Bubbles, Branding & Events

Bubbles, Branding & Events Every now and again here at the VIBE Agency, we like to share cool products on our blog. Today is one of those occasions.

Have you seen these cool video balloons? They are so cool! We have many, many possibilities swirling around in our heads of how we can use these in our events. They are easy to install, and show either high quality video or even live event video. You can use either one or two screens. They can be either air inflated or filled with helium. What a great décor and messaging element that can brand an event in unusual way. They require little manpower and support all video formats. They are anti-fire and come in many different colors and sizes. If that’s not enough, you can use them with animated LED’s as well. Wow!!!!

Take a look at a few of the different ways they can be used. We’re betting that you can think of a few different ways to utilize them in your event designs too. We, think we’re in love! For more information and pricing, please give us a call at 305-798-9738 or email valerie@thevibeagency.com.

*This blog does not accept any form of advertising, sponsorship, or paid insertions. We write for our own purposes. However, we may be influenced by our background, occupation, religion, political affiliation or experience. **The owner(s) of this blog is not compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog owners. If we claim or appear to be experts on a certain topic or product or service area, we will only endorse products or services that we believe, based on our expertise, are worthy of such endorsement. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider.

You’ve Never Met Las Vegas Like This Before!!!!

As you know, at The VIBE AGENCY, we are always searching for new venues and spaces that we can transform to meet the needs and objectives of our clients and their meetings, conferences and events.  We scour the world for great venues and this week, we want to show you a brand new space. Las Vegas or as we fondly call it,  Sin City has something for everyone and now it even has something that’s just for EVENTS.  MEET Las Vegas.  No, really.  That’s the name.  MEET Las Vegas.  Let us tell you a little about it.  We promise.  You’re gonna LOVE THIS PLACE!!!

WHY?  Because it’s ALL ABOUT YOU!!!!

MEET Las Vegas is a new, unique event site, unlike traditional venues.  MEET was designed with one thing in mind – the success of our client’s events.  We’ve thought of every aspect needed for truly amazing events and built-in solutions for planners, from an innovative infrastructure and easy-to-hang experiential design elements, to customized lighting, cutting-edge technology, and multiple entry points for quick move-in and move-out.   At MEET, clients worry less and focus on branding, design and the other elements that make their event a success.

MEET’s goal is to help every client execute their dream event. MEET has the built-in technology and infrastructure to make it easy for clients to execute any event they can imagine, while removing the obstacles that hinder an event’s success.  The building is a blank canvas that clients can easily and quickly customize.  Clients can print their message directly onto MEET’s walls and floor, or hang a car or stage from myriad rigging points in its infrastructure. Digital signage displays and exterior banners give the client’s brand lasting impact both inside and out.  And, MEET’s lack of ambient light allows planners to use lighting to illuminate the room in any color to easily control their event’s mood and tone. MEET truly is a unique, event-friendly site, flexible enough to ensure a successful corporate or social event, including weddings. Anything the planner can imagine, can accomplished at MEET!

LET’S TAKE A LOOK, THERE’S EVEN MORE BENEFITS!!!!

MEET is designed for one thing and one thing only: events. At MEET, your event will be tailored to your every wish, both inside and outside. MEET is your full and inclusive total branding experience!

Convenient and Accessible

Located in the heart of downtown Las Vegas, MEET is easily accessible no matter what part of town you are coming from.

Downtown

Downtown Las Vegas is where the world famous city began. MEET Las Vegas is located on the corner of 4th Street and Bridger Avenue. Just a few short blocks from MEET you will find legendary casinos that first put this city on the map, such as the AAA Four Diamond-Rated Golden Nugget Hotel, which recently completed an extensive $325 million renovation.

Downtown Las Vegas is also known for its famous attractions. Located on the historic Fremont Street is The Fremont St. Experience and The Fremont East. The Fremont St. Experience is an open-air pedestrian mall, equipped with a fixed stage and live entertainment. You can´t miss it. It boasts a four-block long, 12.5 million bulb canopy that produces impeccable imagery to the public, for free, on a nightly basis. Adjacent to the Fremont St. Experience is Fremont East, downtown´s new entertainment district. Capitalizing on the nostalgia of old Las Vegas, Fremont East can be spotted by its lighted gateways and retro neon signs.

