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Corporate Events

Vintage Vignettes by Tricia Fountaine

Want the Inside Scoop on vintage and miscellaneous rentals in Santa Barbara

for your next special event or wedding?  WELL, Felici Events is letting the cat out of the bag!

Look at the following samples to decorate a truly unique creation using some of the

"Vintage Vignettes" props and rentals.

There are clocks, apothecary jars, Moroccan Plates, gorgeous benches in white and brown

and fun ways to showcase your escort card display or party!

 

 

 

 

Tricia Fountaine, an excruciatingly talented florist and designer just announced

her new Vintage Rental Company.  Find out more on her website.

Light a Moroccan Night

FELICI-FIED (two big thumbs up from Zohe)!

I lived in the Middle East for a handful of years when I was growing up: Algeria and Cairo.

These gorgeous Moroccan style lanters from Town and Country Event Rentals evoke familiarity and provoke childhood memories of stylish beauty to me.

 

You don't have to be a child to have an event under a tent!

I am inspired to manifest a Moroccan Felici Event!

Cigar Celebrations

Cigar Afficionado? Cigar Row is an ISES member who attended Event World in Dallas earlier this month, and it brought back memories.

Cigars Parties and Events for Corporate

Growing up I was more of a tom boy.  I loved hanging out with the boys.

Once I learned to play poker I never looked back!  (I was in my 20's silly, how young did you think I was talking about)?

When I moved to Austin after college the "Cigar and Martini" bars were an upcoming trend.  Bars would showcase a creative martini menu and upscale environment which included 'cigar rooms' for your puffing enjoyment.  I loved it!  I tried my first apple-tini in one DELISH!

At The Pearl of Havana Fundraising Gala  I produced in 2007 carried a 1950's Cuban theme, which included a cigar lounge.  Needles to say it was a popular hang out area the night of the event, even for the co-chairs below.

There are a number of ways that you can incorporate cigars into your corporate event, celebration, bachelor party or hey, JUST THE GIRLS poker night party!

The Future is Here for Your Next Event!!

Felici Events had the pleasure of attending ISES Eventworld earlier this month in my old stomping grounds, the great city of Dallas, TX. Y'all!

One thing that really stood out during the conference was the use of LED lights. They light up on pretty much everything these days, just as the Jetson's predicted.

Club Shine lit it up with their LED dance floor.  I have to say, I love to dance, I've seen many of a dance floors, this was ri-dance-u-lous!

It can be used to show music or live video, photos, branding, logos or monograms.

Did you ever think that a floor could be used as a focal point for entertainment AND decor?

You can see Club Shine's floors in action here:

http://vimeo.com/43248252

Want more?

DJ's everywhere are dying to point their fingers on the Emulator, the World’s first and only multi-touch midi controller PC software. Smithson Martin's creation has transformed the look of a DJ booth from a traditional turntable or laptop into a transparent screen.

You can even write on the screen and flip it for all of the guests to see!

 

Quoting Chip Douglas, The Cable Guy "The Future is Now!"

Santa Barbara Estate Location - Villa Sevillano

One of the things I do as part of my work, is blog about different locations in Santa Barbara County to host your gathering, event, party or wedding.  You can see my work on the Santa Barbara Wedding Guide, a useful resource for brides and grooms worldwide. Today, I received an email about one of my favourite location posts, Villa Sevillano.  If you are looking to get married in the fall, they have some openings for events.  Here is more about the Villa Sevillano as posted on Santa Barbara Wedding Guide.

 

Villa Sevillano

By Zohe Felici, Felici Events

Villa Sevillano Villa Sevillano is a classic Mediterranean estate which sits amidst 22 acres of well manicured grounds, a private equestrian facility and exercise field.  Located in Carpinteria, the estate’s expansive property and panoramic Pacific views are enough to make you want to stay for a while.  It is, however, the property’s 14 person sleeping capacity and dynamic event hosting possibilities which make it ideal for a wedding weekend rental.

