Hello! I am the “Wedding Belle,” a practicing planner who is literally starting a business as I write this. Many of you may be students or graduates who have considered self-employment, yet perhaps have had absolutely no idea where to begin. I assure you there is no fool-proof formula detailing how to start a successful business, but if you do your homework you can create a “tool box” of tips & tricks and hopefully uncover some helpful hints as to how to go about this.

The Sheffield Course in Wedding & Event Planning provides you with the education needed to take the next steps, whatever those may be -  event planning as a hobby, volunteering for a non-profit or local community group, starting a new career or furthering your current one, planning your own private event, or taking the leap to start a business of your own. In the competitive world that we live in, knowledge certainly is power.

The Sheffield Forum is also another great resource, packed with tons of great info to get you started including interesting articles, discussions, recommended books, etc.

In addition to all of these tools, a little inside info on how one planner is facing the many challenges of trying to build a start-up could offer a different and enlightening perspective… that’s where I come in!

I will be posting regularly to Stylehound as I go through this process. Follow along and check back as I tackle different issues, obstacles, revelations, share successes and yes, failures - all in the attempt to successful establish and run a wedding planning business.

Like I said, there is no formula, and there is no manual, nor am I giving you a how-to, but what I will give you is an honest FYI as to how I am going to try to make some magic happen.

PS- By the way, it doesn’t necessarily have to be just wedding planning, but I figured I would start with what I know!

See you next week!

We are happy to announce a new feature on the Stylehound - Start Me Up! - a series of dispatches from a professional planner on the front lines of opening a wedding planning firm. To protect her most vital trade secrets, she will be posting anonymously as Wedding Belle - but don’t worry. Belle has tons of insight and information to share as she takes this bumpy journey, all with a dose of good humor and optimism.

Keep an eye out for Start Me Up!, premiering right here on Monday morning.

My beloved Etsy is now featuring their perfectly simple, easy-to-navigate holiday gift guide - and nestled in this cornucopia is a special sub-category of holiday decor items. As always with Etsy collections, one must be careful about getting sucked in for hours and hours of delightful, craft-filled clicking. That said, it is too much fun to pass up - so fill up your tea mug, kick off your shoes, and get shopping.

I was particularly enamored of these flocked deer figurines from TheThinVeil. They are so cute, and beautifully photographed. No wonder they are almost sold out!

I was truly impressed when I visited the IML booth at the BizBash expo - I had been reading quite a bit about their handheld auction devices in recent event reports, and was interested to find out more.

IML has a simple device, about the size of a large cellphone, which can be used by individual guests to interact remotely, privately, and silently with traditional event technologies like PowerPoint. The company’s strongest suit, however, is their clean adaptability to auction events.

Fundraising is essential for everything from non-profit organizations to cultural institutions, and it is common to embed fundraising efforts in a larger event or party, typically in the form of an auction. The IML handheld bidding device is compact,  fits nicely at a place setting, and enables a seamless interaction between bidding guests and the auction action.

Ray Hansen, the East Coast Director for IML, told me the latest trend they are seeing with the IML auction device is team or group bidding, which allows for even greater customization. The devices can be rented for one-time events, or purchased by an organization that frequently hosts fundraising events.

I think this little device is a great addition to the event planner’s toolbox, and its popularity and use are only going to grow.

Are you wacky for modernism? And you’re in New York, or will be coming during the holiday season? If so, you must plan a visit to MOMA to see their new exhibit, Bauhaus 1919-1933: Workshops for Modernity. Until it was shut down by the Nazis, Bauhaus was a hotbed of creative thinking, re-examining all the ways of modern life, and influencing everything from architecture to fashion, from painting to furniture-making. This ambitious survey tries to get at what Bauhaus was through exhibits, a “lounge,” and hands-on art-making workshops.

The image above, from the show, is Oskar Schlemmer’s “Bauhaus Stairway.”

See more at www.moma.org

The other week I had an opportunity to check out what is by far one of my favorite industry events: the annual NYC BizBash Expo, held at the Javits Convention Center - one of five annual trade shows hosted by BizBash across the country.

Based here in NYC, BizBash is a national media company with outlets both online and in print that has quickly become the go-to source for information, trends, forecasts, and insight into the events industry. In addition to the Expo, BizBash has a Hall of Fame and Event Style Awards program to recognize and reward top vendors.

The tradeshow floor of the BizBash Expo floor brought together thousands of event professionals and exhibitors - everything from event security firms to venues to fabric companies to floral designers.  I met loads of people and took loads of pictures, and will be sharing a small taste of what I saw here on Stylehound.

First up? A truly unique vendor category: all kinds of performers, performance artists, and dancers for hire. Hiring these talented folks is a popular way to add character, atmosphere, and entertainment to an event. Does that seem farfetched? It isn’t! We have worked with professional performers for all kinds of events.  A favorite personal example: for a book launch party, we once “rented” actors dressed in turn-of-the-century costumes to act as guests from an bygone era.

Here are some of the myriad performers I captured at the Expo:

This gent was dressed as a Christmas tree - and was on stilts!

Another chap, juggling - and also on stilts!

Don’t worry, she was on stilts too!

Then, there were performers in incredible, perception-altering costumes:

These performers were from ACROBACK Productions, the firm that provided general atmosphere for the Expo, and BONGARBIZ.

There were also a handful of ladies from one of my favorite companies, the Screaming Queens.  Take a look at their table lady! She was literally standing in the center of a round table on casters that allowed her to walk through the event, offering all kinds of treats on her tabletop.

Of course, some of the exhibitors in costume were not performers at all, they were just dolled up to attract attention or - let’s be honest - for the sheer fun of it! I have a feeling a mix of those factors was at play for these two gentlemen hamming it up at the New York Zoos and Aquariums booth (a rental venue).

As you can imagine, the Expo was a lot of fun, but it was also truly informative. Keep an eye on the blog to see more reports from this industry-insider trade show.