By CPS Events at The Plaza

No one can deny that the world’s appetite is shifting. 2019 was dubbed “The Year of the Vegan” by the Economist. Major surveys conclude that one out of every five Europeans is eating plant-based and one out of every three Americans under the age of 35 is eating mostly plant-based.

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While some may fear such a sudden shift in consumer demands, here at The Plaza, we’re excited by such changes. This shift means innovation in the area we love the most: food. It’s an amazing opportunity to get creative and try new things. Recently, we’ve ventured into plant-based foods and are thrilled about all the options available on the market. Our most recent tasting had us drooling over raw, organic, gluten-and-dairy-free desserts from Nat’s Rawline. The desserts were incredible and we were quick to say “YES, we love it.”

We also ventured into trying some vegan wines complete with a vegan cheese plate (who knew wine wasn’t vegan?) and we’ve settled on one of the finest wines found in Italy called Querciabella. This wine is completely biodynamic (meaning, a step above organic, using herbs and plants to optimize the soil and grape growth). The most exciting parts about these new trends, is that it’s just starting to catch fire and the best is yet to come as ingredients and food-tech become more and more ingenious.

By Afiya Witter

Last month, as a team building experience, our staff members at CPS Events at The Plaza joined Volunteers of America at Operation Backpack. Operation Backpack is a back to school drive that services children living in New York City shelters. Volunteers sporting Operation Backpack t-shirts fill Brand new backpacks in a variety of styles with grade- appropriate supplies. A few groups of children visit the area to assist the volunteers with filling their newly handpicked backpacks with all the items from the supply list. Volunteering for a great cause while witnessing children beaming with pride, ready to start the new school year was an enriching experience for our team. We thoroughly enjoyed making sure each pack being filled was efficiently and with love!

By Rob Arango

The Church of Santa Maria Assunta dates back to the year 639 and survives as the oldest structure in the Venetian lagoon. Due to structural problems resulting from the passage of time and the effects of salt accumulation, the 15th-century-panel paintings of the twelve apostles and the Virgin Mary now risk severe permanent damage if not treated right away. Save Venice’s “Un Ballo in Maschera” held Friday, April 26, 2019 at The Plaza Hotel helped raise urgent funds to preserve the cultural and artistic treasures of Venice.

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The masked ball is famed for bringing out New York City’s most sought-after socialites to celebrate. Of course, any gala hosted by co-founder of Moda Operandi Lauren Santo Domingo and by international style icon and interior designer extraordinaire Bronson van Wyck is one for the books. The event raised $1.2 million for Save Venice’s conservation projects and European editor-at-large for the American edition of Vogue, Hamish Bowled, presented the Outstanding Mask Awards to Antonia Sautter, James Aguiar, Lisa Lee and Peter Zhou.

Bronson van Wyck transformed the Grand Ballroom into a Venetian palace with 100-foot navy tufted curtains, renaissance goddess statues and scarlet rose bouquets throughout. The gala’s 450 guests, which included Nicky Hilton Rothschild, Julia Koch and Tory Burch to name a few, dined on Grilled Filet Mignon, Tarragon and Tomato Risotto and Sautéed Spinach. After a decadent Budapest Milk Chocolate Mousse for dessert (which was accompanied by a shot of Limoncello), the dining room turned into a dance party led by DJ Ruckus—black tie and ball gowns alike rocked it out to celebrate an amazing night.

As I got into my cab after the gala on Friday night, I received a text from my dearest and closest friend of over 30 years, Eugene, who just happened to be in Venice at the time. He wrote, “It is a magical place. No matter how many pictures you have seen they cannot convey the magic of strolling the streets and crossing the little bridges. Everything is beautiful in Venice.”

By Rob Arango

I had the pleasure of interviewing Alfred Vanderbilt III a few years ago for my Plaza Personality column. Mr. Vanderbilt specifically requested that we meet in the famed Oak Room. When we walked into the Oak Room, Mr. Vanderbilt pointed at the mural of the Cornelius Vanderbilt Mansion and said, “That is my Great Grandfather’s home, which is now Bergdorf Goodman.” What an amazing way to start an interview. The Everett Shinn trio of murals in the Oak Room depict the Grand Army Plaza, the Cornelius Vanderbilt Mansion (which was formerly next door to the hotel) and above the Oak Bar is a stunning mural of the entrance to the Pulitzer Fountain. It is reported that each mural is worth over a $1 million.

The man behind the strokes, Everett Shinn, was noted for his gritty scenes of city life, and he certainly didn’t disappoint any of us when he painted the three dark murals in the Oak Room. He captured the essence of the night time city light, combining it with the character and ambience of the bar. However, decades of tobacco smoke took its toll on the Oak Room and, after years of much-needed renovation, it was finally resurrected in November 2016, exclusively for private events.

The renovations brought the murals to life, lifting the gloom that surrounded them with light, warm accents. “The murals are a great treasure of New York,” says Curtis Gathje, the hotel’s official historian and author of At The Plaza. Gillian Randall, the head conservator at the Evergreen Painting Studios in Manhattan who worked on the restoration notes, “After the extensive renovation, a lot of details were revealed and the palette was so darkened by years of nicotine and surface dirt.”

I can’t think of any other bar in America that can claim such beautiful artwork among clanking glasses and dry Martinis. I’ll never forget when I walked into the Oak Bar for the first time in 1983, at 22 years old, and ordered a Dewar’s on the rocks. I never in a million years would have imagined that I would be lucky enough to come to work at The Plaza every day.

By Emily Reifel

Jung Lee, co-founder of full-service event planning and design production firm Féte, is one of the most sought-after event designers in the world. She has created spectacular celebrations for a roster of clients, corporate and private, since 2002 and is highly respected among her event world peers for her creativity and incredible work ethic.