Las Vegas Strip

In addition to its amazing location in the heart of downtown, MEET is also only minutes away from the luxury and glamour of the Las Vegas Strip. The Strip is renowned for its accommodations, restaurants, spas, and entertainment.

How could you not LOVE THIS PLACE?  It’s an event planner’s dream. In fact, we can’t WAIT to get to Las Vegas and utilize this venue. Come on, let’s go…

We look forward to hearing your thoughts and feedback. Please don’t hesitate to contact us @valerie@thevibeagency.com with any questions you have about this or any other venue we can help with.  

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Getting FAM with Miami!

At The VIBE Agency,  we are always grateful to be busy and there’s so much that we’ve missed out on telling you about.  We thought we’d rectify that and are going to catch you up on some of what we’ve been doing lately.

One of the things we’ve been up to is doing quite a few FAM trips for clients looking at Miami as a destination for their meetings, conferences and incentive trips.  A lot of thought and detail goes into each client that comes to consider The VIBE Agency and out wonderful city of Miami!

The VIBE agency put together a FAM trip for agencies arriving from France.  If you are not FAMiliar with the term, the purpose of a FAM trip is for journalists, tour operators or travel agents to discover or rediscover a destination and familiarize themselves with everything it has to offer for their future clients.

Miami, the “Magic City”, is a popular destination for tourists worldwide.  In a city with a vibrant diverse culture and tropical weather year-round, Miami can be as steamy as a sauna room in the summertime and a pleasant respite in the colder months of the year. Our clients got to experience the best this great city has to offer during their four day stay.

Arrival Day:

Upon arrival, guests were greeted by Valerie Bihet, VIBE Director, and Judith Patron from the Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau and were transferred in a Sprinter minibus to the Standard Hotel for a welcome cocktail.  Soon after, our clients checked-in to one of two hotels, the Fontainebleau and the Ritz South Beach.

The Fontainebleau recently remodeled its look and expanded with renovations estimating at $1 billion.  With 1,504 rooms and suites, 22 oceanfront acres, 11 restaurants and nightclubs, 40,000-square-foot spa, and 107,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, this hotel has developed a new meaning for indulgence.

The Ritz South Beach brings together sophistication and impeccable service in Miami’s most famous beach community.

The evening began with a cocktail and Mojito demonstration from a bartender of the Ritz South Beach. Clients were then escorted to Espanola Way, a historic Spanish village located in the Art Deco District of South Beach.  With architecture dating back to the 1920s, the area was considered a meeting place for the wealthy.  Today, it is filled with restaurants, music, shops and art.  Dinner was served at Café Nuvo, a restaurant known for its ambiance, perfected Mojitos and great food.

Day Two:

Day two began at sunrise, on the beach with a personal trainer who conducted a cardio/yoga session.  Breakfast was served at the Fontainebleau followed by a site inspection. Afterward, guests also got to experience an amazing Art Deco Tour by our great friend, Charles J. Kropke from Dragon Fly, on Miami Beach.  The tour consisted of visiting several infamous locations including the Art Deco Museum, Casa Casuarina (Gianni Versace’s House), Old City Hall, Miami Beach Post Office and Art Deco Hotels. At the end of the tour, the group visited the W South Beach hotel for lunch a la Carte.  Our clients were welcomed at a penthouse of the hotel for an amazing lunch with impeccable views of Miami.

Following lunch, our clients enjoyed shopping at the Dadeland Mall, a Miami trademark located in Kendall.  The mall includes Florida’s largest Macy’s as well as Macy’s Home Gallery & Kids, J.C. Penney, Saks Fifth Avenue, The Limited, Nordstrom and our European clients favorite store Abercrombie & Fitch.  The main entrance of the mall was featured in the 1985 Chuck Norris film “Invasion USA” and was featured in the 1990 Alec Baldwin film “Miami Blues”.  The mall is easily accessible by Miami Metrorail.

Dinner took place at the Viceroy hotel, a glamor-infused Miami resort and set with-in the ten acre Icon Brickell enclave.  The delicious menu is full of nutritional and organic foods. Guests toured the hotel, and the amazing spas and garden.  The Morgan group then hosted dancing and partying time at the Florida Ballroom at the Delano Hotel.