 

As you enter the long lush driveway and orchard, you are greeted by a front garden patio with palms centering a picturesque koi pond and fountain.  Once inside, the expansive ocean view living, dining and breakfast rooms feature exquisite Italian touches. The well laid out estate allows for easy hosting with its open kitchen and doorway leading outdoors to the infinity pool and jacuzzi. The second-floor holds three bedrooms with en suite baths and the master suite, all overlooking the exercise field and ocean.

The lowest level of the home, accessible by elevator, is centered by an enormous recreation room. One end is grounded by a custom bar, pool table and seating area all overlooking the equestrian grounds.  Adjacent to the bar is a nine-seat carpeted theater media room, fully wired with in-wall audio.  As you make your way down the hall, you find an elegant dark-wood wine room ideal for the wine enthusiast. This gorgeous estate is ideal for a weekend of events.  The on site polo field easily holds up to 300 guests for a seated dinner.  The olive and citrus orchards, formal gardens, and infinity edge pool all make for beautiful settings to hold receptions, cocktail hour and ceremonies.

This enchanting place is spread out……in fact, it may take you all weekend to make your way around!

This is a Ceremony and Reception or Reception Only Venue with overnight accommodations available for additional rental.

For more information on pricing and availability contact Leia at 805-715-3900.

Pricing: $$ – $$$ $10,000++ site fee

Contact: Leia at Santa Barbara Luxury Rentals

Capacity: up to 300

Requirements: Reservations require a signed contract and refundable security deposit to  secure your date.  Wedding planner required.  Generator, restroom rental, event insurance and professional and licensed vendors are all required. Candles must be enclosed in glass.  Additional lighting required.  Wedding planner required.   Due to the sensitivity of the polo field, a few precautions must be taken: no stakes can be used, no trucks are allowed on the field.  Tenting is allowed with the use of water barrels.

Catering: The two garages can be turned into a catering kitchen.  The caterer must provide all staff for food service, bar service, set up of all equipment, break down of all equipment, and clean up of site area.  You must rent a dumpster to remove trash at he end of the event.

Parking: Valet Parking or Shuttle Services are required.

Music: Generator required.  Amplified music is permitted; however, the site manager reserves the right to terminate the music if complaints are received.  All music must end at 10 pm.  (No exceptions.)

Alcohol Policy: Client provides own alcohol.  No one under the age of 21 is permitted to consume any alcoholic beverage.

What is Provided: Site manager, bride’s day use room, use of the house the evening of the event.

 

Felici Events attends Event Planner Day Part 2: Lobo Castle

We were taken from the Triunfo Creek Vineyard to the picturesque Lobo Castle by American Luxury Limousine. Lobo Castle is the only true Castle in southern California, complete with real stone towers, a courtyard, terraced gardens and a lagoon style pool. This luxury estate can hold up to 200 guests outside and 60 guests for a sit down dinner inside. This special venue is for the client who is looking for a unique venue to host their party. While touring the castle we were treated to a tasting of the their Private Label and signature cheese platter. Here are some shots of the beautiful location.

Felici Events attends Event Planner Day Part 1: Triunfo Creek Vineyards

Felici Events is usually busy with the planning side of events, but recently, we had the pleasure of attending an Event Planner Day. The day included an exclusive wine tasting and tour of three venues in the Malibu area. The tour of the first venue began at Triunfo Creek Vineyards where we tasted Malibu Valley Vineyards Reserve Syrah and tried appetizers. We finished off the tour with mini cheesecakes from the Pacific Cheesecake Company. It is a rustic, unique venue with great potential to hold exquisite events. Although many vineyards are located in Santa Barbara, this 50 acre venue provides the experience of a vineyard in a more convenient event location to those living in more southern areas of California. Take a look at some of the photos we snapped while on the tour! Stay tuned for venues 2 and 3 of the Event Planner Day!

 

Loving these decorative birch candles from Sofie, Jen, and Kay

 

Florals from The English Garden 

 

Gorgeous mountain views in the outdoor areas.

