THE OFFICIAL ALIMAY BLOG

We LOVE a great wedding dress and its safe to say the previous week had us drooling over our keyboards. New York Bridal Fashion Week is a bi-annual occurrence where top designers churn out fresh new batches of beautiful and swoon-worthy wedding gowns for the upcoming year. Spring 2014 collections were being shown this past week in NYC and they were most certainly one for the books. Clean sophisticated modernity was a common theme among the collections, and  gone are the days of puffy sleeves (sorry, Mom!). This season proved that no matter what kind of nuptials you have planned, be it city hall or a 500 person fête, there’s no reason to look anything short of fabulous! Lace, tulle, taffeta, and silk were the fabrics of choice by the designers and classic silhouettes reigned supreme. Vintage inspired gowns graced the runways with higher necklines and longer sleeves, a la Kate Middleton, of course. Take a peek below at our favorite Spring 2014 picks from the likes of Vera Wang, Monique Lhuillier, Carolina Herrera, Oscar de la Renta and Marchesa. Enjoy!

Vera Wang:

Monique Lhuillier:

Carolina Herrera:

Oscar de La Renta:

Marchesa:

Not into white? No problem! Designers like Theia, Jenny Peckham, Romona Keveza and Oscar de la Renta offered blush colored stunners that were a little less traditional and a whole lot of beautiful. We are definitely tickled pink with this trend.

Call us color crazy, but at Alimay we cannot get enough of Pantone’s Color of The Year: Emerald! Even though St. Patrick’s Day is done and over this luxurious and vibrant color stands the test of time and looks fabulous year-round. We hope to see this color popping up in our wardrobes,on our nails, in our home, and of course in more color schemes at events!

Behold, the 2012 Alimay Events Gift Guide( part 2!) has arrived! This second installment of our Gift Guide covers each and every person in your life, including the little furry one. So go ahead, take a peek at what the Alimay team is swooning over for this holiday season (wink,wink).

For the Social Media Maven: Customized Twitter Pendant by Bauble Bar 

For the Techie: U|R Wired Tech Beanie

For the Puzzle Addict: Rubix Japan Edition Mirror Blocks Cube

For the Tailgater: Slide Out Bottle Opener by Opena Case

For the Wine Affcianado: Jewel Bottle Stopper by Kate Spade

For the Gracious Hostess: Custom Laquer Tray by IoMoi

For the Gym Rat: Nike+Fuelband

For the Fashion Junkie: Grace: A Memoir by Grace Coddington

For the Youngsters: Gigantic Keyboard Playmat by Charm Co

Mustachifier Baby Pacifier by Fed Flare:

 For the Four Legged Best Friend: Geometric Dog Leash by Jonathan Adler

 For the Office Buddy: Glass Knot Paperweight by West Elm

For the Person Who Has EVERYTHING:  Acoustic Vintage Gramaphone iPhone Speaker Dock

We hope we were able to inspire you and take some of the stress off your holiday shopping list. Warm wishes from the Alimay Events team and Happy New Year!

The temperatures are dropping and the spirit of the season is rising. As we get into the swing of the holidays we can’t help but share with you our favorite holiday cocktails!  Depending on your bartending skills, below are three cocktails ranging from Beginner, Intermediate,  and Advanced. You can cozy up by the fire with close friends or serve these sips at your next gift exchange. Shake, stir, and be merry!

Beginner: The Sparkler

Ingredients:

• 1/2 ounce chilled St. Germain
• 4 ounces chilled dry champagne
• Fresh rasberries

Add St. Germain and champagne to a flute or champagne glass,drop in 2-3 fresh rasberries and enjoy!

Intermediate: Winter Spiced Sangria 

Ingredients:

• 2 bottles of Pinot Noir
• 2 Thinly sliced Oranges
• 2 Thinly sliced Lemon
• 1 Granny Smith Apple (cored and diced)
• 1 cup Red Seedless Grapes (halved)
• 3 Tbsp. Honey
• 1 Cinnamon Stick

Heat wine and honey in small saucepan . Bring to a simmer, and and remove from heat and let cool. In a pitcher combine wine and honey mixture with remaining ingredients and refirdgiterate for two hours.  Serve in individual glasses over ice.

Advanced: Pear Perfection 

Ingredients:

• 3 fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup crushed ice
• 4 tablespoons pear nectar
• 3 tablespoons pear-flavored vodka
• 3 tablespoons lemon-lime soft drink
• Garnish: fresh basil sprig, pear slice (optional)

Muddle basil leaves and sugar in a cocktail shaker. Add crushed ice, pear nectar, and pear-flavored vodka. Cover and shake until thoroughly chilled. Pour into a glass, and top with lemon-lime soft drink. Garnish, if desired.

Before we dive deep into our holiday gift guide, (stay tuned!) we are sharing our favorite gifts to give to the gracious hosts who will be opening their homes, slaving away in their kitchens, filling our stomachs and warming our hearts this holiday season.  Consider this our “Hostess with the Mostess” Gift Guide, a curated collection of thoughtful and useful presents that will ensure an invitation back to any future holiday get together… and the best part is, they are all new and local NYC based companies.

For our Manhattan-bound followers, we highly suggest you stop by the Union Square Holiday Market. The pop up shops offer just about anything and everything you can imagine. Luckily we did the research for you and here are Alimay’s top picks:

(Not in NY? Not a problem! We included the links to all the merchants’ websites below each description.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Slate Cheese board by Brooklyn Slate Co. : 

The distinctive slate cheese board is perfect for any foodie and provides a great surface to display their favorite cheeses or hors d’oeuvres. The best part? Each board includes a soapstone pencil for identifying cheeses right on the board! Prices range from $25-$68

Website: http://www.brooklynslate.com/

Moving Poetry Mobiles by Pozie Poems:

The clever and quirky mobiles made out of wood, string, and chalkboards are plentiful with hundreds of options to choose from. These customizable creations are cheerful, and are bound to bring a smile to the recipient with this interactive artwork. Prices range from $30-$50

Website: www.poziepoems.com

Brooklyn Brew Shop’s Beer Making Mix:

Beer Making Kits from Brooklyn Brew Shop make it easy to brew beer in your own kitchen no matter what the size, with fun and seasonal ingredient recipes including Chocolate Maple Ale and Jalapeño Saison. Prices range from $15-$40

Website: http://brooklynbrewshop.com/

Fatty Sunday & Co.’s Flavored Chocolate Covered Pretzels:

We can’t get enough of these insanely cute naturally flavored chocolate covered pretzels. With flavor blasted combos like whole-wheat pumpkin pie, smooth mint, and PB+J, we have a feeling these sweet and salty confections will be the next big thing. Prices range from $6.25-$7.25

Website: http://www.fattysundays.com/

The Union Square Holiday Market goes on until December 24th and is situated above the Union Square / 14th Street subway station (accessible by the 4,5,6,L,N,Q,R trains). Have a happy holiday and may you have an abundance of things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

If you are anything like us, we take our snacking pretty seriously. The Alimay team consists of sweet tooths, salt fiends, and health nuts. So, when we received a gifted 12 -month subscription of NY Mouth (Thanks Ali & Ido!) we were a tad skeptical if it would satiate our various vices. After thorough nibbling and noshing, it is safe to say we have finally met our match!

The indie food company, NY Mouth, prides itself on offering artisinal, small-batch, local bites. No two monthly packages are the same and the products range from salty, sweet, spicy, savory, crunchy, chewy, and everything in between! Our favorites so far have been: Salty Roads Sour Cherry Salt Water Taffy, Pistachio Nut Caramel Corn, Kale Chips, and Cajun Lime Corn Nuts.

We can’t wait to see what arrives on our doorstep next month!

Today we are having some fun testing out a D.I.Y.(Do It Yourself) bracelet station for an upcoming Bat Mitzvah we have!  So much fun and a great way to get guests involved!

As New York and the surrounding affected areas begin to dive deep into the after math of Hurricane Sandy, we can’t help but thank our lucky stars we didn’t have an event scheduled this past weekend. More often than not, the thought of natural disasters falling on the day of a huge event doesn’t cross one’s mind until it’s too late.

Last year, we learned a lot about event preparedness in dealing with a wedding falling on the day of Hurricane Irene. Calling off a soiree last minute may seem like the only possible option in the event of a power outage or whatever Mother Nature decides to throw your way, but it’s important to remember there are solutions and cancellations may be avoidable!

Backup Power Generators: 

It is essential to make sure the venue of the event has a working back up power generator. If the electricity goes out it will be the saving grace to any function that endures power outages. Aggreko.com is a great source of information and also provides temporary power generation, temperature control, and oil free compressed air systems.

Event Cancellation and Weather Insurance:

Plenty of companies offer a simple and easy-to-understand application that can be found online. Eventhelper.com offers low prices and covers just about everything from vendor and liquor liability, $2,000,000 in coverage, and several options for endorsements.

Transportation: 

If flights are cancelled, be prepared to rent cars to drive to your destination (if the outdoor conditions are safe, of course) or be prepared to offer vans and shuttling services to an alternate location if you encounter a last minute venue switch.

Backup Plan:

Always have a Plan B! It is important to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Keep your cool, always stay calm, and deal with one issue at a time and never take no for an answer when you know it can be done. For any upcoming event you have, be sure to check your contract for the Act of God clause, making sure it is to your benefit. This legal agreement should ensure protection for events outside of human control, such as sudden floods or other natural disasters, for which no one can be held responsible. Make sure your venue contract states that they will offer you alternate dates within a reasonable time period in the event you have to reschedule.

Maintaining the integrity of the event you have planned is truly what is most important. The key to any great event is having your vendors, staff, and team come together to pull off what you had originally intended for.  Hopefully you found these tips helpful and always remember to keep calm and plan on!

Again, our thoughts and our hearts are with all of those touched  by the profound devastation of Hurricane Sandy.

How can you help? Check out:

http://www.thecausemopolitan.com/hurricane-sandy-volunteer-opportunities/

This site offers some great volunteer opportunities.