Eddie and Cody Wright

Posted in: Great Gatherings
Tags: eddie wright, cody fife, conroe, helping a hero, wedding

All our brides and grooms are special and each couple comes with a different story to tell ... How they met. How he proposed. 

Recently, our resort was lucky enough to take part in the wedding day of retired Marine Sgt. Eddie Wright and Cody Fife.

Just after a week of proposing to Cody, the couple was married.  They have an amazing story to tell.  Read all about it in The Conroe Courier.

Friday Family Date Night

Posted in: Great Gatherings
Tags: market street, flyfishing, family events, waterway nights, the woodlands

We’re always looking for cheap and easy ways to entertain the little ones and Waterway Nights at Waterway Square sure fits the bill.

This free event, which runs every Friday from 6 – 8 p.m., features a variety of entertainers including live musicians, jugglers, face painters, balloonists, and caricaturists.

Tonight’s entertainment is a Juggler on a Unicycle (always a favorite with my four year old) and a musical duo.  Picnics, chairs, blankets and coolers are welcome so don’t forget the juice boxes and Teddy Grahams!

If you’re looking for something to do Saturday morning, hop on our complimentary shuttle (or rent bicycles) and make your way over to Market Street for Peanut Butter & Jamm. Not the sandwich but a series of children’s music, activities, and games. It’s also free to the public and runs from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.

While the kids are enjoying PB & J, dad can check out the free flyfishing school at Orvis. "Flyfishing 101" starts at 9 a.m. Every participant gets a $15 coupon and a free membership to Trout Unlimited for one year ($35 value).
 

Parties With Pizazz

Posted in: Great Gatherings
Tags: themed events, buffet stations, conference, trade show,

Most of us learn how fun themed events can be from an early age. As a kid, I clearly remember having (and attending) my fair share of birthday parties -- typically themed around a fictional character such as Barbie or Spiderman. In fact, themed events can be designed around almost anything from a classic movie to a favorite book.

You can even transport guests to exotic destinations by setting up a variety of international buffet stations with dishes from around the globe. Set the mood with appropriate backdrops, a few accessories and music. Your guests will have fun trying new foods and reminiscing over their favorite dishes from back home.

One group celebrated the end of a weeklong conference by sending attendees to the islands of Hawaii without the hassle of air travel. Guests were greeted at the Forest Oasis Waterscape by hula dancers with fresh leis flown in from the islands. Everyone enjoyed the Polynesian menu with Pork Loin wrapped in Banana Leaves, Fresh Seafood Ceviche, Mahi Mahi with Fried Plantains and a rainbow of tropical fruits. Small touches such as tiki torches and live music further authenticated the experience.

Whether you’re planning an event to wrap up a trade show or an intimate gathering of friends in your own home, use a theme to give your party some pizazz. Inexpensive décor, party favors, music and food are all that is needed to set the tone for fun, successful and memorable moments.
 

Real Weddings

Posted in: Great Gatherings
Tags: weddings, the woodlands,

There’s something uplifting about wedding day photos. Whether it’s your grandparent’s old black and whites or photos of a couple you’ve never even met. Everyone is smiling and having a good time. The men look handsome in crisp tuxedos and the women are all dolled up. Of course, the bride always steals the show.

You can see the personality of the bride and groom shine through the smallest details. It’s these simple touches that make their special day one-of-a-kind.

From J.Crew bridesmaids dresses to purple Kate Spade shoes, take a peek at these three beautiful outdoor weddings held at The Woodlands Resort  … Emily + Will, Nichole + Jack and Mary + Robert.

Mother’s Day Memories

Posted in: Great Gatherings
Tags: mother's day, champagne brunch

Did you know that the wife of Fedor Vassilyev, a peasant from Shuya, Russia, is credited by the 1997 Guinness Book of Records as having given birth to most children? Tip: It’s WAY more than the Duggars who have 19 kids. Mrs. Vassilyev delivered 69 children, which included 16 pairs of twins, seven sets of triplets, and four sets of quadruplets. If she were alive today, just imagine what kind of Mother’s Day she would have enjoyed!

Whether it’s with flowers, a lavish champagne brunch, a crayon portrait or burnt toast prepared by your four-year old, mother’s everywhere will be celebrated this Sunday.

To celebrate the occasion, tell us about your favorite Mother’s Day memory. Perhaps it’s something your children did for you. Or, something unique you did for your own mom.

