Hosting a wedding is a huge amount of work and you have a ton of stuff to take care of. But in the midst of all the work, don’t forget to write some solid wedding invites. Follow this guide to write some wedding invites your guests will love.

The host line

“It used to be the tradition that the bride’s parents hosted the wedding. But you shouldn’t feel pressured to follow this tradition if you don’t want to. It’s become common for both parents to host the wedding,” recommends Phil Smith, writer at Top Canadian Writers. Many couples host their wedding or host it together with their parents, so do whatever makes you comfortable. An example of this last scenario would be “Together with their parents, Sarah and Thomas…” If a parent is deceased, they can still be included in the host line. An example for this would be “Sarah, daughter of Donald Jones and the late Cathy Jones…”

The request line

There are a few variations to the request line, but it’s pretty basic. The most common is “request the honor of your presence,” for a wedding hosted in a religious venue. If your wedding will be secular then “request the pleasure of your company” is more appropriate. This part will be followed up by “at the wedding of their daughter,” if the bride’s parents are hosting, “at the wedding of their son,” if the groom’s parents are hosting, or if the couple is hosting, some variant of “as they exchange vows.”

Names

Begin with the bride’s name, on her line, followed by the groom’s. These two lines are joined by either “and” or “or” depending on which one will flow best with your writing. Traditionally the bride’s first and middle name are used, and the groom’s first and last name. You can break with tradition and add the bride’s last name and the groom’s middle name if you like. The reason the bride’s last name is usually left off is that traditionally the bride’s parent would have hosted, and she had the same last name.

Other information

Write out the date beginning with the day of the week, the date, and the month (Sunday, the third of May.) Write out the year (two-thousand and eighteen) and time (two o’clock in the afternoon.) For the location, begin with the name of the venue, followed by the city and state (St. Mark’s Cathedral, Philadelphia, PA.) Generally, the street address is not included, unless it would be confusing to leave it off. Don’t forget to include where the reception will be hosted, when it will begin, and some information on what will be served. Should people expect a full meal or just cocktails? Will there be dancing? It’s polite to let your guests know what to expect.

Write better invitations with help from some online resources

People are going to remember your wedding invitations for a long time. So, it’s best to make a good impression with an eloquent and well-written stationary. Check out these resources for help writing yours:

1. WritingPopulist and SimpleGrad – Make sure the grammar is perfect for your wedding invitations. These grammar resources can help ensure everything written is correct. Don’t take any chances with your wedding invitations.
2. UKWritings and Academized – These are both online proofreading tools that have been suggested by UKServicesReviews. Proofreading isn’t exactly easy to do well, so get some help from the professionals. Nobody wants a typo on their wedding invitation.
3. LetsGoandLearn and StudentWritingServices – Check out these useful writing blogs. They are full of posts that can help you with any form of writing, including your wedding invitations.

Conclusion

There’s a lot to do when you’re getting ready for your wedding. Be sure to take the time and get your wedding invites right.

Grace Carter is a contributor to Essayroo and Australian Help services. She helps with content proofreading, reviews submissions and manages freelance editors. Also, Grace is a tutor at Assignment Writing Service, academic website.

3 Tips to Avoid Frustration with Your Co-Workers at Work During Busy Season

“WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS I THINKING!?!!??” – You, screaming in your mind.

We’ve all been there – the client’s frustrated, the frantic calls are coming in and you’ve discovered a major mistake that someone else made but is now on yours to clean up.

With stress running high, a huge amount of holiday events in a short time period, and exhaustion creeping in, it’s easy to focus on the client and flash a smile in front of them.

Behind the scenes though, we often let our guard down and treat our teams and vendor friends with less patience, trust and care, turning into stressed-out versions of ourselves we don’t enjoy being.

These moments of frustration and tension can undermine years of trust, positive relationships, and future team dynamics, so how do we stop the damage before we begin? Follow these 3 quick and easy tips to reduce stress and increase team camaraderie this holiday season:

1. Ask Before You React: The fact that you’re reading this article means that you’re probably a high performer. You care about your job, team, company, and success, which often means that you may often enjoy being a resource for others, knowing details and helping others.

But here’s a #truthbomb for you: You don’t know everything, even if you think you do. Assuming you know others or situations can get into hot water, especially when we’re moving fast. When stressful, urgent situations arise this season, take a pause and ask questions first.

Chances are the people you are working with aren’t total idiots (seriously!) and they had a reason for what they did, but you’ll never know if you go straight into a berating, scramble-to-fix mode. Asking questions gives folks the opportunity to share their thought process with you, own their decision and provide a learning opportunity for you to share with them. Some of my favorite questions in these scenarios are:

• Why did you do this?
• How did you envision this playing out?
• Did you consider the ______ team when making this plan?

