Florida event planning

Where Are The Most Romantic Destinations?

2008-06-21T00:12:00.000-07:00

By Shari Hearn

Is it time for a romantic getaway? If you had to think a moment, chances are it is. The truth is, anytime's the right time for a romantic getaway. The hard part is coming up with the best destination to let the sparks fly. Here, then, are some of the best romantic destinations in the world.

Paris
Paris is known as the "Romance Capital of the World," and for good reason. For lovers there are so many romantic places to visit: The quays of the Seine, its leafy squares and elegant parks, the many small and romantic restaurants. Or better still, you could book a cruise on the River Seine.

Barbados
Barbados is an eastern Caribbean island sometimes referred to as the “lover’s paradise.” If walking with your loved one along miles of unbroken sandy beaches appeals to you, then Barbados is your romantic destination. While there try one of the local sunset cruises on a yacht or tall ship.

Gretna Green
Never heard of Gretna Green? You should. It's often referred to as the "Wedding Capital of the World." Gretna Green is a small, historic village on the west coast in the south of Scotland, on the Scottish/English border, where everything, it seems, is geared to romance. While there you might want to stay at Comlongon Castle, which is located 15 minutes from Gretna, and also serves as a very popular castle wedding venue. A restored 14th Century Medieval Scottish castle, Comlongon offers 14 individually themed 4-poster bedrooms perfect for romance.

Poconos
The Poconos in Pennsylvania is another destination which has been called the "Romance Capital of the World," popular as a destination for couples getting married or on their honeymoon. If you want the ultimate in romance, check out the Roman Tower Suite at Pocono Palace, which is designed with a Grand Roman theme. Of course, what's grand to some is gaudy to others, but the Roman Tower Suite comes with floor-to-ceiling columns, vaulted ceilings, and a 7-foot tall Champagne Glass Whirlpool Bath built for two.

Niagara Falls
What the world needs is another "Romance Capital of the World." That's why there's Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River on the border between New York and Ontario. It's not the tallest waterfall in the world, but it's certainly the most famous - for its beauty, its power, and its weddings. Niagara Falls is actually a collection of three waterfalls: Horseshoe Falls (called by some the Canadian Falls), the American Falls, and Bridal Veil Falls.

Virginia
Yes, Virginia, Virginia is for Lovers, as the tourism and travel slogan goes. And, romantic it is. With over 5,000 miles of shoreline on the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay, how can you possibly not find romance in Virginia? And, for those wine lovers among you, Virginia is also home to over 60 wineries. While there you might want to stay at one of Virginia's most romantic B&B's, Cedars of Williamsburg Bed & Breakfast, located just a 7-minute-walk to Colonial Williamsburg.

Catalina Island
Catalina Island is so romantic, they had to write a song about it. The "Island of Romance," located approximately 22 miles southwest of Los Angeles, has been host to romantics and newly-wedded couples for decades. Try timing your visit with a special event held at the Casino Ballroom, one of the most wonderful art deco treasures in Southern California. If you have an opportunity to dance at the Casino, you have to take it.

Tips to Consider When Planning Your Romantic Getaway
Consider booking the honeymoon suite, if your hotel has one. Honeymoon suites are not just for just-married couples. For a bit more money, you may be able to get a Jacuzzi in the suite, rose petals scattered around or even a heart-shaped bed.

Consider room service. Your romantic getaway can be even more romantic when you include a candlelight dinner in the hotel room itself.

Consider what’s around your hotel or lodging. Think about a romantic walk to a nearby park, or an excursion to a beautiful museum, or a romantic dinner out. There are many things that you can do to increase the romance. Find out what there is to do around the hotel that will be romantic. Remember, planning a romantic getaway is more than just picking a romantic location.

About the Author: Shari Hearn is a writer and website creator. Go to her sites to learn more about destination weddings, top vacation spots and tropical island vacations.

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Choosing A Theme For Your Next Event

2008-06-21T00:11:00.001-07:00

By Brandon C. Hall

One important aspect of event planning is choosing a theme for your party or gathering. Unless you are planning a wedding or a baby shower, the theme might not be obvious. The theme can be anything you choose, but it's important to remember your guests' comfort and therefore plan with that in mind. It's wise to have a theme that all guests can easily adapt to. Having to go out and purchase a new outfit or rent an elaborate costume is a burden for some people, and attending an event should be something that people look forward to.

One theme that lasts year after year is of course, the birthday party. Birthday parties are a wonderful cause for celebration and they can be enjoyed by people of virtually any age. If you are planning a youngster's birthday you might choose to have an additional theme. Two ideas are a sleep-over or a backwards party, where the children all put on their clothes backwards and the cake is served before dinner. In circumstances like this, event planning is fun for both the parents and the child. It's wonderfully rewarding for the child to be involved in every aspect of the planning of their birthday celebration; unless of course, you opt for a surprise party. Planning a surprise birthday party gets to be a bit trickier but with a little help and a great deal of patience, it can be an enormous success.

