Whether it is a birthday, engagement, wedding, or corporate event, there are certain factors that need to be considered when planning the perfect event. As well as the obvious things such as food and venue, there are some not-so-obvious considerations to make sure your event goes with a swing.
Planning and research
First of all, brainstorm! Create an event wish-list to record your first ideas. Then you can establish your budget – this depends on the size of the event and its purpose. When you have an idea of the size of the event, get a team on board to help you; choose people with different skills, contacts, and areas of knowledge. Make a list of guests or attendees. Decide on a date for your event, or narrow it down to several dates – you should have a contingency plan in case the venue you want is unavailable on a certain date. Consider whether any special permits will be required from governing bodies. Send “Save the Date” notices if you want to invite guests more than eight weeks in advance; make a note of those that RSVP.
Choosing a dynamic theme
Consider involving an event design team for an event with a difference. You could style your event on a fashion show, sophisticated wine bar, hip nightclub, Hard Rock Café, theatre, award ceremony, circus or show with acrobatics. If you have ambitious plans, you may need some advice from experts.
Lighting and technical effects can make all the difference. Consider custom theme décor, sound, music, a DJ, and special effects to create mood and atmosphere. You could have strobe lighting, projected images, spotlights, neon lights, or lasers; or maybe your event calls for intimate lighting or candlelight.
Decorating the venue
Room and table decorations will really set the scene – consider wall hangings, furnishings and drapes, and chandeliers. Decide on the dress code and make a plan for food and drinks. Think about entertainment or professional speakers, and don’t forget to plan how you will photograph or film the event.
Advertising your event
Promote and advertise your event; create an event website to include details of agenda, location and ticket purchase. Post links on social media sites, advertise and contact the press. Keep attendees engaged by posting updates on social media.
The run-up to the event
Send out invitations eight weeks before the event and keep a list of replies. Set a schedule and delegate; establish deadlines. What equipment will you need, and can you hire it? Get quotes, ask for recommendations, and obtain samples. You need to finalize catering arrangements, music or entertainment for your guests, event staff such as bartenders and waiting staff, volunteers to guide guests, florists, gifts and favors, tables and chairs, officiants (priests, rabbis, etc.). Consider name badges or passes, and how to manage the attendee list.
Finally, don’t forget to plan how you will clean up afterwards, get the venue back to how it was before, and return the hired equipment. You will also need to send out thank you messages. You can then post photos and videos of your event on your website. With so much to think about, detailed checklists and being able to rely on your team of helpers will really help you keep on top of things.
A mortgage is a loan that is taken out to buy a property or piece of land. The loan is then paid back to the lender in monthly instalments over a set term. If the borrower defaults on payments, the lender can ultimately repossess the property and resell it to recover the money.
Borrowing a large amount of money to buy a property is a big commitment, and a mortgage can last for as long as 30 years. This means it can a huge impact on your daily life, as it will form a large part of the household’s monthly outgoings. If taking on a mortgage is in your mind here are some important steps you can take to get off to a good start.
Save for a deposit
The larger the down payment you make toward purchasing a property, the lower your monthly repayment rate will be. In addition, putting down a larger deposit gives you more mortgage types to choose from, allowing you the possibility of finding a lower interest rate.
Improve your credit history
Lenders will look at your credit report before they agree to lend you money, so a good credit score is essential. You can check a credit record online free of charge through various companies. The report shows any bankruptcies, other applications that have been made for credit, and missed payments on other loans. Before applying for a mortgage, be sure to correct any errors in your report. To improve your score, register to vote at your current address (lenders use the electoral roll to protect themselves against fraud).
Understand your options
The two most common types of mortgage loans are interest-only and repayment mortgages. With an interest-only mortgage the capital debt is not repaid and at the end of the term the full amount will still be outstanding. These used to run alongside endowment insurance policies where the sum assured was set to accrue enough funds to pay off the capital sum when the mortgage term ended. With reducing income on investments and low interest rates endowment mortgages have fallen out of favour.
