Loving this Spring Weather in Indiana!

Good morning SPRING!!! So looking forward to the rest of the week and the beautiful weather! I CANNOT WAIT for my first wedding of “the season” to hit May 1st. Lauren is a beautiful, modern bride with great taste! I get to use some of my favorite flowers and it is so fitting that her color is GREEN! Green is the sign of warmth and sunny skies to come and STAY! It’s going to be a busy wedding season and I couldn’t be more ready. I have a fabulous staff working with me this year, a couple of new interns and of course get to work side by side with the best in the business, Tonya and Darcie. I am feeling so blessed to be able to do what I love today. I get to give a happy bride and groom a beautiful backdrop to the most important day of their lives. To give them a sense of excitement and anticipation of what things will look like, what surprises I will create for them, OOH! It’s so exciting!!!!! I love my job; I love weddings; I love the tulips, hyacinths, and crocuses that are just peaking out right now ready to welcome me to SPRING!
Making today nothing short of fabulous, Tiffany!!!

Platinum Gala- Circle City Planners - Photos

Just for fun, we wanted to share our photos from the Platnium Gala. We are goofy.









Wedding Love and Hugs,
T

Well Deserved Vacation

Way way back in February my husband I took a well deserved vacation to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic!!! We stayed at the Paradisus Punta Cana resort. It was amazing so if anyone is looking for a Honeymoon spot this would be a place to check out. Matt and I decided that we didn't want to do anything on this vacation and that's exactly what we did!!! We were there for 7 days and the only thing that we had to decide is whether we were going to go the beach or the pool. Everywhere had BIG lounge furniture to lie in and take naps! The only times we even looked at the clock was when we had appointments at the spa. Other than that time didn't matter! Once in awhile we would get home sick but we just got out our Flip Camera and looked at Izzy and Cecil playing in the snow and we got our fix. One funny story about our trip: on the full first day Matt and I headed straight to the beach. I'm put on sunblock and started reading gossip magazines. Matt did the same or so I thought. When we came in that afternoon, Matt's body was red all over except for the few areas where he rubbed in the sunblock. It was hilarious! His arms were streaked, he had a perfect hand print on his back and his chest was as red as a lobster! The next day other vacationers came up to him and said do you know how red you are? Finally, he started telling people it was a birthmark! The vacation was quite the experience, I hope sometime in the near future we get to go back. Matt and I aren't big picture takers so these are a few we did take.

The Art of the Table

The Art of the Table was held on March 7th at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Check out the pictures below to see our fabulous table design. Circle City Planners, Circle City Designers, and Heavenly Sweets contributed to this work of art. The pictures were taken by Troy Hill. Thank you to all who made this event a huge success!!






Wedding Love and Hugs,
Tonya

Vote Tonya Shadoan for the Hoosier Hullabaloo Award

The Hoosier Hullabaloo Award recognizes a professional of whom it could be said, "they're really making some noise" in the Indiana business community. Nominees will be professionals who have demonstrated not only individual success, but also a desire and effort to impact the businesses of fellow Hoosiers.

Voting will be open through April 16th. The winner will be recognized at the Hullabaloo 2010 on April 22nd.

I have nominated Tonya for this award become she defintely has "team spirit" in mind when she is achieving her professional goals.

To vote for her too, click here!


Adding Fabulosity to Your Florals,

Tiffany

Wildflower Linens

Wildflower Linens is one of our favorite places to order linens for our clients’ special day. You can order napkins, table linens, and chair covers to make your event look amazing.



Wildflower Linens has revolutionized the linen industry by creating unique styles that are glamorous and have even been featured at the Oscar’s Governor Ball. Check out the link below to see all the great linens available for rental at Wildflower Linens!

www.wildflowerlinens.com

...adding fabulosity to your florals!

Tiffany

And the Winner Is...

We decided it would only be appropriate if Princess, our mascot, chose the winner of the Cutest Pet Contest.

And the winner is... Sadie and Frank! Congratulations to Megan and Ben the proud parents of these two adorable dogs!

We know how much family means to you because Princess is so important to us! Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the cutest pet contest!

Circle City Planners

Abbie and Gabe 11/27/09

Abbie & Gabe - 11/27/09 from IndyVisual on Vimeo.

