"My Favorite Holiday Gift" - A Jeffrey Stoner Treat

In his latest sprinkling of joy perfectly themed for the season, Jeffrey Stoner presents a window into 'Christmases Past' as he asks friends and peers, "What's YOUR Favorite Holiday Gift?!"



Peek at the videos and feel free to have a giggle, even at my own expense!  You may recognize some faces, so make sure to give them a tease, as we connect in a bit of holiday amusement & jubilation!!

Too much fun!  
As our fellow entrepreneur at Jeffrey Stoner Video and having worked with him more times that I can count, Mr. Jeffrey Stoner has become a most fabulous friend.  A stand out character, Jeffrey is a phenomenal videographer often enthralled behind the lens as he captures the essence of those on the other side.  With an exuberant personality he melts the inhibitions of even those closest to him... a testament to his skill, as we are often most shy amongst those we know best!




Hungry for more Stoner?  Browse his collection of delights here and be swept away....

May Your Season Be Merry & Most Blessed - The 2u Collection 

And as a special treat! You can see just how creative Jeffrey is by this holiday video with the family!!

Our 2012 Christmas Film - Lisa, Jeffrey, Sara & Carolina from Jeffrey Stoner Video on Vimeo.

Table for Ten - New, Intimate, Niche Networking!

Eblast invitation by The 2u Collection

(all photography is courtesy of Liga Photography)

As many of you know, I not only work a lot with Lisa Stoner and Abby Liga, but they are both also very close friends of mine. The three of us have spent many a lunch, happy hour and dinner, discussing and brainstorming small morsel ideas, and we nurture them into BIG GIANT IDEAS!  Table for Ten is one of those ideas! So before I give you all the fun insight into our fun event. Let me first give you a little background of how it was born!


Quote from Lisa Stoner:

"A few months ago, I decided I'd had enough.  It was a week that had three local wedding industry networking events scheduled, and as much as I love my industry peers, it was getting to be too much.  I mean, I have a family…! ;)"

On the drive home with Jeffrey (Stoner), I commented that what I really enjoyed at those events was finally getting to spend a few minutes in conversation and getting to know someone I'd been wanting to meet, but with hundreds of people in attendance, those moments rarely presented themselves.  In that moment, inspiration struck.

I spent the next few days putting together an idea that seemed radical in its simplicity – I presented the idea to my friends Abby Liga and Amy Morelli – two like-minded industry friends who shared my sense of style – and asked if they thought it was a viable idea.

Table for Ten is born! (watch this charming video by Jeffrey Stoner Video)

We created a comfortable, intimate niche networking evening to get to know our fellow wedding professionals. What makes them tick? What inspires them? 

A crazy, rainy first attempt, but our first "Table for Ten" was incredible!  We've gotten such favorable feedback from our guests, and we plan to continue!  Check it out!

The three of us Hostess' acting silly and trying to take our own photo! Lisa Stoner, Amy Morelli, Abby Liga

Our beautiful tablescape...before the rain!

Amy Morelli opening some wine so the festivities can begin!

Details of the Evening. Wonderful Appetizers by Abby Liga. Amazing Disco Balls and Chocolate Covered strawberries by Ronnie Renaud of RW Chocolate Fountain Rentals, and of course some Paper Accents (place cards) by yours truly here at The 2u Collection!

Jeffrey Stoner screams WHY.... as the sprinkles start!

The sprinkles turn to DOWNPOUR...

All of our guests are gracious and wonderful.. Thank goodness we had color caps on hand! (Thanks Marjorie!) They made for a fun photo op! back row, l to r: Lisa Stoner, Gina Ricci Ward and Tali Gallo of Solutions Bridal, Lee Forrest of Lee Forrest Design, Marjorie Robinson front row, l to r: Amy Morelli, Ronnie Renaud of RW Chocolate Fountain Rentals, and Kristin Hubbard Wilson of DJ Rocks!