Bonus tip: Stay quiet after you ask them – not everyone is a quick-on-their-feet thinker and may need a few beats to gather their thoughts.

2.  Share Your Worst: At your weekly or daily stand up meeting this holiday season, try a roundtable sharing session, with everyone answering the question: “When I get really stressed out, I tend to behave/react like _______.”

By sharing your awareness of you at your most stressed, it spurs a dialogue of how we can support one another. By knowing that Person A shuts down, Person B starts freaking out and running around, and Person C may become short with their words, your team will be better positioned to have your back and look out for you when you’re starting to go nuclear. In addition to team assistance and awareness, this knowledge also serves to put yourself on notice and be able to police your emotions better – talking yourself down or taking yourself out of a situation before tensions really flare up and the wrong words are said.

3. Be Quick to Say “I’m Sorry”: Gone are the days when apologizing is a loss of power – saying “I’m Sorry” can be one of the quickest healing potions in the universe. I believe that people in our industry want to serve others, do good work, make people smile.

No matter how stressful work can get, there’s no ignoring the humanness of us all – even you, Director of Perfection! It isn’t easy to act yourself when the stress has been piling up, taking us out of our best selves. And it’s those two beautiful facts that make an “I’m sorry” so powerful because when we say it, we mean it to our core.

If you’ve flown off a handle, reacted in a way you’re not proud of, or gone a little too hard on someone, don’t waste a second more – go apologize and see how your relationship changes for the better. I’m sorry are words of love.

In the midst of the hustle and bustle, don’t forget to have some fun, too. We work in the best industry in the world, bringing joy on the daily to our clients – and we’re all in it together.

Rachel Sheerin is a keynote speaker and hospitality trainer focused on helping teams communicate better, sell more and be happy. Training catering, hotel, and event professionals internationally, Rachel will be sharing her “Superpowers for Selling” program at Catersource 2019. You can learn more about her, her high-energy programs and her cute pitbull by visiting www.RachelSheerin.com or reaching out to her at hi@rachelsheerin.com.

The days where you would panic on contemplating what to serve the ‘awkward vegetarian’ for their holiday menu, are positively a vague memory.

The non-meat-eater would habitually end up with a feast of anemic looking precooked veggie burgers or a spongy looking nut roast. Thankfully for veggies, in recent years, people are embracing vegetarian cooking, not always for ethical reasons but for health benefits and all the tasty recipes that are on offer too.

It’s time to throw away the pre-packaged inedible stuff, roll up the sleeves and get down to some serious lip-smacking, salivating, turn-a-meat-eater green vegetarian dishes.

Matt Curmi, Executive Chef at Wildwood Grilling based in North Idaho, has provided the following wonderful recipes to accompany either a full vegetarian meal or a tasty addition to a meat-eater’s feast.

STUFFING FILLED MINIATURE PUMPKINS

serves – 4
Total time – 1 hour
Serve stuffing in baby pumpkins for the benefits of both presentation and flavor.
Tip – if available try to use a variety of baby pumpkin shapes and colors.

Ingredients
cherry grilling planks available at wildwoodgrilling.com

4 baby pumpkins (4 – 6” diameter)
1 carrot, peeled
1 onion, peeled
2 stalks celery
1 tbs. fresh rosemary, chopped
2 tbs. butter
½ to 1 cup vegetable stock
3 cups bread, torn or cut into pieces
kosher salt and pepper
4 large sage leaves

Method
Soak the planks in hot water for at least 15 minutes, preheat the grill or oven to 400°f
Cut the carrot, onion, and celery to a small dice and add to a sauté pan with the butter, gently cook until softened and translucent
While the vegetables cook, use a paring knife to create a zigzag pattern around the top of each pumpkin, pull the tops off, reserve them, and scoop out the seeds with a spoon
When the vegetables are cooked remove from the heat and add the bread, rosemary, salt, and pepper, moisten with the stock until the bread is no longer dry. you may not need all the stock.
Divide the stuffing evenly and fill each pumpkin loosely, top with a sage leaf and the top of the pumpkins
Set the pumpkins on the grilling planks and place on the grill or in the oven, cook for 30 – 45 minutes or until the pumpkins are tender.