Thanks for sharing your memories with us!

Kim Lowe Wins Smart Supplier Award

Posted in: Great Gatherings
Tags: kim lowe, smart supplier award, smart meetings magazine

Kim Lowe, Sales Manager at The Woodlands Resort & Conference Center, has won the Smart Supplier award for sales creativity and excellence in client care at The Smart Meeting, a three-day educational conference for tourism and meeting planner professionals.

Representatives of Smart Meetings magazine reviewed the nominations and selected Lowe based on her customer service skills, creative sales techniques and effective, cost-saving ideas for meeting planners.

“Kim is one of the strongest team players I have ever had the pleasure of working with. This attribute is not only refreshing, but also vital to the overall success of the entire team,” says Tory Enriquez, director of sales and marketing at The Woodlands Resort.

Transportation service providers; hotels, casino and resort employees; and Convention and Visitors Bureaus were eligible for the Smart Supplier award.
 

It’s Time To Meet: Focus on the Future

Posted in: Great Gatherings
Tags: conference center, coffee break, meetings, focus, event professionals, events, incentive, business, success, woodlands resort and conference center, conference, teambuilding

Have you ever been to a meeting where half the people are checking their Blackberry or iPhone and the other half are staring at the presenter with that glazed-over look? Even small, departmental meetings at your office might seem like time wasters because let’s face it ... there are too many things vying for our attention and time. So how do planners keep attendees focused during a meeting especially if it’s an all-day or multiple day event? While there are many tactics to help keep the focus of your participants, here are three to consider:

High-impact meetings begin with content. Know what your attendees want and expect from the meeting by utilizing a pre-event survey. Questions such as “what topics would you like addressed?” and “what outcomes do you expect as a result of this meeting?” help planners prepare clear objectives. Ultimately, a strong agenda with clear objectives convinces participants that the meeting is important and worth their time to attend.

PowerPoint gets a bad rap for being a boring way to present information. The key is that the presenter should be the focus of the session and not the technology. Look for enthusiastic speakers who engage the audience and provide interactive presentations – not just lecturing from the PowerPoint. There are different technologies available, such as Twitter, to help carry the message to your attendees. Just remember these technologies play a supporting role.

Take breaks. There’s no faster way to lose the focus of your audience than meeting sessions that drag on endlessly. Give attendees time to network, stretch and energize with continuous coffee breaks. Coffee breaks with a wide variety of fruits, snacks and beverages are a sure-fire way to create an energizing and productive meeting environment. Plus, if the group starts to lose focus, a continuous coffee break means you can break earlier than scheduled because the snacks and beverages are available throughout the day. Tip: ensure the coffee break is set-up outside the meeting room so attendees aren’t distracted and tempted to interrupt presentations by helping themselves to snacks or beverages.

Frankly, isn’t hosting a meeting similar to planning a party at your house? You put out your best dishes, make sure the food is hot, the drinks are cold and the conversation is flowing. The goal is knowing your guests left thinking it was a great night and worth hiring a babysitter.

And so it is with a meeting, you want to know that your attendees got what they came for and it was worth the time spent away from the office.  It's Time to Meet. Click to Focus on the Future.

It’s Time To Be Productive

Posted in: Great Gatherings
Tags: it's time to meet, ergonomic chairs, conference center, meeting productivity

It’s time to meet. That’s what meeting and event planners are saying with optimism. Scour the Internet for statistics on the value of face-to-face meetings and you’ll find they provide the highest value and ROI. A recent U.S. Business Travel study found that for every dollar spent on business travel, companies realize $12.50 in incremental value and $3.80 in profits.

Face-to-face meetings are important for a company’s bottom line but they also build stronger relationships, provide inspiration and a forum for breakthrough thinking. How do you increase the productivity of business meetings that results in these desired outcomes?

The Venue. Get away from the office and select a destination with distraction-free meeting space. Some facilities have dedicated conference rooms separate from guestrooms so attendees aren’t tempted to run back to their rooms during coffee breaks.

Room Elements. Who wants to sit in a windowless boardroom for hours on end? Look for venues that have meeting rooms with windows and natural light. And did you know the type of meeting chair can impact the productivity of your meeting or event? By their very design, ergonomic chairs provide better support leaving attendees feeling fresh and energized rather than sluggish and achy.

