My Thursday

It was an eventful day and wanted to share it with you. I started off with a visit to the Duck and Decanter in downtown Phoenix with a corporate client of mine who is throwing an awesome party for 1,800 federal and statewide judges and lawyers. Yeah, how strange did that feel having them sign my contract. So intimidating. I am anxious to get working on this one as it's to be planned without a lot of time for preparation, but am ready for the challenge.

On my venture downtown, I thought about how much I love the area and am extremely excited about all the changes our city is making to bring life back to the dreariness that our downtown has and finally investing in it to spruce things up. I especially am stoked about the light rail and, like others, am anxious for the transit service to begin. I believe it is something that is needed in the Valley and although it might take a bit for Phoenicians to get used to, when they do, it will be a tremendous benefit. It's scheduled to open on December 27th of this year. What are your thoughts about it? Are you excited? Doubtful of its success? Will you use it?

After my lunch meeting, I headed down to a coffee shop to catch up on emails then enjoyed another meet and greet with a great young woman named Sharon Bishop of DC Ranch Country Club. Sharon is so accommodating and fantastic to work with. I know many of you planners that have worked with her would agree; she is a total doll and not to mention the venue is outstanding. Thanks for the sushi at Stingray, Sharon!

Then headed over to a small networking/open house at Bright Event Gallery. It's a great space and is full of fantastic vendors. Thanks for the invite, Vic!

My next stop was an event that was called White Hot Purple Crush. It was put together by the members of the Wedding and Event Network and was held at S I X in Old Town Scottsdale. I took a hiatus from networkers this summer so it was great to reconnect with everyone in my industry. I was especially excited to meet Matt Sloan of Sloan Photographers. He, Angie (his wife) and I have been emailing each other for about a year and finally I got to meet one of them. It was thrilling, maybe more than it should have been, but the anxiety was built up so much to meet them. Now, I can't wait to meet Angie and learn more about them as a couple. Great, great, photographers and just good darn people. I can sense these things.

After a glass of white wine, I decided to go grab a bite to eat with my little brother and a new friend at Pink Taco, yeah, it's really called that. Had a big glass of ice tea and a yummy chicken taco. Right it the middle of one of my last bites, a very loud boom shook the restaurant and all of a sudden the building was engulfed in a down pouring of water. It was a heavy week for monsoons here and tonight was no exception. The problem wasn't so much the rain, it was that the three of us had walked to the restaurant about 4 blocks away from our car. My poor brother, Nico, ran to the car in his new Italian leather shoes to come pick us up. Thanks brother!

The ride home was outstanding. I felt like I was at an outside disco and God was the DJ. He totally turned up the base tonight. It continues to rain, spark, and bang and I am loving every minute of it.

Now, trying to prepare for tomorrow's day. More meetings, more planning, giving my clients all that life has to offer, right?

By the way, if you are up for it, tomorrow I will be showcased again on Sonoran Living and it would be great if you watched. It was great to be asked back and I am excited to do even more segments. This time around I put together some tips on "How to throw a backyard party in a pinch". Check it out on channel 15 tomorrow at 9:00am and if you miss it they will have it up on their website.

Today was a good day.

Have a great weekend everyone. I am going up to see Mom this weekend in Prescott. What are you doing for Labor Day weekend?

With all that life has to offer,

Cicely

Life as a Reality TV Star

I wouldn't quite say I am a Star now (Mom would) but I did get the chance to shoot a reality TV episode recently called Party Mommas. The show is produced in Ontario, Canada and is featured on the WE channel and Slice. My show has aired in Canada thus far and is repeating several times on the network now. I am waiting to hear when it will air on the WE channel in the states.

Here is a few paragraphs explaining what the show is all about.

Party Mamas follows outgoing mothers as they plan over-the-top extravaganza parties for their children. Gone are the days of pin the tail on the donkey and pizza parties, now it’s time to super size these events.

Party Mamas is a jam-packed, nerve-filled, triple-latte-paced ride through the lives of outrageous and energetic mothers who pull out all the stops to throw “the best party ever for their little darlings.” This is a series where “too big” and “too much” are considered a plus.

In our case the show was focused on a Party Poppa named Brian. Brian is an enthusiastic
single father and has an adorable son named Spencer. With the help of Brian's daughter, Sophie, and his gracious parents we were able to put together a spectacular Bar Mitzvah for Spencer to remember forever.

The synopsis of our episode according to the producers goes a little something like this:

Party Dad Brian is throwing his son Spencer a Bar Mitzvah party that must be different from the rest. Spencer has a huge imagination and likes to dream...BIG! Spencer's demands for his party keep growing, and Brian along with event planner, Cicely, are doing their best to keep up. But with one disappointment after another, will Brian be able to deliver the most amazing party and make Spencer's dreams come true?

Brian, Spencer, Sophie, Grandma & Grandpa had personalities that shined like the top of the Chrysler building. (Remember Annie speaking to Mrs. Hanagan?...me being more dramatic).
It was an adventure working with the family to plan this party for Spencer then to hear the news that we were going to be on a reality show was just the icing on the cake.

Now that I have experienced first hand what it is like to be on a reality TV show and being a fan of that style of tv myself, I have a completely different take and appreciation for the casts and the "true" experiences.

We shot the whole episode in about 6 days which included endless hours of filming, and setting up of scenarios. Everything was completely laid out and almost scripted but overall we did get the opporunity to let our personalities pop.

I saw the episode for the first time a few days ago and was pretty pleased with the overall outcome. It's a bit cheesy and has some expected over-acting (to be expected as I was voted, "Most likely to be on Broadway" in high school). Brian's "character" was hilarious and Spencer was so cute as after each segment he apologized for acting so demanding...such a sweet heart.

Here are a few pictures from the days of shooting and I will post some of the actual event when the photographer releases them to me.

First day of shooting started at Encore Creative. I introduced Spencer to the Fog Wall at Encore Creative. This picture is of Spencer giving his side interview.

David, the Director, was such a hoot. He had a hidden gift of being able to play ANY song by ear on the piano. We played "Stomp the Director" within minutes of meeting. He was a gem.

Here is a shot one of the camera men that looked like an young Steve Martin and our director David getting set up for our final interviews.

My final interview recapping the events of what had "happened" thus far.

Party Poppa, Brian giving his final interview. He is such a character. I believe a TV network should produce a show about him and his humorous family. Ratings would go through the roof. Guaranteed.

Overall, the experiance was wonderful. The crew, producers, Brain and his family, all the vendors involved and my staff were all onboard for the ride and boy it was one.

I do have a copy of the show so if you want to see it you have to buy me dinner. Believe me, it's worth watching. he he he

With all the Life has to offer...Your local reality TV superstar,

Cicely