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A recent bar mitzvah party by Janice Cherkasky
at Beverly Hills Club covered some tennis courts.
Ballet outfits adorned the tables at a Dee Dee Hoffman party
for Erica _ Reich, daughter of Annette and Michael Reich of Birmingham.
Staff photo by Angie Baan
Photo by Liebeligan Photography
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Your Right Arm
Professional
event planners
can turn your
big affair into a
dream.
Ruthan Brodsky
Special to celebrate!
hinking out-of-the-box and being
methodical are two major character-
istics of someone who plans a wed-
ding for 300 people, a bat mitzvah
with 60 kids, or a corporate event for 600 guests.
Most of us don't have the skills, the expertise or
the time, so we hire a planner, someone who cre-
ates the drama and atmosphere of a gala to the
last detail.
Event planning services range from selecting
party favors, music and decorations, to organizing
parking, toasts and family videos.
"A good event planner needs to be inventive,
skillful at multi-tasking, and understand specific
requirements for each event so that clients get
everything they expect ... and more," says Dee Dee
Hoffman of Dee Dee Hoffman Party Design in West
Bloomfield.
Armed with a teaching degree in art and a
master's in counseling, as well as 23 years of
experience, Hoffman says working out a budget
and determining the event's style, theme or story
is one of her first topics with a client.
"I'm good at communicating with vendors and
I have a working knowledge of most — catering,
photography, lighting, floral decorations," says
Hoffman."Even so, I have to do my homework
to keep up with the latest innovations in these
industries so I can give my clients direction and
tell them what they need and don't need. There's
no cookie-cutter approach to a party; they're all
different."
Finding the right event planner isn't easy. It's
important to find someone you like and believe in.
An event planner can take care of the event's
theme, finding a site, arranging for food, decor
and entertainment, planning transportation, send-
ing out invitations, making hotel accommodations,
coordinating all the vendors, helping with seating
arrangements and supervising the party.
Your Right Arm on 48
celebrate/ 2007
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