As the fireworks of July 4^th capped two very busy months of weddings, galas, and outdoor celebrations, I wanted to highlight a few signature Sperry events…by helicopter!

In Scarborough, ME our towering 64’x124’ sailcloth tent and custom ballroom floor provided guests with breathtaking ocean views from atop a coastal bluff at the Black Point Inn.  With seamless planning by Kate Martin and Craig Williams, and delicious cuisine provided by Churchill Catering, the event was a huge success.

Travelling 2 hours south along the coast, our 46’x85’ Sperry Tent is set high on a rocky coastline in Marblehead, MA (left).  Dressed with brushed nickel onion lanterns and perimeter lighting, this coastal evening event illuminated the seacoast with elegant ambiance and tasteful décor.

On June 26^th Sperry Tents took to the water for a beautiful evening reception on Round Island in Portsmouth, NH (right).  Shuttling our supplies over on a 20’ barge, we installed a 24’x44’ reception tent and 16’ round cocktail tent with custom asian lanterns and accented perimeter lighting.

The end of our Heli-Photo-Shoot brings us to Woods Hole, MA where we teamed up with Sperry Tents Marion for a spectacular elevated event.  Accommodating the sloping backyard, our raised level floor extended the events reach to the water’s edge where guests enjoyed the beautiful ocean view under the sailcloth canopy of a 46′x105′ Sperry Tent!

It is finally ready for YOU!

We are excited about the launch of our new online event planner.  This dynamic, user-friendly program allows you to design the layout of an event with a few clicks of a button.  With the ability to drag, drop, rotate, and organize, you can customize any event with your own unique and creative style.  Here’s how:

CREATE YOUR OWN CUSTOMIZED EVENT

First, choose from our tent templates. Next, lay out your floor plan with our drag and drop functionality. In minutes, you can arrange your furniture and see your event come to life!

SAVE YOUR DESIGN FOR LATER

Not quite done? Our planner lets you save your work! Watch your diagram evolve as you add guests and vendors to your event. Simply save and come back when you are ready to design further.

SHARE VIA FACEBOOK OR EMAIL

Once you’ve designed your event layout, share the design with your family and friends! Our new software allows for you to email or share via Facebook!

PRINT IT AND LET US DO THE REST

Now you’re ready to print your layout. Not only is this great for visualizing the floor plan of your event, but the software also itemizes a list for you, detailing every piece of furniture you need. Let us take it from there.

We’re still always a phone call away if you need our expert advice and consultation, but we hope this new feature helps in planning your memorable event!

Now get started! www.sperrytentsseacoast.com

The New England wedding season has finally arrived!

With a few beautiful spring days behind us now, and more soon to come, I thought it would be nice to have an official Sperry Tents update.  We have been busy in the off-season working on new, exciting developments for the 2010 season.

We are excited to launch our new hardwood flooring design, a classic southern yellow pine.  The new, versatile hardwood flooring option accommodates any event size covering all interior tent dimensions. With the ability to convert outdoor settings into elegant ballroom dining halls, the new southern yellow pine accents a tent’s interior with a soft elegant ambiance.  Combining a nautical wooden plank design with a perfect finish, this new floor is available for dance floors, bandstand staging, and fully floored events.

We have also expanded our tent inventory, introducing a line of 66ft wide tents.  The new width size parallels the traditional 46’ and 32’ width tent sizes, ranging in sizes up to 66’x120’.  The new tents provide more room for larger events accommodating dinner and dancing for 400+ under the signature sailcloth canopy.

Aside from our new website and blog, we have joined the interactive networks of Facebook and Twitter.  Follow us throughout the year for event details and pictures, news from Sperry, and season updates!

http://www.facebook.com/SperryTents

http://twitter.com/SperryTents_CM

We are ready and excited for the 2010 season!  Excited to see familiar faces…and new ones as well!

“Images and news reports of the devastation in Haiti have had a profound effect on so many of us, and the outpouring of support for the recovery effort has been inspiring.”

-       Bancroft Potter, owner/founder of Sperry Tents Seacoast.

Calls from the tragedy and heartbreak following the disaster in Haiti on January 12 have been heard worldwide as relief programs have formed to aid the devastated nation.  With countless schools, hospitals, residencies, and commercial buildings destroyed, Haitians are unwillingly exposed to the oppressive sun, heat and rain.   Learning of the dire need for temporary shelter, we were compelled to contribute to the relief effort in the best way we knew how…tents.

We plan to send three large tents to Port Au Prince, Haiti and assist with their installation in the devastated city over the next several weeks.  One of the tents will be stationed in Leogane serving as a school facility, while the other two will stand in Port Au Price housing a recovery center for disabled Haitians and providing shelter for the homeless.

The tents will provide a combined total of over 8,000 sqr ft of protection from the rain when assembled; collectively weighing nearly 6,000 lbs, and valued at over $50,000.  The tents will be shipped to Port Au Prince in a 40-foot overseas transport container on April 9^th from Pease International Tradeport in Portsmouth, NH.  Sperry Tents Seacoast has already raised $2,000 towards the $4,500 shipping cost of the tents.  When fully loaded, the container, which will be subsidized by WTG Transportation of Exeter NH, will hold between 5 and 10 tons of supplies donated by Seacoast companies and residents.

Life and Hope Haiti, a New York based organization, is in charge of coordinating the shipment which is scheduled to set off from Boston on April 15 and arrive in Haiti May 3.

