The Finishing Touch Wedding and Event Planning

A Swanky Event for the Hispanic Bar Association

As we are gearing up for the Hispanic Bar Association’s Annual Scholarship Gala on May 1st, we wanted to take a look back at last year’s Installation Ceremony held at the W Hoboken. See below for details:

On October 29th, the 30th Installation Ceremony of the President and 2009/2010 Officers and Trustees of the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey (HBA-NJ) took place at the swanky W Hotel in Hoboken.  It was attended by over 250 guests including federal and state court judges, elected officials including Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, business leaders, and legal professionals. The Honorable Julio M. Fuentes, of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, administered the oath of office for the new president and board of trustees.

Guests enjoyed the W’s fabulous food and cocktails and listened to smooth Latin Jazz by the Juilliard Jazz Ensemble.  Gorgeous floral décor was provided by Sue Smith of The Romantic Garden.

The Finishing Touch team had the honor of creating beautiful full color commemorative journals as well as striking save the dates, invitations, and signage for the event.  We worked closely with the Association’s new president, Miguel Alexander Pozo, Esq., to project his inspiring theme for the year of “Dare to Dream” throughout the materials for the event.  

 

Mr. Pozo is a litigation partner at Lowenstein Sandler, P.C., one of New Jersey’s largest and most prestigious law firms.  He was recognized as one of New Jersey's top "40 Under 40" lawyers by the New Jersey Law Journal (2009) and was named to NJBiz magazine's 2009 "Forty Under 40" list honoring individuals who exhibit "excellence in business, commitment to community and professional development.  He was also named to DTM magazine's 2009 Latino Trendsetters list, and has been named a "Rising Star" by New Jersey Super Lawyers magazine (2007) and listed among New Jersey Law Journal’s "50 Leading Women and Minority Attorneys" (2005).  We congratulate Miguel on his installation as the 30th President of this prestigious organization and wish him much success. 

“The Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey is a 501 (c) (6) statewide organization which represents the interests of attorneys, judges, law professors and law students who share a common interest in resolving the issues affecting Hispanics within the legal community. The purpose of the Association is to serve the public interest by cultivating the art and science of jurisprudence, by advancing the standing of the legal profession, by preserving high standards of integrity, honor, and professional courtesy among Hispanic lawyers.”  For more information on the HBA and the upcoming Gala, please visit their website at www.njhba.org.

Spice Up Your Bridal Shower With Tips From The Finishing Touch on Chatterberries.com

Not sure what to do for your bridal shower?  Read our fun tips on Chatterberries.com on how to plan your special event with ideas and favors for a wine tasting, cocktail party, cooking class and more.  Get your best pals together, and make your shower one to remember. 

Baby oh Baby! The Finishing Touch throws a Baby Shower at The Woman's Club of Ridgewood

 

With the arrival of Baby Girl Benson coming any day now I wanted to share the details and beautiful pictures from my truly amazing Baby Shower.  On November 1st, my wonderfully creative team showered me and baby with love and fun shared by friends and family with a Vintage Sports themed baby shower.  You may be wondering why a sports theme for a baby girl.  Those who know me, know that even though I have a huge love for shoes and bags, you are just as apt to find me in my Tedy Bruschi jersey as my Ferragamos.  

 

The shower was held at the beautiful Woman's Club of Ridgewood.  The room looked truly unique and so amazing!  

 

 

The overall sports theme was easily evident even upon guests' arrival where they were greeted with a copy of the vintage "Ticket" invitation created by The Finishing Touch Event Design.  

 

 

There was also a baseball pendant welcoming Baby Benson which served as a unique guest book.

 

 

Each table was named for different sports terms and the centerpieces had a layer of baseballs under glass topped by an arrangement of wheat grass and red and white Gerber daisies.  The tables were set with pink linens and surrounded by white chivari ballroom chairs from Party Rental Ltd. that were decorated with big red satin bows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not one detail was missed as even the side tables all held decor pieces of mini pink footballs.  I could barely hold back the tears when I first saw the room seeing all of the thought that had been put into the details.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The theme of the day carried through in the yummy food from Encore Catering that was served.  The party started with passed hors d'ourves of mini hot dogs, hamburgers, tiny fries and of course a touch of New England ~ Mini Lobster Rolls!  Guests also enjoyed the Powderpuff Punch (non-alcoholic for the mommies-to-be) and the Curveball Cocktail.  Everyone was then treated to a beautiful buffet lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The meal was topped off by delicious red velvet and vanilla cupcakes made by Pink Cake Box that were decorated with baseballs, footballs, and megaphones.  