CPS Events is always excited to work with Jung and happy to introduce her as our “Plaza Personality” this month.

Where were you born?

Seoul, South Korea

How did you get started in the Wedding Business?

I started my career by starting and running high-end food stores in New York and then developed some residential properties. I then saw what was going on with the wedding industry and realized it needed a modern approach to make it more interesting and relevant.

What do you love about The Plaza?

The history, the timeless quality, the energy and the excitement each time you enter the hotel. The Plaza has always been the social and geographic epicenter of Manhattan.

If you could have dinner with three people tonight, who would they be?

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Howard Stern and Rhianna.

If you could design an event for anyone, not necessarily a wedding, who it be for?

Beyonce and Jay-Z.

What do you like to do for fun?

Ummm—what’s that? JK. I love spending time with my kids, they make me laugh and I learn so much from them. I also love traveling to new destinations and trying new restaurants—I never get tired of drinks and food.

If you had not chosen to be a wedding planner, what would you have done instead?

I would have continued building homes and studied architecture.

What are your next goals?

Right now I’m focusing on revolutionizing the way couples register for their wedding. Registry is a major pain point for couples. The product selection process overwhelms couples because there are thousands of options, yet no guidance. By pairing couples with design experts and curating their choices, we’re making registry exciting again. We’re basically designing a couples’ dream home with their wedding gifts.

What are your top three favorite trends in weddings for 2019?

It’s an exciting time for weddings because they are evolving and becoming much more interesting. I don’t focus on trends because they come and go. Instead, I focus on creating weddings that truly reflect the couple—their passions, lifestyle and aesthetic.

Right now on the design front, I’m excited about new printing techniques, video innovation and 3D projection mapping.

By Kelsey Butler

Sneha Mehta’s and Rajan’s Mehta’s wedding celebration on January 5th kicked off the Plaza’s 2019 wedding season. We were honored to host the final reception to complete their 3-day celebration. Sonal Shah pulled out all the stops in planning, alongside Design House Décor and Chef Guarav as the caterer, to make this event “one for the books.” Words can’t describe the transformation of the Grand Ballroom as it turned into what we like to call, “The Emerald City.”

As a lush, fluffy white carpet was placed over the Grand Ballroom’s existing carpet, the massive transformation began. This was followed by a custom-made abstract dance floor in shades of green, blue and gold trim, which reflected the candles on the surrounding tables. Above the floor, hanging from the ceiling, was a massive installation piece composed of individual green and gold acrylic strips which drew your eyes upward.

Our favorite cake designer, Ron Ben-Israel, took inspiration from the dance floor and mirrored pieces of it on his glamorous green cake. A unique highlight from the evening included passed “Molecular Cocktail Spheres” by The Grand Bevy, a treat for your eyes and taste buds.

Guests danced the night away while enjoying an elegant buffet dinner of numerous flavors of Southeast Asia, followed by an elaborate dessert buffet and nitrogen ice cream from 321Chillz. DJ Suhel ended the evening just after midnight with one last song, and guests bid farewell to the wonderful couple, and their magical night, in the great “Emerald City.”

By Ali Ciafre

As we experience the “April Showers”, just before the “May Flowers”, we will certainly face some rainy days ahead. What to do, what to do? Well, curl up, grab some popcorn and immerse yourself in the glorious history of The Plaza Hotel at the movies. Did you know that since the late 1960’s The Plaza has been featured in over 25 full-length feature films? The Plaza is an “actor” in and of itself and has shaped film alone by standing proudly since 1907.

The Plaza’s first film debut was 1959’s North by Northwest, a thriller by the king of thrillers, Alfred Hitchcock, and starring the talented Cary Grant. Today, people still remember their favorites when they walk through the halls. If you’re a child of the 90’s, perhaps you fondly recall Kevin’s shenanigans with Donald Trump in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Funny Girl, which began famously with a two-word sentence by the fabulous Barbara Streisand, “Hello, Gorgeous,” was shot in part in the marbled edifice. And the Academy Award-winning film, Scent of a Woman, featured Charlie and Frank dining in the Oak Room.

So far, we have four movies, with a combined total of eight hours of film, to soak up your day. But we have only just begun; check out this list of additional movies filmed at The Plaza:

• Eloise (1956)

• Barefoot in the Park (1967)

• Plaza Suite (1971)

• The Way We Were (1973)

• Love at First Bite (1979)

• Arthur (1981)

• They All Laughed (1981)

• Cotton Club (1984)

• Brewster’s Millions (1985)

• Crocodile Dundee (1986)

• Crocodile Dundee II (1988)

• Big Business (1988)

• King of New York (1990)

• Flodders in America (1992)

• Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

• It Could Happen to You (1994)

• The Associate (1996)

• Almost Famous (2000)

• Hollywood Ending (2002)

• Eloise at The Plaza (2003)

• Eloise at Christmas Time (2003)

• Bride Wars (2008)

• The Great Gatsby (2013)

• American Hustle (2013)

• Molly’s Game (2017)

• The Post (2017)

• Ocean’s 8 (2018)

At CPS Events, we are proud to keep the tradition alive. The Ballroom, Terrace Room and Oak Room are all still very much sought after in the film world and we have hosted countless TV and film shoots in the past few years. The ease and flexibility of each room is a dream for production teams. Our convenient location, on Central Park South and 5th Avenue, is the perfect location to set up shop, while also capturing other remarkable NYC icons.

There are no excuses for not know what to watch on your next sick or rainy day. With this list, you’ll be entertained for hours and hopefully get a whole new perspective on the walls of The Plaza. To make it even better, get a suite at the hotel and watch from the inside. However, try not to rack up a $967.43 room service bill like Kevin did!