: an Unusually Sweet Holiday!

I know, I know…I haven’t blogged in months. I am so back logged, it’s ridiculous! However, if you can manage to forgive me then I promise to provide some ooooohhhhhh so SWEET eye candy for you over the next few weeks! First up is Luxe.’s first styled shoot to start the Holidays off right. After chatting with the greatest business partner of all (my hubby) and a planner friend, I decided that I was going to commit and REALLY get some of these ideas out of my head. Welllllll, I had this sketch of the most ELABORATE set up for a holiday shoot that one could ever imagine. I’m talking about draping, Lucite, and PURPLE galore, if I could have made it snow in Florida I would have…LOL! Well, after some serious thought…and waking up from my day dreams, I realized that this type of shoot at this stage is my business just DID NOT MAKE SENSE! So, what’s a girl to do…scale back? Well I am not big on that. I am one of those that likes to go hard or go home with the ideas I have…so to half do it, just wasn’t gonna do for me. “Get on with it,” you say…okay I will!

Well, I realized that this year I had accumulated so much party stuff, that I was NEVER going to use again…or so I thought. I also had Christmas decor (my FAV purple glittered out Martha Stewart ornaments) that had RUN THEIR COURSE, and it all needed a new home. So I thought why not upcycle, recycle, reuse and then DONATE it all to someone else. It would test my creativity as well as bless someone in the process. So below you will see pictures from our shoot. It was MORE WORK than I EVER imagined. It’s bananas that staging something for photos take SO MUCH out of you.

I like to inspire others and I hope this little shoot does that. We have chosen a local charity, Pleasant Place, which is a home for pregnant and parenting teen mothers to give everything to, and this makes it that much more meaningful. If I am allowed to I will try to share some pics of what the girls decided to do with all the stuff. But for now, you can see what we did. We spent a less than $50 for EVERYTHING…I even had the Kandy Kones (TM), for which I changed the ribbon to match the color scheme. The only things purchased were the tablecloth, food & sweets of course, the card making supplies, floral and cake stand (that I painted). Again, hats off to all those FOOD STYLISTS, photographers, models, etc. I hope you ENJOY!

Behind the scenes::: Okay, so I told you it was a lot of work, but what I didn’t tell you was that I made a real stupid move that involved ruining a few (just a few) PERFECTLY good Bedazzled Bon Bons and HOT broiled grapefruit. It’s edited out for the most part..but for you real eagle eyes like me..you may just see what I am talking about. Oh the lessons we learn!

Vendors/Credits

-Cake : Abbe (decorator at my local supermarket)

-Linen: Tablecloths Factory

-Kandy Kones ^TM : Celebration Today…the Superchick Way

-Bedazzled Bon Bons/Dazzle Pop : Bedazzled Bon Bons

-Design, Styling, Paper & Photography: Luxe. Event Design, LLC

As always you can visit us here to view the full album.

|real wedding| – a long distance love…no more

On a BEAUTIFUL Saturday afternoon in August, the sixth to be exact..David and Monet turned their long-distance courtship into a close knit union to never be separated by distance and time again.  For this wonderful couple, all what mattered most was that their closest family and friends were present, and that their wedding was simple, yet elegant!  They were such a pleasure to work with and what’s better I have known the groom since undergrad (he was just a baby when I met him…lol) and the bride is my sorority sister !!! So it has been extra special to see how their love has blossomed!  I am so happy and excited that their long distance love is no more and the Florida-North Carolina connection is now one! Here a are  few of my favorite images from the day!!!  I am so grateful that Luxe. Event Design was a part of their special day!

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Credits::
Styling, Coordination and Photography- Luxe. Event Design, LLC

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colors of life | personal palette | – home office redefined!

It’s no secret. I – LOVE -  COLOR!!! So, when I decided to move my home design space from my dining room table, to a more permanent location, I knew  I had to do it with pizzazz, flair and TONS of color!  Being in a space that I love keeps me in a happy place.  It’s true, I get inspiration from EVERYWHERE, but there is nothing like having my own design “sanctuary” where I feel at peace, inspired and motivated to CREATE!

