Tastemakers: Bridal Brunch Round Up
Design Fusion
Last Sunday, at the Le Parker Meridien, I attended The Bridal Brunch, a group of wedding vendors collaborated by Kate’s Paperie, who shared their craft and tips with Brides to Be. Originally, I must admit I signed up to support the girls who helped me create my Save the Dates and, claim the 10% discount off my wedding invitations for attending the event. Ironically, I was one of the last to leave the shindig, I sat next to a fabulous girl named Leah who kept me giggling the whole time, and I won a raffle to the Burger Joint. My favorite!
I was curious to find out when these Wedding Experts got into the industry and how it all began:
Harlen and Kara, the Travel Siblings, are real life siblings and a real riot. The duo have been in the hospitality and travel business for over fifteen years. While Harlen was an aspiring opera singer and Kara was working in the pop commercial biz they traveled together for pleasure. They discovered two things: First, planning trips was their true passion. Furthermore, there was a lack of competent travel agents out there who offered special amenities and had established relationships with the airlines and hotels. They quit their current gigs and the Travel Siblings was created.
Meghan Caroy, Vera Wang Fine Papers, since childhood was a voracious letter writer, accumulating a long list of pen pals around the world who she shared poems, art work, and snip-its with. Later, she enjoyed integrating art into her letter writing and eventually these passions lead her to build a career melding paper with creative design at William Arthur.
Gina Ojile’s: Cake & Shake, desire is to bring American staples to global destinations on the streets of New York City…literally. “So much about New York is the street driven experiences. It is very satisfying to share “a first” with a Japanese tourist who has never tasted a cupcake or milk shake until today.”
All Cake and Shake ingredients are organic and they have recently added the savory cupcake which has become a new favorite. Locations thus far: Washington Square Park Cart and the MET (Metropolitan Museum of Art). After sampling these sweet treats I see a budding future!
Carol Zack, Hand Lettered Calligraphy, is a veteran of the calligraphy craft for over three decades. Her “bible” Crane’s Wedding Blue Book is always in arm’s reach and she is confident to answer questions and execute jobs from the most formal and customary to the new and outlandish. From the beginning of her career she has had a passion for calligraphy, different textures of paper, inks and the ability to constantly evolve and improve on this timeless skill. She has taught for years and regularly attends technique classes to stay in the know. She can be reached at www.nyscribble.com/samples. Carol’s motto is “Where there’s a quill there’s a way.”
Jerry Sibal, owner of Design Fusion, is a genuine Renaissance man. With a diverse background of expertise he sees a room as a pallet for enormous possibility. As a trained architect and a former choreographer for the Ma Yi dance group, he is comfortable with incorporating symmetry with organic contours. Sibal tastefully fuses East with and West design. To view a collection of his most exquisite works please check out his book, An Event To Remember.
Viva Max, Kate’s Paperie, has a carefree spirit that is ultra refreshing especially amid a planning process with so many details involved. Her background was in wedding planning working at a boutique firm. She always held an appreciation for quality paper and cards and in a time of discovery she joined Kate’s Paperie assuming is might just be a temporary opportunity. Viva fell in love with stationary and working with brides and after three years at Kate’s she has been promoted to the Event Director. Ah, the love of Paper!
Satisfy your senses,
Amanda (follow me on Twitter!)