Plan B: indian style slumber party vibe in the office of E-Events and Liga Photography!

Kristin and Lisa sporting "glitter glaze" from the Amazing Disco Balls provided by Ronnie!

Hope you enjoyed this recap! Stay Tuned, our next one will be toward end of summer, and we'll have a new group of fun guests to get to know!

Behind the Scenes-International Prostate Cancer Foundation Gala

Well as most of you know my blogging regarding my work with the International Prostate Cancer Foundation's Gala has been focused on the stationary I produced for the event. Today I would like to let you in on the behind the scenes work that went in to producing this event. There were obviously some key contributors that made Dr. Patel's dream and vision for the Gala come to life. 

Like with any event the day started with formulating a game plan. Once I got some direction from Lisa Stoner of E Events on when things needed to be staged on tables my assistant Jules and I got to working! The tree seedling favors shown below all had to be individually placed in glass vases for presentation at the dessert reveal and as I worked on getting those ready Jules (pictured below) was hard at work sorting all the place cards. For any of you that have done this before it is no easy feat. Place cards have to coincide with the guest list and then be strategically placed at each place setting so they are both functional and a contributor to the overall table design. 

Jessy Rivers of E Events Design (pictured below) was busy doing A/V testing with Ben Lawless of Kaleidoscope Event Group. All the video, sound and lighting elements were coming together once piece at a time. It was great being in the room because as more lighting is introduced you really begin to see the room transform. 

And as you know, what would an event be without stunning floral and decor. Jesus from Raining Roses was able to design life size trees as focal points of the stage. Being that we built the whole marketing campaign for the IPCF around a tree you can imagine why these pieces were so key. 

Crates of chargers were stacked waiting to be placed at tables as pipe and drape was being installed. Just behind Lisa and I you can see how Kaleidoscope is doing pin-spot and perimeter light testing. PS. I love this shot below as it shows us as the super-heros in the shadows, which is what we must be to pull off something this amazing and grand with so many moving parts and pieces.

Planning sessions went on throughout the day with Lisa Stoner and Jessy Rivers from E Events and Jane McLean from The Waldorf Astoria Bonnet Creek, our host venue. Topics of conversation according to Lisa; when the choir should begin singing, when dinner service should begin and most importantly for any dessert lover like myself when the dessert reveal should be scheduled. 

Dr. Patel was able to pop his head in during the afternoon and see the set of the room in full swing. With him there Ben Lawless was able to test and get final approval for all videos, voice commands, slides and music cues that were happening during the evening. 

The IPCF Gala was a complete success and went off flawlessly thanks to the key players I mentioned above. Special thanks to Jeffrey Stoner of Stoner Video who took all the amazing above images and Over-the-top Linens that provided all the table linens. Patel and his team were overjoyed by the attendance and overall success of the event. I was honored to be part of such a dedicated and talented team and look forward to the next one! 

International Prostate Cancer Foundation Gala

If you are a frequent reader of my blog you are well aware that a good portion of this month's efforts have been dedicated to the success of the International Prostate Cancer Foundation's Gala. I was first approached by the foundation to do all their marketing and our 2u Creative division had the pleasure of not only developing their foundation branding and website but I was able to hand over the next portion of the responsibilities to our stationary division, The 2u Collection. Having a stationary division is particularly beneficial for projects such as these where a client needs a vast array of marketing services including print materials, website design and brand conception and also stationary needs for a social event. Being able to work within my two divisions allowed for a seamless execution for all print materials, website and marketing materials to be unanimous with the stationary for their Gala.


The average person does not know that prostate cancer is actually a genetic familial disease. That is why from the very beginning of the design process the tree was such a focal point. With the design of the Gala materials we wanted to keep the tree as a focal point, but obviously with any social gathering, items should look more formal and have a different aesthetic value than that of marketing collateral.

