ISES STAR Awards 2010

As a wedding planner, I'm always striving to do a great job for my clients and grow my business so that I can continue to do what I love. One of the many ways to gain recognition in the wedding industry is to show off your work. This year, I had the opportunity to enter one of my weddings for an award through the International Special Events Society. Although Wonderful Day Weddings was not selected as a nominee this year it was still a very fantastic experience. My lovely husband accompanied me and it was so wonderful to attend an event with the best this industry has to offer.

The 2010 STAR Awards were the most competitive yet, and after peeking at the other submissions I have a better idea of what I want to include in my next entry. It was very cool to page through each of the binders and admire top notch event planning. There were some amazing events held last year, not only in weddings but in non-profit and corporate sectors as well.

My goal is to win a STAR Award in the future and I will keep working towards that goal whether it be for a wedding or a special event.

This was one of the most fabulous industry events that I've had the pleasure of going to. The evening started off with a cocktail hour and heavy hors d'eourves. The event theme for the evening was "Ritmo Caliente" and had a hot Latin vibe. All of the decor was red, oranges and yellows to give you that spicy flavor. What I really enjoyed was that the cocktail reception was made to look like a shipping dock in Havana with boxes of "cargo" and tropical plants. They even had old crates double as mini tables to lounge at while enjoying cocktails.

The food was really cool, they had a "Jerk chicken" sandwich, mini-veggie burgers, and tropical shrimp kabob. They even served the food on plates made from dried tropical leaves which was really cool because it was "green" and totally fit the theme for the evening.

The award ceremony was breathtaking! They had the ballroom completely redesigned by hanging white draping so that the uplighting could display the dramatic red and
orange hues throughout the space. Prop palm trees framed the stage and the hosts for the evening actually did an opening number. During the awards, the event staff even planned for a toast to the award winners and had Sangria's brought out.

Finally, the evening went out with a bang at the after party. A great Latin band played salsa music and they also had professional salsa dancers perform and get people on the floor for some one on one instruction. The other attractions were a fire dancer and Latin carnival
performers. It was a great time and I look forward to next year. Kudos to the International Special Event Society for putting on such a great Award Ceremony!

PHOTO CREDITS: WONDERFUL DAY WEDDINGS