Meet & Greet Season

Meet & Greet

Season

Right at the end of March last year, on a cold rainy Sunday (wait wait..kinda sounds like this March) we hosted our first Meet & Greet.  A chance for local companies to display business info to their own community around them.  It was great, we had over 20 business at the Cassidy Hill Vineyard enjoying a Sunday afternoon mixing and mingling.

What a huge success it was, over 100 people joined us, sampling wine, food provided by Hop River Cafe and had a chance to purchase candles, set up photography sessions, meet local realtors, electricians, and many more. 

 I'm on the hunt for the perfect place again, maybe the vineyard, or a new location. Not sure, I just know that local businesses, the ones that keep our communities feeling like a community need some exposure. 

First day of Spring

We kicked off Spring with Firefly Night.  Our cocktail charity event benefiting the Channel 3 Kids Camp.  It was a nice chance for the community to come out and support a local charity benefiting Connecticut Children.

The UConn Alumni Center gave us the generous donation of the venue.  We were thankful to have such a gorgeous, well run venue to enhance for our Firefly Night Theme. With a bit of nature inspired treatments from out own collection and the added items donated by MJ Decorations, we were able to really make the space come alive. The deep moss and midnight blue linens from Taylor Rental in Manchester gave a finishing touch on the tables.  The colors worked well in the space and once Romantic Entertainment, added the fireflies to the ceiling, the space glowed.  The amazing crew from Parson's Photography capture the event for us. As always Diane and Jessica were a blast to work with.  We are looking forward to seeing all the photos.  

Hop River Cafe created a feast and treated us all night with scrumptious passed appetizers.  Heather and Lance's staff donated their time and a Saturday night to make sure everyone had enough to eat. Thank you for taking what you were given and making it shine.

Along with everything else that had been donated, the cakes in our Summer Night Theme Cake Challenge were a huge hit.  It was difficult to pick one favorite.  We allowed all the guests to vote, then added an extra point for the cake with the most drawing tickets, and the main players in our event voted again for their favorite.  Thank you to Hallie Jackson from WFSB for making the announcement throughout the night and of course for her input on the best cake.  Firefly Night winner was A Little Imagination Cakes, with her glowing fireflies, amazing details in her children, and attention to the small details.  Now it wasn't a landslide, it was a close call and many of our attendees had a hard time picking between all of the cakes.  Thank you to Edible Dreams, Once Upon a Cake, Chocolate Rose and ToriaDolce for just breathtaking creations.   We thank Tim Ackert from Ackert Electric for being kind of enough to share the winning cake with all everyone.  I personally think he just wanted to make sure he could fit the cake into his car but making it smaller.

Our drawing items were donated by so many different companies. They really opened their hearts and wallets to offer prizes people WANTED.  The maple basket from Lamothe's Sugar House and necklace from Love Me Two Times were highly sought after.  All of the prizes were, and it was a pleasure to see the winners leap for joy when they did win. One very lucky winner won $1000 worth of flowers from Jessica's Country Flowers.  We were also blessed to have an arrangement created by Jessica, along with ones from Custom Floral, Windham Designs, Stylish Blooms and HGK Designs.  They each gave an extra touch to an already great evening. 

Taking Care of Tummies spent the day working at a different venue and then rushed back for our event to tend bar.  Thank you for keeping our thirsty guests happy and for creating a few signature drinks for the evening. 

Also thank you Amber from the Channel 3 Kids Camp and their crew.

What not to do on your wedding day!

The day has arrived, your WEDDING day.  A day to enjoy, treasure, all while making a lifetime of memories.  Your day should be spent with your closest friends and family, filled with love and excitement and there are of course a few things you shouldn't be doing on your wedding day.


Your wedding day is NOT the day to:

~color your own hair, touch up your roots, or give yourself any self-created hair treatment.  If you wish to style your hair or have your best friend do it, so be it, but make sure you have tried it out a few times prior to your wedding day.  Make sure you pay attention to how long it takes to create and how long it will last, this way you know how much time you need to really allow yourself the day of your wedding. 



