Completed in 1918 in the town of Vernon Hills, IL, Cuneo Mansion and Gardens was built as the home of Samuel Insull, one of the original founders of General Electric Company. Furnished in an Italianate style with its gardens and landscaping designed by Jens Jensen, a world-renowned landscape architect, the mansion also features an extensive collection of fine antiques, paintings by world-famous artists, tapestries, sculptures, silver, and porcelain. In 1937, John Cuneo Sr. purchased the home and lived there with his wife and two children, John Jr. and Consuela. In 2009, John Jr. and his wife, Herta, donated the 100-acre estate to Loyola University Chicago along with the collection of art and furnishings. It has since been used as a venue for weddings, special occasions and corporate events.

Recently, TLC filmed its finale episodes of the show, Four Weddings, at Cuneo Mansion and Gardens. The show follows four separate brides as they plan their own weddings but also prepare to have their weddings attended and scored by the other brides in the categories of dress, venue, food, and experience. At the end, whichever bride has the most points out of the four wins a fabulous honeymoon vacation.

Loyola University Chicago is grateful to TLC for choosing Cuneo Mansion and Gardens as a setting for one of its shows and cannot thank the Cuneo family enough for its wonderful donation. The university plans to continually improve the space in order to accommodate a wide variety of events and looks forward to all future weddings and special occasions that will be held on the property.

To learn more about the Cuneo Mansion and Gardens, visit http://www.uniquevenues.com/CuneoMansion

Information on Four Weddings can be seen at http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/four-weddings.

This year, make those little unique touches stand out by getting creative.  From your food to your centerpieces, your venue to your gift, we’ve got you covered with some of the most unique holiday party items around.

Start by greeting your guests at the door or entrance way with a unique decoration: a peacock feather wreath. Pops of blue and purple add a flair, while still incorporating holiday green.

Next, liven up your catering table or centerpieces with some of these ornament bouquets.  You may even be able to get a package of ornaments already discounted at a store. We like this metallic motif; mixing red and green into the mix would get too busy.  For step by step instructions, see here.

Then, put a little twist on a holiday classic: eggnog.  Love it or hate it, this holiday staple is a must-have for your party. Even Starbucks opts to bring their eggnog latte back each year, due to demand.  Bring this drink up to speed, though, by layering it with raspberry chambord (for non-alcoholic, try mixing it with a raspberry smoothie).  Serve in a tall, clear glass to really show off the layers.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, make sure your venue has some unique quality to it to make your holiday party memorable.  There’s something to be said for booking a museum, old manor, zoo, cruise ship, or other eccentric venue to host your big night.  For any help finding a venue, check out Unique Venues’ site or let us find one for you through our Assisted Search program.

Happy Holidays from all of us at Unique Venues!

But before those NFL teams hit the field, they have to find some place to practice.  Did you know that some NFL teams call colleges and universities home in the late summer?  These venues’ fields are the perfect location for these professional athletes AND for corporations or groups looking to include outdoor activity into their retreats.

In fact, Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA has hosted the Superbowl winning Pittsburgh Steelers for 45 years during their training camp.  Consider following in their footsteps if you need to plan some sort of outdoor teambuilder and look into a college or university.

Cornhole at the Unique Venues summer staff party

If you’re looking for a more subtle way to capture the NFL spirit, check out these three tips for creating your own tailgate-themed event.

Cornhole. This game may go by many names, but the concept is simple: toss the beanbag into the holes in the boards to accumulate points.  Set up a tournament for your guests and watch the competitive spirit come through.

Have you had a cakepop yet?

Think on a stick: Your guests will have to be able to munch on something while they toss the beanbags, so keep food travel-friendly. Think kabobs, fruit skewers, or cakepops.

Unique references: You don’t need to scream tailgate with grills, footballs, and potato chips. Carry the theme into unexpected touches, like cupcakes for desert that mimic the field.

Great football cupcakes from Joys Chef Service

Keep these tips in mind when selecting a location or planning the details of your Fall events or parties.  Take a few risks, and you’ll be sure to leave a memorable impression on your guests.   Whether you explore a unique venue or serve up a themed snack, you’ll be sure to stand out.

Even though I have a GPS, college campuses can become more like a dead zone, where street names don’t register with satellites.  I spent a good 25 minutes circling the campus, looking for the lone parking garage on campus.

I tried calling a campus hotline, but the student on the other line kept basing his directions off of buildings on campus, none with which I was familiar.  He seemed annoyed, so I hung up and kept circling.

But in minute 24, I had a breakthrough.  I remembered the email I had been sent that week about the conference’s usage of Twitter.  They had created a hashtag and shared their handle for all of us Tweeps to discuss the conference.  With one little tweet, I could poll the audience of attendees and see where they had parked.  Surely, someone would be able to tell me how to get to the parking garage.

I pulled to the side of the road, whipped out my smartphone, and tweeted, “where’d everyone park? #integrate2011”  To my delight, one attendee tweeted back directions to the parking garage and the conference organizer tweeted back a phone number for campus parking.   Thankfully, those tweets led me to the (hidden, I tell you!) parking garage. 

Lessons learned as an event planner

While my first instinct was to search online for a campus phone number, in the end, it wasn’t the most useful solution.  Try giving directions to someone who’s completely unfamiliar with any building, business, or even road they’ve passed; it’s a tough job for anyone!

When planning your next meeting or conference, consider Twitter an extension of your customer service.  Create an official conference Twitter account, designate a hashtag that your attendees can use, and publicize it in all of your materials.

By enabling your attendees to talk to one another, you’ll expand your help desk to include your expert attendees.  In the end, it’ll take some of the pressure off of you, and it’ll deliver better customer service to your attendees.

What do you think?  How many of you have used Twitter for your conferences?  What sort of feedback have you received from attendees?

For example, check out the savings on Bahamas cruise when compared with a resort in Orlando.  For a 200 person conference, their estimates came out to $1,126/person for the cruise vs $1,509/person for the resort.  Those savings will really add up, and you’re still delivering a memorable experience—perhaps even more memorable than a stay at a land-based resort.

Here are a few quick tips to keep in mind when planning your cruise meeting:

• Pick the Right Departure City- Location has to be easily accessible for majority of attendees. Large metropolitan cities with airport access are the perfect departure cities for your next cruise.
• Get Everyone Involved- Send out an email or use a survey to get an idea of what types of activities your attendees want to do while on the cruise. Plan your activities accordingly and meet with your ship’s department heads and conference coordinators as soon as you arrive on the ship. Discuss your programs requirements and make sure all of your needs will be met.
• Plan for Excursions - One great thing about cruise meetings is that the typical planning expenses, such as AV equipment, room décor, and entertainment, are included with the ship.  Use the money you save there to plan excursions for your attendees.  They’ll give everyone something to talk about.
• Take Advantage of Group Dinners- During your group dinners on the ship, use this time to go over all the activities that happened that day, and most importantly, the itinerary of what’s ahead.

Ready to begin your search? Check out Unique Venues’ cruise ships, like those from Royal Caribbean International and Cruise Holidays.

Yet another way Unique Venues is connecting COOL VENUES with HIP PLANNERS!

Posted by: Shannon Glover

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