If you’re like us, your calendar is filled with wedding shows during the next few months. Janice Rosenthal of Party Productions is the genius behind one of them: the Artful Bride Event at the Milwaukee Art Museum on Monday, January 14, from 4 to 9 p.m. (Read on to find out how you can win tickets!)

In her 18 years in the business, Rosenthal has developed the motto, “Good enough isn’t good enough; the best comes close.” It sums up the passion, enthusiasm and high standards she’s set for herself to make her clients’ events everything they can and should be. Here on Wed in Milwaukee, Rosenthal offers her expertise to help you plan your own fabulous party.

What services does Party Productions offer?
JR: Party Productions is a full-service design, planning and production company, providing all elements necessary for producing extraordinary corporate galas and fundraisers, birthday and anniversary celebrations and spectacular weddings.

From unique, customized invitations and decorations to catering and entertainment, Party Productions handles it all! I work with a select group of florists, musicians, artists, lighting experts, rental companies, caterers, photographers and cinematographers throughout the country, guiding their talents and expanding their boundaries to create the best-ever events for my clients.

What is your favorite part about event planning?
JR: My favorite part is the creativity involved in designing an event to make it both fabulous and personal, with just the right amount of sparkle.

What is the biggest challenge?
JR: The biggest challenge is balancing my client’s dreams with the budget. To accomplish this, I educate them about choices and prices, so they can make well-informed decisions to get the best value for their dollars.

What do you wish people knew about event planning?
JR: Getting your “ducks in a row” in the planning stages of an event (or hiring a wedding planner to do it for you) ensures a greater likelihood that everything will turn out as you imagined.

It is important to understand that spending a lot of money isn’t what a great event is all about. Style, taste and elegance can be achieved at any price, providing you know the right things to do and how to execute them.

How do you style each event?
JR: For every event I design or plan, I let my client’s dreams and expectations be my inspiration. Even the smallest glimmer of an idea can spark an explosively fun feature. I then create the big picture—a vision or mood, and subsequently fill in those all-important details to design an event that is logistically sound and reflective of my client’s personal style.

What are a few good ways to make an event look really polished?
JR: Anything you choose to do, do it well. If you don’t have the time or the budget for a particular idea, then leave it out of the plan. No one will miss it. If you execute it badly, everyone will notice. Also, make sure all elements of your event are perfectly aligned and displayed. And finally, focus, streamline and extract the clutter. Details do matter!

How can couples make wedding-related events (like the rehearsal dinner and post-wedding brunch) unique, yet keep them tied in with the wedding as a whole?
JR: First, create an overall wedding weekend picture, vision and mood. Then select personal supporting event themes and locations to coordinate. Couples should not be afraid to think outside the box. Think of planning as an adventure and just have fun with it.

The 2013 Artful Bride Event is just two months away! What inspired you to produce it?
JR: Observing so many stressed-out brides and grooms was a big factor in my decision to produce The Artful Bride Event. I wanted to share with all brides the secrets of planning their personal version of an artful wedding. Just before falling asleep one night, this bridal extravaganza became an inkling of a vision in my mind. When I woke the next morning, I set out to make it a reality.

Who’s invited?
JR: Brides, grooms, their parents, grandparents, wedding parties and anyone who loves to attend artful weddings, experience artful travel, and live an artful life.

Who else is involved?
JR: The Artful Bride Event is comprised of about 30 to 40 “Party Production Partners,” vendors and artisans that I have extensive working relationships with, that I am proud to be associated with and that I would highly recommend to my best friend if I was planning his or her wedding. [Wed in Milwaukee and our sister site, OnMilwaukee.com, are sponsors!]

What can brides and their VIPs look forward to when they visit The Artful Bride Event?
JR: An educational, artful bridal extravaganza in one of the most architectural art museums in the world…and a fun party!

How is this wedding show unique?
JR: The Artful Bride Event (or ABE) is designed to be experienced as if you are attending a wedding celebration. Cocktail attire sets the tone (click here to find out more details). VIPs get a chic swag bag and are invited to arrive early, at 3 p.m.

New this year is the Mother of the Bride (MOB) Countdown to the Aisle. It will take place before ABE, from 1 to 3 p.m. MOB is exclusively for mothers of the bride or groom, to educate them about all the exciting options available to help prepare them to look and feel their very best on their daughter’s or son’s wedding day.

***This contest is now closed.*** Win free tickets! Two winners will receive a pair of tickets to the 2013 Artful Bride Event. To enter, simply comment below and tell us how you’ll make your celebration an artful one. The contest closes at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, November 26. The winners will be announced shortly thereafter. Want to make sure you get in to the event? Buy tickets here.

All events shown here were designed by Party Productions; photographs by Boutique Photographer Linda Gumieny and Janice Rosenthal.

Ellie Martin Cliffe (104 Posts)

By the end of high school, Ellie Martin Cliffe was completely enamored of journalism, so she chose the most logical college major possible: anthropology. Disappointed by the minimal emphasis on writing and editing, she changed tracks and earned a comm degree from Carroll College. Ellie has since tackled many facets of the field including books, magazines and the Web at places like The Knot and Reader's Digest. She now works full time in book publishing, and is thrilled to get her wedding fix with WedInMilwaukee.com. When she isn’t wielding her (red) pen, Ellie can be found in the garden, at any concert that showcases a fiddle, playing pub trivia or in the kitchen. She and her husband live in Riverwest with their hedgehog, Guinness, and grapefruit tree, Sprout.