Wedding Event Planning Event Management Rochester, NY Events Made Easy

Movie planted the seed for career
As featured in the Rochester D&C:
by Leah Stacy

Rachel Pasternak will be the first to tell you that her career was inspired by a movie she saw during college.

Observer-Dispatch
Posted Feb 19, 2009 @ 11:56 AM
By CASSAUNDRA BABER

Maybe you’ve always dreamed of strutting along the red carpet or giving your acceptance speech for that amazing booty shake you pull off at the bar every weekend. Or, maybe you’re perfectly content with getting props for getting the party started.

If so — here’s your chance. The 81st Academy Awards airs at 8 p.m. Sunday and we’ve got all the tips you’ll need to earn your Oscar nod for Best Oscar Party of the Year.

Just don’t forget to thank us.

Invitations
It’s not too late to send out your invites, but forget snail mail. Click and send instead, says event planner Rachel Pasternak of Events Made Easy in Pittsford.

Pasternak suggests using evite.com, where the invitation is already designed for you. All you have to do is plug in the information and send, she says.

Hollywood touch: Keep paparazzi at bay by setting a fake date and fake place.

Décor
You can’t have an Oscar party without a red carpet, says Pasternak . Make your own with supplies from a fabric store such as Joanne’s Fabrics, she suggests.

Using vintage movie posters or cutouts also is a fun touch, she adds.

New Hartford Party City manager Joe Nicholson says that, while the store doesn’t sell themed decorations specifically for the Oscars, they do offer various decoration items geared toward a “Hollywood theme.”

From strings of lights with silver and gold stars ($12.99) to movie reel-decorated cups and plates ($1.66 to $3.30) to a red floor runner ($4.99), Nicholson says there are items to accommodate any Oscar-themed event. There are even life-size Elvis and Marilyn Monroe banners for $5.99, he says.

Hollywood touch: Have a friend and his camera act as the smart paparazzo who figured out the real time and date of your party.

Attire
Determining whether your party is formal or informal will determine what guests should wear, says Pasternak.

Hosts can set a glam theme and ask guests to dress in suits and cocktail dresses and shimmy down the red carpet in their finest.

Or hosts can encourage guests to come in costume as their favorite movie star or movie character, she suggests.

Coming in costume might be the best of both; it allows guests to choose how they dress: glam like Audrey Hepburn, casual like Billy Bob Thorton or just plain funny, like Napoleon Dynamite, she says.

Hollywood touch: Add a baby bump under your dress.

Eats
Like attire, food can be simple or glam, says Pasternak.

Pasternak suggests keeping it simple with a concession-style setup as you would see in a movie theater.

Serve popcorn in red-and-white-striped bags or boxes; hot dogs; soft pretzels; boxes of candy and nachos and cheese.

Glam up these easy bites by serving pigs in a blanket and flavored popcorn on silver trays or serve wrapped chocolates in martini glasses.

“You can always make less-formal food look formal if you present it the right way,” she says.

Hollywood touch: Everyone in Hollywood is starving themselves, so skip the food.

Drinks
There are a few fun things that can be done with drinks, says Pasternak. Make a signature drink and give it a fun name, such as Academy Slammer, she says.

Or ask guests to compete by bringing their own concoction based on the nominated movies. Here are a few ideas from thatsthespirit.com to get you started:

Tortola milk punch (referencing the movie “Milk”): Ingredients: 5 ounces milk; 1 1/2 ounces dark rum; 1 teaspoon coconut cream; a pinch of powdered cinnamon and powdered nutmeg. Preparation: Mix rum, sweetener and milk with cracked ice in a blender or shaker and pour into a chilled Collins glass. Sprinkle with spices.

Frostbite (referencing the movie “Frost/Nixon”): Ingredients: 3/4 ounce blue curaçao; 2 ounces cream; 1/2 ounce white crème de cacao; 1 1/2 ounces Tequila. Preparation: Mix all ingredients with ice in a shaker or blender. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass or whiskey sour glass.

Hollywood touch: Have a friend volunteer to bartend “Cocktail” style.

Games
Because the Academy Awards seem to go on and on and on, having various activities to keep guests entertained is important, says Pasternak.

Here are a few ideas:

Oscar bet: Have a score card available for each guest to make predictions of who will win each category. The winner should give their own acceptance speech.

And the Oscar goes to …: If it’s an intimate gathering, Pasternak suggests giving guests their own Oscar wins, such as “Best Performance at the Bar Last Week.”

Or try these ideas courtesy of Celebrations.com:

One more: Spice things up with an Oscars drinking game. For every time an actor cries, take a shot. How ‘bout every time someone thanks God? Drink. A speech gets cut off by the orchestra? Drink.

Please e-mail us at nyeventsmadeeasy@gmail.com
with any questions or to set up your free consultation.