Sunny and Arthur's wedding in early July was a joyful celebration full of personal details. We loved helping them infuse their day with special moments. 

The overall mood was elegant, lush, and modern in black and white with a lot of sparkle. Many of the personal moments reference Arthur's career and time as an S.U. football player. After a ceremony at Hendricks Chapel, the bridal party traveled to Manley Field House for some really fun photo ops.  All the beautiful photography is by Chris Szulwach of The Story Photography.

Sunny and Arthur's striking reception was held at the Lodge at Welch Allyn.  Graphic black and white, and dark silver were the foundation for tables with a mix of textured and patterned linens. Gorgeous monochromatic floral arrangements were designed by The Floral Gardens.

At the base of the wedding cake, by Sweet Indulgence Dessert Catering, a little football peeked out. In a twist on the traditional garter toss, Sunny decorated a football, which they wrapped the garter around, and Arthur tossed to the eligible bachelors. 

Sunny surprised Arthur with a groom's cake brought out by none other than Orange mascot Otto who partied with the couple for hours. Guests danced all night thanks to incredible music provided by Ormond Entertainment, and later enjoyed an extensive dessert bar featuring Venetian dessert bar, an ice cream bar, and a s'mores bar.

A final thoughtful touch: Guests left with bottles of Jones soda customized with pictures of the couple. 

Thank you Sunny and Arthur for letting us be a part of your beautiful day! 

Photos: The Story Photography

Recently a LinkedIn blog post looking at the impact of work relationships made the social media rounds. The site conducted a global study of 11,500 professionals and found some interesting facts about how friendships in the workplace affect overall happiness and productivity. This isn't a new topic but the study takes a look at the shift caused by millennials in the work force.

Some of the interesting findings from LinkedIn's study:

• 67% of millennials are likely to share personal details including salary, relationships and family issues with co-workers, compared to only about one third of baby boomers.
  

• 46% of professionals worldwide believe that work friends are important to their overall happiness.
• 51% stay in touch with former colleagues

To me, one of the more staggering statistics is: 33% of millennials vs only 5% of baby boomers think socializing with colleagues helps them move up the career ladder.

Making a connection at work is not always easy -- in some cases, the process may help your career, just not in the way you thought. I had a job where the work environment wasn't the best, but our small team was tight-knit and we truly enjoyed each others' company; that made all the difference in getting through the day-to-day. 

Making sure employees and team members are happy, or at least feel valued, is integral to a company's success. It seems to me, if a company makes the effort to help employees succeed, employees are more likely to care (beyond earning their paycheck) about the company's success and mission. 

In an effort to take recognition, morale, and relationships to the next level at The Events Company (and SKY Armory), our HR consultant came up with the idea for the WOWski (a take on how we always make sure our events have the WOW factor). It's an incentive program where we each receive 5 WOWskis at the beginning of the month (eventually per quarter) and we submit them when we see a member of our team handling something really well or going above and beyond for a client or another coworker.  The two team members who receive the most WOWskis in recognition of their work win a prize that could be monetary or tailored to their interests. We recently completed the first month and our winners were very happy to see that their hard work does not go unnoticed; everyone on our team has received at least one WOWski so far.

We've helped plan corporate team-building events that combine fun, strategy, and of course, teamwork. There are all kinds of activities, big and small scale, that can build the camaraderie of a team.  

This morning I read about a scavenger hunt involving over 1,500 business people. Teams download an app to their smartphone and then use it to navigate through the challenges ahead of them including trivia, photos, and checkpoints; results are immediately available and photos can be downloaded. Aside from sounding like a lot of fun, I think these outings are great because in addition to fostering team skills hands-on, the common experiences and the memories give employees a foundation on which to build friendships.

What have you done to team-build or develop friendships at work?

We were fortunate to work with a bunch of great couples this past spring and we're looking forward to sharing their special days with you, starting with Sheila and Matthew who were married on May 3, 2014 in Oswego. 

We worked with them on decor and wedding day-of management. They were looking for a romantic, vintage feel for their reception at Alexandria's, so we created that mood with a variety of elements. Mercury glass vessels, metal bird cages, delicate cake stands, colored vases, and an abundance of candlelight gave the centerpieces a very collected, antique look. A mix of long banquet tables and rounds were used and each table featured a different style centerpiece. Flowers were secondary for Sheila, so we handled the arrangements and used them as a complement to the warm, eclectic mood. 

A palette of eggplant and gunmetal gray, accented with paler shades of purple and yellow, added some depth and vibrancy in place of a typical pastel palette, which the bride did not want.  Sheila and Matthew also selected beautiful vintage china to use as chargers, which added an extra bit of glamour to their reception. 

Thank you Sheila and Matthew for letting us be part of your beautiful day!

My experience at The Events Company has been great. The program I am part of is the Lafayette Big Picture; it’s a school-within-a-school. We do project-based learning, it is not like a traditional high school. We learn about what we are interested in doing now and in the future and we do this by going out on internships on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I started attending this school in 9th grade; I am now ending my 11th grade year. 

I have an interest in planning events. I told our LTI (learning though internships) coordinator, David, and he got me a shadow day at The Events Company back in January. He had a business card of Nicole’s, that’s how he knew about this company. My first day at The Events Company I was nervous but Nicole made me feel very welcomed and comfortable. I remember I made centerpieces that day. I  enjoyed my first day so much that I asked if I could come back to do an internship for the rest of the school year. Nicole agreed to let me intern with her and I started coming to the office every Tuesday and Thursday. I eventually had to stop coming on Tuesdays about halfway through,  because I took a college class at SUNY Morrisville. 

The staff here has been very nice and helpful to me. They have taught me how to make centerpieces, build storyboards, organize/clean the back room or the cage (where they store props), also do many things on the computer. I had fun redecorating the show room by changing the linens and putting centerpieces together. I have learned how to make professional phone calls and as well as act professionally. When Nicole was not in, I would work with Alyssa, the project manager. I have worked with everyone here or have helped them with one of their projects or events. I also sat in on many meetings with clients or potential clients, and although I really didn't say much I still caught on to how to speak in a professional way. 

It was fun when we got to visit restaurants and taste their food to see if we would potentially do business with them. I really liked those days. Other fun times were when Nicole or Alyssa took me to the venue where an event was going to be held and I had a chance to help set up. I have very much enjoyed working on weekends and Tuesdays and Thursdays during my internship time. I had a lot of fun and have learned many useful things that will help me in my future. Hopefully, I will be able to intern here again when the next school year starts in September. Thank you very much!



Photo: courtesy Zeina Akl