OAK ROASTED, AND HONEY GLAZED CARROTS

Serves – 4
Total time – 20 minutes
This dish is easy to prepare, adds color to any meal and tastes fantastic with a little red oak thrown in.
Tip – If you can get your hands on some rainbow carrots they can make this dish even more impressive and colorful

Ingredients
Red Oak grilling planks wildwoodgrilling.com
1 lb. medium sized carrots (heirloom rainbow carrots if available)
2 Tbs Butter
2 Tbs. Honey
Kosher Salt and Pepper
Thyme sprigs

Method
Soak the planks in hot water for at least 15 minutes and preheat the grill or oven to 425°F
Peel and cut the carrots in half lengthwise, set aside
Melt the butter and stir in the honey, add to a mixing bowl and with the carrots, salt, and pepper, toss well to combine
Place the carrots on the grilling planks and add the sprigs of thyme
Cook on the grill or in the oven for 10 minutes, the carrots should still retain a little firmness
Serve immediately

ALDER WRAPPED BANANAS WITH CARDAMOM SODA BREAD AND GREEN TEA COCONUT MOUSSE

serves 4

Ingredients
for the soda bread
1 ½ cup self-raising flour
1tsp. baking soda
1tsp. salt
2tsp. cardamom, ground
2 cups plus extra, buttermilk
for the bananas
alder wraps
4 bananas
2tbs. butter, melted
2tbs. brown sugar

For the mousse
1 can coconut milk
1tbs.matcha powder
2tbs. powdered sugar

method
Preheat the oven to 375°f
Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cardamom.
Add the buttermilk a little at a time until a dough forms, knead on a lightly floured surface for several minutes.
Place the dough in a skillet and cook for 25 minutes, or to an internal temperature of 200°f.
Soak the wraps in hot water for several minutes and preheat the grill to 400°f.
Peel the bananas and cut in half, cut each half lengthwise
Add the brown sugar to the melted butter and toss with the bananas.
Place 2 pieces of banana on each wrap, roll up and secure with twine and grill for 10 minutes.
Add the coconut milk, green tea powder, and powdered sugar to a whip canister, charge to serve with a slice of soda bread and some mousse.

This holiday season, try to shop locally-grown, organic and in-season produce. Not only does the food taste better, supporting the local economy will put a star on one’s tree, fill the stockings with joy, build positive relations with local vendors and it’s a proactive way to start the new year.

Preparing roasted vegetables with garlic and herbs on the baking tray. Autumn-winter root vegetables.

There are few things as effective in evoking the feeling of the season as highlighting the seasonality of the food served at an event. While the availability of food differs as the weather shifts, there are other ways to express these trends by way of ingredients and overall style. Let’s be honest – there’s nothing better than hearty, warm foods for winter such as soups or casseroles. We’ll walk you through the ins and outs of seasonality so you can stay ahead of the curve when it comes to crafting menus and food purchasing.

Why is seasonality important?

Believe it or not, this is actually a trend that most of us in the food and beverage industry follow without thinking. We associate certain times of year with certain foods, which fluctuates depending on weather and holidays that are celebrated. Think about the tried-and-true pumpkin spice for fall or the grilling of fresh vegetables during summer.

So, why is this important? Well, as customers focus more on local and organic items, menus become seasonal by default. You can further meet the needs of your clients by knowing your region and exploring new ways to prepare ingredients that will help keep your menu fresh and exciting.

The pros of seasonality (and how you can maximize flavor)

Let’s take a look at our current climate for example. Everyone gravitates toward comfort foods during winter and luckily, those are the easiest finds when sourcing products locally. It’s beneficial to build relationships with local farmers or suppliers to ensure you get the products you want and need. Don’t forget to mention the origin of the products on your menus; many guests enjoy knowing the backstory to the items served!

If you’re searching for ways to break up the monotony of commonly used seasonal foods, think outside of the box. Consider seasonally mixing up a portion of your menu while keeping your signature items that are a hit with customers. This gives customers new options by inserting the spice and comfort into unlikely places (such as a savory edge to a seafood dish). You may find yourself with a clientele that will look forward to those new favorites in the next year.

The seasonality of food doesn’t have to be pigeon-holed with strict constraints, like holiday-inspired pies for dessert or turkey as the main protein. You can have all the creative freedom without the cliché. Remember,  it’s incredibly helpful to know your audience and satisfy seasonal wants by opting for well-loved selections!

Trip Wheeler is the President of SB Value, a group purchasing program designed to reduce catering, kitchen, and food-service costs by leveraging the collective buying power of thousands of companies.

Craig submitted his photography for the event to the NACE One awards and took home the award for Corporate Event Photography of the Year. Explore his fabulous pictures from the event below.