In July of 2009 Sperry teamed up with Leslie Barbini of the Wedding Belle to create a magical, elevated, lakeside event in Windahm, NH.  Connected to the house, the raised level floor and 46’x65’ Sperry Tent extended the event’s reach, bringing guests to the waters edge at a comfortable ten feet overlooking the lake.

Just below, the ceremony took place by the dock and was beautifully decorated with bright, exuberant sunflowers.  The floral arrangements lined pathways guiding guests from the event to the water.

The lively yellow theme was consistent throughout the event, as custom yellow asian lanterns dressed the interior of the tent with energetic ambiance and elegant décor. The signature handrail and white lattice decorated the perimeter of the raised floor with a finishing touch in harmony with the adjacent house.

The warm day faded into a cool summer night full of dancing, laughter, and treasured memories.  After a brunch the following day, the familiar Sperry Trucks arrived.

As we recently set our clocks forward to “spring ahead” of a cold winter, Sperry is ready and excited for another busy year.  But before we get too ahead of ourselves…lets recap a great event from the 2009 season!

In June of 2009 we had the distinct pleasure of working with Melissa Mack of Moxie Events on one of the largest elevated flooring events in Sperry history.  Set in an ocean-side backyard of Kittery, ME, the level flooring design supported a 64’x125’ Sperry tent, the largest sailcloth tent handcrafted in Marion, MA.  Accommodating the sloping backyard, our leveled floor created a classic ballroom dining setting and provided stunning ocean views.  The tent, dressed with beautiful event décor, was adorned with custom asian lanterns filling the reception with elegant ambiance.

With anxious guests awaiting their arrival, a faint motor could be heard echoing through the bay.  Moments later the bride and groom could be seen fashionably approaching the familiar dock.  With a grand entrance from the water, the celebration was underway.

Three days of piecing the floor together, erecting the tent, and fine-tuning produced an event that the guests, and especially the bride and groom, will never forget.  The reception was a huge success.  The love and support for the newly wedded couple was visible as guests gathered under the cover of the sailcloth tent on the enormous elevated floor.

With favors provided by Maine-ly New Hampshire, party rentals by Be Our Guest, and furniture from Party by Design, the event was truly a display of tasteful planning and elegant décor.  The celebration was artistically documented by Michelle Turner Photography, providing an album of memories for the bride and groom.  This very special, elevated occasion was one to remember!

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.  As we turn the corner on 2010, these three action words have become more relevant, describing necessary steps for a more sustainable future.

Sperry Tents has made a socially responsible commitment to sustainable business practices.  The ‘green’ initiative, which is based on principles of reduction, reuse and recycling, has contributed to a significantly reduced carbon footprint.

A company active in the event rental industry, Sperry reuses inventory and materials by nature. The signature sailcloth tent canvas is handcrafted in Marion, MA.  Natural spruce perimeter poles and center poles are locally milled, hand-sanded and stained, a repeatable process facilitating re-use of the poles each year.  Lighting options are energy efficient, and controlled on dimming panels for customer convenience and energy conservation.  Sperry’s uniform fleet of company vehicles is powered by biodiesel provided by Simply Green Biofuels.  Such actions have not only resulted in a reduced carbon footprint, but also reduced overhead expenses.

Sperry plans to continue on this path, improving on the ability to deliver unparalleled service and a unique product line enriched with eco-friendly solutions!

On a snow-covered January 16 of 2010, Sperry Tents had an opportunity to participate in something special.  Ray Martineau, owner of Martineau Electric, hosted a fundraiser for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in an effort to raise awareness, and support a progressing research front.  Scheduled 24 hours after an eight-inch snowfall, the Dover fundraiser was a change of pace from the warm summer weddings and events a few months earlier!

We provided an array of heated sailcloth tents and walkways decorated with brushed nickel onion lanterns and perimeter lighting.   Accompanying the fully floored 46’x105’ ballroom dining tent, a heated 46’x65’ sailcloth tent covered an outdoor pool for warm winter swimming throughout the event.  And, sure enough, guests were swimming despite the eight inches of snow surrounding the warm tent!

With 450 in attendance, the event featured great support and was a huge success.  This special event was made possible by the generous donations from all of the guests and sponsors.  A special thanks to: Boston Equipment, Century 21 Realty, Danny Carroll, Dave’s Septic Service, Feliciano Limousine, Fortier & Sons Propane, Great Island Realty, Grupo Fantasia, Majestic Pool Services, Martineau Electric, Ocean Properties, Peter Rousseau, Philbricks Sports, Seacoast Catering Company, Sperry Tents Seacoast, Steve and Andrea McCusker, and Summit Land Development.

In August of 2009, we had the distinct pleasure of working with Leslie Barbini, from The Wedding Belle, for an elevated wedding reception in Newcastle, New Hampshire.  The ceremony and reception, scheduled to take place in the beautiful backyard of a seaside property, had an obstructed view of the ocean caused by towering coastal dunes.  We had an answer.  The tent was elevated 10 feet above the ground with our leveled flooring design.  Set higher than the dunes, the event featured breathtaking views of the Atlantic under the elegant sailcloth cover of a signature 46’x64’ Sperry Tent.

In typical New England weather fashion, ominous storm clouds rolled in shortly before the evening event commenced.  Completely protected from wind and weather, guests enjoyed the warmth of the heated tent and the well-dressed interior décor from The Wedding Belle.  Floral arrangements, provided by Susanne’s Weddings, filled the event with brilliant colors and aromas.  Mizuna catered the event with delicious cuisine, and musical services provided by Get Down Tonight Entertainment kept the celebration alive.  The evening event was illuminated with custom asian lanterns and perimeter lighting for elegant outdoor ambiance and décor.