Last fall, a couple came in to talk about an engagement party they wanted to throw. But when we met with Sean and Danielle, they filled us in on their secret--they were planning to host a surprise wedding by getting married at the 'engagement' party! They were able to pull it off and we had a lot of fun being in on the surprise. 

For Sean and Danielle, who wed in September, the romance was a whirlwind. In late March 2014, they met through a mutual friend who was sure Sean was Danielle's future husband. A week after they met, they went on their first date; a month later, she moved in with him, and a month after that they began talking marriage. 

We asked Danielle (and Sean) to talk a little about their surprise wedding:

"We never actually made a conscious decision to have a very short engagement. We both just wanted to be together. I know it seems fast in reality, but we knew we wanted to spend our lives together.  We were driving one day talking about wedding ideas, what he would want, what I would want, just a casual conversation. We were not even engaged at the time. We start talking about how big or little our wedding would be, and Sean said, 'You know what would be great? If we just had a party and surprised everyone and got married!' And I agreed.  It took off from there." 

"We were very secretive at the start. We hired The Events Company to plan the wedding in early June. We hadn't told anyone yet, which was really hard because my family is super close. Mom knew first, mom always knows everything first. Very slowly we each spoke to individuals that we knew we wanted to be part of the wedding. And they were sworn to secrecy.  It turns out we have pretty good secret keepers in our circle.
I would say that 70% of the guests were completely surprised. We had to try and throw people off, so there were some lies and storytelling, but it was completely worth it. If we had it to do over again, we would." 

Even though the wedding was a surprise, the couple managed to celebrate the day with the most important people to them in attendance. About six out-of-town guests were clued in ahead of time so they could attend, but for everyone else not in the wedding party, the wedding remained a secret. By way of the surprise, Sean and Danielle's guest list managed itself in terms of keeping it intimate.  

"We agreed many times that if our engagement party isn't important enough to go to, we don't want you at the wedding.  I know that's harsh. But how many distant relatives do you have, or coworkers, or long lost friends, whom you invite to weddings and birthday parties out of obligation? We figured that by inviting roughly everyone we knew, we covered ourselves fulfilling the obligation part, knowing that people would make the choice of "waiting for the wedding." I was hurt by a couple people who didn't make it, and have had some disgruntled people who have said 'had I known...' But that's the point. No one knew. And they all were there anyways." 

When Sean and Danielle started to reveal their plans at the initial meeting, they didn't have a venue in mind. Nicole listed to their ideas and suggested the Palace Theatre. 

"We wanted to have an "engagement party" and then mid-way through, play a video the guests would focus on, and we could potentially be standing behind the screen where the video was, the screen would lift and we would be standing behind it. We pitched that idea to Nicole and she suggested the Palace Theatre. We knew when we saw it that it was going to be the place to pull it off. " 

Once all the guests had arrived and everyone was enjoying the engagement party, Sean and Danielle asked their guests to enter the theater for a video. As the video played, they changed into their formal dress. As the slideshow of photos of the couple ended, the last slide was a Save the Date--with that night's date. The bridal party procession followed and their ceremony was short and sweet, performed by Danielle's brother who was ordained online. They exchanged brief, funny vows and then got right down to the party. 

"We wanted everyone to have a good time. Good food and lots of fun. That's why we decided to nix a lot of the usual wedding formalities: No dollar dance, no garter toss or bouquet toss (though they kept a few of the traditional elements, such as the first, father-daughter, and mother-son dances, and the cake cutting).
We really just wanted to have a huge party where we could all just have a great time." 

Danielle had her heart set on a black and white color scheme with pops of red. The surprise was the most important detail to Sean, so as that was under control, Danielle worked with us to select decor and set the stage, so to speak. Throughout the lobby were enlarged photos of Danielle and Sean, in place of posters for shows. The ceremony was held on the theater stage (which also served as the dance floor later) and Sean and Danielle said their vows between two tall loose arrangements. The reception tables looked sophisticated in black linens tied with red and were topped by simple low flower arrangements. 

Sean and Danielle added some other special touches to their menu, as well: 
"Mashed potato bar! Best idea ever! It was a favorite of the guests also. I'm sure the open bar was also a highlight, haha, but mashed potato bar. It. Was. Awesome." 

The white and sweet mashed potatoes were served with toppings in martini glasses. 

Their graphic cake was modeled after a sample cake their bakery, Sweet Indulgence, had in their shop.
 
"We actually had chosen a square cake. A few days before the wedding we were told that square Styrofoam, which one of the layers was to be, was on back order. So our cake was round. It wasn't quite what I wanted, but in the end, we put a wedding together in 10 weeks from beginning to end. There were other battles to worry about." 

