Martini Madness at the V Bar • Hotel Valencia • Santa Row

Mr Martini Madness himself, Duncan Reyes, did the most magnificent thing tonight. He pulled off the first ever, South Bay, Martini Madness wedding industry networking event in grand style! The V Bar at the Hotel Valencia couldn't have been more perfect. The spacious bar and lounge areas held the capacity crowd with just enough room to walk and mingle.

I got there early, and watched as the guests arrived. Some were familiar faces I see often at industry events up in San Francisco. Others were friends and colleagues that I hadn't seen in years. And of course there were plenty of new people to meet. It was a veritable who's who of many of the industries elite.

The Bar

And FUN! Oh my gosh I had the best time. I'd been sick for the past week so even though my voice was barely there I had some great conversations. To give you an idea, a few of the many discussions I had ranged from:

• Comments on blogs: self publish or moderate them?
• Cody the crazy bear.
• Cure for a sore throat: Coke, fresh ginger and lemon juice. Heated.
• To blog or not to blog.
• Stepping up your business card.
• Spin Control when you end up on the news in not a good way. LOL
• Of course: Kitai my dog
• The benefits of collaborative effort vs. going it alone.
• My colleagues have hidden talents.
• The latest everyone has been up to.
• Shopping at Gucci (Yeah, um, not me... Aramndo shops there.)

The Bar and one lounge area.

To make it even better. My super sweet hubby popped in to make his first ever appearance at an industry event. People were so happy to finally get the chance to meet him. It wasn't really his scene but he had fun chatting with people and it meant a lot to me that he was there.

If you came to the event tonight I just want to say THANK YOU. The South Bay has been looooooooooong overdue for someone to come along and stir the pot. There is no doubt that Duncan was the man for the job. My hope is that Martini Madness is the beginning of what will become a lasting revitalization of Silicon Valley Networking.

The Flirty Guide was well represented with Robbie Schlosser from the Mangolia Jazz Band, Officiant Rev. Ed Holt, DJ Ron Grandia, Wedding Photographer Joe Homsy, Floral Designer Karen Baba of Plan Decor, Photographer Claudia Akers, Armando from Get Your Do Up, David Ethridge from A Video Reflection and I think I saw John Woods from Enhanced Lighting and Sound from across the room. Thank you all for being fun and flirty enough to come out to a swanky lounge on a Tuesday night!

Nicole D'Ambra is already planning the next event in June so last night was only the beginning!

And thanks to Robbie Schlosser for taking the picture of Duncan and I with my iPhone.

The ultra cool metal beaded curtains that make up the entire "wall" into the lounge.