With a repayment mortgage, payments are made to pay off the capital and the interest so that at the end of the term, the borrower owns the property outright. Interest charges take precedence in the early years so it is some time before inroads are made into the sum owed. Mortgage life insurance is essential with such a big financial commitment. If the borrower dies during the mortgage term the sum assured will pay off the outstanding debt. Some borrowers also take out insurance to cover mortgage repayments in the event of redundancy or an inability to work due to long-term illness.
Research different mortgage packages
Mortgage packages have either a fixed rate (for a set term) or a variable rate. With a variable rate, the rate can increase or decrease with the Bank of England’s base rate. Make sure to perform adequate research to find the best deal.
Start by using comparison websites to determine the different mortgage packages available for first-time buyers. You can also use an online affordability calculator to determine how much you can afford to borrow. Finally, talk to a specialist mortgage broker and consult at least one financial adviser for advice before taking out a mortgage.
Taking out a mortgage can be a daunting task; it can also be very exciting. As long as you carefully consider your options and seek sound professional advice, you can finally own your own home and have a good investment for your future.
Five generations of Hardys have made wine their business, making them one of Australia’s iconic winemaking families. Impressive indeed.
Their William Hardy Chardonnay 2013 is an understated medium dry chardonnay. It is a pale straw colour and is restrained. Crisp and refreshing with notes of lemon zest and pear. It is flowery with overtones of vanilla. This Chardonnay is made from Padthaway and Riverland region grapes and is ripe and zesty, with peach and lemon flavours. There is a touch of oak but it is delicate. A very good chardonnay. Recommended.
Pair it with fish pie or chicken dishes.
This wine can be drunk now but will further improve if carefully stored for up to 1 year
People, I haven’t had an alcoholic drink since last July. JULY. I have to admit, it has been hard. I don’t actually drink a lot but I review a lot of restaurants, go to events with free bars and we also review a lot of alcohol (Thanks Matt!). I miss the ceremony, the bit of fizz that means celebration. Which means I got quite excited about the prospect of reviewing alcohol-free wine. Send it over I told the PR, hoping that ‘ alcohol-free wine’ was not an oxymoron. And the result….
We loved it. It really does hit the spot. I also noticed that they were handing it out at The Baby Show at Excel last weekend. The sparkling mixture of Tisane, grape juice and premium green tea really does hit the spot. Drink it cold out of a champagne flute and it is actually nicer than a lot of proper, alcoholic wine. It tastes great and is very moreish. Which is fine because it is alcohol free and you can drink as much as you want! Yeah.
Echo Falls Alcohol Free Sparkling Infusion is refreshing and medium dry. It has wonderful crisp fruit flavours and bubbles that last. It also opens the exact way champagne does. Which is very satisfying. I am now addicted. My fridge will soon be filled with this superb drink. Love it.
Nina Naustdal is celebrating a strong, sexy silhouette with the hourglass shape as a starting point.
The Nina Naustdal London Fashion Week Couture Collection was brought to the catwalk of Le Peep Boutique, One Hundred & Forty One, Park Lane, on Tuesday 24th February 2015
showcasing her Couture Spring/Summer 2015 collection and RTW Gold and Black Autumn/Winter 2015 collections.
Show-stopping demure-length gowns with elegant embellishment held the VIP audience in its thrall, enriching wardrobes both day and night, running the gamut from barely-there glimmer to sumptuous sparkle, offering up a rich feast for the eyes.
Floor-length gowns injecting eveningwear with a sultry, film-noir glamour, heavily embellished pieces taking on a new aptness for the day, casting off their traditional after-hours associations.
Revitalising kicks of block colour, Nina offers an antidote to winter’s darkest hour with top-to-toe primaries offering an edgy take on statement dressing.
She creates a new dimension to black – fashion’s default colour – thanks to some crafty textural trickery.
Artful detailing added a touch of classical grace, dresses drenched in embroidery, taking the traditional notions of opulence to brilliant extremes.
Equestrian-style jackets heightened with luxe glamour, architectural structuring, doubling the impact with lace-on-lace layering.
This glorious collection offered a wonderful juxtapositioning of colour, bold and painterly with will-ó-the-wisp fabrics in beautifully billowing layers,
taking shimmer into darker territory, lending a dangerous glamour to couture spring/summer and ready-to-wear autumn/winter.