In addition to pulling off the surprise, Sean and Danielle created a wedding that was very 'them.'

"I don't know if I could pinpoint the best part of that day.  One of my favorite things about the whole thing is the after. And yes, I mean being married to the love of my life, but also the reaction of all the guests. That we did something so different and unique. Sean told me that when he visited another branch of his company weeks after our wedding, people were still raving about it.  We could have gone the traditional route, but it's just not us. And since this has been mostly my point of view I can also say, my husband is a larger-than-life kind of guy. A traditional sit-down formal dinner just didn't fit. Doing something outside the norm just felt more us. And that's a pretty amazing feeling too."

Event planning and design: The Events Company
Venue: Palace Theatre
Bouquets: Backyard Garden Florist
Cake and desserts: Sweet Indulgence
Photography: Photoessence Photography
Music: Marty the One Man Party

Hard to believe, but the holidays are only a mere nine weeks away! It's not too late to start planning a holiday party you and your coworkers will talk about into next year.

The types of holiday parties we help companies plan range from cocktail-and-hors d'oeuvres receptions to full-scale family experiences. Your party can be on-site at your offices or we can help you find an appropriate venue for the kind of celebration you wish to host. 

Once you decide where and when, you can think about how: How can we WOW them? If you're thinking of a family-friendly experience, you can opt for a mood influenced heavily by holiday cheer. Last year, we created "Santa's Workshop" for a client that included games, a bouncy house, a candy bar, a Jack Frost character, and a visit from Santa. 

If you're thinking about hosting employees only (or employees and partners), any number of themes would entertain: a Casino Royale theme and an underground Speakeasy complete with a Who Dunnit mystery are two of the types of holiday parties we've done in recent years. 

And even though it's Syracuse, don't feel limited to partying indoors: We designed a Fire and Ice holiday party for one company which included outdoor activities such as dogsled races, fire and ice inspired food and beverages, and an incredible outdoor custom pool table made of carved ice!

When it comes to holiday parties, we love them, big or small; we've done festive gatherings for companies of 20 and 200. Give us a call and let us help you! 315-422-9400

We realized in talking to some of our long-time clients that there may be a little confusion about how The Events Company and SKY Armory work, both separately and together. So we'd like to help clear that up!

The Events Company (TEC), which has been in business for 18 years, is not changing. We are still your go-to for exceptional weddings, corporate meetings and events, Bat and Bar Mitzvahs, milestone birthdays and anniversaries (both social and corporate), galas, bashes, fundraisers, awards dinners, community events - you name it! We are an event planning and design company and we will help you plan your event at any location.  

Our sister company, SKY Armory, is an event venue in downtown Syracuse. SKY has its own staff, which includes a sales manager, executive chef, food & beverage manager, event planners, and kitchen, dining, and service staff.  SKY is an urban open-loft style space and it is one of the larger event venues in Central New York - SKY is able to hold up to 900 people between the two large ballrooms and has already hosted or booked many of the types of events listed above. 

The companies, both owned by Nicole and Kevin Samolis, are two separate entities with their own staffs: The Events Company event planners and production team manage events at indoor and outdoor locations all over the region (and beyond). SKY Armory's staff handles events held only at SKY Armory. 

When you come to The Events Company about your event, depending on your projected headcount, event style and vision, we may suggest SKY as a venue if we think it's right for you. If you select SKY Armory as the venue for your event, you'll still work directly with your TEC planner, who will liaise with the management staff at SKY to help schedule decor meetings and tastings. 

SKY is not only one more great local venue in our arsenal of top venues in the area, it provides a very different atmosphere than other locations where you might have held events. If you choose another location for your event, your TEC planner will guide you through the planning process and day-of management. 

As always, our goal is to ease the stress and pain of event planning for you and help you create a memorable event that people talk about long after they depart. 

We just had to share this event with you because we had so much fun planning it and then seeing it in action. This was a post-holiday party and 30th anniversary bash for a local company.

Jack Frost greeted guests as they arrived, while our team welcomed guests and wrapped a logo’ed scarf around their neck. They were then ready for the Cocktails On Ice party where hot toddies were served from the ice bar. Guests had fun playing pool on the Ice Pool Table made completely of ice except for the balls and cue sticks. The Dog Sled rides were a hit, too.

Inside guests experienced great food and entertainment; casino games, 60 second challenges, dueling pianos and our faux fire performer.

The evening concluded with an ice carving show revealing a stylized carved 30 for their anniversary.