CLM Owner, Christie McCoy, was recently featured on The Write Shot’s Blog
Christie McCoy dreams big – and executes even bigger
by Tash
Christie McCoy was that little girl who always dreamed about her wedding day. She was also that little girl who absolutely had to redesign her bedroom monthly, if not weekly, so it comes as no surprise that when that little girl grew up, she started planning weddings and events professionally.
The year was 2003 and the place, New York City. Back then, her operation was a one-woman show.
Since then, Christie has been dreaming big and executing even bigger. Christie’s CLM Weddings now plans events from coast-to-coast, while claiming Las Vegas as home. Christie employs a total of four planners, whose numbers increase seasonally through the addition of assistants and interns.
Creating, showing and sharing
Both, an event designer and wedding planner, Christie relishes keeping up with the most recent styles and industry trends. She also prides herself on creating that custom feel for each client’s vision.
“Designing is probably my favorite part of wedding planning,” says Christie, “because my clients can let go and my creative juices flow.”
Christie creates sketches, shows sample photos, and shares what she is thinking, in terms of overall design concepts with her clients. This way, they know what they are receiving and can ask questions. The next step in bringing these concepts to life is approaching a décor company that can assist with the logistics of making the look and feel come alive.
“Being an event designer takes a lot of creativity and time,” notes Christie.
Ingenuity and creativity really come into play, as Christie helps clients build personal and realistic budgets, prioritizing what is most important for them. Next, she is responsible for executing their vision within that budget.
Doing what she does best
Christie believes strongly in the necessity of strong communication and teamwork when planning events, no matter how big or small. She collaborates with each creative professional involved, from the on-site coordinator to the décor company’s end-of-night strike crew.
Her philosophy—Do what you do best.
“Let the venue shine with their food, beverages and service,” she says. “Let the photographer set the perfect backdrop for jaw-dropping photography, and let the wedding planner plan the wedding.”
Ideas and inspiration
Though ideas come easily to her, Christie also reaches out for inspiration, citing event designer Preston Bailey, whose work is often referred to as artistic installations, as one of her favorite resources.
Christie also prepares a mock-up or rendering of each inspired element she proposes to her client. Tablescapes, room design, lighting schemes, printing and every other detail, no matter how minute are set-up, modeled or sketched out.
Stimulating all five senses
“A true event designer not only looks at elements people can touch or feel,” says Christie, “but also attacks all of your senses.”
Christie shows line samples, prop samples and anything tactile, encouraging her clients to think about what their guests will see, smell and hear when they walk into a room or space. All these details need to be addressed to create that awe-inspiring reality, as seen here in Christie’s Big Appletini winter wedding held at the Las Vegas Four Season’s Hotel.
“My client, like many, simply said, ‘I trust you,’” says Christie. ”‘Just capture my vision and I know it will be beautiful.’”
Snow falls on a hot summer night in Vegas
On a sweltering Vegas evening this past June, Christie transformed the Four Seasons Las Vegas into a snowy Manhattan paradise. Arriving, dressed to the nines, ready to stroll down Manhattan‘s Park and 5th Avenues, guests received a holler from a 1940s paperboy standing in front of a New York City magazine stand, peddling a detailed program of the evening’s festivities fashioned after the New York Times.
Guests read the day’s breaking news – BIG MIKE AND LITTLE LISA GET HITCHED – sipping their Big Apple inspired cocktails, which included, among others, deliciously refreshing snow appletinis, while they strolled through snow-covered trees and branches in Central Park, making their way toward a winter white floating chuppah draped in rich fabric and crystals.
Passing over 250 candles and stopping only to grab a knish, mini-hotdog or piece of sushi from a cart, guests settled in for an evening of New York inspired love, romance and fun. The city’s skyline lit up, and it snowed – nothing like a June snowfall during Las Vegas’ triple-digit summer.
Double doors opened and guests walked up the stairs and over the George Washington Bridge, gazing down to fish frolicking below. Making their way from one side to the other, guests descended into a street lined with historic brownstones below.
Having crossed the bridge, children ran ahead to a brownstone food station filled with everything a young palate desires. Adults took their time stopping to admire the custom-made, five-by-three-foot chandelier boxes that hung from the ceiling high above. Overflowing with hydrangeas and adorned with crystals strung from beneath, the chandeliers floated like clouds.
Candles were everywhere.
This is the Big Apple
Apples. Everywhere. Thousands of them. Literally. Some red, some painted gold. And some, frozen in time inside one of two sculpted ice luges that created a dramatic element framing a 30-foot ice bar, where snow appletinis flowed as guests tapped their feet to Frank Sinatra crooning his fabled “New York, New York.” Apples made their appearance, again, in an entire wall constructed of the fruit, all red save for the couple’s monogram gilded and shining.
“Believe it or not, the apple wall is something I dreamed of five years ago,” shares Christie, “I waited that long for the perfect opportunity to present itself.”
(Click here to see Christie’s apple bar and wall sketch)
Big apples appeared again on the tables in the form of place cards, intriguing guests almost as much as the beer garden’s foliage-infused entrance, complete with a flowing fountain that set the mood as guests picked up custom-etched glass pints to fill with their favorite brews.
The icing on the cake
The New York skyline cake, lit from within, had no stand and, instead, sat atop a Plexiglas box filled with alternating compartments of flowers and, yes, more apples. The couple’s monogram in gold on a red apple, of course, provided the perfect accent.
70 people and 41 hours later
Seventy people and 41 hours from set-up to strike, only begin to explain the resources tapped for this six-hour uber-affair. The client allowed Christie freedom to design and create. Though sharing ideas and sketches every step of the way, Christie and her team were allowed to just run with things.
“The bride was a guest,” says Christie, “She had no jobs except to get married and dance and visit with her friends and family. She knew we could execute her vision, but, in the end, she was surprised at the details – and how well we did it.”
Christie’s recommendation for DIY brides:
Planners, whose full services are utilized, both, design your event puzzle and put the pieces together. DIY brides, who hire a planner for day-of coordination, should remember to share the details of their vision and take the time to explain assembled elements and creations – as well as how and where, exactly, they fit into your day.
When your day-of planner knows each piece of the puzzle, you can sit back, relax and trust him/her to piece it together in a way that meets or exceeds your expectations.
Just a few more details
Throughout her career, Christie has been involved in NACE and ISES and the International School of Hosptiality. Her day-of services start at $1,500, though all services are custom-tailored to suit each couple’s specific needs. Christie and her team are available in Las Vegas, New York and beyond.