 

 

The team had arranged to have Photography by Melissa on hand to capture all of the details and all of the fun, including the many games that my Grandmother "Gagam" seemed to keep winning ~ now I know where my competitive streak comes from!  

 

 

 

Everyone left with popcorn favors with tags that read "About to Pop" from The Finishing Touch Event Design and custom pink and red jersey cookies from Wicked Good Cookies.

 

 

 

It was such as amazing day that I will certainly never forget.  I can not say thank you enough to my amazing, supportive, loving husband and to my team who always go above and beyond in everything they do and this was certainly no exception.  Thank you to my friends and family who shared in the joy of the day.

 

All the Best,

 

Candice

 

 

 

 

 

Soroya's Twins Baby Shower-A Festive Lavender and Pink Carriage Themed Affair

 
 

On Saturday, October 10, 2009, I attended my co-ed baby shower for our twin daughters.  The festive lavender and pink carriage themed event was thrown by two of my very close friends who I consider my sisters, Arlene (my sorority sister, college roommate at SU and mother of twin boys and a daughter) and Shaunee (a Ph.D. who I grew up with in Ossining, NY, and met when we were teenage summer camp counselors who has younger twin sisters).  My younger sister Tamiko (who just gave birth to her daughter on Labor Day and has a two year old son) was also involved in the planning along with my wonderful husband Shawn (who woke up bright and early the day of the shower to do lots of running around).  Their attention to detail and to keeping me out of the loop (difficult with me being a very curious and detail oriented Event Planner) was outstanding.

Although I knew the date of the event in advance, I did not know about the details of the shower.  I was more than pleasantly surprised when I walked into the event room at the Woodbridge YMCA in NJ.  It was absolutely beautiful and the décor was perfect.  My loved ones really focused on my personality, and planned an event that I would not have enjoyed any more if I had planned it myself.

 

 

 

 
 
 

 

The shower was attended by about 40 adults and roughly 15 children which also included my Mom, older sister Raquel, nephews Anthony and Jay, cousins and aunts, my Goddaughter Nichole and my dear Auntie Gloria (my Dad’s older sister) who was one of the day’s best surprises.  There were also my husband’s friends, my close friends, line sisters (Jennifer, Jeannette, Meka, Denise, Naima and Laura) who helped with decorating and set up, and sorors of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., former colleagues including Jacleen, Shon, and one of my great marketing mentors Stephanie, and of course, Candice and Priscilla of The Finishing Touch, Wedding and Event Planning who were there to celebrate this special occasion with me.

 

 

 

The room was decorated with pink and lavender balloons, carriage helium balloons, a beautiful diaper cake topped with two pink carriages and a traditional white wicker baby shower chair which were both from Fiesta Party Center in Jersey City, NJ. The centerpieces were pretty pink and lavender flowers set in glass vases with crystals, and there were bowls of pink and lavender custom printed M&M candies with sayings including “Shawn’s Girls” and “Soroya’s Blessing” which were such a special and delightful touch on each table.   I had also created a vision board for my daughters which was displayed at the shower, along with a scrap book on my pregnancy with silly captions, and framed pictures of Shawn and I.  Of course we threw in pictures of our Cockapoo puppy Irie as well, who is a special part of our family.

 

 

The beautiful and delicious pink and lavender two layered Dominican Cake was decorated with carriages and pink and lavender bows.  It was made by Gladis Bakery in Jersey City, NJ and the top layer had a fresh pineapple filling, while the larger bottom layer was filled with caramel.  Click here to see the cake on Gladis’s site where it has been added as the first twin baby shower cake.  Gladis specializes in unique event cakes and will create your confection to match any theme.

 

 

Shower guests were encouraged to bring diapers for a chance to win a door prize which was a gift certificate.  Games included the purse game, where one guest surprisingly actually had a picture of twins with her, a competition to see who could finish the juice in their bottle the fastest (Priscilla was a good sport and participated), and guessing games where attendees had to figure out how many cotton balls, Q Tips, etc. were in various baby bottles.  Fun prizes were awarded, and everyone had a good time.  Attendees also wrote special advice cards, and were video recorded leaving us loving and supportive messages that we will treasure forever.