A popular theme for parties is having the guests wear costumes. This can be fun for everyone involved and children especially enjoy it during the Halloween season. It gives them an opportunity to put on something fun and act differently for a day. Event planning for a Halloween or costume party is much the same as any other event. You need to first contact the guests and tell them that they'll need to find a costume to wear. Then it's time to choose a menu and decorations. Although the theme is a bit different than your average cocktail party, the event planning aspect is very much the same. It is attention to detail that is most important.

Other popular themes that people enjoy for gatherings are:

Hawaiian or a beach theme. All the guests dress up in swimsuits and straw hats and drink tropical drinks. This is especially enjoyable during the colder, winter months.

A 1950s or 1960s flashback party. You can request that the guests dress from the era you've chosen and with the music that was popular back in the day playing, it will really be a blast from the past!

It's important when you are working on the event planning of any party, to choose a theme that people will enjoy and can be fit into any and all budgets. Once the party starts, don't forget to join in the fun with your guests. Whether it's a birthday party or a New Year's Eve party if you plan accordingly, you can make it an event that will long be remembered.

About the Author: Plan your next baby shower like a pro by picking up your baby shower kit. For more articles and information on event planning visit our site.

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Evaluating Your Event

2008-06-21T00:01:00.000-07:00

By Heidi Richards

Evaluate Immediately! It is important to do your evaluation/assessment of the event while the details are fresh in your mind. Include anyone in the evaluation process that had a stake in the event. Stakeholders would include vendors, hired staff, volunteers and employers. You could host a debriefing session or a wrap up meeting to accomplish this task. Make this a pleasant experience. Include refreshments and lots of kudos (thank you’s for a job well done). Prior to, or when the meeting begins, enlist a “scribe” to record the comments and answers from the group. Ask yourself and them the following questions:

· Did the event fulfill the goals and objectives set forth?

· What worked? What didn’t? What would you do differently? The same?

· Did the event run smoothly and on schedule?

· Which vendors/stakeholders should be hired/recruited again?

· Were any items missing from the checklist that should be included in future events?

· Did you generate favorable publicity for the event?

· How was attendance? Were the attendance goals achieved?

· Did you receive positive feedback from those who attended? Did you use formal (written, documented forms or one on one surveys) or informal (chatting in the restrooms, lines, seminars, etc.) methods of evaluation?

· What could you do differently, better to reach your goals? To involve more people? To spread the word about the event?

· Was the event worth doing? What were some of the benefits? Would you do it again?

Encourage alternative forms of feedback from those unable to attend, such as via e-mail, website and fax back forms. Once you have received feedback from the group, have the notes transcribed for distribution to all the stakeholders (clients). Be sure to include this in the event portfolio for future reference. Proper evaluating of the event will lead to even greater success in the future. In fact, it is important to evaluate all aspects of business from time to time. Otherwise, how and when would you know what needs to be improved? One final thought; make sure you get feedback from attendees. And here’s a key question to ask, especially if it is an event that is open to the public: How did you hear about this event?

© 2005 - Heidi Richards

About the Author: Heidi Richards is the author of The PMS Principles, Powerful Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business and 7 other books. She is also the Founder & CEO of the Women’s ECommerce Association, International www.WECAI.org (pronounced wee-k+) – an Internet organization that “Helps Women Do Business on the WEB.” Basic Membership is FREE. Ms. Richards can be reached at Heidi@speakingwithspirit.com.

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Florida Casinos

2007-12-01T00:19:00.000-08:00

By Adel Awwad

Florida is well known for Disney, sunshine, amazing beaches and fresh citrus. Every year hundreds of thousands of people make their way to visit Tampa and other places to soak up the sunshine, do some swimming in the ocean at the coastal areas, and to check out Disney, Universal Studios, and other theme parks.

Florida features almost too many great tourist towns to count, including Tampa, Orlando, Cape Canaveral, Fort Lauderdale, Daytona Beach and many more. The Sunshine State has a population of well over 15,980,000 and features great weather year-round, making it a popular destination for those tired of the winter weather up north in areas such as Chicago, St. Louis and Minneapolis. Florida is also the home of many famous writers include the late, great John D. MacDonald. His Travis McGee series was set in many areas around Sarasota, Bradenton and Miami. These bestsellers are still on the racks waiting for non-Floridians to discover them.

In addition to all the great sun, surf and sights, Florida Casinos are a booming business in the Sunshine State. Florida Casinos and Florida gambling include many well-known games; slot machines, table games such as blackjack and Texas Hold-em poker; but also roulette and many other table games. What some don’t know about Florida Casinos is that many of them also feature dog-track betting, which is a famous Florida pastime. Many books have been written which feature a day at the Florida dog track as part of the plot! Florida casinos are an excellent way to discover fun without the need for sunblock and swimwear.

Florida casinos include land-based operations and cruise ship gambling, which offers a classy way to enjoy the state’s gambling and see the sights at the same time. Casino cruises are available everywhere from Cape Canaveral to Port Richey. There is a wide range of experiences on offer from Florida Casinos, the hardest choice you will have is where to start! From the dog track to the roulette wheel, and every game in between, you will find it all at Florida casinos. In Florida you may encounter some casinos that have specific dress codes, so be sure to check online or by telephone to find out what the rules are at each casino. Some Florida casinos specify a casual atmosphere, but may require no tank tops or flip-flops. Know before you go that you should gamble responsibly and above all, have fun!

