Party City & Sassi Sammi Tie The Knot!

Right now we are becoming more sensitive to wasting items and using products that can be recycled along with being eco-friendly. It's amazing that many people do practice the conservative approach with being "eco-friendly" or recyclables. There are so many ways you can cut back, use again and stick with mother natures plan to keep the planet clean! I have some great tips below with Party City. The items you see in the photos are gorgeous. I remember putting this together for our "Fam" trip in the Bahamas. Just as an FYI...The Wyndham in Nassau is amazing. Not only is the staff extremely accommodating, but the views, the casinos (that's sort of eco friendly ha!) I do give the money back to someone, the questions is to who? I loved the room we had. Every editor that joined us from Brides, Get Married, Texas Bride, Your Wedding Day, One Wedd to name a few...had a fabulous penthouse. The one that I shared with my lead planner Karen was just amazing. It was about 3000sf and had 2 wings..We both bad our own separate rooms, powder rooms, bidet room, shower area, jacuzzi and the sleep number beds. When I tell you I haven't slept that well in years, Going to bed at 2am and not waking up the next day until 2:30pm. It was not a hangover I assure you..My body needed that rest and I am still finding I need at least 10-12 hours of sleep daily. I would highly recommend visiting this fine facility. I know they are due to gut and make it even better! I cannot wait to go back. They really made me feel like I was home. Except for the bedside ordering for meals..I REALLY liked that. You guys know how i love to order out. Imagine calling down stairs and them wanting to come up and take your order. It was a bit odd as I am the independent one..I cannot lie it was really cool..If you happen to look into this fine hotel for vacation, ask for Sam! He is the GM for the properties on the east coast +++..I think this was the first time I actually felt like I was on vacation. Even though I was nervous meeting new people..They were all amazing. I found 2 great people who I adore and I am so glad this worked out the way it did as I wouldn't have met such incredible people. The Party City family is just the kind of place where you go to work smiling..Not because they have a mock up store with a HUGE area of candy..You can get 15 pieces of many items for $1...I don't know what I like better the fact that I can actually pick items that are so inexpensive...Or when I get home looking into the bag and realizing that I just ate..15 pieces of chocolate lol..My team and I have left PC on many occasions with a belly ache..It goes away, and we just do it again..

Enchanted and Magical...

Each year we have the pleasure of meeting hundreds of brides in our Summit office. I don't tend to "prepare" or make assumptions about making the "close" happen during this first meet and greet. Sometimes I may get a call and I feel this automatic connection to the person who may be calling from 10 miles away or 3000. I am sure you guys are savvy about the "connection". In our industry, this is how some of us sell ourselves. We never really sell our product. In theory, when people look for our service and they call, they are ready to make a choice or to see if this even applies to them. I've played the sales 101 game for years. One thing I have learned is that it can be the best deal in history financially, but does it work for everyone? I have worked with hundreds of smaller budgets and sometimes, I feel like they are worth 5 times the amount of a seven figure wedding. All of the right pieces are present. And you know that this union is going to last a lifetime as it just feels right. Hence my reference to the first call with a client. I wanted to share a few photos of a recent wedding on June 19th in Morristown NJ. While this wedding was incredible to design, the family and couple were exactly what you see in the pics I have chosen to share. just "real, unique and beautiful". This is what a wedding should look like when you are given the ability to create without restrictions..I don't mean budget. I mean the full picture. It shows trust and solid relationship with a fabulous couple. Congrats to Dorian and Kevin! We loved working with you and your families. Thank you for allowing us to show our creativity without reservations. I love that you still cannot put a word to describe what this was like! I hope that feeling continues for the next 50 years +!

Where Is The Sassi Sammi Going?

