T H E C H R O N I C L E O F A N E V E N T
Saturday, 19 March 2005
An evening to remember... truly one of the most exciting and extraordinary events on which I've worked. And with the most engaged and supportive clients ever! The process started in late June of 2004 and first involved finding a venue. Gotham Hall was selected as the magnificent backdrop for the occasion. From that point, we worked to assemble the most amazing team possible to pull off this evening. Not so many meetings as one might expect, but thousands of e-mails later, the party was ready to roll. Many people were brought together to produce this evening, the key players were....
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Overall Planning and Coordination: Chas Miller of ForwardMiller with Maggie Fogel | Catering: David Castle of Sonnier & Castle | Overall Creative Direction and Decor: David Stark and Lindsay Rubin of Avi Adler | Graphic Design: Alice Chung and Karen Hsu of Omnivore | Entertainment and Stage Management: Tanya Greenbalt and Lauren Brignone of Event Resources, Inc. | Performances by Richard Jenkins Jazz Band + John Epperson as Lypsinka + John Tartaglia + Imago + DJ Andy Anderson | Lighting & Staging: Bentley Meeker | Sound: ESP - Eastern Stage Productions | Philippe Cheng of Philippe Cheng Photography (a professional verses me and my digital...).
The images that follow are grouped according to functions of the event.
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P L E A S E J O I N U S FOR
20P40
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| There was an underlying police theme, as the honoree of the evening had recently retired from the NYPD. ABOVE is the PARTY VIOLATION announcement / save-the-date card. LEFT is the actual invitation that arrived in a box marked OFFICIAL BUSINESS and contained a bath-tub toy police car (below), a hand-towel on which the invitation text was printed, and a GUEST PLEA card for accepting or regretting the invitation..
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L O N G B E F O R E E V E N T D A Y
AT THE KITCHENS OF SONNIER & CASTLE
FIRST MENU TASTING WAS HELD IN NOVEMBER,
WITH THE FINAL TASTING IN FEBRUARY
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| All set to start with menu card noting what we are trying... |
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| Starter course - testing on colored glass plates. |
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| Meat . . . |
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| or Fish? Offer both options to the guests! |
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| Dessert - trying to decide on presentation... Dessert is small as there is always Birthday Cake! |
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T H E S E T - U P B E G I N S A T G O T H A M H A L L
THREE DAYS PRIOR
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| Metal piping goes up for creating the stage area - this was floating in the room so it had to be entirely free-standing. |
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| The huge custom stage curtain is laid out before hanging. BELOW, workers start lifting the stage curtain into place. |
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DAY OF THE PARTY
G U E S T A R R I V A L & C O C K T A I L S
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| Stairs acsend to the cocktail area. RIGHT, the first major presentation - just one of many 10' high extravaganzas... |
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| Work on the Escort Card table is underway. |
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R E A D Y T O G R E E T G U E S T S U P O N E N T R Y T O
T H E D I N I N G S P A C E, A W A L L O F F L O W E R S
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| Entitled a Flower Painting, the end product was approximately 12' tall by 16' wide. |
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| The future location of the Flower Wall. Piping seen here is for the stage drapes. |
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| Framing panels for the Flower Painting are readied. |
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| A panel of flowers rests on the floor awating positioning. |
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| The first flower panel being mounted into the frame. |
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| The completed canvas including special lighting effects. |
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F O U R L O U N G E S S U R R O U N D E D T H E D I N I N G A R E A
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| Furniture... still wrapped and piled high... just off the truck! |
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| Checking things out . . . Tanya on her cell. "Can You Hear Me Now?" |
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A P L A C E F O R D I N I N G
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| Thousands of flowers arrive for teams to begin final preparations. |
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| Table set - note menu cards are folded within the custom dyed linen napkins. |
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. . . A N D I N or F R O M T H E K I T C H E N . . .
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| Team meeting - Joe Gilliam conferring with David Castle. |
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| Chef Rob Garceau . . . giving direction as plates for starter course are about to be prepared. |
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T H E C A K E --- Y E S , I T I S A R E A L C A K E . . .
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| The original concept for the 300 lb. creation at 26" wide and 54" long. Above the wheels is chocolate cake with vanilla filling, below is styrofoam structure. |
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| A big cake - see the persons shoulder for referenece. |
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| Stage center with the DJ's booth as a backdrop. |
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U S H E R S P R E P A R E F O R T H E N I G H T
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| In the dressing room for hair cuts and styling. |
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| Ready - Set - a walk-through meeting to be sure. |
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L E T T H E S H O W B E G I N
. . . or the R E H E A R S A L S in this case . . .
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| John Epperson prepares to again be the fabulous and extraordinary, LYPSINKA ! |
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| Imago takes to the stage... and later to the air over the dance floor... |
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| Both up together . . . |
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| Photo taken during the event courtesy of Jeff Hirsch - NewYorkSocialDiary.com |
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| Gotham Hall - formerly The Greenwich Saving Bank built in 1924. Photo courtesy of www.GothamHallEvents.com |
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