About the Author: This article is the property of Florida Casinos . Before you use my article(s), you must agree to my Terms of Service

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Increasing Event Attendance

2007-11-27T00:02:00.000-08:00

By Heidi Richards

Increasing event attendance is generally the biggest challenge facing meeting and event planners. Many people think that if they plan a fantastic event, people will just come. This does not happen, not on its own. In fact, this can be confusing and disturbing to those responsible for hosting and completing the event. Do you hire a Public Relations firm to help with the publicity, which is supposed to lead to more attendees? Or do you depend on the “lists” of likely people to attend. It can be a little of both. Hiring PR firms and solely depending on their ability to drive attendance up can be a big mistake. A PR firm’s responsibility is to bring in publicity, not attendees. In fact, the media rarely does stories on events that have not yet happened.

Advertising the event can be costly too. It will increase awareness of the event, while not necessarily targeting the people most likely to attend. In fact, unless the advertising is directed at a specific, highly targeted group of individuals, the cost of the ad will far outweigh any likelihood that more people will come.

So, just what will increase attendance? Mailing lists! However, not just any mailing list. Many associations and organizations experience a decrease in attendance for their events over the years. Why? Because they keep using the same mailing lists over and over again. In fact, when events are new, more people are likely to attend just to “check it out.” Then attendance starts falling off. In order to keep that from happening, you must develop a specific targeted mailing list and a solid action plan to use the list that will ultimately increase your attendance. Here are a few strategies you can use to see immediate results:

· Research other available mailing lists. Look for associations and organizations who present events to similar audiences. Offer to trade sponsor recognition in exchange for their mailing lists. The sponsorship could include a table at your event for them to distribute promotional literature. It could include their name and logo in your brochures, programs and other printed materials. It could include an exchange of your mailing list (for a one time only use). Negotiate what they would accept or develop sponsorship guidelines to include what they would receive. This will cost you nothing and your mailing list could go from 1,000 to 10,000 (or more). Of course, it will cost more to mail to more people. When my church decided to host an auction, we researched other organization that had hosted auctions in the past. We were able to trade lists with some of them, resulting in a list triple the size we started with. The result: nearly half of the attendees came from those other lists.

· Since printing and mailing to a larger list will increase costs of promotion, use other strategies to save money. Print inexpensive brochures that are self mailers (saves on envelopes). Use a two-color process instead of four color. Use creative designs that catch the eye and save on printing. Bidding is always a good business practice; have the printing “bid” on, unless your printer sponsors the printing in exchange for exposure. Use bulk mail instead of first class. It saves tons in postage, enabling you to mail to more potential attendees.

· Create a publicity “stunt” to increase pre-exposure for the event. When a women’s organization that I am involved in (American Busienss Women’s Association) wanted publicity for a regional conference we were hosting, we brainstormed ideas that would get the media’s attention. We were hosting a cocktail reception, open to the public the night before the conference was to start. The event had two goals to meet. One was to increase local awareness of the organization. The other was to increase attendance. Our theme for the event was Hot, Hot, Hot in South Florida . We invited the South Florida Calendar Fire-Fighters to the event to “mingle” with attendees and sell their calendars. The calendars were a fundraiser for the Jackson Memorial Burn Center in Miami . So we created a “pre-event” to promote the reception. We called the Cooper City Fire Department (two of the calendar guys worked there). We asked if we could take publicity pictures with the Firefighters on their Fire Truck. They said “yes.” We asked a member who was a professional photographer to take the pictures. The results were great! A full color photo on the cover of the Society page, prior to the event and mentions in other local papers. We had a sell-out attendance. In fact, the firefighters sold all the calendars they had brought that they had to take orders to fulfill the rest. And the “pre-event” was FUN.

This may not work for every event. Especially if it is for member’s only. If your event is open to the public, study trade papers to see what other organizations would be likely cross-promoters of your organization. If you have a healthy budget, purchasing the mailing lists is an option to be considered. Keep looking for new lists. Chambers of Commerce have great lists that could include likely attendees. You can also promote the event with broadcast faxes and e-mails. Be cautious when doing so. Unsolicited advertising is not only intrusive, it can give the event a bad reputation and may even cost you money in fines, etc. I do send e-mails; however, it is to lists I have created through the several associations I am involved in. If the event is for a nonprofit or service organization, you can create your lists using volunteers. Check out the high schools and colleges for students who need service hours. Offer them service hours in exchange for inputing the information into your database.

Follow these guidelines and you’ll be amazed at the results!

© 2005 - Heidi Richards

About the Author: Heidi Richards is the author of The PMS Principles, Powerful Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business and 7 other books. She is also the Founder & CEO of the Women’s ECommerce Association, International www.WECAI.org (pronounced wee-k+) – an Internet organization that “Helps Women Do Business on the WEB.” Basic Membership is FREE. Ms. Richards can be reached at Heidi@speakingwithspirit.com.

Source: www.isnare.com

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