Emphasis shifted to the waist, as a curvaceous, sexy new shape dominated, flashes of acid colour and the most desirable sharp and sour tones.
It doesn’t get more fashion-forward than this…Nina offered a show-stopping celebration of the female form.
Electric violinist, Linzi Stoppard, pleased the VIP audience with a dazzling performance… intoxicating classical rhythms from her Swarovski-laden bridge violin.
Nina Naustdal was born in Oslo and fell in love with fashion and design from an early age when she was inspired by her Grandma’s work as a seamstress. She represented Norway at athletics in Track and Field until the age of 18 before studying fashion design at Esmod.
Having moved to the UK and become a mother to three children, as well as seven Chihuahuas, Nina launched her own eponymous brand in May 2011, opened her first Boutique on Walton Street, and now works by appointment only from her new showroom in Chelsea, SW3.
Nina is passionate about Couture and loves creating dresses that are feminine, special and unique. Her life philosophy is based around the premise that is ‘Normal is Boring’ and that is reflected in her designs as she takes inspiration from precious stones to create collections that feature glamorous cocktail dresses and gowns in fluid, jewel-toned Italian silks glittering with hundreds of individually hand-applied Swarovski crystals as well as hand picked exclusive fabrics sourced from all over the world.
Nina’s new Ready-To-Wear collection includes colourful prints in feminine shapes for everyday wear and her new range of bridal wear is elegant, distinctive and very far from boring!
All Nina’s pieces are made in her London atelier so that she can personally oversee every stage of production and ensure that each piece is finished to the highest quality and that the dresses are perfectly cut to compliment her clients.
About Le Peep Boutique…
Le Peep Boutique, a members club, restaurant, cocktail bar and night club, inspired by the glamour and theatre of 1920s Paris, located on Park Lane Mayfair.
Release date: 23 March 2015 Lead Tracks:
Lost Talent
Only Listen
Two Feet in a Crowd
Formed in Bristol in 2013, melodic hardcore/punk band Milo’s Planes began as a duo of Joe Sherrin (guitar, vocals and bass) and Harry Sherrin (drums and backing vocals). After recording their first album they were joined by Charlie Horne (bass and backing vocals) who was a natural fit, sharing a love of Wire, Fugazi, Leatherface, Lync, Rites of Spring, early Modest Mouse and Pavement.
Priding themselves on their DIY approach to their music, the trio record and produce all their tracks themselves on a sixteen track in Harry’s bedroom.
Joe’s guitar playing is influenced heavily by the nineties emo/post hardcore band Lync; he uses a off-beat tunings as a means to create interesting chords.
The band have earned support slots for Eagulls, Skaters, Traams, Electric Eel Shock and their hero Mike Watt, who made a cameo appearance in their music video for ‘Two Feet In a Crowd’.
‘Aural Palate Cleaning Exercises’ has been a labour of love with Joe spending months re-ordering track listings, carefully editing exact track lengths, dropping songs and adding piano interludes/snippets of radio samples to make it flow as one complete piece.
Of the subject matter, Joe says largely focuses on his experiences within soul destroying, bureaucratic admin jobs and the seemingly endless supply of bizarrely ordinary characters that can only be found within these roles. He explains “A large part of the fun I have writing lyrics is studying the mundane to the point where tiny details can be unearthed, exposed as real concerns and then exaggerated upon maniacally as a way for me to express the true feelings of frantic despair I feel sitting at a desk for 8 hours of my day. Being pretentious I would say a running theme of the album is using language as a means to disguise tiny, nit-picky & personal matters as universally angry subjects worth shouting about.”
In between ‘A Letter In Confidence’ and ‘Interlude 2’ is a hidden track; a shortened acoustic version of an earlier track – this was a concious effort to end the album in what Joe describes as a “dissonance of feedback which quickly resolves into something pretty & melancholy, with the album’s final words (“I have good intentions, but I never know why”) a statement intended to summarize the whole album.”