Let's be clear...Sassi is still around, she is just getting ready to go full force with Party City and some other REALLY cool opportunities. I have to say I've just gotten back from the most AMAZING trip to the Bahamas with my new partner in crime Party City! It was amazing! I met over 35 editors from the US and all of them were just amazing people. The "Fam" trip aka familiarity trip, was held at the amazing Wyndham in Nassau. This hotel is absolutely a gem. The property is fabulous and there is just so much to say it might takes days to describe. However, I am going to give you a glimpse as to what the experience was like. Party City has been around for over 25 years. They are America's largest party supply retailer in the US. Most of us when we think of Party City think of party supplies such as balloons, gift bags, theme parties for our kids or various events such as Cinco De Mayo or a Hawaiian Luau. And any color plate, napkin, utensils etc...you know..Orange plate and orange napkins, or maybe you spiced things up and tried a table with 8 different set-ups! Even growing up I remember being able to go to Party City to get supplies for parties when my mom was away on business and we were in high school. Yep, I did have parties and we were under age..I never did anything too terrible..A Pina Colada or Boones Farm was pretty much what we drank our senior year. I think if I touched that stuff now, I would lose it. We cannot forget the wine in a box either! Franzia or something like that...What was it called again? Do you remember drinking it? It may have been what 10% alcohol but it was sweet and cheap and well, it got the job done. Anyway back to this amazing trip. The room I was in was the largest penthouse which was about 2500-3000sf. I was sad that I didn't have the family to enjoy it. I did have one of my senior planners/assistants Karen with me. She was great with setting boundaries and making sure I didn't go bonkers with working too hard. I didn't listen to her about 80% of the time...But still love her! The goal of this adventure was to show the event gurus "media wise" that Party City isn't just a supply store anymore. It's a planning playground. It's all about thinking outside the box. I think we can all agree that is not a problem for me. I think my favorite part of the trip was watching each editor look around the room, cameras going off nonstop you would have thought they were tourists from Nikon taking photos of various celebs on the red carpet. The entire table was 100% PC except for the linens and the floral. Do you want to see this? I can post photos..You will not believe your eyes. Funny the President asked "where did some of this come from?"..I said in your store. You begin to have so much product and so much to choose from it's easy to say, wait..where did you find that? I did take the whole PC experience in as I was designing table scapes for the trip. We displayed coordinating candy bars for both the wedding shower mock up and wedding.This is something you have to check out at Party City's super stores..They now carry the containers of various sizes and colors, colored candy to match your theme...Custom name stickers for example.. Chinese takeout containers for candy, monogram tags on the actual jars..Iridescent gum balls in a pearl white..Black gum balls..OMG talk about beyond fabulous. You just have to go! I guarantee you go in to one of their super stores, you will leave with items that can be used for home entertaining nonstop. They have an entire custom invite, place card, thank you cards and menu dept for so many occasions..I just have to add that you will never look at them the same. We are now working on recreating the wedding section. I know you gals like the swanky, mod, clean and cost effective items. Let's be honest, we don't have the deepest pockets at this point in time and you need to have options. My goal as PC's Spokesperson and Celebrations expert is going to take you to the next level. Show you ways to wow people like I did and start some new trends that you are not going to want to miss. I amazed myself. And this fueled me to fester better ways to help you see through the eyes of a planner. I am going to walk you through every step of the way...I will be in the stores with visuals and online for plan-o-grams, color charts and how to make your event look the way you need it too..I guess what I am trying to say is that I want to plant the seed for ideas and let you finish off what you want in bringing your vision to life. You need to "own" your event. We are just there to help you! All with-in your budgets ladies. I hope you hear me loud and clear on that one. I'm making this process affordable for any budget. If I could fool over 35 editors into thinking this was all new plates etc that were better than plastic paper etc..You will have no problems following my ideas on how to do the same thing. You have my promise. Every question was "Is this Party City" I said yes..Well what about this..Yes that too..Ha! I am so excited to begin our next shoot with tablescapes for 2010. The bridal aisle is going to have items that you must have. Color galore and as elegant or as whimsical as you choose. Party City has so much to offer and I couldn't be more excited or honored that they are going to allow me to take their company to another level. I see this as being a long term home for me. They are an amazing company and I am just so happy to be there. Thanks to my "agent" Tanya at Burns for finding me for this. I know the gals at Zimmerman were also asking to work with me when they decided to have a face and expert for PC. It was an instant match the minute I walked into corporate. They have been so receptive and welcoming with my ideas and goals. All of the years I have invested in this business proved to pay off. My goal was to work with products and now I will have a change to add my own flavor to the mix. I cannot think of anyone being more lucky to work with such an ambiitous, open arms company. I do have many new things to chat with you about, but want to save things for later. For those who have been asking about a press release party for editors and various media means, we are working on it. I will be showing many different items that you will be happy and excited to be a part of. After this trip I now have over 30 contacts that are going to working with me and PC to show you the next level in wedding planning 101.. I hope you have your seat belts on because this gal isn't stopping for anyone.. By the way, for those who have asked about the book, it's still in the working..I hope to share more very soon! Until next time, keep your eye on this blog..I am going to start having my assistant keep you updates starting in July. And I will be "tweeting" about some awesome things that are coming up! Yes. I did give in for a personal assistant. Do you have any idea how hard it is for someone to NOT come in and want to be a planner? i am always willing to assist my staff in accelerating their careers. But it's been a nightmare with finding someone who doesn't want to do anything but assist another. Have any great ideas? I do have Karen and sadly, she is really happy being an engineer..She needs a mental challenge. I 'm not saying that planning doesn't cause mental issues. It can and is not for the weary. You are all wonderful and I thank all of you for following me on my journey and for the ones who just come in to look..Please sign up..We have over 5000 views daily and I promise I will keep all info exciting and I won't hold back on crazy wedding situations. I know you love this the best! This year I have had some good ones..Worthy of this book. Be Well and Stay Fab Sassi Girls xoxo Sam