Day Three:

Day three began with breakfast at the Mondrian South Beach hotel and a site inspection.  Located in Biscayne Bay, its minutes from the hustle and bustle of South Beach with breathtaking view of the ocean.  Features include Asia de Cuba, a five-star restaurant; Agua, our 4000’ spa featuring wet and dry treatment rooms; and a fully-equipped gym over looking the bay.

The day continued with a one-hour ride on a yacht to Bayside courtesy of the Marina of Mandarin’s Biscayne Lady.  Afterward, we sped things up on a sightseeing power boat tour.  Lunch followed with a Mediterranean menu catered by the Mandarin Oriental.  The hotel exhales Asian serenity and is popular for their soothing spa.  The hotel can accommodate large scale events with more than 15,000 sq. ft. (1,394 square meters) of flexible meeting space – a grand ballroom for 600, boardroom, 15 breakout rooms, business center and an oversized terrace it offers great space for events.. The grand ballroom has excellent sound systems which are complimentary and include a podium microphone. The built in projection screens provide a sleek and elegant design plus High Definition TV capabilities.

The Everglades National Park is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States.  “It has been designated a World Heritage Site, International Biosphere Reserve, and Wetland of International Importance, significant to all people of the world,” states the National Park Service.  From alligators to pythons, guests experienced an educated tour with Mother Nature.

As an early surprise, we treated our guests to a Pre-Halloween Spooktacular Tour where each client received a masquerade mask and black rose as a souvenir.  Dinner was served at Wish, notably one of the “50 best restaurants in the world,” as stated by Condé Nast Traveler.

Departure Day:

The last day was sizzled with a The Cuban Heritage Tour, also done by Kropke from Dragon Fly Tours.  Guided through areas such as Little Havana and connecting neighborhoods you can feel and experience the ambiance of the Cuban heritage so prevalent in Miami.

Lunch and a site inspection was held at the Four Seasons Hotel, a 5 five star hotel located in Brickell, Miami.

Filled with the sights, sounds and feel of Miami, guests departed back to Miami International Airports for their flights home.  We’d armed them with a lot of information and exciting ideas for what they could offer their groups coming to Miami.  We can’t wait to welcome them back!

For more information  or a customized FAM trip for YOUR group, please contact valerie@thevibeagency.com

It’s A Symphony of Creativity!

At The Vibe Agency, we always love to share inspirational and exciting finds with you, and this time, we’ve found a doozy!  Are you looking for a spectacular venue that is perfect for an event?  A super venue that doesn’t have that “been there and done that” feel to it?   A spectacular venue that just oozes opportunity to be oh so creative?  Well, look no further than the New World Center, home of the New World Symphony, America’s Orchestral Academy.  Stunning in its architecture, it is a cultural icon in the center of Miami Beach. Just recently opening it’s doors, it’s the newest and prettiest new venue on the block!

Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Frank Gehry, New World Center features numerous spaces for performance and presentation; a flexible and variable seating performance hall, and  notable features like a flexible and technologically advanced performance hall that includes large acoustically reflective ‘sails’ that will surround the audience with sound and also serve as projection surfaces for visual presentations; a giant, 7,000-square-foot screen on the building’s façade that will project performances from inside the building to people sitting in the adjacent park, and practice and rehearsal spaces that are wired with 17 miles of fiber optic cable to allow musicians on site to connect to musicians around the world via the internet. (Can you just imagine how creative we can get with a 7,000 square foot screen?)  We are excited indeed!

The building includes the SunTrust Pavilion, a large multi-purpose room that serves as both the primary teaching space for the orchestra and as a space for performances, film screenings, lectures, meetings and recordings. Located next to the atrium on the ground floor, the east wall of the space is made of glass, allowing passersby to see the activity inside and be encouraged to enter the building. An upper terrace will permit people to observe the activities in the Pavilion without disrupting them, and will offer an expansive view over the public park.

It’s a cultural coup for Miami Beach and we hope one that will translate into a plethora of opportunity for special events.  It’s  a venue that offers plenty of  opportunity for creativity and innovation!

To learn more about this and other spectacular venues we have at our fingertips, contact Valerie@thevibeagency.com

You Want It We Got It! Finding the Right VIBE for YOUR Meetings and Events!