Bob from IndyVisual did an excellent job capturing this truly magnificent wedding, to read Bob's full blog post, click here.

We covered our experience with Purple, Guitars and Snow on 11/29/2009. Click here to see all the photos and experience this extravaganza with us!


Wedding Love and Hugs,

T

Peanut & Bella

Peanut (the cat) and Bella (the dog) are my two babies. I love them both so much, I had to choose both of them for the cutest pet contest. Peanut has been my baby the longest... he was my Valentine’s day present two years ago. He has been with my husband and I from the beginning of our marriage. He has many nicknames which include buddy, cutest man, p-unit, and about eight more which I will not bore you with :) He is always there when I’m having a bad day. I will cuddle with him and listen to him purr until I feel better... sometimes I will even fall asleep to his purring because it is so relaxing. As I’m writing this entry, he is sitting on the desk next to me purring his little heart out. The picture above shows his favorite position. You can find him like this pretty much any time of the day. Bella, is my other love. We have had her for a year this April. We picked her out at a breeder and knew she was going to be ours forever. She still has a lot of puppy in her and does funny things like running around the house like a crazy dog when she gets really hyper. She loves going on walks and runs with mom and dad. What is great about Bella is her love for life... She loves any animal or person she meets... and everyone loves her as long as she doesn’t jump on them!

--Carrie

Meet Sadie and Frank, our babies

Pit bulls have a bad rap, period. But how can you resist these faces? Pit bulls were once the all-american dog, as popular as Labrador retrievers are today. However, years of dog fighting and abuse have led to dreaded stereotypes -- including that pit bulls are ferocious man-eaters who will attack anything unprovoked. Of the 4 million shelter dogs put to sleep every year, nearly 1 million are pit bulls.

Our dogs deserve to win the cutest animal contest because they defy the stereotype and remind us why pit bulls are such an extraordinary breed. They are, in fact, huge lovers, and want nothing more than to cuddle on the couch. They pace outside of our bedroom door at 5 am every morning, hoping to find a warm spot before we get up and start our day. In this picture, they beg for a treat ever so politely, knowing that their faces will win us over every time. Help spread the love for this tarnished and forgotten breed.

Thanks!
Megan & Ben

Strike up the brand - How an event management firm can improve your corporate image

How an event management firm can improve your corporate image

By Matthew LaWell
Smart Business Indianapolis March 2010

During the course of the last year, executives at a large company in one Midwestern city scheduled an event to thank their present clients for remaining with them through the recession and to reach out to potential clients in an effort to prepare for growth. They rented a hall in a beautiful building for the morning, hired a speaker with a prominent name and attracted a crowd of about 2,500 people.

Nothing out of the ordinary. Perhaps, you have even scheduled a similar event.

But as the event neared, the executives realized that they had a large problem. They had scheduled the event during the middle of the week, and with hundreds of thousands of other people already in the city, there was no parking anywhere near the building. So they scratched their heads. They worried. They wondered how they could have overlooked such a simple detail. They wondered how they might solve the problem. And only then did they call an event management firm.

When the recession started to rock the financial world in 2008, internal event management personnel were among the first to be laid off. Many then planted roots with independent firms or started firms of their own. Less than two years later, a December 2009 feature in U.S. News & World Report posited that a position as an event manager or event planner ranked among the 50 best jobs for 2010. The industry has transitioned and is positioned to grow a projected 16 percent between now and 2018.

That might be good news for you and your business, because the odds are high that, at some point, you will want to hold some sort of event, and unless you have an event manager on staff, you might find yourself in a situation every bit as sticky as those Midwest executives with thousands of guests and no parking spaces.

“Because companies are downsizing, the workload people have is so intense that they don’t have time to sit on a committee and plan an event or an awards ceremony,” says Tonya Shadoan, owner and president, Circle City Planners. “Money was being spent where it could have been saved.”

Click here to continue reading Matthew LaWell's article with Tonya....

ALL my babies: Ally, Izzy, Joe & Teddy

Ally!
Ally was rescued by Animal Control this summer from a home with over 50 cats in downtown Indy. She was only a few months old and extremely neglected. She was taken to a high kill shelter, but because of her sweet, cuddly disposition a volunteer at the shelter contacted a cat rescue group. She was rescued and put up for adoption at Pet Smart. On an August afternoon, I stopped in at that very Pet Smart to pick up dog food. I really had no intention of getting a kitty that day, but I am a sucker for those adorable little faces and pleading eyes behind those cage bars. I turned down the aisle towards the “cattery” and locked eyes with a pair of golden yellow eyes. She was tiny! Her little paw reached out for me and that was it.