Until I am blessed with a design studio, I will use my new space as a conduit for ideas galore!  They may not know this, but there are 4 fabulously talented ladies from the party world, that have in some form or another have inspired my space!

I will take you on a photo journey through my little office and you can see how each of them added an element.   Many of the elements come from some of my favorite events! I did this project  a month ago , but I had to GET OFF MY DUFF and actually take the pictures..LOL! So as a follow up to my photo that I posted on facebook on July 16…hahaha ..here it is!!! (Click on photos for larger image!)

Instead of making you guess who inspired what… I will just tell you!!!

Inspired by Sandra Downie – I fell in love with Sandra and her work, some time back.  When she started her Monday Evening Musings on her blog, The White Library, I fell in love with her all seasons porch too.  There I saw these massive white poms and I knew that I would incorporate that into my design space one day. Thanks Sandra!!!  So istead of white,  I used Fuschia, Gold, Red, Light Pink and Hot Pink…on a teal wall and  the colors just popped!!!

Inspired by that glittery girl Kristy of The Purple Pug – This party girl loves all things GLITTA!!! I have enjoyed so many of her parties and work, that I decided to channel my inner Pug and go EXTRA glittery on my faux book ends…you see they are really faux cause the AIN’T holding up a single book..LOL! Thanks Kristy!

Yep that is a Kandy Kone ™ you see! These Kandy Kones were made custom for my little superchick’s 1st birthday party  by the one and only Genevieve from Superchick Studios – Celebrate Today…the superchick way.  Not sure if you can see the detail from this pic, but she tie – dyed the paper and made these super chic kones!!! My hubby and I loved them so much that we wanted repurpose them!! So I am now using Kandy Kones ™ to store my pins for my cork board, and mini Kones for paper clips!!!  Thanks Gen!!!

If you look closely to my “blinged” out cork board you will see a Bedazzled Bon Bon color chart!   I use it as color inspiration all the time!  It is the easiest  way to see color combinations! Also, if you look at the picture right before this one you will see the pink heart shaped dazzle pop I keep on my desk! I l♥ it! Thanks Sasha!!!

I could go on and on forever about how so many of you have inspired me, whether its through your design, kind words, friendship or encouragement!!! Thanks to you 4 ladies for helping make my space so creative and functional!!!

So everybody, what are your colors of life?!?! What’s defines your personal palette?  Do share!!!!

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the migration |wordpress style|

from the word migrate – a verb meaning :: to shift, as from one system, mode of operation, or enterprise to another.

Sometimes migration is necessary.  I have been on blogger since December 2010 when I shared my very first post, and I liked it.  Truth be told, I first started blogging in 2009 on my personal blog, which happens to be just another WordPress |dot| com site. However, quite a few of the party blogs that I frequent were on blogger so I decided to give it a whirl.I will not lie, blogger has treated me well.  However, as with all things change must occur.  I am ready to take the blogsphere by storm , and I feel like this platform is the right place for me to do it.

When I started my business blog, it wasn’t an easy decision.  I did not want to be one of those sporadic bloggers that only posts every 6 months, but I also didn’t want to post unless I really had something of substance to share.  So here, my goal is to stay true to the original reason that I wanted to blog in the first place, and that is to share life lessons, inspirations and the celebrations that accompany us through our journey!

I absolutely love life, people and fabulously chic parties!  I hope that during this next phase of my blogging life, the essence of who I am and what Luxe (my company) is really about shines brightly here!  Thanks so much for reading to this point! I look forward to sharing so much more with you.

Here’s a look at where we started. Not that I didn’t like it, but I LOVE how BRIGHT the new blog is!

Do it because you love it!

trendy + traditional = | a real wedding |

This gallery contains 18 photos.

