Football Jersey Table Numbers

Kirsta and Mylo’s wedding was such a fun event to work on. Not only did they hire us for their “Day Of” coordination, but Kirsta also asked me to help her create some memorable table numbers to go along with her football and snowflake themed wedding. Being that the bride and groom are huge Pittsburgh Steeler fans, they wanted to incorporate their favorite sport into their wedding décor. I designed each card to look like a Steeler’s football jersey and kept it as authentic as possible, even including the NFL logos. Each table represented one of their favorite players from the past or present. The back of the jersey showed the players name and number, while the front included a short bio of the player and described why they were chosen as one of the couple’s favorites. Being a huge football fan myself, I really enjoyed creating such unique décor and loved how the couple incorporated their favorite sport into their wedding!

Some other cool details that Kirsta and Mylo incorporated into their reception were “Terrible Towel” favors that included the couples name and wedding date. Guests waved these high in the air as the couple made their grand entrance to the NFL theme song. They continued to wave them throughout the evening, which indicated a kiss between the newly married couple in lieu of clinking glasses.

Kirsta and Mylo’s wedding day will certainly be remembered as a legendary touchdown in their own game of life!

Stunning Stationary

I was fortunate to work with Sandy and her mother Debra back in August while helping them coordinate Sandy’s Coco Chanel inspired bridal shower. So I couldn’t be more thrilled when they asked me for help with creating the stationary for Sandy and Michael’s winter wedding.

By the time they reached out to me, Sandy had already sent out her invitations. Like every busy bride-to-be, she was looking for someone to help her create the rest of the stationary for her wedding. Her goal was to have a cohesive design for her ceremony programs, place cards and dinner menu that matched her invitation.

Using my graphic design experience, I was able to replicate the design for her and we had all of the stationary printed on pearlized paper which gave the illusion that the bubbles had more depth (Hint: we found the paper at Michaels, $8.99 for 100 sheets!). During this time, I also created a sign for the place card table that stated, “You can find your seating assignment here, but your place is on the dance floor!”

Sandy and Debra were such a pleasure to work with and I look forward to the opportunity to work with them again to the future. Check out the details of the day below and see other photos from Sandy and Michael’s glitzy winter wedding, click here:

Surprise, Surprise!

This Sixtieth Birthday Party was full of surprises, not just for the guest of honor, but for us here at SociaLife! Even though the planning for this event began seven months prior to the party, nothing could have prepared us for what Mother Nature had in store. Two weeks before the big day, Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the Jersey Shore, devastating the coastal towns and flooding our venue, Tim McLoone’s Supper Club in Asbury Park. We were notified that the party location would have to be changed, but since most of the state was still without power, we did not learn of the new location until three days before the event. The week before the party can only be described as pure madness. Luckily, I love a good challenge! Working around the clock, I rearranged the seating assignments, changed the table cards, redesigned the tablescapes to match the interior of the new location, and contacted all of the guests to notify them of the venue change.

All of the hard work paid off once we saw the surprised look on Cathy’s face. She later told me that once she realized what was happening, she had to catch her breath, as she has never been so surprised in her life. The theme of the event was centered on the year she was born, 1952, and the different milestones in her life thereafter. The invitation and table numbers included fun facts events that occurred in certain years, and a special one about Cathy. The mix of yellow flowers in the centerpieces, designed by Amanda Renee, were created to reflect Cathy’s favorite color and the Pez Candy dispensers were used since they were introduced to the United States on the year she was born. Jeff Balkin of SCE Event Group kept the guests on the dance floor all night long, playing the greatest hits over past sixty years.

I personally want to thank everyone involved for making this party into the success that it was, especially to Rachel of Tim McLoone’s for her assistance with finding us a new location. Everyone who attended this event had been affected by the storm in one way or another. It was just a great opportunity for everyone to get out, take their minds off of the devastation to our community, and celebrate the life of a wonderful woman. It was a fantastic party and we hope that Cathy enjoyed her 60^th Birthday Surprise!

