Blue Moon Event Planning is a female owned and operated Southern California wedding and event planning company based in Long Beach, specializing in weddings for the LGBTQ community.
Founder and CEO of Blue Moon Event Planning
Melissa Buffaloe has ten years of experience planning special events aboard the Queen Mary, for Freddie Georges Production Group and the Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia. Her focus is to create memorable occasions for her client and their guests.
“I love the Long Beach area, moving here from Philadelphia, it is so different. Long Beach has a unique way of being laid back, the quintessential California city,” noted Buffaloe, “so when my wife and I decided to step out on our own – Long Beach was the place to base our business.” Coming from the east coast Buffaloe believes that being a female business owner is easier here in California, “The west coast is more receptive to women being in the driver’s seat, so to speak.”
As the Entertainment Event Manager for the Queen Mary, Buffaloe was the lead producer for signature events as Rock The Queen with Smash Mouth; Sugar Ray; The Woody Show Throwback Fiesta; New Year’s Eve Festival; Valentine’s Day Dinner featuring Taylor Dayne and A Magic Festival / Academy of Magical Arts and the Magic Castle magicians to mention a few.
“My experience stems from an extensive background in theatrical stage and production management,” noted Buffaloe, ”Planning a scene or stage production is very much the same as live event planning and my role just really evolved.”
“ I loved planning the festivals, but I found that planning weddings, was really where my heart was,” says Buffaloe, “There is something that is so intimate about helping another person achieve that dream and helping them start a marriage off as beautifully as possible.”
But she does so much more than weddings, the holiday season is coming up with back to school events, corporate parties and holiday festivities and there is no better time to have a professional help out. “I have a mental checklist and know what needs to happen, so that my client’s needs are met in every detail. I have a degree in Stage Management and Business Administration,” She added “It is all about the details, from scheduling, managing a budget, keeping track of each aspect of the event, to making sure all elements come together for a smooth execution. I make a script and a master plan for each event that I plan.”
Buffaloe had some planning tips for the coming season. For weddings, being budget conscience is key and Blue Moon uses the aisle flowers as the centerpieces at the reception, “Flowers can be such a huge portion of the budget and it just makes sense to use them in multiple scenarios.”
“Fall parties are the most fun,” says Buffaloe, “You can bring out these rich colors like pomegranate and aubergine, and of course pumpkin flavored everything.” Her favorite fall activity is apple picking, making apple pies from those apples and simmering the cores and peels to make her home smell like fall.
For home parties, Buffaloe recommends not trying to do everything by yourself, purchase pre-made appetizers, give your family members specific things to do and have someone help you clean up.
“I anticipate to the best of my ability and go with the flow after that. From large theatrical stage shows to public festivals and concerts, from weddings to private parties, my expertise is vast and has given me the tools to produce excellent events,” added Buffaloe.
Wedding package pricing typically ranges from $1,200 – $4,500 with the most popular package about $2,200, but it all depends on the specifics and details of each couple.
Blue Moon Event Planning has been included Wedding Wire as Couples Choice Awards 2017 and featured in Equally Wed, The Knot and Wed We Can.
For more information contact Melissa Buffaloe at Blue Moon Event Planning at www.bluemooneventplanning.com .