 

 

Felici Events Two Year Anniversary Thanks to You

Unique Guest Sign In Idea that Keeps on Giving

It is unbelievable that two years have passed since the Felici Events' inception in May 2010!

"I may not have all of the answers, but I surround myself with people who do" which is what lead us to create this guest sign in for the launch.

I loved getting guests' words of wisdom and it proved to be a great way to remember everyone who came and supported me.

This creative and simple alternate to a guest book can be incorporated into any event.

Just add personalization and creativity.

Thanks to everyone who has continued to support me and I look forward to continue growing.

La Tavola: Quality Linens at a Low Price

It’s easy to see beauty and take it at face value; but not everyone can see that high quality doesn't have to come with a high price. How is La Tavola able to beat the prices of several competing linen rental companies? Well, for starters, everything is done in-house – from the sewing to the washing to assembling of swatches. They actually have a 60,000 square foot warehouse that essentially functions as a magical little village creating fabulous linens. On top of that, the owners have a true passion for incredible fabric and they wanted to share the beauty with as many people as possible by making La Tavola’s linens as affordable as they could.

So, when you see something in the collection that strikes your fancy, let your imagination run wild, especially when you’re designing your event.

Happy linen shopping!

 

 

 

Easy Social Media Lesson in 1 Minute

Sometimes visual aids can teach us much more than a week-long class.

At Felici Events, we think about working smarter, not harder, and then rewarding ourselves with a donut. Part of our corporate events,  product launches,  and nonprofit event-planning packages include social media for the client.

The Number One (of four) Ingredient for Planning a Great Party

I am 100% Italian, therefore it was inevitable to be born a party planner.  I was barely out of the womb when I started entertaining and indubitably my career led me hospitality and then throwing  great parties as a living.

You see, Italians, or "I Paesani", are the epitome of entertainers and hosts who ensure that all occasions are celebrated and done so with GUSTO!

My NUMBER ONE of four things you must have to host a memorable party will make or break a party, can you guess what it is?
Remember, I am Italian.  Close your eyes and imagine yourself in Italy.  What is the one thing you think of when imagining Italy?

FOOD:

Felici rule number one is: Don't let people leave hungry.  Both my grandmothers as well as my mom  taught me that Italiafact.  I've been well fed with fresh ingredients, home cooked meals and generations of recipes my entire life.  As a family, we sat to a delicious home cooked dinner every night while I was growing up. To me, this upbringing makes a difference, food = event.

I practiced this rule last November when I threw my launch party.  Both my heritage along with appreciation of good food and fresh ingredients dictated the theme of my event.  It was also important to me to host a larger number of guests, and therefore my budget had to have some bang for the buck without compromising fresh delicious food.

I contacted California Woodfired Catering and had them cater the soiree.  That was a great decision!

The best part, I got three bangs for my buck.

1-Effortless: The set up, rental and service needs were minimal

2-A Show: Just like in my family's house, guests gathered around the wood-fired oven area watching the chef make pizzas with the fresh ingredients and pulling it out of the piping hot oven.  It also sparked up quite a bit of conversation amongst all.


3-Finger Lickin' Good:  The food was delicious.  It is just shy of one year later, and people are still talking about the yumy pizza!

Thanks Mike!

Mille Grazie! to our number one fans and supporters!

One of the biggest rewards of being an event planner is the relationships we create with clients.

I have couples, their friends and families and various clients with whom we still keep in touch.

Here is one prime example.  Lindsey and Jeff's Santa Barbara wedding was featured on Santa Barbara Wedding Guide Blog over the summer.  Even though their wedding was a few years back, Lindsey and her parents are HUGE fans of the dynamic duo -  Zohe Felici and Nico Designs - and still keep in touch with us on a regular basis.  Not only did they come to support Nico's "L is for Love" book launch I planned for him back in April (more to follow on that event), they event took the time to put together a collage of appreciation.  Yup, that's us - Nico, Momma Coye and myself in the middle left hand side picture......

We love you Coyes!  Let's plan another party.  Forever grateful.  -Zohe