Phalling in LOVE!

Hold the press!  I'm not in love with a man, or even close to it (quick sidenote: I do love getting set up and appreciate everyone's efforts in finding me the "one") Anyway, I am "PHALLING in Love with PHILLY!"

I am officially a PA resident again and I am now a city girl!  Although I am still very devoted to the Main Line, my Main Line clients and everything wonderful about it, I am also looking for new adventures in the city of brotherly (or sisterly!) love.  This means, I will be present at more industry events in the city (I welcome all invitations!) and I am more available to those of you who are city dwellers and are planning a big occasion or wedding.  I look forward to my new adventure in my personal and professional life in Philadelphia and am excited for Patrone Events, LLC to grow as we cover more areas.  I encourage you to reach out to me, let's grab some coffee or a cocktail in your favorite neighborhood of Philadelphia and let's talk parties!

I am currently surrounded by boxes!  Now, if I could only find my PHILLIES hat!

My humble view :)

Since we are on the topic of Philly, I wanted to talk about a large event that I attended 2 weeks at the Citizen's Bank Ballpark!  The event was a venue showcase and was hosted by VIP magazine .  If you are a newly engaged bride this is the FIRST thing to read as you start your planning. It showcases awesome locations in the area, it's easy to read and a wonderful go-to guide. The event was amazing and perfect for a planner like myself.  I walked in and we were treated to a bloody mary (Happy Saturday to me!) and we spent a few hours checking out all of the great venues that Philadelphia and the suburbs has to offer.  I ran into some old friends- Cindy Bene from Select Event Rentals, Beke Beau- makeup artist extraordinare, Jean Fernandez from Drexelbrook Catering, Meg Torpe from Starr Events, Chuck Miller from Radnor Valley Country Club and Tina Yerkes from the Philadelphia Belle!  We then took a tour of the ballpark and had a lovely time. Thanks to Joani at VIP for putting this together!

Here I am in the dugout!

Still on the topic of Philly and the Phillies on my mind, I wanted to show you some photos of one of my couples for this summer.  Lori Jessup and Mike Lombardo!  They are getting married at the Seaport Museum but love the Phillies so much (they met at a Phillies tailgate!) that they got their engagement shots taken at the ballpark!  The photos are by JPG Photography and I am very much looking forward to working with Joe on Lori and Mike's big day! GO PHILS!

How cute are they? These shots are amazing!

Gorgeous and such a creative idea. 

Peace & Parties, 

Renee 

And the winners are.....

What a wonderful year for Black Tie Bowling!  We had over 200 bowlers, it didn't snow and everyone had a 'rockin time!

Best of all, we donated $6,000 for three local charities.  I personally can't thank a few close friends who annually participate and have encouraged me through this entire event!  Thanks to Lauren Mallik, Tiffany Torma, Ben Hoover, Erin Costello, Kim Meyer, Jill DeLeon, Mark Marmur and Tara Behan for their continued support!

  

• First place prize of $3,000 went to St. Joe's Prep School
• Second place prize of $2,000 went to Special Olympics 
• Third place prize of $1, 000 went to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

 Bowlers donned gorgeous cocktail dresses with bowling shoes while enjoying music, the fabulous basket auction, cupcakes courtesy of Cupcakes Gourmet, Light Bites by Brothers Catering and PopChips and enjoyed extra fun with the BenFM Promotional staff.  

Here are some fun photos but please check out the entire album by the very talented Andre Flewellen at our Black Tie Bowling Page 

My good friend and soon to be lawyer gal-pal Lacey!

Gorgeous ladies- Tara Behan from Main Line Today, Kate Bilo, meteorologist  from CBS3, Melissa LaLiberte from my favorite hair salon, La'lli Hair Lounge in Ardmore, the very talented Marilyn Russell from BENFM (she gets me through my morning commute!) and PR guru Leslie Padilla from LPPR

Tom Bentley and Leslie Padilla snuggle up for a pic before taking their turn!

Team La'lli Hair Lounge- they bowled for Philadbundance this year!

Main Line Match Team!  If you haven't check out Main Line Match and you are single, do it!  www.mainlinematch.com 

My fabulous, amazing and creative graphic designer, Shannon from Bouitillier Designs!  

They bowled for Make-A-Wish this year!

Great friends!

The lovely Ms. Behan and Mark Marmur posing in front of our cupcake bar!

Thank you again for all of your support and start practicing for next year!

Peace & Parties, 

Renee 

Top 5 reasons to participate in Black Tie Bowling 2011!

TOP 5 Reasons to attend Black Tie Bowling

5: Baby it's cold outside, so what better way to heat up!

4: Now you can brag to all of your friends that you bowled in a dress/suit and it makes for fabulous Facebook Profiles Pics!

3: CUPCAKE BAR by CUPCAKES Gourmet- need we say more?

2: It's a great way to meet new people involved with awesome organizations

1: A little competition goes a long way- $6,000 is donated to 3 different local charities!

This is my third year running Black Tie Bowling and it always amazes me the wonderful charities that sign up year after year!  I can't wait to tell you about them after the event and more importantly I can't wait to announce the winners! 

First Prize: $3,000

Second Prize: $2,000

Third Prize: $1,000 

May the best bowlers win!

In the meantime I'd like to thank my amazing sponsors for their support this year!

-Shutterbooth.com

- Pop Chips 

- Main Line Match  

- Ben FM

-Brothers Catering

-Cupcakes Gourmet

-Heineken

-Van Cleve Collection

-Play Yoga

-Pepsi

-La'LLi Hair Lounge

-UpcomingEvents.com

See you on Saturday!

Renee

Summertime Catch up!