 

Last October, The VIBE Agency provided the event design, event management and production for Yamaha’s 2010 Latin American Distributors Meeting.  This annual conference at the Sofitel Miami brought together 70 representatives from most of its 54 markets in  Latin, South and Central America and the Caribbean.

The two day conference was a balanced mixture of best-practice sessions, networking, new product presentations and break-out workshops.  It was a time for Yamaha to share what had been happening with the company, future focuses as well as interact with their distributor’s to find out how the parent company could  be more efficient and understand distributor needs and barriers they face in their marketplace.

One of the biggest challenges we had for this meeting was to blend all of the cultures together in one design that worked for the varied cultures in attendance.  Since Yamaha is a Japanese company, we had to do the research to make sure the “dos and do nots” are respected for their executives.  One of the many things we did to ensure cultural protocol was to create a separate V.I.P. table in the presentation room, as Japanese culture dictates that executives sit separately.

Along with providing the meeting and conference coordination, we also handled the Yamaha new product display which featured new products that they wanted to introduce to the distributors.

In addition to the business meetings during the day, there were evening events as well.  The first night was a dinner cruise around Biscayne Bay.  A final night dinner was held at a Wish, an upscale restaurant in Miami Beach.

One of the things that I feel we did very successfully for this group was to understand their objectives and then ensure that every element of the conference worked interchangeably to meet those goals.

A very special thanks to Ricardo & his team (Ruben, Eric) for trusting us and allowing us the opportunity to work with them to create a successful Latin America Distributors Conference for Yamaha!

We love working with companies to create intelligent and sophisticated events with purpose.  We pride ourselves on our ability to work with our clients to deliver the best experience for their needs!

For information on custom programs for your group, conference, meetings or events, please contact valerie@thevibeagency.com

BizBash Miami thought it was great too and featured the Yamaha event!  Click to read more.  http://www.bizbash.com/miami/content/editorial/19327_yamaha_latin_america_brings_distributors_together_for_second_annual_conference.php

Labor Day 2010

Themes and Ideas

Regatta

Bring out the boats and put on the bathing-suits . Its regatta time! The biggest and best regattas happen on Labor Day. Most people decide to venture out to a sandbar in the middle of ocean and others take the weekend for a journey. Some locations that I’ve heard about are the Keys, Key Biscayne, Bal Harbor , Sarasota, and the best are of course those states up north…Thinking Maryland and cannot forget New York. New York is where the original Labor Day celebrations all began. So fire -up those boat grills and start dropping anchor.

Unique cocktails, serious racing and when night falls the party continues on shore.

Dress Code Ideas

Bring on the red, white, and blue. The nautical theme is huge this season. Not only for this great holiday but also for Remembrance Day on the 11th , which is not that far away.

All White Party

The last day of the year for most to wear white…only way to conclude is of course with an all white soiree. So find those gorgeous white dresses and stunning suits and get ready to parade on somebodies lawn. There is no better way to end the summer than with a traditional all white party.

As with most parties, once you choose a theme every detail easily falls into place. The color white captures the carefree, easy essence of summer , purity and and the beginning of a clean slate: from colorless cocktails to plush white pillows for guests to lounge on. White is an incredibly summery hue, looks great against a tan and other bright colors, and is easy to pull off.

Start your party in the early evening and fill your party space with soft candlelight. White candles should be scattered all around the yard to create the warm, sultry vibe .

White Flowers

• Hydrangea

• Roses

• Stock

• Gardenias

• Calla Lilies

• Chrysanthemums

• Orchids

White Party Drink Ideas

• White Wines (Chardonnay, Sauvingnon Blanc, Champagne, Pinot Grigio, etc.)
• White Russian
• Infused Vodkas (stick with light colored fruits like pineapple, lemon and lime)
• Caipirinha
• Mojito
• Lemon Drop
• White Cosmopolitan

Local Activities

Power 69

This weekend at Passions Night Club they will be throwing an out of this world Ho-Down. So if you haven’t turned on your radio this week , start looking for some daisy-dukes , plaid shirts, and some sexy cowgirl boots girls. There will be bull riding and a special performance from Flo Rida, Git Fresh , And Brianna. For more information Power 96.

