It’s all in the details

With her original wedding plans torn asunder by Katrina, Metairie bride-to-be Sherree Green found herself in a peculiar situation. She was an evacuee in an unfamiliar northshore town, faced with the challenge of putting together a wedding in four short weeks. After a few days of futility and frustration trying to plan the celebration, Sherree knew she needed help. She just didn’t know where to turn. That’s when a sympathetic soul suggested she call Jo Baudoin of Mandeville’s Details by Josie.

“I was going to run away and get married,” confesses Sherree, describing her exasperation. But after her first consultation with Jo, Sherree’s frustration vanished. When Jo assured her that she could put together a nice wedding in a month’s time, Sherree knew she’d come to the right person.

“She has a lot of class and a knack for envisioning flowers, candlesticks, greenery on the cake table … She’s good with reading the person and knowing what they want,” says Sherree.

Jo was happy to plan the wedding and wasted no time getting started. Venue, invitations, photographer, officiant, florist—Jo guided Sherree step by step through the maze of decisions that had overwhelmed her just days before.

True to the name of her business, Jo didn’t allow a single detail to escape her meticulous eye. Menu, napkins, cake boxes, stationery and a myriad of other incidentals were selected. Jo and Sherree even taste-tested the cakes of several bakeries before deciding on the perfect wedding cake.

Sherree couldn’t be happier with her decision to hire Jo. “She made so many more choices available to me. Plus, she kept me within a budget. Jo called me every day. She got me on a path, and steered me in the right direction for things I needed to do. For example, my shoes. She suggested a couple of local shoe stores and even named some in Baton Rouge. She’s there for you, but she’s never pushy. She takes things one step at a time.”

As for Jo, her goal is to make her bride’s wedding day the most memorable and happiest day of her life. She begins by giving each bride a wedding planner book. This is normally divided into ten areas that she and the bride will work on over the course of the next several months. “I find this helps the bride organize her thoughts and work within the budget,” Jo explains.

Once Jo knows the budget she’s working with and the priorities of the bride, she compiles a plan of action and a host of choices. At this point, her expertise as a planner becomes invaluable. In the area of photographers alone, Jo knows the cost, quality, specialty and characteristics of each one on her list. She knows which reception sites are best for outdoor weddings and which have the best food. In a hurry for invitations? Jo doesn’t mind calling in a favor or two to help a bride in a pinch.

Not only does Jo know the physical details that make a wedding run smoothly, she also knows those nuances that transform a well-run wedding into an elegant memory of a lifetime. Sometimes, for example, a bride may want to cut out the limo ride from the reception. That’s when the romantic in Jo comes out. “Oh, go out in a special way,” she urges. “You and your husband need a nice long limo ride after the wedding to have a chance to talk.” In other words, stay a princess just a little longer. You’ll be so happy you did.

It is obvious that Jo takes motherly pride in her work. Having no children of her own, she says each of her brides is like her own daughter. From the tears glistening in her eyes as she shows photographs of weddings she’s planned, there is no doubt she’s sincere. “Look,” she says pointing out the way the bride’s veil flowed onto the groom, “I just love the way the photographer captured that.” Then, gazing at all the photographs in front of her, she says, wistfully, “There’s nothing like that moment when the bride turns to walk up the aisle. They are all so beautiful—so excited.” And knowing that she helped make the day memorable for them, she smiles through her tears and says, “That’s why I do it.”

How sweet it is

“Fabulous!” says 16-year-old Jordan Whittle.

“It was an innocent, sweet, yet elegant way of honoring Jordan, who is precious to us,” adds her mother, Donna Carr.

With these accolades ringing in her ears, event planner Dale Catalinotto smiles and says, “That’s what makes it all worth it.”

Since opening her business, Above and Beyond Event Planners, five years ago, Dale has helped clients celebrate weddings, grand openings, Sweet 16s, Mardi Gras balls and a Bat Mitzvah. And she does it, literally, by doing it all. “When a wedding or big party is planned, there are so many decisions to make, especially about cost,” Dale explains. “An objective person can defuse stress by providing affordable alternatives.”

Actually, Dale is convinced you can’t afford not to have an event planner. To begin with, a planner will help you stay within your budget. Not only do planners have a realistic handle on costs, they are also privy to discounts that ordinary people don’t get. “Sometimes those discounts pay most of the planner’s fee,” Dale shares. And, although cost is extremely important when hosting a large party, it usually takes second place to the peace of mind that comes from knowing a competent professional is handling every little detail for you.

Sweet-16-mom Donna couldn’t say enough about that. “Dale took care of everything. I felt as if it was our own party for Jordan. We got to invite 17 guests, so family and friends were there with us in an intimate setting around our own table. Everything was done for us—decorations, cake, favors, music, program, photographer. Dale did it all. It was so easy. We just had to pay the money and enjoy the evening.” Any Mandeville High School student marking her 16th birthday could participate.

