If you're lucky enough to watch the best horse race at Churchill Downs itself, cheers to you.  If you're having your own celebration below are a few very creative versions of the classic Mint Julep Derby Drink, courtesy of "Southern Living" -  does anyone know the South better? You can view the full recipe and other cocktails at this Bonjour Events page: Aperitifs.

Place mint leaves and syrup in a chilled julep cup, and muddle. Pack cup tightly with crushed ice; add bourbon and mint sprig.    

1. Mint Syrup: Boil 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1 1/2 cups water, stirring often, 2 to 3 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat; add 15 fresh mint sprigs, and cool completely. Cover and chill 24 hours. Strain syrup; discard solids.

2. Grapefruit-Honey Syrup: Prepare Mint Syrup as directed, reducing sugar to 1/2 cup and stirring 3/4 cup fresh grapefruit juice, 1/2 cup honey, 3 (2- x 4-inch) grapefruit rind strips, and rind from 1 lime, cut into strips, into sugar mixture with mint. For julep, muddle with 1 small grapefruit rind strip.

3. Peach-Basil Syrup: Prepare Mint Syrup as directed, substituting basil for mint and stirring 2 (5.5-oz.) cans peach nectar and 1 split vanilla bean into sugar mixture with basil. For julep, muddle with 1 peach slice.

4. Blackberry Syrup: Prepare Mint Syrup as directed, adding 6 oz. fresh blackberries, halved, with mint. For julep, muddle with 2 fresh blackberries.

5. Pineapple-Lemongrass Syrup: Prepare Mint Syrup as directed, reducing granulated sugar to 1 cup, adding 1/2 cup light brown sugar to granulated sugar and water, and stirring 1 cup pineapple juice, 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice, and 3 (3-inch) pieces fresh lemongrass into sugar mixture with mint after removing from heat. For julep, muddle with 1 small fresh pineapple chunk.

One of the biggest headaches in organizing corporate events is finding a suitable venue. But it needn’t be complicated; there are plenty of venues out there, but before you start searching it’s worth narrowing down what you’re looking for by thinking what you really need for a particular event.

Depending on your budget, you can take a lot of the legwork out of the task by using a venue finding service. However, it’s easy to find venues for yourself online or through your own networks.

Here are some useful things to consider:

Size

Think about how big the event will be and plan ahead. For conferences that involve a large group of people you often need to secure a venue months in advance.

Timing 

Your choice of venue will depend on how long the event will run. If you’re organising corporate entertainment, it may be an evening event that requires overnight accommodation. For this kind of event you might be better choosing a venue that has on-site accommodation – like a hotel.  However, your event might be better suited to a breakfast or lunch meeting, in which cases your options are a lot wider.

Location

In order to get maximum attendance, it’s important that you choose a venue that is easy to get to and has good access to public transport or handy parking facilities for attendees. The easier it is for your delegates to get there, the more likely they are to turn up! You’ll also need to make sure that the venue you choose has wheelchair access.

Format

Depending on the nature of your event or conference you need to consider the shape of the room you will be using. It may suit you to have delegates seated in rows, in a lecture theatre or cinema style. However, if you will be doing work in smaller groups, it may be better to have tables and chairs instead. If you need visual displays, this will alter your room requirements again. If your event is taking place over a breakfast, lunch or dinner, you’ll need to make sure there are catering facilities available. Some venues will provide catering services for you, others will allow you to bring in your own caterers and use their kitchens.

Type of event

The venue for an AGM or launch event may be very different for the kind of place you’d choose for team away days or a Christmas party. The choice of venue can reflect the mood you’re aiming for – are you seeking elegance and sophistication or do you want something a little more funky and off the wall?

Of course, depending on the particular nature of your event, you’ll have other requirements to consider. But if you start off running through this checklist, it should help you select the kind of venue that will be most suitable for your upcoming event.

And from Bonjour Events you can access and download your Venue Check list here and view a complimentary article for dinner venue selections here.

• Gorgeous Diva Designs - Fashionable templates that match your stationery. Choose from dozens of the best-selling paper designs.  How nice to match your site with the paper invitation.
• Drag-n-Drop Editing - WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get!) Easy Customization.
• Custom Domains - Personalize your wedding website even further with a custom domain name like 'www.EmmasWedding.com'.
• Unlimited Photos - Upload as many as you want - no limits! Before the wedding or after the wedding, share all the fun and special moments.
• Guest Comments - Let your guests leave comments on your photos, blog, or stories. They can even upload a photo to the guest book.
• Music/Video - Upload an MP3 to play for visitors. Add videos from YouTube, maps from Google, a slideshow or any custom HTML.
• Online RSVP - The website pays for itself in stamps! Use the RSVP feature to tally guest responses to any event.

Looks like a great tool to help you organize all those details in a fashionable manner.  Cheers to you!

Link to the free Wedding Website tool:  Wedding Paper Divas

Below is infographic created by Chris Shipton for the most popular thread, "You know you're an event planner when..." - great laughs, and the thread is still going if you want to add more....

Click image to enlarge, or this link (click HERE) and laugh...

Event planning often brings tight budgets. The ability to stretch these budgets and make the most of financial resources is important. For this reason, sponsors are often sought to alleviate some of the burden and provide additional support. Successful communication and negotiations will ensure long term success with your events.

Start slow – Don’t ask for the moon right off the bat. You’re building a long term relationship, so you need to prove yourself first. Getting a sponsor on board is an initial leap of faith on their behalf. Once you’ve established yourself and you’ve proven a good fit, you’ll have more bargaining power and you’ll be able to ask for more.

