Still Stuck on 2013 Inaugural Lunch

Am I the only one still in love with the decor from the 2013 Inaugural Lunch????????? It looked so beautiful and at the same time simple. Lunch was served in Statuary Hall at the US Capitol building on January 21, 2013 in Washington D.C.

Below are a few pictures I found online from "getty images."

The examiner.com mentioned that for the occasion, a painting of Niagara Falls by artist Ferdinand Richardt decorated the Hall as a backdrop. Table settings included tablecloths with turquoise and olive spots on a white background, white plates with turquoise and silver borders, silver flatware and peach colored centerpieces. Luncheon Programs were placed at each place setting and each guest was given a goodie bag with chocolates to take as a memento.

 The floral designer was Jack Lucky Floral Design an Alexandria, Virginia company who has done the floral arrangements for the Inaugural Lunch 6 times. In an interview he actually said the flowers were designed to die after the lunch.......I thought that was interesting. Flower duet.com highlights that orange is the color of fusion, conversation and spirituality; so I guess it was a great choice for the day. The orange Ranunculus filled arrangement was infused with some roses called “Free Spirit,” which ranges in color from apricot to orange with flecks of coral to rose and orange Ranunculus blooms.

Now don't get me started on the menu....it looked so delicious even though many sites online say it totaled 3000 calories yikes! "Design Cusine" was in charge of the place settings, and I gathered from the cbs news that the menu was a tribute to American cuisine:

First Course: Steamed Lobster with New England Clam Chowder Sauce
Lobster tials
New England clam chowder
Sauteed spinach
Sweet potato hay

Second Course: Hickory Grilled Bison with Red Potato Horseradish Cake and Wild Huckleberry Reduction
Bison
Butternut squash pur?e
Baby golden beets and green beans
Red potato horseradish cake
Strawberry preserve and red cabbage
Wild huckleberry reduction

Third Course: Hudson Valley Apple Pie with Sour Cream Ice Cream, Aged Cheese and Honey
Pie dough
Cinnamon cumble
Apples
Sour cream ice cream
Maple caramel sauce
Garnish
Artisan cheeses

To close out my post about my love for the decor at the 2013 Inaugural Lunch I thought to share this nice snippet I saw on "exotic flowers" blog in reference to how lovely the decor at the Inaugural Lunch looked. "Now, think about how weak and lacking these same tables would look without flowers. If you take the approach of cutting the budget on flowers, then you might as well cut the dry cleaning bill and attend the lunch in sweat pants." Just thought it was so funny I had to share

Photo Credit:  Allison Shelley/Getty Images

Alphabet Theme Baby Shower

Planning a baby shower is so much fun. Most baby showers are more laid back and filled with closet family and friends of the expecting mother. This alphabet themed baby shower was no exception; it turned out to be a great day with 50 female guests and 7 kids at an intimate restaurant in Columbia MD. All the guests enjoyed a lovely breakfast over fun games and lot's of laughter.

Enjoy the few pictures below.......................

Game Time

Food Time

Cake Time

Time to say Goodbye 

The Man responsible for the baby :)

Thanks to LGA for taking the pictures (the wife of the well known photographer WalePhotos)

Thanks for visiting our blog today................As always more to come

RAE Affairs Feature on Ardissa Video

It is always great to be a guest blogger and I was especially excited when Melissa the owner of Ardissa Video reached out to RAE Affairs about creating entries for her site.

So look out for more blog post features from us on her site. The direct link to our feature is:

http://ardissavideo.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/coordinating-a-wedding-day/

The actual blog post from Ardissa Video is inserted below:

Coordinating a Wedding Day Is More Than a Day

What does a wedding coordinator DO, exactly? RAE Affairs stopped by the blog to share some insight into the role of a wedding coordinator from pre-planning to the managing the event day details.

It is always great moment as a guest when you walk into a wedding reception and you are in awe of how beautiful the space looks, or when you attend a wedding there was not glitch. It is very hard to imagine how much work goes into having a successful wedding. I own and manage RAE Affairs an event planning company in the Maryland, DC, Virginia area and there are weddings happening here every weekend.

There is almost no way to put an event together without a team of hard working event coordinators.

Our role on the day of a wedding essentially starts at a month before the wedding. We know how important it is to transition all the information needed so the bride doesn’t have to worry about what will happen on her wedding day. There are phases of the work we do behind the scenes; from the pre-wedding to the wedding itself, and then there is the post wedding phase which I will talk about in a different blog post. The pre-wedding phase has to do with working with the vendors and all the details that precede the day. My team and I provide a detailed event timeline for contracted vendors and wedding party. We personally contact each vendor on the wedding week to confirm arrangements and to make sure they agree with the timeline that they receive.

We preview the wedding & reception site three weeks prior to wedding and we orchestrate rehearsal & ceremony. We arrive to wedding site hours prior to ceremony to ensure a smooth day and to set up whatever the bride has handed over the day of rehearsal.

On the wedding day itself, we distribute flowers to the wedding party and assist with pinning. There are always final payments, so we distribute final payments and tips to vendors. We assist with directing the seating of guests with the ushers, and queue musicians. It is our primary job to keep wedding party and families stress free, a happy family makes for a smoother wedding.

We draft a sign off sheet and ensure that all vendors sign off at the end of the wedding or at the completion of their agreed upon service. We act out as a liaison between the bride and her selected vendors to ensure that your ideas are carried out and activities are kept on time. We assist the bride and attendants during dressing for the ceremony especially the bride with her gown bustle at the reception. We coordinate all reception details such as Grand entrance & first dance, toasting, cake and we place personal items (bouquet, cake topper, cake knife, portrait, guest book, and goblets. Most importantly, we address any other task that is required for a wedding day to run smoothly.

As you see, there is a whole lot and more that goes into having a successful event. Trust me when I tell you there are a lot of unforeseen circumstances!

Stay tuned for more from Shile, of RAE Affairs! Next, she will give you a backstage pass “behind-the-scenes” at a recent wedding!

You can find RAE Affairs on facebook or on the web at www.raeaffairs.com.

PHOTO CREDITS:

Tunji Sarunmi: http://www.tunjisarumi.com/
Ishola Photography: http://isholaphotography.com/blog/
Simi: http://iwaphotography.blogspot.com/

Thank you Melissa for letting us reach out to your audience. Look out for more interesting articles on her site http://ardissavideo.wordpress.com/