The first design decision was choosing a color palette. The monotone array of greys, silvers and charcoals really made for an elegant statement. I was able to incorporate the tree in a more formal way by using silver and white foil stamping on a Neenah classic linen charcoal paper for the programs, place cards and menu cards. The tree was used on the cover of the IPCF program as well as inside the program, that paired with a stripe corner border were the two design focal points of all the stationery pieces. All the items were classic and timeless and although appealing to the women's eye were designed with a masculine look in mind. We really wanted to keep it masculine so the materials suited the overall goals of the foundation in who they are reaching.

 The design collaboration with Lisa Stoner of E Events really brought out the beauty of what we had created. The tables were dressed in green table linens, each had a lush floral centerpiece and clear glass gold beaded chargers. When menu cards, place cards and table numbers were placed on the tables, paired with the individual table pin-spotting the details of the pieces really came alive.

The grand finale of this event, like any were the favors. The foundation selected to hand out individual tree seedlings that each had a tag designed by The 2u Collection describing the meaning behind the seedling. Each guest was invited to take this seedling home and plant it in their own yard in honor of someone who has or is currently battling prostate cancer. This touch really put a memorable emphasis on why the tree was the focal point for the event and the foundation itself.

The event was one of the most rewarding I have ever had the opportunity to work on. Not only were both of my divisions contributors to the overall design and success of the event and the IPCF brand itself but I personally am continually touched by the efforts of Dr. Patel. I am honored to be part of the journey IPCF has begun and look forward to all the projects we work on together in the future!  


Of course there are so many people involved in helping execute this, but I want to give so much thanks to Lawton Printers. Not only are they amazing at what they do, they treat their customers like family and will move heaven and earth (if needed) to turn my designs and ideas into beautifully printed finished pieces! Another big thanks to Jeffrey Stoner of Stoner Video for supplying all these beautiful images!

Fun, Funky and Chic at The Ritz!! Part III

I so loved this couple, and their whole project. I've written about them many times before, now I wanted to share this highlight montage courtesy of the amazing Jeffrey Stoner Video.

Read Part I or Part II.


Vicky & Danny's Wedding Highlights from Jeffrey Stoner Video on Vimeo.

FAVORITE FRIDAYS!

It is that time again.. Which is hard to believe!  So here we are ready to showcase another one of my FAVORITE and inspiring Talents!

This week..
Jeffrey Stoner - of Jeffrey Stoner Video!!!

As you can see by the candid pics above, Jeffrey has a great sense of humor! He is not only a genius with moving image, but he is a genuine friend, and fellow lover of strange arbitrary movies, (and I think having a bro-mance with my husband over arbitraty music!). We have yet to share a bride, but I'm still trying to figure out how I can get him to make an interesting invitation video.  Check out some of his amazing work below and his comments on the event.  


If you are in need of amazing video for any event, I would hire Jeffrey in a minute. His work speaks for itself. Plus he is the life of the party, and you're guaranteed an interesting evening when he is around.







Erin and David’s stunning New Year’s Eve wedding at the Sarasota Ritz Carlton came to a crescendo at midnight!  In all my years, it was as close to a “perfect” wedding as any I’ve ever shot.  Erin and David were inseparable and clearly, truly in love.  That, more than anything else, leads to a successful wedding documentary.  Of course, the décor, lighting, and surprise snowfall didn’t hurt!.  I produced this “teaser” clip for them the day after the wedding.  (vendors for this wedding included E-Events, Garrett Nudd, Beautiful Music, Dale Dees, and of course the Sarasota Ritz Carlton)







I just knew that Tanya and Carl would be ideal clients – they are very easy to photograph!  All smiles and beautiful emotion.  With some clients, the joy of their day is infectious and somehow makes even me feel a part of the proceedings – that was certainly the case with Tanya and Carl. I was so proud when footage from this wedding was featured heavily in a recent news story on WKMG for the “Just Cause” charity, and it went on to become the most-viewed clip I’ve ever hosted online!  (vendors for this wedding included E-Events, JR Sterling, and the Ritz Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes)