NashBash: A Corporate Cocktail Party in Nashville

We feel incredibly fortunate that our clients trust us 99% of the time. It helps that we work with such amazing people! But I must admit, I was a little nervous when I presented a group of industrial real estate executives with the idea of hosting a “Nashvegas” style event in conjunction with their Nashville conference. A mechanical bull, professional line dancers, custom bag sets, rockin’ live music, and a specialty bourbon tasting all done in an upscale, classy way? Gotta love that their response was only, “Where’s it all gonna go?” And we were at the ready – “We’re going to close down the street outside the venue and take the party outside, of course!” This was one for the record books. I’ve never seen a bunch of professionals at a networking event enjoy themselves so much. And I’m sure a number of important deals were done between bull rides. 🙂 Special thanks to the team at aVenue for helping us pull this event off and capturing such wonderful pictures!

Chicago media event

Florida Inspired Media Event

This post is almost a year overdue. I had so much fun planning and working with the incredible team at Beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel that I never had a chance to share it with you! Doh! This was a media event for part of a larger campaign surrounding a series of public art billboards featuring original works by painter Judy Ledgerwood inspired by the Beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel. Judy was the lucky artist commissioned by the destination to spend a week in the Captiva Island home of Robert Raucschenberg and “be inspired.”Inspired she was! I love the juxtaposition of the serene beach scene against the backdrop of the city’s crowded skyline. The event was a “sunrise reception” held on Lightology’s rooftop, which offered guests a great view of one of the eight billboards found around Chicago in the month of September. The gorgeous floral you see is indigenous to southwest Florida. Catering was also inspired by the destination – including lots of citrus breakfast breads, mini key lime bundt cakes, and a mimosa bar. Vendors: Venue – Lightology’s Rooftop Garden Floral – Fleur de lis Florist  Catering – Hearty Boys Photography – MMGY Global Gift Bags – Rosy Events & MMGY Global

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Nashville Event Welcome Bag

How Nashville Says Welcome (Bag)

I love truly unique welcome bags, goodie bags, swag bags, favors, and all other forms of attendee gifts. Of course, we all know how easy it is for these types of items to end up in the trash or left behind. I believe it takes real skill and determination to come up with something that your guests are going to truly appreciate. Which is why I’m so excited to share this little idea with you. During the recent Cushman & Wakefield Industrial Conference, attendees were welcomed to Nashville with this awesome welcome bag put together by Cushman & Wakefield’s local office. The “Nashville Lunch” bags included Jack Daniels, Whisper Creek (Tennessee’s version of Bailey’s), a small map with recommendations for local dining and entertainment (not pictured), and a box of “industrially strong” peppermints reminding these business men and women to “never make a pitch without a mint.” It was all tucked inside a traditional brown bag lunch sack and handed out as attendees arrived (at noon). Of course, they also made a few bags for any non-drinkers that included Nashville’s famous Moon Pies and GooGoo clusters in place of the alcohol. I can tell you that not a one of these was left

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C&W Industrial Conference Nashville: Part One

We just got back from an amazing week in Nashville with the great folks of Cushman & Wakefield Industrial. I love working on this annual conference – there is nothing better than being surrounded by a group of hardworking professionals who love what they do. The Renaissance Nashville took great care of us from the moment we arrived. And with nearly 500 attendees in tow, this was no small feat. Nashville was the perfect scene for this fun-loving crowd. (See the great welcome bags they made to fully understand what I mean.) Nashville was small enough to offer great networking, but large enough to offer plenty to do between meetings. A welcome reception helped kick things off at the end of the first day. The event was held in the hotel’s Bridge Bar and Restaurant, which is entirely enclosed in glass. At night, it offers a fabulous ambiance for networking over cocktails. We put together special centerpieces placed throughout the event to highlight Nashville’s music scene (yes, that’s actual country sheet music!) and thank event sponsors. We also had custom cowboy boot drink koozies made because, well Nashville. 🙂 Day two and three of the conference featured even more fun and surprises. Stay

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Rainbow Themed Goody Bags

Rainbow Birthday Party Favors

Putting together these goody bags was great fun. Of course, it was my daughter’s first birthday party. Check back with me again when she turns ten and see how much energy I’m putting into goody bags then. The children in attendance ranged in age from 10 months to 8 years. It was a bit of a challenge coming up with items that would please such a wide set. Each bag contained a bottle of bubbles (dollar store), a couple mini rainbow slinkies (amazon), and some homemade “raindough.” Everyone went home happy! The “raindough” was inspired by this post over at Wine and Glue. It was a bit time consuming to make several batches of play dough and color them all, but well worth it in the end. One tip – I used gel food coloring which tends to make stronger, more vibrant colors. Just be ready for some colorful hands from all the kneading.