The brief was to get myself to Trafalgar Square at 11:45 on Friday 27th February, find the 8’ high teapot and share a cup of Rosie Lee with former Dragon’s Den star, Theo Paphitis and some of his celebrity friends, all in the name of Comic Relief’s bi-annual Red Nose Day being held on Friday 13th March 2015.
On what was possibly the warmest day of the year so far, a crowd gathered, donning red noses, handed out by a pair of bananas… well, two bubbly members of Ryman staff dressed as bananas, mingling and giggling in the bright sunshine – I lost count of the number of selfies that were being taken around me, celebrities and the public posing together, all in the name of the Comic Relief charity. Matt Cardle, Lauren Goodger, Jake Wood, Helen Lederer, Nick Moran and Paul Bradley graciously took time out to raise awareness for Comic Relief and Red Nose Day 2015. Theo brought along the Boux Avenue Range Rover, all blinged-up, surrounded by a bevvy of TOWIE fans just itching to lick the bonnet.
Born-organiser and self-confessed shopkeeper,Theo Paphitis, shepherded his celebrity friends and warmly invited the public to grab a cup of tea (courtesy of PG Tips, served by www.coopersbeansandleaves.com from their quirky little three wheeled mobile coffee van) and chat … and chat we did.
Jake Wood (aka Max Branning – EastEnders) told me about his time on Strictly Come Dancing – a sharp learning curve when you’ve never danced before, but under the wing of professional dancer, Janette Manrara, Jake proved that he has a natural talent for Ballroom and Latin dancing – borne out through many spectacular hip-gyrating Salsas and Rumbas, taking him through to the nail-biting #SCD semi-finals. Jake explained to me that he is now mentoring Anna Kennedy, a mother from Uxbridge who set up schools and support for people with Autistic Spectrum Disorders and will be a contestant on a very special edition of the hit BBC series Strictly Come Dancing.
Mrs Kennedy, 54, set up Hillingdon Manor School in Harlington Road in 1999 after struggling to find suitable education for her two autistic sons and will partner Robin Windsor on the BBC 1 show, mentored by Jake and Janette. Anna, who has received an OBE for services to special needs education, will be one of six ‘everyday heroes’ taking part in The People’s Strictly for Comic Relief. The five-part series will see all the regular Strictly faces, including judges Anton du Beke, Darcey Bussell, Bruno Tonioli and Len Goodman, and hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.
Jake paid tribute to the BBC, explaining the behind-the-scenes activities that go into putting a series together, along with intense training and the rush of adrenaline when performing, the format is unlike any other. I asked if he is going to continue dancing and he answered “My children loved seeing me dance in Strictly and I think they’d have something to say if I stopped now!”
When the kettle came off the boil and the teapot ran dry, we moved inside to the Trafalgar Hotel where I sat down with Theo Paphitis, Chairman of Ryman, Chairman and Owner of Robert Dyas and Boux Avenue, also sitting on the Commercial and Technology board for Comic Relief.
CDTT: Thank you for the interview, Theo! So, tell me, how did #TeaWithTheo come about?
TP: Well, I’m a director of Comic Relief, for a start, I’ve been involved with them for many years, I’ve been to many of the projects around the world that we fund to see where the money is spent that the great British public donate to and that it’s spent properly and well. I’ve been involved with it with my businesses for a number of years, both Ryman and Robert Dyas, both convenience shops involved with our communities so there’s real great enthusiasm in those six weeks leading up to Comic Relief where it gives our colleagues the opportunity to interact with our customers, have a bit of fun, be a bit silly, come off the tracks a little bit and come away from the mundane part of life and raise millions and millions of pounds, which we do every year for the charity, and help others, so it really is win-win all round.
CDTT: A great collaboration Theo, as you say, win-win. You mentioned Boux Avenue, this is a brand that’s relatively new to me.
TP: Where do you live?
CDTT: Norwich.