Venue: Tim McLoone’s Pier House, Long Branch
Invitations: Art, Paper, Scissors
Floral Design: Amanda Renee
Entertainment: Jeff Balkin of SCE Event Group
Event Coordination: Kelly Heyn of SociaLife

A Perfect Proposal

I have helped coordinate many special events over the years, but this past week’s Pop-the-Question set up was certainly the most meaningful. My twin sister is the most important person in my life, so when her boyfriend Brian asked me to help him plan a romantic engagement proposal I couldn’t help but feel a whirlwind of excitement. Brian wanted to do something a little out of the ordinary while still keeping a low profile. Ever since Kate played the drums in her high school marching band music has been a huge part of her life and Brian wanted to incorporate this into his proposal. But instead of a Flash Mob or a big song and dance routine, Brian decided to hire an incredibly talented acoustic duo to perform one of Brian and Kate’s favorite songs. We chose to host this special moment on the legendary Asbury Park Boardwalk which is famously known for its music heritage. Since musicians frequently perform on the boardwalk Kate would never become suspicious of 3 West who would already be in place playing their set.

We selected a weekday afternoon since Brian was supposed to be at work. I casually asked Kate out to lunch that afternoon and chose my favorite restaurant, also located on the AP Boardwalk, to lead her close to our planned proposal location. It was a gorgeous day, so I parked far away from the restaurant we were planning to go and told Kate that I wanted to take a walk on the boardwalk since I hadn’t been there in some time. I was so nervous while walking her to the location. I could see 3 West already performing and was so afraid that Kate would look up at one of the rooftop lounges and catch a glimpse at the photographer and videographer we had hired to secretly film the event. When we got close to the acoustic group, I led Kate closer to them by pretending to see a dolphin jump out of the water. Knowing that it was her favorite animal, I knew she would stop to look for them. Since she was looking toward the water, her back was turned from the boardwalk, giving Brian the perfect opportunity to sneak up behind her. It is at that moment that 3 West began performing “God Only Knows” by The Beach Boys and Brian asked Kate to be his bride. After an awkwardly long moment of silence due to complete shock, Kate muttered the word “Yes” and Brian gave the crowd that had developed, a big thumbs up.

You can see every moment of this proposal portrayed in the images below.

After Brian popped-the-question, they were whisked away by a friendly onlooker who treated them to a celebratory glass of champagne. Later, both families came together to congratulate the couple over a lovely lunch at Stella Marina.

I feel so fortunate to have not only help plan this proposal, but to bear witness to one of the most important moments in my sister’s life. The smile on her face and the joy that both Kate and Brian portrayed is something I will cherish forever. Most importantly, I am grateful to Heyn Photography and Endless Wave Studios for making it possible to share this moment with the couples closest friends and family. I am so happy for my twin sister Kate and incredibly proud to welcome Brian into our family.

Acoustic Duo: 3 West
Photography: Marissa Levin-Rybalov of Heyn Photography
Videography: Greg Lassik of Endless Wave Studios
Event Coordination: Kelly Heyn of SociaLife

Special thank you to Watermark for opening up their rooftop patio to allow Marissa and Greg secretly film this momentous occasion and to Robert Legere Design’s for allowing Brian to hide in their retail shop while waiting for Kate’s arrival. We are incredibly grateful for your generosity and support to make this timeline of events unfold so smoothly.

Totally Awesome 80’s

This past week I had the pleasure of working with a local radio station, 94.3 The Point, to decorate their annual Totally Awesome 80’s party held at Jenks Club in Point Pleasant. From the moment I was asked to participate in this event I knew it would be a blast. I was asked to create a photobooth for guests to have their pictures taken. For this I made an old, 80’s styled bedroom that included an inflatable couch, retro wallpaper and lots of 80’s posters from that era. I cut out two holes so that the guests could act as though hey were a poster hanging on the wall along side their favorite 80’s icons. Everyone had such a great time posing with their friends. For the stage I created a PacMan game backdrop that was made out of Ping-Pong balls that stood out nicely against the black curtain. Other props included neon painted cassette tapes, which were hung from all of the bars, giant Rubik’s Cubes, and tons of 80’s posters. To get the party started, I gave away 80’s shutter shade sunglasses, neon glow sticks and crazy straws-not that it was needed, since most people came sporting their crazy outfits and big hair. I had a great time participating in such a “historic” event and was happy to be a part of such a great cause as most of the proceeds benefited Autism Speaks. Thank you so much to everyone who came out. Especially to Kate, John and Cathy for volunteering their time to help support such a great cause.