fme @ the democratic national convention

It was back in March that I was first approached by Michael Pazyniak of Lighthouse Creative Works, a marketing and event company based in Washington, DC. He wanted to gauge my interest in partnering with him on one of the delegate parties for the DNC.

To be honest, the DNC was not even on my radar. I plan weddings- not political events. And while I have planned my fair share of non-profit and corporate events from my years in New York, I was not sure if I was interested in expanding. It wasn't until after a chat with my husband and parents that I was convinced to take the first step and at least put in the bid.

Being that I am 90% realistic and 10% dreamer, I was fully prepared to receive a nicely written "sorry, but..." letter from the host committee in regards to our bid. I certainly was not expecting a call from them on the afternoon of April 5th asking for Michael and I to come in for an interview that following Monday.

On April 27th Michael and I were told that we had been selected to host one of the delegate events and that we had received the Mint Museum (the location that we had bid on and really, really wanted). We were also told that we would be hosting delegates from the states of Delware, Ohio, Illinois, Hawaii and both Michael and my home state of Pennsylvania.

With such amazing news, it killed me not being able to tell my closest friends and family. This secret was kept safe until the press conference announced the planners on May 22nd. Whew! Now we could finally talk about it, and more importantly, finally start planning!

What seemed like seconds later, September 2nd was here and all of our planning had paid off. The food, thanks to Janet at La-Tea-Da's was amazing.  The decor, thanks to Sara at Party Reflections for going to the ends of the Earth for me to find THEE sequin linens, was amazing. And of course, our entertainment was un-beatable with over 80 local entertainers (including cloggers, a marching band and cheerleaders) under the direction of choreographer, Mark Evans.

I am beyond humbled by the amount of press coverage that we received. Here are a few links to the articles that we were mentioned/covered in:

Biz Bash

WCNC (NBC Charlotte)

Charlotte Business Journal

Charlotte Magazine

The Charlotte Observer

Please enjoy some photos from the event, beautifully captured by The Beautiful Mess.

A HUGE thank you to all of these local vendors that made this night a success! I am so honored to be a part of the Charlotte event industry! 

Venue: David at the Mint Museum Uptown
Photography: Daniel and Candice from The Beautiful Mess
Caterer: Janet and Jessica from La-Tea-Da's
Rentals: Sara from Party Reflections
Floral: Karen from Lily Greenthumb's
Photo Booth: Art and Rachel from Shutterbooth
Lighting and Sound: Jim from Total Event Production
Confetti Canon: Bill from Parties by Design
Airbrush Tattoo: Donna from Expressions Unlimited
Videographer: David Whitlow Photography
Printed Signage: Gabe from Sign Innovations

with love.
Anne