Dining Options. Some meeting facilities offer a dedicated dining area that can accommodate an entire conference group for breakfast and lunch dining. These restaurants utilize buffet-style service with professional staff to ensure your group gets in and out and on with business.

Bottom line? By focusing on these and other planning elements, you can host a meeting that is productive, informative and supports the case for your organization’s short and long-term ROI.

Thrill of the Grill

Posted in: Great Gatherings
Tags: royale cheeseburger wrap, backyard grill, spring break

Counting down the days to Spring Break? I know we are. In fact, there’s lots of prep work happening around here in anticipation of the arrival of vacationing families. The resort pool is sparkling blue, the waterslides are ready, and Chef Brazie has been testing out the grill at Cool Water Café.

If you’re not traveling this Spring Break but want to entertain friends in your own backyard, then try Chef Brazie’s fun twist on the traditional cheeseburger.

The Royale Cheeseburger Wrap is easy to make and can be topped with a variety of fixin’s – just like you like it.

Engaged and Confused?

Posted in: Great Gatherings
Tags: weddings in houston, woodlands weddings, wedding receptions, wedding planning, woodlands resort

Setting a budget, compiling the guest list, and selecting a wedding date and reception venue are the top three tasks that need to be addressed once you get engaged.

First things first - outline your wedding budget. Meet and discuss with everyone who is contributing financially to the celebration. If it’s just you and your soon-to-be spouse footing the bill, talk openly about what you want and what you can afford. You can’t move forward with planning your big day until you know how much you have to spend.

The next step is to compile the guest list or at least set a maximum headcount. Not only will the headcount effect your budget, but it is necessary to have an idea of how many attendees you expect when selecting the reception venue.

Now you are ready to select a wedding date and reception venue. Have at least three dates in mind when contacting reception venues as Saturdays fill up fast.

Once you have these tasks completed, you are ready to move on to the fun stuff … finding a dress fit for a princess!

Butter-Spritz Cookies

Posted in: Great Gatherings
Tags: baking, cookie dough, cookies

Ingredients

3 1/2 sticks of Unsalted Butter
1 cup of Powdered Sugar
Splash of Vanilla Extract
2 Eggs
3 3/4 cup of All-Purpose Flour

Preheat oven to 375* F.

Prepare pastry (piping) bag with a medium-sized (9mm) star tip or "French-style" star tip; set aside until needed.

Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla extract.

Add in eggs - one at a time, allowing mixture to combine before adding next egg.

Tip: Frequently scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula to keep mixture smooth.

Sift flour and add flour to mixture. Carefully pulse machine on/off to allow ingrediants to slowly combine. Mix just enough to make a smooth dough once all ingrediants have been incorporated.

Partially fill the pastry bag with cookie dough and pipe out rosette-shaped cookies approximately 1 1/2" in diameter on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Optional: Top with sprinkles, colored sugar, M&M's.

Bake at 375 degrees for 8-12 minutes or until edges turn golden brown.

Cookies, Cakes, and Chocolate – Oh my!

Posted in: Great Gatherings
Tags: grooms cakes, wedding cakes, weddings

From fresh baked cookies, muffins and danishes to intricately decorated wedding and grooms cakes, our pastry shop is the sweetest smelling place at the resort. But you won’t find any Keebler elves here … Our executive pastry chef Kevin Pysell leads a 10-person team that works three shifts. The first one starts at 2 a.m. and the third ends as late as 10 p.m., which makes the pastry shop almost a 24-hour operation.

Every year we host about 120 weddings and the majority of brides look to Kevin to create the cake. Kevin and his talented team of bakers spend hours decorating wedding and grooms cakes to the smallest detail.

Sometimes the bride brings a swatch of her dress or her invitation or napkin, which Kevin works to match. Sometimes the bride has a picture of another cake, which he can replicate.

On one occasion, he created a cake with an airplane taking off, which was very personalized for the couple, who had met in the U.S. Air Force.

Of course, collegiate themed grooms cakes are popular such as the University of Texas clock tower or a cake in the shape of the Texas Tech logo.

For his own wedding, Kevin started with a white cake and gave each layer a triple filling of chocolate, strawberry and Grand Marnier. The top layer had a special decoration: a pastiage castle for his princess -- which they still have.

Take a peek at some of Kevin's whimsical groom's cakes here.