CAES!! June 8th 2010!! We Have Financial Aid!

I know some of you fabulous aspiring planners have been calling about the next class and we are half full! Which means I have some financial aid to share thanks to the Hassel Foundation! For our June 8th course the weekly fee has been reduced to $125 per week! This is a savings of over $100 off the regular fee for the 7 week intensive workshop for beginning planning and orchestration! We have 4 openings and this is given to just 4 people! Our next course will be in late Sept or Oct of 2010. Our emergency bridal kits are on sale this month!!! $175 for the entire kit on wheels with all products necessary for your brides etc...I have even managed to squeeze in some fun little treats for you! If you would like to reserve a bag, please contact nicole@samanthagoldberg.com regarding availability! We are also looking to complete our floral designers course in July 2010. Please contact sonya@samanthagoldberg.com for more details and to hold your space! Hope you guys are enjoying the summer! For those students that have not completed your internships with us, please contact the office to schedule your time! We want to help you get that sassy certificate! I can see it...Sitting on my desk..looking for a wall to hang on..or a desk to sit on... :( Make it happy by finishing the class! You have already invested in the classroom portion, let's finish what needs to be done so you can start working with brides!!!

Dream Team! Elizabeth and David May 2nd 2010!

I know that many of you were not able to see Dream Teams national segment on WWOR and affiliates of. I have linked the video to this post and hope you are able to see how fabulous this organization is! We are continuing to grow daily. If you have noticed I put a hold on our chapters and we were expanding a little bit too quickly..I am a firm believer in what starts fast, ends fast. We have a group of national sponsors that have been amazing along with our state chapters and their lists of "Dream Granters". Our first televised wedding took place on May 2nd at the Westin Jersey City. I would like to thank everyone who had donated their time and services! You truly made the bride and groom glow for days! They are still just in disbelief that we were able to put her entire wedding together in 6 weeks. Thank you all for a day I will always remember. This experience showed how much our circle of vendors support the many things that I do. Never asking for anything but how else that can they be of service. Thank you for being great peers and friends. Ron Holtz Photography www.ronholtz.com Eddie Stix Video www.stixvideo.com Kristen The Golden Quill www.thegoldenquill.com Dave www.njbestdjs.com The Westin Jersey City www.westin.com Lisa A Touch of Elegance Floral Tim Caruso Photography Dream Team www.dreamteamwishes.org I look forward to bringing this to other chapters this summer! VA, NC, IN, TX and FL. Thank you all for your continued support. I have more news coming soon as always! xoxo Sam

CAES Beginning Event Orchestration Series! June 8th!