For Sweet 16 celebrations, Dale meets with interested parties in April of the girls’ freshman year. At that time, she presents her ideas for the event, and discusses the projected cost per student and payment options. The girls fill out a questionnaire on their choices for the party—everything from colors to music. From that point on, however, party details are kept secret from the honorees. The mothers do meet again in September to review Dale’s plans and offer suggestions. Assimilating all of this input, Dale personalizes the Sweet 16 event, making it different from others she’s staged.

The flawless night of elegant celebration that ultimately emerges is the product of tremendous work and planning by Dale. The list of responsibilities is long: securing a venue; hiring a DJ and selecting a song list; designing invitations; printing and addressing those invitations; coordinating the guest lists to eliminate duplications; contacting bridal shops to arrange discounted prices for the participants’ gowns; ordering gloves and personalized memory books; selecting flowers, a photographer and a videographer; hiring security guards and servers; decorating, orchestrating, coordinating …The list seems endless, yet it all gets done. Best of all, it gets done without any work or worry by the girls or their families.

Donna says she is impressed with the value of an event planner. While she never would have considered one before the Sweet 16 party last March, she now sees just how much easier and more pleasant special parties are when a planner takes charge. As for Jordan, she’s thinking less about stress spared and more about moments cherished. “It was wonderful. I remember coming down the silver carpet, walking through the arch and hugging my step-dad. I love him so much. That was my proudest moment.”

And moments such as these are the reason Dale Catalinotto goes above and beyond—time after time.

The event of the year

Lisa Ray is not your ordinary event planner. Sure, she handles food and drink easily, drawing from her experience as catering manager at New Orleans’ Crowne Plaza Hotel. But to Lisa, a party is more than what you eat and drink. It is a celebration of the senses that combines feast and festivity.

There is no better example of Lisa’s creativity than the annual luau she plans for Kim and Chet Brown of Mandeville. Ask any of the 200+ guests at this year’s luau and you’ll hear the same remark: Every year it gets bigger and better. The first year Lisa planned the event she featured three hula dancers, Hawaiian food and palm trees. Now in its third year, the luau has evolved into an island experience that begins with Polynesian delicacies served by beautifully costumed young ladies and ends with a 45-minute entertainment spectacular featuring 11 dancers, a professional singer and a smoking volcano that delivers Pele, the goddess of fire.

“I look forward to the performance each year,” begins guest Bonnie Campbell. “I thought she couldn’t top last year, but when I saw the volcano, I was in awe!”

The smoking gray volcano that captured Campbell’s attention was a massive papier-mâché creation that did everything but spew lava. Lisa and her crew worked for a week building, painting and rigging it for the party. To keep it a secret, Lisa delivered the enormous prop via flatbed trailer at 4 a.m. the day of the event. There it stood, shrouded with a tarp in the center of the stage Chet had erected in the backyard. At 4 p.m. that afternoon, Lisa unveiled it, much to the delight and amazement of Kim and Chet.

“We tell Lisa to do whatever she wants,” Chet says, explaining their carte blanche attitude. “I trust her completely.”

“Lisa puts it on,” adds Kim, smiling as she defers compliments to her planner. “We just host it.”

Being able to enjoy your own party is what Packaged Events—An Event Planning Company is all about. As a planner, Lisa coordinated all aspects of the luau. Whereas most hostesses would be bogged down putting together the menu alone, Lisa handled the food almost effortlessly. From shrimp kabobs to pork roast, Hawaiian rice to teriyaki chicken, she coordinated the preparation and serving of the buffet. Because decorations play an important part in creating Polynesian ambiance, Lisa made certain that everything said “Hawaii.” The servers who brought tasty morsels to the partygoers were costumed in authentic Hawaiian garb made by Lisa. From the flowers in the pool to the Tiki god, from torches to the active volcano, guests were treated to a taste of the islands in their own neighborhood.

While good food and ambiance are normally sufficient for a successful party, Lisa Ray goes one step further by providing entertainment akin to a full-scale stage production. Tapping into the celebrity pool in her own family, Lisa frequently features her father, John Paquette, the Fairmont Hotel’s Sazerac Room notable. Crooning “Tiny Bubbles” to the audience, Paquette exudes a presence born of a lifetime on the stage.

With so many details to oversee and so many guests to please, it would seem natural for Lisa to have butterflies before staging the spectacular. But such is not the case. Interviewed the day before, she described her mood as “excited and calm.” On the evening of the luau, Lisa stayed behind the scenes moving food, checking on the photographer and the DJ, and coordinating the costuming of the dancers. Her touch was everywhere, but she was invisible, taking a break only for a quick photo with Kim and Chet before dashing off to adjust the stage lights.

“This was the talk of the beauty salon,” I heard one guest bragging.

“The August event to come to,” adds another. “When I’m ready to give a party, I’m going to call Lisa.”

Do indeed, I thought. Just remember to invite me, too.