TP: Ah, we have a shop in Norwich, in Chapelfield. Really, Boux Avenue was probably the biggest single reason I stopped Dragon’s Den… that, and Robert Dyas, because I started Boux Avenue. And when we started Boux Avenue, we took a clean piece of paper and I said if I wanted to create an international lingerie company and I’ve got nothing at the moment, how would it be? So we designed a shop, opened a few shops to test it, created and designed the product, and we’ve been going for three years now. We’ve got 25 stores in the UK, 10 overseas already, we’re now turning over a lot of money as a business, it’s become an international brand and it’s taken a lot of my time with a lot of people involved, an international team and we’re very excited about it. In the middle of a recession, we started a retail business aimed at an international market…
CDTT: …and it worked.
TP: And it worked.
CDTT: You did an interview back in 2011 and quoted that you were going on the search for ‘Boux’, did you find her?
TP: Boux… a little French woman we met on a family holiday in Monaco, she was cute and lovely and epitomised what we had in mind for the brand.
CDTT: Well, Shane and I are going to Monaco this year, so we’ll look out for her! With my fashion editor hat on now, your style and dress sense is very elegant… do you have a stylist or does Mrs P choose your clothes?
TP: I have had a stylist for a programme I appeared on, but I dress myself – Man at Dunhill!
CDTT: (Both laugh) And do you have any acquisitions or business opportunities in the pipeline that you can tell me about?
TP: Well, Boux Avenue is growing internationally, any day now I’m going to sign a contract on another large international deal which we’ll probably announce within the next ten days, Robert Dyas is growing, Ryman is growing, we’re always on the look out for other things. We’ve had a great Christmas, a great retail year, and we’re all passionate about what we do, we all love shop-keeping, if you look on my Twitter, I’m the ‘shopkeeper’, that’s what I do. I’d give up television and everything else, but I couldn’t give up shop-keeping.
CDTT: So the reason you left Dragons Den was because the new businesses were in their infancy and you needed to give more time to ‘shop-keeping’.
TP: Yes, and Boux had launched, I risked a lot of money in that, I had to get that right and also it wasn’t fair to everybody else, my diary was becoming rubbish and the filming weeks made things very tight. I had such a marvellous time (on Dragons Den) and the BBC get knocked and knocked and knocked but actually, as I learnt about television and learnt how brilliant the BBC are, I became more appreciative of what they do… people don’t realise how good they are. So I had a wonderful time in my eight years on Dragon’s Den and it was a wrench to leave, it really was a wrench.
CDTT: I think the public miss you not being there sitting next to Peter.
TP: Well, Deborah (Meaden) has my seat now but the BBC were very generous giving me a year off television to get my businesses established and they kindly backed me, and a year to the day, they called and offered me a slot on The One Show, which is great fun. I’m back into the swing of things now that Boux is established, and Robert Dyas has gone from a difficult loss-making business to a very profitable business. So what’s new? I’ll tell you what’s new, I’m back on TV, that’s what’s new.
CDTT: So, to round things off, the person that really makes me laugh is Lee Evans, he hits my comedy button, who hits yours?
TP: Morecambe and Wise always made me laugh, David Jason, but now… and Mrs P is really going to slap me for saying this, Lemon, Keith Lemon! He cracks me up!
CDTT: And who is Mrs P’s favourite?
TP: Miranda! Miranda actually said “Theo Paphitis is my fantasy man” in one episode… my Twitter feed went mad (laughing).
CDTT: Thank you so much Theo, a fabulous interview!
TP: Lovely to meet you, enjoy your cruise and Monaco… and if you see Boux, say hello!
After the interview, I came to the conclusion this successful entrepreneur really does have a USP … a ‘Unique Spirited Person’ with a nose for business and an eye for the opportunity – plus he makes a jolly good cup of builders slosh!
Watch the Snotty Professor teapot being eased into place!
Time for tea with Theo and his celebrity friends:
Matt Cardle
Appearing at Wrexposure Music Festival on 4th April 2015 – www.wrexposure.com/
@LaurenGoodger – www.laurensway.com – promoting her range of tan, lip, hair and eyelash products, wearing a camel–coloured coat from Cherry Drop Clothing:
Best known playing Nigel Bates EastEnders, now Elliot Hope in Holby City
Helen Lederer
Losing It is the hilarious debut from Helen Lederer, one of the UK’s favourite comediennes, a ‘mid-lit’ book (apparently somewhere between chick-lit and grey-lit!)