The food was a huge hit with everyone in attendance, and was catered from Sisters of Soul in Linden, NJ.  My husband worked with their manager Taikwon to create a menu that consisted of trays of both grilled and fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, potato salad, yellow rice and candied yams.  My Auntie Angie also made a delicious potato salad, and a fresh vegetable salad was available. 

 
 

One of the special highlights of the day was when a professional face painter, who was hired through the YMCA, showed up to surprise the children at the party.  The kids gathered to have their faces, arms and hands decorated with hearts, flowers, and any design they desired.  The children had a great time and left with special painted decorations and big smiles.

Guests also left with fun favors including pink carriage photo frames with custom labels that read “thanks for strolling by.”  There were also custom carriage shaped butter cookies trimmed with pink and lavender icing and sparkles from the bakery at Wegmans, with custom made “recipe for parenting twins” tags which were created by my friend Lorena, and bags of Hershey kisses tied with carriage ties that were a nice surprise from my line sister Jeannette.

My cousin Andrew Mark, who is a professional photographer, was there to capture it all.  Click here to check out his creative style. He is fun to work with, and loves taking pictures of all of the details and special memories of any occasion.  He is responsible for the lovely pictures posted here, and was a big part of making the day a success.

 

Thank you to all of our loved ones who traveled from near and far for showering us with love, support , encouragement, well wishes and gifts.  We received goodies ranging from a much needed double stroller, gift cards, great items from our registries, and tons of beautiful and adorable matching outfits for our girls.  Thanks also to my Dad for everything! 

This was one of the most special days of our lives, and a truly memorable event.  Our daughters have already received such a warm welcome, and they will always know about the excitement that has been generated for their arrival.  Thank you also to those who could not attend, but who have sent us their love.  We really appreciate it. I can’t wait to share more after our little angels make their big debut.

 

Lots of Love and Gratitude,

Soroya and Shawn

 

Deborah's Traditional Berberisca

On the Thursday before our couple Debbie & Julian’s wedding, we were able to experience a traditional Moroccan Berberisca ceremony and reception at the Four Seasons in New York City.

The ceremony includes many traditions which sometimes means the Bride’s hands and feet are decorated in elaborate designs with henna.  Henna is a red dye made from crushed henna leaves.  Although Debbie chose not to include Henna in her ceremony, the other elements in the ceremony, according to tradition, are done to prepare the bride for leaving her family. 

A large part of the ceremony was the females in Debbie’s family and friends assisted her in getting dressed, which was an elaborate process. She wore an intricately designed ornate gown called a Traje de Berberisca, which is traditionally a gown that is worn by Brides in the family and passed down for this special day.  Debbie also wore a gorgeous crown handmade by her mother, Licita, which was embellished with beads and jewels. 

Once ready, the Bride was announced into the reception room, greeted by waiting family and friends.  The couple’s guests greeted the Bride with singing and ululations (wailing noises) to show their happiness about the couple’s upcoming marriage.  

After speeches and traditional songs, the guests enjoyed a lavish buffet from Foremost Caterers featuring delicious tea sandwiches and pastries.  They also enjoyed traditional Moroccan mint tea. This was followed by a performance by a traditional Moroccan sitar duo.  

It was a beautiful and very interesting afternoon that we were honored to attend.  We hope you enjoyed these photos from Ron Holtz Photography.

All the Best,

Candice and Priscilla
 

 

 

 

 

 

More on our Fabulous Client Party At The W Hotel

As promised, we are excited to share some additional pictures from our May 2009 client party from Ron Holtz Photography.We loved seeing the images of our brides mingling with soon to be brides.  We hope you enjoy and that you can join us next year!

Click here to read about the details from this festive event.