Izzy!
I found Izzy over 4 years ago when the local humane society was featuring adoptable dogs outside my neighborhood grocery store. She was only 3 months old then and looking for a warm lap to sleep in. She had been turned over to the shelter because of her “feisty” personality. I soon found out Izzy thinks she is Queen Isabella, quite the little diva. She refuses to eat dog food, but will consider it as long as there is parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. She absolutely will not touch wet grass, insists on sitting in the front seat of the car and demands her daily walks, to keep her figure of course!




Joe!
We found Joe at Anderson Animal Care and Control. As you can see from his before picture, he was very emaciated. He had a terrible case of kennel cough as well as fleas; he was absolutely pathetic and on his way to being euthanized that weekend. Luckily, we showed up on Friday, just before closing time. With a little love and lots of care, Joe has become a loving, sweet lapdog. He loves to go through the Starbucks drive thru. He has many friends there who spoil him with “puppy lattes” (a sample cup filled with whip cream)!
Before!




Teddy!
Tom and I found Teddy in the good hands of the people at the Humane Society of Hamilton County. He was brought there by Animal Control along with his sister this November. They were found wandering the streets together completely emaciated, freezing and terrified. His sister was adopted right away, but Ted needed time to gain confidence. He is my shadow now, never leaving my side and a total cuddle bug. His ears are scarred from fly bites (we are telling ourselves that’s all they are!) and starts shaking when the vacuum comes out of the closet, but he loves Ally, our cat, and cuddles with her. Ted is a huge Colts fan and loved getting to curl up on the couch with us, as we watched the season unfold!



--Katie

Join Circle City Planners at The Art of the Table

Imagine your upcoming wedding, anniversary, special birthday or event. You want to wow your guests. The tabletop is the most expressive way to convey the feeling of the design of your event.



Not contrived, but conducive to lively conversation, beautiful, & befitting the occasion...your table says everything you want it to say.

The Art of the Table is an event you won't want to miss! Sponsored by the Indiana Chapter of the Association of Bridal Consultants & PWG, this is where area event planners have come together to present an expression of their expertise, making clients shine & their events become a WOW! Come for ideas... Come for fun... Come just to see what is new and "out there"!

Tickets are only $10 each if purchased in advance and will cost $12 each at the door. All proceeds from the event will be used for the ABC scholarship fund split between the national ABC Miss Dorothy Scholarship & the Indiana ABC scholarship in memory of a local Indianapolis planner, the late Betty Jackson. Don't miss this fantastic opportunity! Pre-register and buy your tickets online here at PerfectWeddingGuide.com today!

Circle City Planners will have a table on display this Sunday and invite you to come and experience this beautiful and inspiring event!

Place: The Art of the Table
Time: 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Date: Sunday, March 07, 2010
Price: $12.00
Location: Indpls Musuem of Art, Deer Zink Events Pavilion 4000 Michigan Road
Indianapolis, IN 46208
Email: info@artofthetable.info
Website: www.artofthetable.info


Wedding Love and Hugs,

Tona

Lizzie

When one of our dogs got poisoned by someone I had to have another one. I gave it a lot of thought and realized that I wanted a little dog. I needed something I could cuddle with. After I searched for a few weeks, I found out that my father had Yorkie puppies. I called him and he gave me one for Christmas!



Ever since I have gotten Lizzie she goes everywhere with me and is always on my lap! She is a very sweet dog and we all love her so much!

---Nickie

Meet Braxtyn

He is, hands down, the most gentlemanly fellow I’ve ever met in my whole life.

While he may not open doors for me, he never fails to greet me with a smile, kiss and excited whimper. He has the elusive “heart of gold(en)” most will never find.

He has a cow toy he doesn’t like to go outside without. He likes to help feed the birds and runs in big circles of excitement when others are in his yard. But most of all, he’s a gentle, handsome, sweet, loving soul who makes the coldest days warm.

--Jocelyn