The Knot Networking Party

Back in the spring, I was offered the opportunity to plan the Knot's Networking Party for the Baltimore metropolitan area. I took on the project with a plan in mind, and using the overall theme of "Go Green With The Knot", came up with a pretty cool way to mesh eco-friendly with a great party! On October 1st, almost 200 industry professionals met, mingled, ate, drank and partied at the funky-chic Baltimore Museum Of Industry. Set on an expanse of the Inner Harbor, it was a neat place to meld our environmentally conscious event with the eclectic vibe of the venue.

My concept was simple - I hit upon the idea of highlighting 4 elements of the universe to create functional, workable sections for the party. Earth, Air, Water & Fire became my backdrops for all of the food, drink and designs that wove their way throughout the Museum's Decker Gallery - each "element" contained an overall color scheme, menu and specialty libation that our guests could sample and enjoy.

With tasty drink mixers provided by Stirrings, guests were able to indulge in Pear Of Hearts & Spiced Apple Martinis along with classic Mojitos. The absolutely fantastic menu was provided by Bobby Mitchell and Karen Foulkrod of Putting On The Ritz - their entire team was such a pleasure to work with, from conception to completion of this event! Attendees made their way through a bevy of food stations, highlighting such delectable fare as Mandarin duck salad in choux pastry, seared scallops on sauteed spinach, chipotle roasted chicken on skewers and Asian lettuce wraps filled with sauteed and julienned vegetables. A do-it-yourself ice cream sandwich bar rounded out the offerings - and there was a line of grownups, eagerly awaiting their turn to indulge in that sweet treat!

Floral designs were provided by Richardson's Florals - my thanks go out to Sandy Riley, Sheila Smith and Chris Matthews for all of their hard work and patience, the end result was simply stunning. All of our printed materials and signage were created by the talented Karron Davis-Minor of Diamond Minor Designs, and our cool, sleek, uber-hip lounge furniture came courtesy of Dave Fritz and the fine folks at CORT Event Furnishings. The gorgeous linens, tables and Chivari chairs hail from the inventory at Select Event Rentals, and I have to seriously thank Susan Childs for putting up with the many, many changes I made..that woman has the patience of a saint!

Perkins Productions help cast an elegant glow around the room, as each of the "elements" was lit and spotlighted in a different shade and hue. Our guest speaker of the evening, Knot Vice-President, Denise Favorule, got some great A/V help from the awesome technicians of Absolute Entertainment and DJ Jerry Stamper of JLS Productions kept the party hopping until the very end!

ZBest Limousine was kind enough to showcase their latest acquistion to the fleet - a 18 passenger, stretch hybrid limo! This clean, pure white Tahoe is the first of it's kind in the United States, and I have to thank them for bringing it out to show it off - it's a great example of how hybrid technology is being used in the special events industry.

As guests departed the event, they were given cute, natural cotton tote bags, emblazoned with the Knot logo and filled with goodies including wonderfully soft, freeze dried rose petals from Flyboy Naturals, drink mixers from Stirrings and adorable sugar cookies from Sweet Talk Boutique (yum!)

Check out this slideshow from our official event photographer Roman Grinev - he captured every single detail of this event with amazing clarity! Roman - my hat is off to you for making this look wonderful!!!!

Again, many thanks to all of the fine vendors who provided their services for this event - I appreciate each and every one of you! And thanks to all of my peers and fellow industry professionals who took time out of their busy schedules to attend - it was good to see all of you!!!