~create your or your bridesmaids' bouquets!  Your day shouldn't be spent creating, wrapping and making your own bouquet; it is just that simple.  And even worse is if you plan on picking up your flowers the day of your wedding and then trying to fit this event in.  As usual, the main issues end up being time and depending on an outside source to have the flowers you wish to have.  I always recommend having your bouquets created by a professional.  Even if you have taken a DIY course, or seen others put together their flowers, it isn't the same thing as having a professional take care of it. Remember there are things many florists do to preserve your flowers.  This allows them to stay fresh, keep their color, perkiness and last throughout your day. 

~a wedding cake. There is no reason you should be creating your own cake or cupcakes the day of your wedding.  The average person may have seen dozens of cake challenges on the Food Network, but this does not mean you are up to creating a masterpiece.  There is a level of skill in making sure the cake sits level and isn't sinking on one end.  Creating cakes is an art form and while cupcakes may seem like an easy replacement for cake, decorating each one takes a great deal of time.  

~self tanning products. Now they have come a long way from streaky orange messes but these should be used for at least the month prior to your wedding, mostly to make sure your skin looks natural. Plus remember once you have found your tanning color to try on your dress and see if you like how it looks. 


~try make-up you have never used before the day of your wedding could result in an disaster.  You want to for one look like yourself, just a brighter version of yourself.  If you are using make up you have never worn before you may apply it wrong, you may have a reaction to it and break out, and last of all, you have no way of knowing how long it will last on your day. Have a few trials, make sure you know what you would like to look at.  If you are having a professional or a friend do it for you, having a photograph of your trial will always help.


~wear your wedding shoes for the first time.  You will be on your feet more than you will be sitting on your wedding day, so we recommend you try your shoes out before hand.  Wear them to your bridal shower, and even to the rehearsal if you can.  This gives your feet a trial run, and a chance to see how they work in different settings.  If you are outside for your wedding, make sure your heel won't be sinking in.  Some shoes are very slippery and it is always worth finding out before hand.


~try your undergarments with your dress. Make sure you can stand being in them, make sure they don't slip and move more than you would like them too. Plus make sure that when you are in your dress it is serving the purpose you purchased it for. If you can't breath after 5 minutes, it isn't going to work on your wedding day.


~take your own photographs.  While our friends are amazing and they might rock the digital camera, it is worth it to hire a professional photographer for at least a few hours.  If you can't afford to have them for the whole night, see if you can work out a deal with one.  There will be certain photographs you will want to enlarge and keep forever; having someone taking a few formals will be a nice touch.

~forget to eat.  Make sure you have breakfast, just something simple to eat that will get you through the day.  Plus remember to have plenty of water and few simple snacks throughout the day.  This way you aren't starving by dinner time, and your stomach will thank you.


There will always be the people who want to do everything themselves and that is great but remember, there are plenty of professionals out there who will work within your budget, and your vision.  With their guidance you may end up with more than you thought you could have.

Wedwork (Networking night for special event & wedding professionals)

Since somehow we flew into March, I thought I better touch base about our first WedWork event before we are in the full swing of spring.  Two weeks ago at the UConn Alumni Center on cool February Friday night close to 100 event & wedding professionals came together to mix and mingle.  It was a nice turn out for the first time holding such an event.  Julie from the UConn Alumni Center really made a point to reach out to as many in the field as she could.  Since we both felt that this event was a success, we will be working on another one a few months from now.  Plus it was nice to show off the space for Firefly Night and a Love Me Two Times Fashion Show event during the Alumni Center's Open House weekend (March 12th for the fashion show and open house 12th-14th) and of course our 4th annual CT Bridal Event.

We were really thankful for Hop River Cafe and Taking Care of Tummies for providing amazing finger foods.  Plus the wonderful staff from University Catering tended the bar and even provided some treats for also.  For myself one of the best things about this event was being able to meet vendors in real life.  Many of them I have had the pleasure of speaking with on Facebook and in emails.  Now I had a chance to shake hands and really take a moment to chat.  It was a blast to meet two of the three ladies from Parson Photography.  They had agreed to be our official photographers and somewhere in the middle of the event, they did go on a shoe photographing craze, all thanks to Sara from Taylor Rental in Manchester.  Her stylish red shoes were a huge hit.  I added in my boots since I loved the photo.

No ones shoes were safe.  Needless to say Parson Photography was a huge hit at the event and if you would like to see more of their work, make sure to check out their website.