The FICP National conference is a 3.5-day event that gathers over 600 financial services and insurance industry meeting planners as well as premier hospitality partners from around the world. In November of 2017, the conference was held in San Diego, and Craig Sherod Photography was the exclusive event photography provider. Craig submitted his photography for the event to the NACE One awards and took home the award for Best Corporate Event photography.

Working a corporate event can be challenging. Each evening, after photographing the day and evening events, Craig downloaded and processed all the images from the day and uploaded 25-50 bright images to be displayed the next morning on the big screen projector during breakfast. All photos were shot as very-high-res 28MB RAW files and converted to a size and format of the client’s choosing at the time of delivery (3 days post event), assuring extremely high-quality imagery that meets all of the client’s future publication needs.

Additionally, Craig appreciated the help of his various partners in working this event, who made it easier for him to manage the photography aspect of the event. “The venues, a/v, and planning were outstanding which allowed me to get excellent shots,” Craig mentioned in his application, “Often, the location of seating and lack of access via aisles make it hard to get the best shots possible, but I had great access.”

Craig added “It is a great pleasure to work on such a well-planned conference. It makes my job easier and more successful when the client is so thoroughly prepared. Also, FICP selected a top venue and engaged a top A/V company from the east coast for stage design and lighting, which makes for great photos.”

Following his win, Craig has been able to utilize his NACE One award win as a marketing tool. He has received some extra business because of his win, and knowing that his work was judged by some of the best in the industry provided a lot of value to Craig.

Anna Oakes has lived a life in the hospitality industry. Her father owns and operates two Chik-fil-a restaurants where she worked for several years before moving on to events. So it’s no surprise that once Anna was recruited to NACE by a friend in 2017, she got involved on many levels.

Anna is a student at the Conrad N. Hilton College at the University of Houston. She is also the 1st Vice President of Education and Development of the NACE Houston student chapter. She also serves on the NACE National membership committee.

Anna also works as an Assistant Event Planner, training to be a lead planner, at Wed & Prosper in Houston. Anna’s favorite part of her role is working with all the fantastic vendors, making friends, and networking with (and learning from!) fall of the tremendous event planners. When asked what the most challenging part of her role is, Anna said keeping calm when others are panicking keeps her busy in her position. With all of her experience working in quickly paced industries and leading her NACE chapter, we are sure its no struggle for her to keep calm and plan on!

After a long day (and night) of snapping photos and recording video at a big wedding, you go home and plug your camera into your new laptop. When you open the folder that pops-up on your desktop, the files aren’t there, just a couple of empty folders labeled with random numbers.

You immediately look at the check that the couple gave you and think: “Uh oh.”

What Photographer Liability Insurance and Videographer Insurance Do I Need?

If you are lucky, simply apologizing and giving the check back will be enough. But the couple did hire and pay you to produce beautiful photos and videos of their wedding. Failing to deliver on that service opens you up to lawsuits. Not just over the check they wrote to you, but also the damages associated with losing all the photos and videos of their special day that they can’t simply retake.

That’s why professional liability (also called errors & omissions) is perhaps the most important form of photographer and videographer insurance. If you fail to produce acceptable services and the customer sues, regardless of whether it was your fault or not, professional liability covers you. This applies whether you are an event photographer or a studio photographer.

After professional liability, anyone looking for videographer or photographer insurance should look for a general liability policy. If you are taking holiday card photos in your studio, and a light falls down on top of a customer, cutting their arm and head, you could be sued over the medical expenses. Having a location that customers spend time at is a significant risk, and a general liability policy is the best protection from unexpected costs.

What Additional Forms of Photographer Insurance Do I Need?

Photography equipment is expensive, and the variety of lenses, batteries, lights, memory cards, and more that are required to run a professional small business can be a significant investment. As your business develops, the cost of replacing your tools will eventually eclipse the cost of insuring them, at which point it’s a very good idea to acquire a business property policy.

You may be able to combine your photographer liability insurance and your property coverage into a single business owner’s policy, which could save you money.

AP Intego’s mission is simple but powerful: to provide NACE members peace of mind so they can pursue their dreams. We believe that insurance should be something that hums along in the background, providing security for their businesses while freeing them to do their own thing—whatever that thing may be. AP Intego is a full service, nationally licensed insurance agency providing all lines of property and casualty insurance to more than 42,000 small businesses in all 50 states. To learn more and receive advice from a friendly licensed agent, visit www.nace.net/Insurance (member log-in required).

By: AP INTEGO
NACE is excited to announce that we have teamed up with AP Intego, a leading nationwide small business insurance broker, to offer this new and exciting benefit to our members.

