The city that never sleeps
The 10th of October 2016, we went on a business trip – together with founder Danielle from the Weddingplanners international, BWPN and 2 other Dutch wedding planners – to learn about the wedding industry in NY. We got the chance to meet great professionals and to get inspired by them. We will never forget this unique experience! It was far beyond our expectations!
Monday, Day 1
Finally this date arrived! Five ladies, ready to go on a business trip to New York with “almost” empty luggage. The Dutch company “Weddingplanners International, BWPN” organized this amazing trip. After a long flight of 8,5 hours and having watched 4 movies we finally arrived at the JFK International Airport. A big surprise was awaiting us…. How about taking the LIMO that brings us to the Wolcott Hotel right in the center with a perfect view at the Empire State Building??? WAAAWW!
Once we arrived at our location we started to make ourselves ready for a nice dinner … Guess what? HAMBURGERS OF COURSE!
Tuesday, Day 2
Getting up early… actually we got awake several times during the night because of the time difference with our country. But even after a restless night, we were fully boosted with energy and excitement to visit the bridal salon of VERA WANG at the Madison Avenue. Toni was so kind to show us around and told us how they work and ensure that every bride feels the most important woman while she’s trying one of the extraordinary gowns. Toni made us feel at ease right away and we could take a look at all the beautiful wedding dresses in the salon. The gown they used in the movie Bride Wars that was worn by Kate Hudson hung there as well. It was such a nice experience!
After the visit, we took the “Hop on, hop off” bus to do some sightseeing. It’s the best and fastest way to see NYC. We started with the downtown-tour and got off the bus to visit the One World Trade Center and the National September 11 Memorial. It was very special to be here and it left such a big impression on us.
Then, we moved on to Time Square for some shopping! Waaaww…. those lights and big screens and huge stores! Of course we had to go to the M&M’s store and the Disney store!
We didn’t want this day to end. We were getting so inspired by this amazing city! Finally we went back to the hotel, because the next day we had to wake up very early!!
Wednesday, Day 3
Zzzzz…. 5 o’clock in the morning and the alarm went off! At 7 o’clock we met Rene Hofstede from MILLE FIORI. He’s a very known Dutch florist in NY and works for famous brands and people such as Armani. He showed us the flower market where he has his office. It’s a perfect place for florists and other professionals to get their flowers from. There were many trucks in the streets delivering all kinds of flowers from all over the world. We saw everything! Tropical plants, thousands of roses in different colors, big pumpkins and decoration. We felt like we were in Wonderland!
Rene took us to a very nice restaurant called l’Amico to have some breakfast. The menu looked amazing. Knowing ourselves as we are sisters … duhhh … we had to try the waffles and American pancakes of course!! It was delicious!
Luckily we could burn some calories after all those kilometers that we have been walking through the city! It’s a good excuse to visit some shops again haha. Our next meeting was at the D&D building in the 3rd Avenue with Jessica Powers, who showed us “THE UPPER STORY” venue. This location has a spectacular view to the city. At this venue you can organize a bridal shower, baby shower, Bar Mitzvah or corporate event.
Then, we continued to another venue, which was very special to us and to many other wedding and event planners… THE PLAZA HOTEL! A very known hotel by the movie “Home Alone 2” as many of you already know, and by “Eloise at the Plaza”, a live-action film based on the Eloise series of children’s books. Emily Reifel (Senior Social Sales Manager) welcomed us with open arms and showed us the different spaces of the hotel. The Terrace room and the Grand Ballroom were huge. A big dream for many brides to be to get married here! At the end of this visit, we were offered delicious Champagne by the Plaza Hotel. With red cheeks we left the venue very satisfied, but hungry too. Time to eat!
Thursday, Day 4
Another lovely sunny day! We couldn’t wish for better weather these days. We decided to take the “Hop on, hop off” bus again, just for a short ride until a very cozy neighborhood where we really wanted to visit one of the most famous bakeries. MAGNOLIA´S BAKERY! And guess what? We didn’t leave the place without having tried anything! It took us 15 minutes to choose from such much variety! Cakes, cupcakes, cookies, chocolate, puddings… It looked overwhelming and it tasted even better! Sitting at the terrace in front with sunny weather and a biiiig piece of chocolate cake… What else??? Unfortunately, we couldn’t try everything, but as a consolation we bought the book of recipes to try it at home ourselves… haha… we can only say, “wish us luck!”
We took the bus again to go uptown this time. Our tour guide was very funny, a big fan of the Yankees and explained us about the rich and famous people living near Central Park and how we could achieve a house over there… in case we wanted to know that haha.
On our way to the next meeting with Adrian and Janelle from IRA LIPPKE STUDIOS – one of the best photographers and filmmakers in NY – we still had a few minutes to make a pit stop at the bridal salon of KLEINFELD… you know… “Say yes to the dress”!?? We couldn’t leave it and had to take a peak inside! What a sensational feeling to be here! Seeing brides-to-be trying out their wedding dress … so sweet!
We quickly moved on to the IRA LIPPKE STUDIOS where we received a very warm welcoming. Are all people that kind and open-minded here?!?! After a short introduction and a nice cup of coffee, Adrian showed us their work. His films made us melt and their pictures were definitely storytelling. Adrian is inspiring. He’s funny. He’s gentle. He’s creative. He’s natural. We love his style! They have a beautiful studio by the way, with some nice designs. It’s obvious that they take very good care of their image. They really do an amazing job. They deliver high quality and we love the way they work!
We left this meeting with a lot of inspiration and positive energy to grow further with our business.
This long day got to an end. Feeling happy… we just got some new ideas for LOVE & MEMORIES …
Friday, Day 5
Before taking the flight back to Amsterdam, we still had some wishes on our bucket list that we really wanted to do. A walk in Central park and buy some toys for the kids! How difficult is that? Well, let’s say that there’s no existing toy store anymore in NYC!!! Can you imagine!?!? Arriving home without toys for the kids is so not done! A tour guide told us that all three big toy stores got bankrupt last year during Christmas! Really?!?
BUT, there was just a little tiny store near Central Park. By coincidence, we had to go that direction anyway! As happy as a little kid we left this cute little store with bags full of toys! Mission accomplished! Up to our last stop. CENTRAL PARK!!
It is true that it’s so quiet up here. We totally understand that people from the city need to get away from all the stress and craziness sometimes and come here to disconnect. We were relaxing in the grass and enjoying the sunny weather. NEW YORK turned out to be a fact! We enjoyed a lot together and we’ve learned so many things. An unforgettable experience, a great city, nice people, positive energy, new inspiration and ideas to achieve our goals. It was absolutely worth it and even better than expected! New York is just one of a kind. We definitely recommend anyone to visit this city. Would it be your destination wedding perhaps? Or it might be an idea for a honeymoon? Let’s do this!
With love Stephanie & Celeste
All pictures were taken with our Iphone.
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