Floral Design by The Romantic Garden

One of our fall 2008 Brides, Stacy

Samples of some of the Amazing Stationery created by our Finishing Touch Event Design team

The W with wonderful lighting by BML Blackbird

 

Fun services from Bliss Spa

Candice sharing a bit about our Company and thanking all for joining us

One of our 2010 Brides, Claudia

More Mingling....and Cocktails 

Our team

Happy Planning,

Candice, Leah, Nicole, Priscilla & Soroya

 

 

 

Debbie & Julian's Elegant Rehearsal Dinner and Celebrity Style After Party

A rehearsal dinner for a weekend destination wedding can be very important as it gives the guests a chance to relax and get to know each other before the big day.  Since guests from all over the world were flying in for our clients' New York City destination wedding, it was particularly important that the rehearsal dinner be extra special. 

Debbie & Julian's guests gathered at New York City's premier Kosher steakhouse, The Prime Grill, to enjoy a Friday Night Dinner.  The Prime Grill has a wonderful warm and classy ambiance and is said to be a favorite spot of celebrities including Madonna.  

The dinner guests were first greeted with delicious canapes such as Wild Mushrooms and Truffles on Belgian Endive Spears and creative cocktails.  As they took their seats, they were treated to a fabulous sushi display on each table.  After enjoying appetizers such as Braised Short Rib Rumaki, many guests feasted on the piece d'resistance of the Prime Grill, their famous 22 oz. Rib Roast.  Each portion was big enough to feed a whole family let alone one person.  To round out the delicious dinner, a fantastic Chocolate Hazelnut Rocher was served which resembled and tasted like a huge Ferrero Rocher Chocolate candy.   

It was a lovely evening that allowed Debbie and Julian to spend some relaxed quality time with their family and friends. 

Following a wonderful dinner, Debbie and Julian headed to a casual after-party with their friends at NYC's coolest rooftop bar, the posh AVA Lounge located in the Dream Hotel.  Another celebrity hotspot, it is normal to see stars like Kevin Bacon, Paul Rudd, Johnny Knoxville and Sheryl Crowe enjoying the fabulous drinks and tapas under the stars ~ Rumor has it that Justin Timberlake was there the night of Debbie and Julian's party. 

Debbie and Julian had reserved the lounge's rooftop deck to enjoy the views of Times Square and Columbus Circle with their friends.  The group partied into the wee hours.  Luckily, the wedding was on Sunday so they had Saturday to recover from an exciting night.  We would highly recommend AVA for anyone looking for a great night out. 

Details on their ultra chic wedding at the Mandarin Oriental coming soon!

Candice & Priscilla

Maria's Summer Soiree

 

 

Having a former bride come back to us to plan another event is one of the greatest compliments we can get. This was just the case when Jim Mullan, the father of our Bride Jennifer, came to us asking us to plan a surprise 60th Birthday Party for his amazing wife Maria.  The party was held on Saturday, July 18th at Calcada Restaurant in Newark.  Jim's Daughter, Jennifer wed her Groom Eliu just a couple short months ago in the Dominican Republic and we were honored to help them put together a fantastic beach ceremony and reception. As Maria's tastes in decor are just as eclectic as Jennifer's (check out her wedding photographs at our photo gallery!) we knew that Priscilla from our Event Design team would create a design nothing short of unique.

Preparations for this once in a lifetime event started a few months ago with the search for the perfect location.  Once Misha took Jennifer to Calcada Restaurant, they both knew it would be the perfect location for a Summer soiree in Maria's honor. As Calcada was a blank palette it allowed the team's imagination to flow with tons of great ideas for decor.

 

 

On Saturday, Misha, Candice, and Priscilla arrived at Calcada to decorate the outdoor space. Teal and Marigold table clothes covered the tables. Each table had its own unique centerpiece. Some tables featured fishbowls with floating flowers and candles.  Others featured centerpieces of gorgeous Yellow Mokara Orchids and Mango Calla Lillies.  One unique element of the table design was the gold lumineres featuring photos of Maria and her family.  The tables were also decorated with cards printed with modeling photos of Maria and the city they were taken in.  The bar and buffet was decorated with celadon vases in various shapes and sizes and cards featuring funny, famous aging quotes.  To complete the look, bright colored circular and square lanterns covered the tent ceiling and illuminated the restaurant.

As the guests prepared for Maria's arrival at 7:30pm, Candice was constantly receiving texts from Jen regarding their whereabouts. As soon as Candice got the text that said "Here!", the DJ, Dave from In the Mix Entertainment prepared to play Maria's favorite song, "La Vida Es Un Carnaval" by Celia, and Melissa the photographer stood by ready to capture the moment ~ and you can see below that she did so perfectly.

