By: Jessica (Goodworth) Hochman

Cake designed by Executive Caterers

One of my favorite things about working and living in Cleveland is that people of all ages, incomes and backgrounds regularly have the ability to attend outstanding networking, social and fund-raising events.

In comes Currents magazine who for the first time in 25 years hosted an event entitled Cocktails and Confections… The catchy event title wasn’t the only great thing about the event – it was an open cocktail, hors d’ouerve, and dessert party that anyone in the city could attend just by purchasing a $10 ticket.

It is rare for us at RTH staff members like me to simply attend an event as a guest, so for Ryan Konikoff and I, this was truly a treat. The event organizer, Taylor Eisner of Currents Magazine is only 24 but had extraordinary expectations when it came to the marketing and turnout of the event.  She says, “Yes, it was the first time we threw a huge event for the general public… but that was nothing to be intimidated about.” The energy of the night exceeded her personal expectations for the event. It was simply fabulous.

I was truly shocked upon entering the doors at Landerhaven and seeing such a mouth-watering production. The bar was stocked, and appetizers were hot and Currents even added a cake-tasting contest onto the agenda to keep party-goers even more entertained and satisfied. While there, I tasted over 10 different treats, had a massage and met so many people.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the wide-variety of people, from young professionals to fashion-forward snowbirds. All dressed to the nines, I felt like I wasn’t in Cleveland but at an event in NYC where the champagne keeps flowing and the conversations are contagious.

Now that all is said and done and the event was certainly a success, the young mover-and-shaker, Taylor says:

My advice is to be realistic. Understand that to plan a party on this scale you need to not only put a lot of work into it, but expect to run into road blocks… party planning is never a seamless process. When things go wrong take a minute to assess the situation and come up with a new plan and just keep going. Everything will work out, you just have to be willing to make it work. Also the best advice is….. BE GRACIOUS! You cannot plan a party on this grand of a scale alone. You will need help. And you will need to be nice to the people that help you. No matter how stressed out or frantic you may get don’t take it out on the people around you. If someone is trying to help, but does something different then you would have or just does it plain wrong remember, they are on your team. If they made a mistake it was an honest mistake in good faith and they were just TRYING TO HELP. This is something I had to remind myself of a lot, because it is easy to take people for granted or get frustrated and get snappy at people. In the end the only way a party will happen is with the help of the people around you! BTW the above is not meant to be a direct quote, it’s just off the top of my head. Oh AND….. BE ORGANIZED! I am horrible at organization, but for parties like this… make lists, make copies etc etc etc. Plan on losing important documents and know where your back up copies are. That way if you do lose something there is no panic. Also if it is your first time planning an event, before you start evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. If there is an area you will need help in find a partner to help plan the event. For instance with our event I was good at getting vendors to sign up, Suzie was good at getting guests to attend. We made a dynamite pair. In the end that’s what made the party… playing to everyones strengths to come together and make it happen!

VENDORS:
Executive Caterers at Landerhaven
Anne Van H Boutique
Audrey’s Sweet Threads
Blooms by Plantscaping
Cafe 56
Cindy Halle
Cleveland Auto Livery Limo
Cleveland Pops Orchestra*
Davide Cotugno
Dee Wolk’s No Diet Weight Solution
Dental & Cosmetic Solutions/Dr. Pastouk
Designs of Distinction
Dino Palmieri Salon and Spa
Dragonfly Massage and Bodywork
Garage Finisher*
Heights Floral
Kilgore Trout
LaseRx
Lavish Color Salon*
L’NIQUE
Marriott Hotels and Resorts
New Image Photography
Paysage
Pretzalicious*
Saks Fifth Avenue
Santo Salon and Spa
Simply Silver
Sofia Photography*
Susan Dale/Steve Toth, Keller Williams
Susan Delaney, Howard Hanna
The Invitation Studio
The Powder Room
The Ritz-Carlton
The Union Club
700 Beta Banquet & Conference Center

BAKERIES
About the Cake
Baking by Pat Hoose
Borally’s Catering
Executive Caterers at Landerhaven
Flour Girl
Linda’s Kitchen
Phyllis Lester Designs
Sugarcraft Cakes
The Grand Finale
The West Side Bakery