Break the Bottled Water Habit | Cost Calculator

Break the Bottled Water Habit | Cost Calculator

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Found this link this morning while reading the Meetings Net website, it looks interesting!

J

A creative alternative to traditional floral wedding bouquets

Okay, so you probably are thinking, "I didn't think she was a wedding planner...." and I am not, but when I stumble upon some really creative alternatives to traditional components, I just have to tell someone.

I recently came upon a great website called Princess Lasertron out of Omaha, Nebraska. They create vintage felt and button design items, most notably, bridal bouquets. These one of a kind bridal bouquets are beautiful and a unique alternative to traditional living flowers. The benefit of this type of bouquet is that they can become an heirloom piece for the bride and her bridal party and can bring a sense of whimsy and personalization to the wedding.

Check it out!

J

Turning that frown upside down!

I have to admit when the cauldron arm didn't raise up during the 2010 Olympic Opening Ceremonies, I said out loud, "Oh my goodness, an event planner's worst nightmare!".

When we plan events, we can have all sorts of glitches. It can rain during an outdoor wedding, lightening can strike, vehicles can break down, and participants can run late or even not show up! If you can't handle the possibility that something could happen, you shouldn't be an event planner.

The important word here is "planner". An event planner plans for these mishaps....actually, they plan for the potential for the mishap. We risk assess each and every event and believe me, we play the game, "what is the worst that could happen" and then we develop a strategy. We look at the level of risk (high, medium, low risk) and we look at the impact (high, medium, low impact). Those risks which are low risk, low impact, don't cause event planners many sleepless nights BUT those risks which are low risk, HIGH impact do cause sleepless nights. These are the ones where we say, "There isn't much chance that it could happen, BUT if it did, it would be a catastrophe". We have to think about these and plan appropriately.

Which brings me to the 2010 Olympic Closing Ceremony. That savvy, experienced event producer/planner took that opening ceremony glitch and turned it into something to smile about. He took another kick at the proverbial can and left us with something to laugh about

Now that's an event planner!

J

Where have all the fish gone?

Sometimes when people find out I am an "eco or green" event planner they say, "oh, you must be an environmentalist". I usually respond with, "no, I am a realist". I am a realist when it comes to where our world is heading if we don't do our part. So, when I signed onto my twitter account and there was a tweet from Ellen Degeneres (yes, I follow Ellen Degeneres....she makes me smile) and she was mentioning a film titled, "The End of the Line" about overfishing, I was intrigued. I immediately opened another browser window and googled "The End of the Line". I watched the trailer and was "hooked".

This film is a documentary about the devastating effect of overfishing. The website stated that scientists are predicting that if we continue fishing as we are now, we will see the end of most seafood by 2048.

Normally, I won't recommend watching something with the word "end" in the title, because I want people to feel motivated, not paralyzed by fear. In the case of this movie, I think we all should watch it. Knowledge is power and if we know how to distinguish sustainable seafood at restaurants and our grocery stores, we will have the power to make a difference and ensure that our oceans remain alive.

Event planners out there!!! Remember to check out these guides when planning menu's for your events. Never underestimate your sphere of influence and how you can influence change.

Some great Resources: 

• Canada's Seafood Guide
• Monterey Bay Aquarium
• Fish2fork

J

What the numbers are saying

I just read my new digital edition of the 2010 MEETINGS Market Trends Survey and quickly flipped to page 12 where the survey results of "Green Meeting Elements" were posted. They asked planners for Associations, Corporations, Independent and Government about green meeting elements such as recycling, food donation/sustainable cuisine, green venue site selection, paperless meetings, carbon offsets and "other".

Without a doubt recycling remains as the top green meeting element with it being the most important/implemented to government planners at 64.9%. Independent planners were the lowest percentage at 50.2%. Implementing a recycling strategy is the one of the easiest and most visible green meeting strategies, therefore implemented more often.

Paperless meetings came in second to recycling with the highest percentage again belonging to government planners at 37.8% and independent planners the lowest at 24.6%.

Green venue/site selection remains an ever present important element of green meeting planning with 27% of government meeting planners responding positively to this question.

Lastly, food donation and sustainable cuisine resonates most important or most implemented by independent planners at 27% (government 16.2%). I believe the reason for this result stems from the flexibility of independent planners and the events they plan to be more creative with their menu planning, possibly more money is available, and lastly they are not restricted by the perception of liability by government regarding food donation.

These are just my interpretations of the results based my own experience. If you disagree, let me know!

J