The Triangle's NACE community is, by far, one of the best I have ever seen. I love how creatives, entrepreneurs, and just all around great companies come together once a month to learn more about the events industry. For the month of October I had the privilege of photographing their event that was held at 21c Hotel in Downtown Durham. This month's event focused on how to cater to unusual venues and the like. 21c Hotel was perfect as this venue hosts some of the most modern artwork in the triangle area, has a bold layout, and is just out of the ordinary extraordinary. 

Upon entering you are greeted by melodic sounds stemming from a local guitar soloist and sites of a mesmerizing acrobatic. The first thought that comes to mind is "this is going to be a great event." Each guest is given a number correlated with a team. From here you find the rest of your team with the same number and are given a task to find certain items throughout the museum hotel. There are 3 floors to the museum, and about 10 or so items that you are needed to find. Once you were done, you head back downstairs for a panelists Q & A, along with delectable food to pair. Dinner was served family style and Slice Pie Company came in for a delicious dessert to boot. I not only went home full, but inspired. 

Vendors

Venue 21c Museum Hotel
Planning and Coordination RSVP Events
Florist Tre Bella
Specialty Catering Slice Pie Company
Rentals American Party Rentals
Table Decor Table of Contents
Event Lighting Get Lit Special Event Lighting
Stage Design and Furniture AFR Event Furnishings
Performance Art Cirque De Vol

I had the utmost privilege of photographing last May's Triangle NACE event at the Stockroom in downtown Raleigh. If you are in the events industry, I highly suggest you look into joining with your local NACE chapter. There are so many opportunities to network, mingle, and put your work out there. It is really a joy. 

This month's NACE event was hosted by Dana with C & D Events. She is an utter joy and completely rocked this event out of the ballpark. When guests arrived they were greeted with cocktail hour, then sat for the main course and attraction. Both Southern Bride and Groom and Weddings Magazine were put on the spot while guests asked questions regarding what they look for in submissions for their magazines. It was so much fun! The insight these ladies gave was just tremendous! Super helpful meet and greet, I was so ecstatic that I could photograph them!

After dinner, whose delicious entrees were served by Soignee Events, each table went upstairs to the Glass Box for a surprise competition! Each table was given 10 minutes to style a table in one of 3 categories (Bohemian, High Drama, and Romantic). They had 6 models to choose from and a plethora of linens, florals, and knick knacks to style the table. It was super competitive! The teams were all amazing and definitely showed how good they were under pressure!

Below are a few images from the event!

Special thanks to all vendors involved!
Make Up For Your Day
The University Club
The Cupcake Shoppe
The Freezing Pointe
Artfully Arranged
Themeworks
Spin
Adam Chapin Photography
Red Bridge Photography
Classic Party Rentals
Greenhouse Picker Sisters
Bella Bridesmaids
Kristen Snow Letters
Bernard's Formal Wear