Hello all of you fabulous aspiring planners! We have just completed our last week with our Feb class! What a fantastic group of gals! We have 8 energetic and willing to go the extra mile people in this one. I have to say this was one of the best classes we have had in a while as we had many similar personalities and it was fun and educational for all! I would also include myself in this as each class I learn something new..and carry this information over to our next course. I thank everyone for being patient while we completed our class. We did send an email to everyone who had asked to be on our waiting list. If you did not receive this please contact nicole@samanthagoldberg.com to learn more about the course or to sign up. We did have a list that was made when we started our Feb class so please understand that we have already filled some of the class. I wish I could have more classes or enroll more per course..Our limit at our Summit location only allows for 10 students at present. We are going to be opening a larger space for education only in NJ probably in the late fall of by end of 2010. I promise to keep you posted via blog so check back when you can! Here is the info you have been waiting for! CAES Planning and Orchestration Series 100 Date: June 8th Day of class: Tuesdays and can be subject to change based on weather conditions or issues out of our control. However, since you pay as you go you will not loose your payment and will just make this class up... Time: 7pm to 8:15pm and 15 minutes of Q&A Fee: $150 weekly 7 weeks of classroom time 2-3 months for interning at Summit NJ location Participate in 1-2 weddings with a senior planner Work a wedding alone with an assistant. Once you have completed this program your last quiz will be rated by a bride whom we have chosen for you. If the bride surveys her experience with you at 80% or higher you become certified with the CAES Institute and will receive a certificate of completion and be noted as a CP/ Certified Planner. Our next series of courses are for planners who have completed 25 weddings/events and over. The next basic course will be in Sept/Oct of 2010. Please let us know if you have any questions! You can make payments weekly and save a space for $75 down. Once you arrive on the 8th you will have a balance of $75.. You can then work out a payment system via check, credit card, pay pal or cash weekly! Please contact

nicole@samanthagoldberg.com

to sign up. We have 6 openings as of today! We look forward to meeting you soon!!!

Staying On Budget..As Posted on Examiner.com !

Let's face it, weddings are expensive. Flowers, attire, dinner, drinks, cake, the minister, photographer . . . it all adds up. Hence, creating a budget will not only keep you from spending more than you have, it will make planning your wedding less stressful. "One of the biggest mistakes for people that have a champagne appetite and a beer budget is they don't sit down and put together a spread sheet or even jot down what the major expenses of the wedding will be," laments Samantha Goldberg, Celebrity Wedding Planner (Gold Events Planning) and TV personality on the Style Network’s “Whose Wedding Is It Anyway” and “Married Away.” "Usually," continues Gold, "when the newly engaged bride gets that rock, the first thing she does is run out and buy the dress." And that, says Gold, is probably the biggest mistake a girl can make. Why? Because she hasn't taken the time to sit down and make a budget for her wedding yet. "About 90% of the time," says Gold, "she doesn't know what she's going to be able to spend on the dress (but she buys one anyway). "Last year," explains Gold, "I ran into a situation where the bride's budget was $50,000. And her dress cost $12,000 (leaving little left for everything else)! The cost of the dress should be no more than 10% of your budget—and the average dress in America right now is $1,500 and change." Of course, every bride wants to look fabulous on her wedding day, so how do you work within your budget and snag the dress of your dreams? According to Gold, by looking at sales you can still get a gown that's worth 10% of your budget and only pay 5%. Gold also advises brides to stop looking at dresses they can't afford unless they really like shopping for the resale online. "There's also a great market for rentals," adds Gold. "Brides can rent a designer gown for 1% to 3% of the original retail price." Other tips for saving money on your wedding include renting a faux cake with a real top tier (to cut for photos), and then serving guests a delicious sheet cake. "You can have that grandiose look and even cut into it for a fraction of the cost," states Gold. For those willing to do a little homework, you don't have to sacrifice looks or taste. "Believe it or not," says Gold, "there are lots of cake artists that work out of their home and/or local caterers that make cakes but don't have a cake shop. Typically, you can get a great cake for less money by hiring a "freelancer" or someone with a small business. To help couples stay on budget, Gold has designed a spreadsheet that can be downloaded, which has the basics and percentages that will automatically allocate amounts for every category from inivations to flowers to, of course, the dress. Check it out at: www.samanthagoldberg.com