Money isn’t everything – Don’t be surprised if a sponsor isn’t willing to provide funds right away… or ever. Money isn’t the only worthwhile thing a sponsor can provide. Look deeper into the equation and search for other ways to work together. At the end of the day, there are two ways to increase profit – increase revenues or decrease expenses. If the sponsor isn’t willing to provide financial support (increase revenues), then they may be able to provide products, supplies, or materials, ultimately decreasing your expenses and/or improving the guest experience. So, be open to possibilities. If you’re just looking for money, you may be out of luck with many sponsors.

Proper fit – Ensure that the sponsors you pursue provide a good fit with the clientele and guests at your event. If there a lack in alignment between the products and the services offered by sponsors and the target group, then resources have been wasted. Your demographic and the sponsor’s demographic should be as similar as possible to maximize results for both sides.

Value creation – This applies to both the sponsor, as well as yourself. Ensure that there is true value in the relationship for both sides. Don’t try to close a sponsor simply to say you have another one on board. Look at the relationship as a whole, and make certain that you are both gaining benefits from the collaboration. An unequal balance will cause unwanted friction. It’s also very important to come to a basic agreement as to what both sides will provide and what both sides should expect. This can either be done verbally or in writing depending on the circumstances and level of trust.

The key to convincing sponsors to sign on with your events is to prove an ROI (return on investment). If they can clearly see that they will get more out of the event than they put in, it’s likely they’ll sign up. Being able to outline this equation and show the benefit will strengthen your case when bargaining with potential sponsors. In the end, you want to make it easy for them to say yes… and hard for them to say no. Your terms should be attractive given their situation. If you can prove that the time, money, and effort put forth by company will more than pay for itself, you should have no problem attracting new sponsors and securing old ones.

This guest article was written by Aidan Henry at Brink Events, an event design agency in Victoria, BC.



Webinar Link and Call in #:  http://campaigns.cvent.com/event/cmslive?refID=bonjour

Hope you enjoy images from this Mad Hatter theme baby shower.  

          "Alice" cookies of course, delicious for any occasion

          Card stock tags and playing cards purchased on Etsy

 Glowing Mother to be Erin & Hostess with the Mostess Jessica Gowdy.

 Cork Catering (chicago) came up with a custom s’mores station, yumm....

 Mary Giuliani Catering & Events (New York) created a devil-your-own-egg bar

 Elegant Affairs Caterers created “salad-tinis” made by “chef-tenders"

Thomas Preti Caterers came up with individual fondue cups

 Tip of the Tongue (NY) served refreshing drinks from garden carts - adorable

  Custom iced teas, as delicious as they are pretty

 Great Performances (NY) stocked bars with infusions like pineapple vodka.

Other ideas to consider:

Similar to the ice cream stations we've all enjoyed, below are some other foods guests can have fun making:

* A smoothie station for an outdoor party, have guests scoop all their favorite ingredients then hand over to a beach attire attendant for the blending.

* Shaved Ice stations in your corporate or event colors

* Individual hummus cups, making the usually stationary appetizer something mobile

* A Taco buffet with gourmet toppings (or common toppings presented in a beautiful serving dishes)

* A slider bar of course - how many ways can one make a slider - a LOT

* Make your own pizza and hand over to a chef managing the brick oven

* Decorate your own cookies or cupcakes, great for children's parties

* Rice krispies on a kabob with various dipping chocolate options (similar to fondue stations)

* Iced Tea stations - yes even iced tea can be presented in many different combinations

Anytime you can take a favorite food and allow guests to customize it themselves, they're sure to have fun creating with others.  What are your favorite "fun" foods for parties?

Class reunions are one of those events that seem like they were invented to make people feel awkward. Sure, it’s great to reconnect with those you lost touch with over the years but it is can also be quite uncomfortable attempting to make small talk with people that you haven’t seen in 5, 10 or 20 years. So, how do you cut the tension and make everyone feel more at ease?  You hire the right entertainment!

Booking the perfect entertainment for a class reunion can really help make guests feel more comfortable as they ease into the party. Variety entertainers such as Impersonators, Magicians and Fortune Tellers can act as a great ice breaker or conversation starter for people that can’t quite find the right way to bond with once-friends turned strangers. Variety performers are perfect for stifling tension and getting guests to interact with each other.

We all know that any successful party has to have good music! Selecting the right live band or DJ for a reunion is extremely important because they will set the tone of the night and the energy in the room. You want your fellow classmates to hit the dance floor, not stand on the sidelines like back in 6^th grade. The perfect DJ or live band will make sure that the dance floor is packed and there are no wallflowers.

GigMasters clients planning reunions most frequently request DJ’s and Cover Bands to rock these school get-togethers. If you are planning a decade specific event, you may consider booking a Tribute Band to play music reminiscent of a popular group from that era. Your classmates will enjoy the blast from the past and fond school day memories will come floating back to them. And for a little extra “wow” factor, talk to your musical entertainment about learning and performing the school song, it would add a nice nostalgic touch to the evening.

Last but certainly not least, hiring a photographer for the event is always a good idea. With an event photographer present you don’t have to worry about someone not being in the picture! And remember, professional photographers know how to make things look picture perfect, so you can worry a little less about any awful pictures being mobile uploaded to Facebook!

For more class reunion party planning tips and resources you can visit our Reunion Event Planning page.

What do you think makes a fun class reunion? Share your thoughts or funny reunion story in the comments below.

Top recommendation was i-meet.com, also mentioned:

"You might try www.sologig.com or join IFEA (International Festivals and Events Association) to get access to the member database. www.ifea.com About $350 annual dues."

Here's a link to the Linked In Group if you care to join:   http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=160845&trk=anet_ug_hm