Have you recently opened a new location for your event business? Are you considering expanding to multiple locations? The opportunity to increase revenue and influence is exciting. However, it can also present some complicated logistics and challenges. Here are some ideas for juggling multiple business locales, and determining if expansion is right for you.

Know Before You Grow

If you are at the “decide to expand or not to expand” stage, there are considerations you need to weigh before committing.

First, you need a clear understanding of the region where the new location is located. What are the consumers like? Are there any possible language barriers or different price expectations? How is the parking at the new location? Is transportation easily available for both your customers and your staff?

Also, be aware of the many expenses associated with expansion, which include double rents, additional staff salaries, additional training costs, and new inventory. Another showroom means an expanded budget, more technology, payroll and advertising. Are you financially prepared?

The Importance of Human Resources

One of the biggest challenges presented by having multiple locations is that you can’t be in two places at once. This requires proper management at all locations and a quality staff in place.

When hiring, focus on building a strong team that can act independently under leaders hired for their ability to replicate your successful original model. We recommend a strict interview process. You need the best possible team when staffing multiple locations, so take extra time when seeking the perfect candidates.

Anticipate Different Challenges

You’ll quickly discover a whole new layer of challenges when you have multiple locations over those of a single location. New locations come with different space, layouts and equipment. You might need to make entirely new policies and decisions to accommodate.

For us, inventory storage was a major challenge. We kept only a partial inventory at our satellite location and moved what was needed whenever we could anticipate demand. We learned that we would never have enough available to satisfy every request in the moment. It made more sense to figure out a delivery option than to purchase and store twice the inventory.

Utilize Tech

To overcome the challenge of not being able to be at multiple locations at once, the use of technology becomes extremely important. You can leverage technology to provide your team with live trainings and meetings, and to stay connected on a day-to-day basis. We use it to push out policies and procedures and to ensure each employee understands our company culture inside and out.

Technology keeps multiple locales connected, streamlined, and efficient. It helps everyone stay organized and on track.

The decision to expand a business to multiple locations is one that is full of both potential and challenges. Do your research, be prepared to exercise a whole new set of skills, and be creative. The potential for new opportunities can definitely be worth the growing pains.

Heather Rouffe is the Director of Sales and Partner of Atlas Event Rental, a full-service event rental industry serving the Southern Florida market for over 30 years based. Recently named one of the top 30 rental companies in the US by Special Events Magazine, Atlas provides top quality merchandise and unparalleled customer service to each and every customer.

Going above and beyond, being creative, and sharing this experience with other event professionals is what NACE is all about. My Indian-themed event that won the NACE One award in the Social Event Production (Budget Greater than $100K) category was a wonderful example of how a lot of creative ideas, teamwork and rigorous planning produced an amazingly successful evening.

This event, put on for around 300 guests, was our Season Opening Party, for many of the members at our private club, this was the first time they came together, reunited after spending the majority of the summer in their residences up north. I needed to create an over-the-top event and open the season with a bang! The objective was to set the tone at this party and start the season at a high level. I had to truly WOW our members at this exclusive member-only event.

I came up with the with the Indian theme for our Season Opening Party after several weeks of brainstorming. Besides the underlying goal of creating an amazing experience with exceptional food and music, I worked hard on creating special moments throughout the evening to elevate the experience and trigger goosebumps moments. I wanted my guests to experience India right here in our private Country Club environment in Delray Beach, Florida. The Cocktail party was filled with powerful music, exotic food, and vibrant colors. The party continued with Bollywood dancers, themed drinks, sophisticated food offered by staff that was dressed up in traditional Indian garments.

Many details enhanced the experience such as henna-decorated Place cards, mountains of aromatic spices, such as whole Red Peppercorn, Cardamom, and Star Anise. Ornate Brass trays that were used for passing, fragrant fresh flowers, a huge 3-dimensional Ice Carving that was a carved Replica of the Taj Mahal Temple, an original Mandap for a Roti Dessert Station, a ‘Tea parlor’, and a bindi- and henna station completed the experience. The event turned out to be a huge success. With the help of my team, I created an unforgettable evening that affected all the senses with vibrant colors, exotic fragrances, and peppy beats!

Receiving a NACE One Award promotes the Country Club I work for by showing guests our excellence and professionalism, in return attracting exclusive high-class clients. Winning the NACE One award shows my competition that I am on top of the latest trends, experience with the newest ideas and am largely successful at what I do. And it gives me guaranteed job security!

We are close to November and I am excitedly planning this year’s Opening Party. You will find out more details in Cincinnati at the next NACE ONE Awards. Wish me luck!

Anna Garcia
Addison Reserve Country Club
NACE One Award Winner