Coconut Grove

The Great Grove Bed Race is taking place on Sunday, September 5th in Coconut Grove on the village streets (Commodore and Grand Ave.). Yes, that’s what I said a bed race! It benefits the Alonzo Mourning Charities and University of Miami’s Sleep Center. It’s a great event to bring the kids out to and it’s free. So no excuses. For more information on this, click here

So get with the VIBES and enjoy your Labor Day Weekend!

150 Years of Excellence

We did it again! Another out of this world event by the VIBE. Have you ever dreamed of a world that smoke rises from your drinks , where a Tesla car drives through stilt walker’s legs and where 150 years and history unveils itself.

Tag Heuer has been traveling the globe and celebrating their 150th anniversary. Without a doubt- they had to stop in the City of Miami Beach. Our great city was host to this luxury brand for a full week of outlandish activities, covering Brickell to SOBE.   It would be an understatement to say that  they left some tread marks behind.

The Tesla car that was revealed at the big event  at The Temple House, it was test- driven during the week by the members of the media. Seeing that beauty pull out of the Mondrian lot was mouth-dropping! The wave of the future- charging up your car every night before you go to bed. Its sleek lines and curves will have any guy ready to test this baby…but lets slow down there. A specimen this gorgeous is going to cost a fortune! So for now see if you can catch its next appearance in New York. Its final destination before heading back over to Europe.

Our Results

One night of pure entertainment, high energy, luxury styled living, and celebrity findings.

Strip Credits: Pascal Ollinger

Strip Credits: Seth Browarnik/ Worldredeye

Strip Credits: Spencer Strayer

So get with the VIBES and be on the look out for our next big event.

6 Ways to Manage International Relationships Online

Credits: This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business. We found this article on Mashable and I thought it should be blogged about…

Sometimes the hardest part of having international clients is finding a way to connect with them. Small businesses often have to worry about different time zones, different languages, and even different customs and traditions.

While there’s no catch-all, golden resource that can solve every problem a small internationally-minded business could have, there are some easy ways to keep your business up-to-date and in the overseas loop.

Here, we’ll help you through the basic steps of interacting with overseas clients, from translating pleasantries to tracking shipments to making sure you don’t accidentally call them in the middle of the night.

1. Basic Information

Before you even get started, it’s important to know the basic information about your client’s country. Usually the most thorough and reliable way to bone up is through the country’s official webpage. England, for example, has a good site with lots of information. Unfortunately, most of these sites are geared towards tourism and less so the time-pressed businessperson.

Wikipedia can actually be a great, quick and comprehensive alternative. Wikipedia pages exist for most major countries and include a helpful info bar on the right side of the page (usually just below the country’s flag). This information includes official languages, government make up, population estimates, GDP, currency, time zone, and calling code.

Also check out The World Factbook, maintained by the CIA. It includes “information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 266 world entities,” according to their website.

2. Time Difference

No one likes getting a business call at 3 A.M., especially when you thought it was scheduled for 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Time zones and time differences can be difficult to remember on the fly, especially if you’re handling international clients from more than one country.

Time Zone Converter is one way to keep all your zones and time differences in check. The site lets you convert any time from a huge range of possible countries and zones. Ever wanted to know what time it is in Moscow, Russia when it’s 11:25 A.M. in Dublin, Ireland? (The answer is 2:25 P.M.). You can also look up time differences on specific days, perfect for future meetings or conference calls that might overlap with tricky shifts in daylight savings. One catch: Zones are described by their central cities, so you’ll still be able to convert even if you don’t see your home town.

World Time Zone is a more graphical display of time zones across the globe. You can either eyeball the map, based on Greenwich Mean Time, look up relative times in world capitals, sort according to continent, or simply type in the place you’re looking for. With an impressive, nearly exhaustive list of cities, if World Time Zone doesn’t have it, it probably doesn’t exist.

Lastly, if you’re in a hurry, you can alway use Google. All you have to do is search “time City, State, Country,”. For example, if you “time Atlanta, GA” Google tells you the time right now in Atlanta.

3. Translation

Quoi? Qué? Huh? No matter how you say it, it’s important to speak a little of your client’s home tongue. Fortunately, there are some simple ways to pick up some pleasantries without taking a night class.