 

Shocked would be an understatement of Maria's reaction. Overwhelmed with emotion, Maria had no idea what was yet to come. The night began with tons of great food made by Calcada. Eating, dancing, drinking, and catching up with old friends was the perfect way for Maria to celebrate her 60th Birthday. A couple hours into the evening, the guests sang “Happy Birthday” and a beautiful cake, with a traditional Mola design printed onto it, prepared by Wyckoff Bakery, was served to the guests. The cake was delicious and was a perfect way to incorporate Maria's culture.  

 

All the guests had a great time celebrating with Maria and her family while enjoying the beautiful summer night. At the end of the night each took home a personal photo favor with a photo of them and the guest of honor, which was provided by Melissa the photographer. The night was a complete success and we were honored to be a part of such a special occasion. Happy 60th Birthday Maria!

All the Best,

Misha, Candice &, Priscilla

The Finishing Touch's "Ultimate Girls' Night Out" Client Event

 

On Thursday, May 7, 2009 the ladies of The Finishing Touch, Wedding and Event Planning hosted our first annual client party, to spend quality time with our brides as we kick off a very busy wedding season.

The event was held at the new W Hotel in Hoboken, NJ.  It was the very first bridal event held in their fabulous event space, so we were thrilled to kick off all the great events that we are sure they will have there.

 

As a special treat for our brides, the event included delicious hors d’ oeuvres, our signature Finishing Touch-tini cocktails, tasty stuffed cupcakes from The Cupcake Factory and amazing entertainment from Craig Scott Entertainment.

Our guests were also treated to relaxing treatments from Bliss Spa, located at the W Hoboken, and hair and make up consultations from Magda's Desgns, Inc.  The festive occasion was captured by Ron Holtz of Ron Holtz Photography, our beautiful florals were done by The Romantic Garden and our photo montage presentation was put together by Fiore Films.  LED Video screens were provided by In the Mix DJs and lighting was provided by BML Blackbird.  Party Rental Ltd provided the beautiful linens and chivari ballroom chairs.

 

 Spectacular door prizes were also raffled off during the party.  Guests walked away with fun items including gift certificates from Adorn Brides for jewelry, Jaqueline Pasquale Salon for spray tanning, Alan Gordon for massages, and Juliann skin care gift certificates.  Other coveted items included a JimmyJane Massage Candle,a Vosges Chocolate Hat Box filled with specialty chocolates, full size Bliss Spa products, Warm Whiskers Microwavable Eye Pillows and Slippers, a pearl and crystal necklace from Vandana Custom Jewerly, an autographed cookbook from Baked, and the new W Hotels CD.

  

At the end of the evening, our brides left with large reusable purple W Hotels the Store gift bags filled with a Nalini Method workout certificate, Purse Hangers from Purse Jewelry,  chic accessories from Glam, a facial gift certificate from Dr. Richard A. D'Amico, a copy of New Jersey Life Weddings Magazine, and exclusive Finishing Touch wedding package discounts, as well as DJ discounts from In the Mix.

Overall, the event was wonderful, and we are already looking forward to hosting our next one next year.  Thank you again to everyone for spending the evening with us, and to our fabulous vendors and partners.

Stay tuned for more pictures from Ron Holtz of Ron Holtz Photography.

Happy Planning,

Candice, Leah, Nicole, Priscilla & Soroya

The Finishing Touch Team Walks For Multiple Sclerosis

 

According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s website, “approximately 400,000 people across the United States have MS, and 200 people are diagnosed every week.” Each year the MS Society holds an event where thousands of people across the country can walk to raise money and raise awareness for this important cause.   On Sunday, April 19^th, Candice, Nicole and I participated in such an event to support the MS Society.

 

 

 

The walk took place in Ridgewood, NJ where we met up with 13 other friends.  Our team name was Making Strides, for its initials, MS and for the fact that research has “made so many strides.”  As a team we raised over $5,000, which was 3^rd best amongst the teams walking in Ridgewood.  I was so thrilled to be walking with such great people and I really hope that we have started a wonderful tradition.  To read more about the walks and the disease please visit their website at www.nationalmssociety.org. 

 

Keep Making Strides,

 

Candice, Leah & Nicole