Since I am so far behind on the blog trend, I have a lot to say.  Let’s start with this past summer for Weddings by Renee. As you know, summer is a very busy time for wedding coordinators and I honestly enjoyed every moment of it, hot steamy weather and all.  I want to take the time to post a few of my favorite summer weddings- especially since it’s freezing out- seeing the sunny pictures automatically warms me up!

The first wedding was Erin and Hayes in the Outer Banks- my first time working a destination wedding! I love to travel so it was perfect for me.  It was my first time in the Outer Banks and it was gorgeous.  Wonderful setting for the big day!  The reception was on the sound, the couple arrived via boat, the food was delicious and the flower girl delightful.  The flowers were breathtaking and I mean that in more ways than one.  The bride and her family is a huge fan of Longstems in Bala Cynwd- who isn’t?!? They’re great!  With the wedding being in the OBX, they didn’t want to trust the décor and bouquets to anyone local.  That being said, Erin hired one of her sister’s college friends to rent a van and drive ALL of the flowers down!  That’s what I mean by breathtaking- as the wedding coordinator I couldn’t catch my breathe until the van arrived in one piece.  The van arrived with Brad smelling like flowers and everything looked amazing.  We immediately refrigerated them and they were perfect for big event. Whew!

The cocktail hour was around the outdoor pool, lighted green lily pads were floating, hurricanes filled with gorgeous candles were lit and the bride used petite white Adirondack chairs as the placecard holders.  We put up large white lanterns in the tent which made dancing the night away to the band a blast!

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Croushore! xoxo

Another fun wedding that I had the pleasure of working on was the Sarracino/Lewis wedding in July.  Jonathan and Sarah are a very special couple and I was blessed to be a part of their big day!  You see, Sarah is the sister in law of my dear friend Allison and it was fantastic being there surrounded by so many amazing, hilarious, God-loving, beautiful friends and family of the bride and groom.  The reception took place at Lucien's Manor in Berlin, NJ.  Most of my events and weddings are on the Main Line so I was happy to get back to my Jersey girl roots(no I don't fist pump on command)  for this special occasion.  The flowers were beautiful by A Garden Party, you have to check out their DIY parties, what a great concept!  These ladies are brilliant.  I plan on grabbing some of my crafty gal pals and heading over to their beautiful warehouse ASAP!

Sara was a beautiful bride and I’m so happy for this couple.  There was a very large bridal party so it was definitely a pleasure working with everyone at the rehearsal and making sure the ceremony ran smooth. 

The morning of the wedding, Stephanie, my wonderful, patient assistant planner and I had to head to the venue for set up.  Keep in mind that it was July.  The air condition couldn’t be turned on until a few hours before the reception and we were sweating like crazy.  The centerpieces turned out beautiful- they were crystal candelabras with candles and votives.  Luckily the mother of the bride ordered about 5 extra candelabras.  With the stress of the heat and and typical time constraints a few broke.  It goes without saying: ALWAYS buy extra!

Here are some pics!

I loved the dresses and accessories that the bridesmaids rocked- they all looked gorgeous!

How cute is he?  His parents should start renting him out for weddings!

 

The beautiful Mr. and Mrs.!

The wedding below is a non-traditional type celebration!  The couple Meagan and Bill  were officially married in Jamaica and in order to include more of their family and friends had a big caribean themed party at their local pool upon their return from Jamaica.  Meagan is a very cool chick with a wonderful group of friends and family, who love to have a great time.  Her surprise shower was SEX AND THE CITY themed (OMG!) Here are a couple pictures.  The creativity is amazing and inspiring for an event planner/die-hard SATC fan like myself. 

Did I mention that Meagan and Bill used to live and work in NYC?  Perks of being their day of coordinator- I had a valid excuse to meet Meagan for brunch in NYC.  Who did we stumble upon while dining?  The none other than Rachael Ray and she looked gorgeous.

 

Back to Meagan- everyone had a beautiful time and danced the night away, the details were impeccable and I was happy to jump on to ensure everything went smooth and cool 'mon.

 

Great idea for an interactive element to the laid back event!

 

The lanterns looked gorgeous, I loved the color combinations.

 

The bride and her lovely Mom!  Meagan's dress was adorable and perfect for the occasion.  Her bouquet was a replication of the one she carried down the beach in Jamaica!

 

Better Late Than Never!

Greetings! Welcome to my long awaited event blog. The words “START A BLOG” has been highlighted, circled and underlined on my ever growing to- do list for over a year now. Everyone is blogging from children to grandparents, why the heck haven’t I jumped on the trend?!? I mean I am involved with really fun, exciting events and weddings on a regular basis and a blog is the perfect outlet for me to showcase them. The fact that I can mark it off my list feels like I just won lottery.

A little bit about me: I own and run Patrone Events/Weddings by Renee. This was started in 2007 along with my business partner, event-extraordinaire, now business owner of Jack’s Candy Shack in Cranbury, NJ, Kristen Albright. After working together for a while, geographically it wasn't working and we decided it would be best to strike out on our own.During our time as business partners,  we produced great weddings, numerous bridal shows, corporate holiday parties, networking events, awards dinners and fundraisers. We learned from each other, grew and had probably TOO much fun together.

Kristen and I in 2008 at the SPECIAL EVENT conference in Atlanta! 

Now I am on my own along with my fabulous assistants and interns and enjoying the ride. Throughout this blog I will be promoting fun, local events, posting the latest in event trends and giving you an inside look at the weddings and events that I am so lucky have my hands on.  I figure this blog is a perfect read for fellow event planners, aspiring event planners, clients and anyone who is looking for some great ideas or inspiration! Thank you in advance for all of your time and I look forward to my new blog adventure and also to hearing from you. 

Peace & Parties, 

Renee Patrone