Some basic often-used options include Yahoo! Babel Fish, Bing’s Translator and Google Translate (complete with its own drag and drop buttons). All three are easy to use, but a little slow when in the middle of a chat, and are best employed in emails. Word of caution: Though the language range is impressive, and usually spot on, sometimes idioms and complicated sentences can throw off the accuracy. For example, the phrase: “So great speaking with you again!” translated into French on Babel Fish reads “Parler tellement grand avec vous encore” (To still speak so large with you again!).

Google also has some translation bots you can add into your Google Chat. By adding a series of coded bots as friends in Google Chat, you can send quick IMs to be translated. For example, en2fr@bot.talk.google.com will translate from English “2″ French. This is helpful when you need a sentence quickly, or when you’re typing an IM.

4. Chat Services

Phoning long distance can rack up bills pretty quickly. Free chat services like Skype, Google Chat and Campfire are fast, effective, and accepted ways to speak with your clients. Skype is an instant messenger with a built-in web-video function. You can use it as either a phone, IM chat, or for face-to-face discussion online. After both parties set up an account, the whole process is free and relatively pain free. Also, some phone and portable devices have Skype enabled so you can take the chat service with you. Google Chat offers similar services to Skype, with expanded video and phone options being included.

Campfire is a message-based business group chat and file-sharing service. Campfire has more customizable options than Skype or Google Chat but requires a monthly payment. It is also tailored for people within a business — meaning it might be the perfect option if you have an office overseas and don’t mind the monthly fee.

5. Shipping

Nobody like shipping things, but it is a necessary evil. While you might have to slog through getting your package to the post, a couple sites can help you track how and when it gets to your clients. TrackThis, TrackthePack, and Packagetrackr are online services that let you track shipments by email, text message, Facebook or Twitter. All three sites track major US shipping carriers like FedEx, UPS and DHL Global Mail by looking up your tracking code. Packagetrackr promises all the same services as the other two but will auto-detect your tracking code when you email your shipping confirmation to its email address. And as an added bonus, TrackThisPack has an iPhone app.

6. Cultural Faux-Pas

When dealing with other cultures, it’s important to know what is in good taste and what is considered bad etiquette. For example, it’s best not to invite your Indian client to a steak house without first asking (cattle are sacred for Hindus) or to give your Russian client an even number of flowers as a thank you (even numbers are reserved for funerals). There are a variety of ways to find these customs and traditions on independent sites, About.com or Kwintessential’s extremely helpful international etiquette guide. Often, the best way to gauge foreign customs is by politely asking about anything you’re unsure of.

These resources can help you connect with your international clients and improve the reach of your small business. While this post focused on web-only resources, there are many other resources out there and ways to connect. Please add your favorite resources, hidden gems and best tips in the comments below.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, AlexMax

Valerie Bihet :NBC 6- South Florida Today Interview Special

Topic of the Interview:

A fabulous and financially feasible girl’s night out/in party that promises to keep friends entertained.

Valerie Bihet, Director of The Vibe Agency, recently threw the ultimate girls’ night out party at 1111 Lincoln Road on the eve of the Sex and the City 2 (SATC2) premiere. Girlfriends all across Miami put their stilettos and cocktail dresses on to attend her Moroccan themed SATC2 party and special screening – an event held to salute friendship.

Being that Valerie Bihet is an expert at coordinating events, she has been invited to the South Florida Today show to speak about how to plan a fabulous, yet financially feasible girl’s night out/in party that promises to keep friends entertained.

Quality time with true girlfriends is priceless, however a girls’ night-out can be a little expensive. Not to worry though, Valerie knows the secrets on how to throw the ultimate girls’ night out/in on a budget, and she wants to share them with you.

Here are the tips that our Valerie gave:

1. Send out your “Save The Dates” via Evite- Let’s face it, we’re all online! Send out invitations to your soiree via Evite, its fast and easy to assemble, it’s received almost instantaneously, and it’s free!

Other options to consider:

-Creating an invite via Facebook

-If hosting a large event, save on invitations by designing your own event website. There are websites such as  web.com and buildyoursite.com that charge small monthly fees to host your website

-MAIN POINT= Get the word out of your event/party electronically – very cost efficient. Take advantage of the power of social media to increase exposure and if notifying friends via Twitter, make sure to use a unique #hashtag to track RSVP’s.

