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Learn what the high-profile wedding planner (he did Chelsea Clinton’s) wants for his own big day…

For each flawlessly executed affiar to remember, a behind-the-scenes mastermind juggles the details. If you’re lucky, that person will be event planner Bryan Rafanelli, who did Chelsea Clinton’s hush-hush nuptuals. Rafanelli’s known for combining warm, personalized touches with stylish bravado. Here, he divulges the particulars of his own dream wedding.

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FROM THE PERSON + KILLIAN BLOG:

“Last weekend was a spectacular Boston Bat Mitzvah. Julia’s big weekend kicked off on her birthday at Congregation Or Atid in Wayland, MA. There, we were able to capture Julia, her parents and siblings practicing for the next day’s big ceremony. After some great candid and group shots we headed out to nearby Pine Brook Country Club in Weston for a formal family dinner.

The celebration began Saturday night at WGBH Studios in Boston. The studio was decked out in fun and interactive decor that the guest of honor along with her family and friends could enjoy throughout cocktail hour including the fun candid photo wall with Julia’s signature logo. We love that Rafanelli Events was able to customize the event with the logo in everything from walls, straws and even the cupcakes. After cocktail hour, guests headed into the theater for a special video created for Julia. Guests were wowed when the doors of the studio opened to revealed the dinner and dancing portion of the evening.”

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At BizBash Boston Expo, Bryan Rafanelli Stresses Importance of Relationships

The first BizBash Boston Expo took place at Fenway Park on Thursday, drawing 800 attendees and showcasing new products and ideas from more than 50 vendors. The day included panel and town hall discussions, 15-minute educational sessions from the Event Leadership Institute, and the presentation of the first local Readers’ Choice Awards. Bryan Rafanelli, founder, president, and C.E.O. of Rafanelli Events—who produced Chelsea Clinton’s wedding last year—delivered the keynote address.

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First BizBash Boston Readers’ Choice Awards:

Readers Picked Bryan Rafanelli, Mike Amado, Erin McEvoy, and More…

The winners of our inaugural Readers’ Choice Awards were announced during an award presentation at the first BizBash Boston Expo on Thursday at Fenway Park.

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Bryan Rafanelli, Ken Oringer and Ricardo Rodriguez demonstrate the art of entertaining in style.

“Entertaining at home has to be one of the most stressful things for me. Just ask my husband Michael. All the worrying about the food, the drinks, the guest list, and the perfect ambience. Believe me, I live to put together a party, but only once in a while. Now, add the holidays to the list and then we are talking about quite the undertaking.

So for this holiday season, I recruited the help of two amazing friends and asked them to show us how the pros do it.

My dynamic duo is none other than internationally acclaimed and award-winning chef Ken Oringer (Clio, Uni, Toro, Coppa, La Verdad, KO Prime, Earth) and the real deal in party planning, the uber-extraordinarily amazing Bryan Rafanelli (the party designer to the starts, including Chelsea Clinton’s wedding, White House state dinners and more…)

To get the two of them together is quite the lucky extravagance, so I made sure to get as many helpful tips and how-to’s. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Felices Fiestas!”

-Ricardo

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SPIRIT MAGAZINE Holiday2011

The celebrity event planner (he did Chelsea Clinton’s wedding!) shares tips on how to create a beautiful setting for Thanksgiving…

(Click photo to enlarge)

A Wedding Planner Has Many Big Days, and Flights

By: Bryan Rafanelli

I’m a big shuttle guy, usually traveling from Boston to New York City, Washington, Palm Beach or Miami. So I don’t have those long flights where I can really unwind after producing an event. Plus, in the busy season, I usually have to get to Cape Cod about three times a week from Boston. That’s a puddle jumper flight, so there’s not much time to do anything.

I recently asked my 17-year-old godson what he thought he might want to do when he grew up. He replied that he definitely wanted to do something that involved lots of travel, implying that he thought all the travel I do is pretty cool. It is, but it’s also work.

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Boston-based Rafanelli Events exercised restraint when it came to the decor at a Thursday night celebratory dinner, hosted by secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Benjamin Franklin State Dining Room at the U.S. State Department. Standing in the center of the heavily detailed and richly draped Franklin, the building’s largest of 42 Diplomatic Reception Rooms, Bryan Rafanelli gazed from side to side at the venue’s series of massive Corinthian columns and gilded decorative plasterwork. “The room is so extraordinary, so you don’t want to compete with it,” said Rafanelli, who also planned Chelsea Clinton’s wedding in July 2010.

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Here’s the scene: a Nor’easter battering Cape Cod, winds howling, waves washing over the Provincetown seawall and hundreds of guests who’d just exited a Marc Jacobs International Halloween bash wandering happily down Commercial Street dressed as Spartans, Black Swans and the entire cast of Oprah (Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray, et al.)

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Easy Upgrades Can Turn Even a Ho-Hum Yard Into a Fab Party Space!

A large backyard can be the most personal place for a wedding - and a great choice for a rehearsal dinner or morning-after brunch, too. But for most of us, there’s a lot to do before ordering the linen napkins – grass to green, broken fencing to screen, and swing sets to move. We asked Boston-based event designer Bryan Rafanelli (Chelsea Clinton’s wedding planner) and New York landscapre architect Steven Whitesell for tips on transforming a typical yard into a party wonderland.

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