Love is patient and kind and that couldn’t be more true for our lovely June couple that wed near Panama City Beach, Florida.They were so kind in fact that the bride’s only request was that she be married in the … Continue reading →

what if we took just one | opportunity | to | connect |?- part II

So in part I I shared with you my experience this weekend of launching my new blog and being found (all random) + featured by a Japanese web developer that has an online magazine dedicated to all things WordPress.  Well the truth is I had already started writing this blog before that ever happened.  Part II happened before part I, but it was so relevant that I had to share.  Okay so on with it, you say!

Last Friday night | Saturday morning I was up really late putting the finishing touches on Pretty. Edgy. Chic.  Of course I was on twitter laughing hysterically at one of my twitter friends as I often do.  As I chuckled I realized that Auri (who lives in India) was one of my very first twitter followers and I ALWAYS laugh at his tweets, but he and I NEVER actually SAY anything to one another.  This got me thinking…So I decided to reach out to him and say HI!  Well in doing so, he responded immediately and told me that he had first come to know me because of Blogger (yeah, he was one of the 3 followers that I had…LOL!).  He also invited me to read his blog, which I have now fallen in love with.  On his latest post he had a video entitled “A Thousand Words.”  Its premise was based on one simple question – “What if you took just one opportunity to connect?”  I was so moved by this.

Every day we have so many opportunities to connect with new people and for one reason or another we let them pass us by.  Whether its fear of rejection, insecurity, or simply the rigors of life itself.  Whatever the reason, what would happen if we committed to connecting with one new person a day?  How would it change our lives?  Better yet, how much more good could we do together?  Well I have decided to make this a personal challenge of mine.

The reason I even got to experience the video you will see below  was because he first reached out by following me, I responded and then we decided to actually connect (almost 7 months later). And because of it I have gained a new buddy on the other side of the world!

The real connections that I have made via facebook, twitter, the Children’s Party Network, and Martha Stewart’s Dreamer’s into Doers are priceless. I can say I have built personal and genuine friendships with at least one person from each network. These friendships have encouraged me, renewed me, propelled me to want to do more, and given me courage and strength to keep doing what  I love!

So today I want to share this with you and thank all of you, for taking a chance and connecting with me! I hope this video is as compelling to you as it is to me. And I encourage you to release the fear and reach out…its okay.  I have discovered that most people are inherently good (and nice too) and are probably just as scared as you are. Why not make the FIRST move..or at least be nice enough to make the second and respond:-)

Keep doing it because you love it!

out with the old, in with the new | new website |

It i with great pleasure that I share our new website! I love where we started, but I love even more where we’re headed.  Its no secret that when I started Luxe. Event Design, LLC I went hard.  Learning everything I could in order to build the brand, as well as digging up EVERY picture I could find to put on the site. After a conversation with one of my favorite planner friends, I realized just how blessed I was to have work to put on a site.  So since I have been fortunate to get more since our launch 8 months ago, I wanted to display in the best form possible.

There always comes a time for a change and NOW just felt right.  The rest of this year is set to be a whirl wind, and we are grateful,  but what I am even more grateful for are all our wonderful friends will be here to continue to support us and watch us grow.

I am pretty proud of this new site.  And if you’re reading this, you are probably one of my biggest supporters…so THANK YOU!

This is just another step in better serving our clients and showing what we’re made of!  We are PRETTY | EDGY | CHIC !  So thanks to everyone for your support and love…Here are a few pics…but go check it out yourself and let me know what you think.  Love you guys!

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I am theluxeplanner...:-) ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

| grateful | the sweetest compliments

Do you know the feeling of looking up to and admiring someone so much.  Well I do.  There are several people that have been so kind to me since starting my business.  This morning I was so overjoyed, humbled and grateful for these comments from a special person that I had to find a way to encapsulate them.  I found the perfect way…I thought of Wordle…I learned of it in training a few years ago, and finally found the PERFECT reason to use it.  I thought this was the perfect way to display these lovely compliments.  Just wanted to share.

Blessings all!!!