2.Look fearlessly fashionable and don’t break the bank- Ladies, let’s thank Target for launching the Go International designers campaign, making designer brands available to girls, for a portion of the price. In the last two months, Zac Posen and Jean Paul Gaultier both premiered lines exclusive to Target.

You can also locate stores that offer the services of a complimentary personal shopper. One such store is (J.Crew in Miami Beach ). With the personal shopper’s fashion expertise and a trip to the stores sales section, you’ll be guaranteed a fabulous and inexpensive party outfit.

Also, most cosmetic lines at department stores will give you a total make-over for free, or after a purchase is made (usually $30-$50). Often you need to make an appointment before hand, so be sure to call in advance for more details.

Now to find the perfect outfit at an affordable price.

There is also the option of treating yourself to a spa day at the comfort of your own home. Using natural ingredients you can make face scrubs and masks to build a glow for your girls’ night out.

3.What’s a Party without Decor- There’s no need to spend a fortune on party decorations when you can place in-season flowers around the house by using recycled bottles of wine as vases. It’s also a great idea to create a slideshow of photos and stream them live from your TV – girls love to sit back and reminisce!

Other Options:

-Buy from websites like Oriental Trading that offer high quantity at a wholesale price.

4.Skip hiring a DJ, turn-up your iPod- While there’s something extremely enticing about having a DJ at your party, using your iPod to liven-up the evening is very convenient and cost-efficient. To keep with the party theme, play soundtracks to “Sex and the City” and “Sex and the City 2″, as well as other girl favorites:

1. Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) – Beyonce

2. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper

3. Material Girl – Madonna

5.The signature drinks- If you’re a “Sex and the City” Gal, then a Cosmo is what you’ll be having. In order to budget yourself for your girls’ night, be sure to create a drink menu with 3-4 signature drinks. By doing so you cut cost associated with buying multiple glass models and drink mixes. Some drink considerations include: Cosmopolitans, Manhattans, and Appletinis. For those not old enough to enjoy a drink, not to worry we have a pink drink for you! Simply mix Sprite with a pink lemonade powder, the result, a “Pink Lemontini”.

6.Have your girls bring a favorite appetizer dish- Put your girls to the “Rachel Ray” challenge and have each of them cook-up a fancy snack to bring to the party – this is an inexpensive alternative to ordering in or having dinner at a restaurant. Besides, you’ll have the opportunity to bounce snacking ideas off one another for your next girls’ night.

Champagne on a Beer Budget

Yes, it is possible to cut costs for events and still have a lavish touch according to Lindsay Krause of Special D Events.  We rightfully agree.  Check out a combination of her tips combined with a few we researched.

1)      Use local destinations or smaller cities that can offer you more for your money.

2)      Switch from a dinner event to a lunch or from a lunch to a breakfast meeting.

3)      Limit authorization.  Only key people should have the ability to increase food and beverage orders on site.

4)      Communicate your budget information to the convention services manager. His or her role is to work with you.

5)      Provide cocktail napkins verses small plates at receptions to reduce consumption

6)      Always budget at least 10 percent of your expenses as “contingency.” This will take care of unforeseen costs such as – labor strikes – bad weather – overtime – extra postage and mailings – phone and computer hookups – cancellation insurance – speaker substitutions.

7)      Instead of a full open bar, offer just beer and wine or soft drinks.  Also consider one signature cocktail.

8)      Learn the tax laws for both your organization’s location and the location of your event. You could be eligible for tax breaks that you aren’t claiming.

9)       Develop long-term relationships with properties and chains you use often. Negotiate volume discounts.

10)  Hire now. Speakers and entertainers often raise their rates every year. Lock in at this year’s rates.

11)  Order as much as possible “by consumption.” Uneaten food and drink can be returned and not charged. This works well with soda and packaged foods like potato chips.

12)  Offer water stations or pitchers of waters on the tables’ verses water bottles.

13)  Ask which other groups are using the hotel at the same time. You may be able to have the same menu, thereby gaining economies of scale that can be passed on in cost savings to you.

14)  Avoid salty foods during receptions, as they encourage people to drink more.

-Lindsay Krause of Special D Events