Nick Moran
Appearing in ‘Twelve Angry Men’ at the Garrick Theatre, London, until March 15;nimaxtheatres.com/Garrick
OWN YOUR OWN RED NOSE DAY TEAPOT!
The porcelain Red Nose Day teapot featuring the Snotty Professor costs £4.99 from Robert Dyas or from the online shop, with at least £2.25 from each sale going to Comic Relief.
Through his appearances on Dragons’ Den, Theo has advised many young entrepreneurs and invested in several innovative businesses and brands. The Paphitis Charitable Trust distributes all of his fees from TV appearances, speeches and his book to causes close to his heart and charities associated with children. In early 2009 Theo was appointed patron for Skillsmart Retail, the Sector Skills Council for Retail, which is committed to driving up skills levels in the industry. His special areas of responsibility are as the Retail Apprentices’ Champion and for the new National Skills Academy for Retail. In summer 2009 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Middlesex. Theo lives in Surrey with his wife Debbie. They have five children and three grandchildren.
Ryman – www.ryman.co.uk
Ryman is a UK stationery retail company with over 230 outlets nationwide in the UK. The website and stores provide a wide range of stationery and office supplies for homes and businesses. Theo acquired Ryman in 1995. He introduced the Ryman Direct mail ordercatalogue in 1996, the Ryman website in 1998 and has turned Ryman into a successful and profitable business comprising 232 stores with a turnover of more than £120m.
Robert Dyas – www.robertdyas.co.uk
Robert Dyas is a UK retailer founded in London in 1872. The website and stores provide ranges of housewares, small electrical appliances, gardening products, kitchenwares, DIY, and consumer electronics throughout 96 stores, mainly in Greater London and South East England.
Boux Avenue – www.bouxavenue.com
Boux Avenue Ltd. is a chain of lingerie stores based in the United Kingdom. Boux Avenue launched in the spring of 2011 initially opening six stores across the United Kingdom. All the stores are located in shopping centres across the region, including Bluewater (Kent), Lakeside (Essex), St. Davids (Cardiff), Trafford Centre (Manchester), Meadowhall Centre (Sheffield) and Buchanan Galleries (Glasgow). In March 2012, a seventh store in Birmingham’s Bullring opened. In September 2014, an eighth store opened in Brighton’s Churchill Square shopping centre. The store boasts an original selling layout for the UK shopper by displaying the majority of its products in drawers as opposed to hanging rails and stands.
www.coopersbeansandleaves.com
With their quirky little three wheeled mobile coffee van, Coopers Beans and Leaves brings you high quality gourmet coffees including Lattes, Cappuccinos, Americanos, to name but a few, also offering a large range of Organic Fairtrade Clipper Teas, (always adding to the range), the “best” hot chocolate, Chai, Lynch’s Hot Apple & Schmoo Milkshakes, along with a delicious selection of home-made cakes and goodies. #TeaWithTheo event images courtesy Shane Finn www.visual-devotion.co.uk@VisualDevotion
We are huge fans of Chris Evans, Michelle Monaghan & Aubrey Plaza at Frost, so you can imagine our excitement for new offbeat romantic comedy Playing it Cool.
Playing it Cool is this generation’s ‘Swingers’ meets ‘500 Days of Summer’, a fresh and quirky story of a slight pretentious man, our ‘narrator’ (Evans), who falls for an unlikely girl, ‘her’ (Monaghan), and will stop at nothing to get her even after realizing she is already in a relationship. Like a young ‘Walter Mitty’, it tells the story of a quarter-life crisis amidst figuring out who you are and what your destiny holds.
In Playing it Cool unrequited love motivates a guy to write about his experiences…
Directed by Justin Reardon, Playing it Cool is from a screenplay by Chris Shafer and Paul Vicknair, from Wonderland Sound & Vision and Voltage Films.
Playing it Cool will be available on VOD from March 2nd 2015.
Whether it is a birthday, engagement, wedding, or corporate event, there are certain factors that need to be considered when planning the perfect event. As well as the obvious things such as food and venue, there are some not-so-obvious considerations to make sure your event goes with a swing.
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