It's just party entertainment. So, why a Contract?

A client, new to the task of planning an event, called me to ask why I required a deposit and a contract to perform for his small at-home event.

The answer? Contracts and deposits not only protect your vendor, but they protect you, too.

The practice of asking for a signed contract secured by a deposit ties both of you to your date.

Vendors like the practice so they are not left holding the bag so that if you back out, he doesn't have a sudden hole in his schedule when he would be otherwise booked. After all, once you give a firm order, the vendor turns away other clients.

By the same token, with a secured contract in place, the vendor is bound to honor your date even if a more attractive opportunity comes in.

A added benefit is that a well drafted contract spells out the terms to which you've both agreed. So you have a written record for ready reference to answer questions and clear possible confusion.

A Caterer's Wedding Cake Secret

We Special Events professionals have a lot in common.

We want to do everything we can to make your party the best it can be. And doing so can challenge our creativity. After all, we have to operate on-site under conditions that can be unpredictable.

One group that has my admiration are chefs and caterers. Here is a secret used by some caterers to keep that wedding cake looking fresh and tasty during outdoor wedding receptions in hot weather.

The secret? The cake is not real. The wedding cake in display is made of Styrofoam! The part that is sliced by the bride is filled with real cake. The caterer will arrange the cake decoration to subtly signal the proper place to cut.

The styrofoam is covered in icing and decorated as any wedding cake. Meanwhile the real wedding cake is kept behind in the kitchen where it can be sliced and placed on plates to be served at the appropriate time.

Using a styrofoam stand-in is not used universally under these conditions. It is an option offered to the wedding couple when they are planning the festivities. And, a popular one, too, I might add.

No one will ever know but your caterer.

For more information about weddings click here

Heads Up, It's Tick Season

This past Sunday I performed at a lovely event. It was a garden party given by the head of a department in a local hospital for his staff and families.

My job? Draw caricatures of the children.
Both the host and the guests were delightful and the event went smoothly.

I sat on a beautifully manicured lawn that overlooked a wooded embankment that led to a creek below.

While in my car, driving home, I looked down at my foot. On the big toe of my left foot was something that looked like a small scab. Except that there was no open skin or sore at that location previously.

The scab was deep brown in the shape of a fat tear drop.

Upon arriving home, I promptly removed the tick with tweezers. I scheduled a blood test with my doctor for early next week.

The moral of the story is that it is tick season. And one can get ticks even on the finest of manicured lawns.

If you are outdoors, you know what to do ... keep your skin covered, use insect repellant, and, afterwards, check your skin for ticks.

Sobieski Mgt Annual company picnic

Sobieski.picnic.1
Originally uploaded by emzucker.

The air was clear and dry. The weather offered us a needed respite from the hazy, hot humid streak we had been enduring.

Sobieski Management Company holds its annual picnic at Bellevue State Park, a green oasis off of I-95 just outside of Wilmington, DE.

Some of our state parks are treasures. And they can serve as a reasonably priced and attractive setting for a company or family picnic.

The photograph shows an inflatable rented for the children. Inflatables are very popular at company picnics. They come in all kinds of shapes and colors.

For tips about planning your company's picnic click here.

Outdoor Entertaining at Home

If my experience serves as any indication, hands down the most popular venue for entertaining is ... home.

There are lots of advantages to entertaining at home. No fees to rent space, no worries about availability are two for starters.

Plus you can bring almost any service you want. Caterers can provide nearly any kind of food you can imagine. And they'll clean up when they finish. Or you can prepare your own.

Tents can sprout in the back yard to provide shelter and elegance for outdoor events. I've even seen port-a-potties at the summer home of a CEO who didn't want hords of guests traipsing indoors at a large bash.

As for entertainment, you can bring in anything that you'd have at a banquet hall including bands, DJs, clowns, caricaturists, Tarot readers ... you name it.

If the event is outdoors, and your yard is large enough, bring in inflatables and pony rides for the kids.

And manufacturers are eager to indulge you with all manner of stylish and functional outdoor furnishings and accessories.

So, if you are at home with entertaining at home, you have an endless variety of resources to customize the experience to your liking.

For more party entertaining ideas, visit my sister site, Faces-and-fortunes-partytips.com.