The Home Show is an event designed for homeowners in all stages of remodelling, landscaping and decorating their homes.  Each event includes hundreds of home improvement and landscaping exhibits with product demonstrations and sample interior and exterior vignettes.  With a combination of new products and expert advice from the pros, the Home Show inspires homeowners with countless ideas on enhancing their home's comfort and functionality, as well as its aesthetic appeal and overall value.

After the end of the day, do your bones ache?  Are your muscles sore?  Is your brain fried?

What if you could come come from a long day and jump in to your new hot tub to soak, relax and destress?  Ahhhhh.  Hot tub prices are lower than ever these days!

Have you been looking to update a room in your house, but you just can't seem to find the time to research options much less go to all the different stores to compare pricing?

What if you could go to one place to research, compare pricing, and talk to professionals that can help you?  Save time and money? Yes, please!

The solution is to attend the Home & Hot Tub Show this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Gateway Center!  Come check it out!  It is FREE to attend!  Why not?!

Who should attend?
Whether you are a new homeowner, or someone who has lived in your home for years, anyone with an interest in updating, enhancing, or creating a new look or amenity for their home will enjoy the Home Show.

Why should you attend?
- Shop, compare and save. Ask exhibitors for show specials
- Save time by meeting hundreds of companies under one roof
- Discover new and interesting products and services for your home
- Get inspired and excited about your home and the countless possibilities
- Find the best resources in home improvement, landscaping, and design services
- Meet face to face with home improvement professionals
- Get expert advice and tips
- Be wowed by the possibilities

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CLICK HERE!

Personalize Your Event with Signature Cocktails!

Jen & Mark are getting married and they are serving Jen-tinis and Mark-aritas at their reception.

A convention has a Hawaiian Theme, so what do they have at the bar? Mai Tais!

Is the company president is a big Cardinal fan? Offer Cranberry and Vodkas to celebrate the red birds at the cocktail party after the meeting.

Signature Cocktails are a fun way to personalize your event to match your event's colors or incorporate your names, professionals, or hobbies.

Eurest Dining Services, which is Gateway Center's in-house caterer, offers Signature Cocktail Bar Packages. Call today to find out more!

It's late, you are tired, and your feet hurt. Yes, you ate dinner just a few hours ago, but your belly is rumbling again. What you really want is a late night snack!

What could satisfy your craving better then a pizza bar, hot nachos, soft pretzels, or a french fry station?!? That's right, nothing!

Check out our new Late Night Menu...

LATE NIGHT SNACKS

Tortilla Snack Wraps
Honey Mustard Chicken, Buffalo Chicken & Traditional Hamburger

Pizza Bar
Fresh baked pizzas with up to 3 toppings

Nacho Station
Tortilla chips with your guests choice of ground beef, nacho cheese,
sour cream, refried beans, and salsa

Hot Dog Station
Fresh steamed hot dogs with assorted toppings

Soft Pretzel Station
Warm pretzel served with 4 different dips
Garlic butter, nacho cheese, spicy mustard, sundried tomato aioli

Great Party Sub Station
A selection of deli meats and cheese, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, onion and topping

French Fry Station
Warm French fries served with 4 different dips
Garlic butter, nacho cheese, jalapeño ketchup, rosemary garlic aioli

Popcorn
Freshly popped popcorn individually bagged


Your guests will be thanking you if you add a Late Night Station to your menu at your wedding reception, class reunion, birthday party, or awards banquet. Meeting, convention, and trade show clients can also use these Snack Stations to add excitement to their events.

Let's face it, everyone loves an excuse to eat some comfort food. So, add one of these stations to your menu and watch your guests walk away happy after they enjoy a special treat!

For more information, please call 618.345.8998 and ask to speak with a member of our sales staff.

Creating Keepsakes Convention
Friday, April 8 and Saturday, April 9, 2011

How much does it cost to attend CKC?
CKC works hard to make their event affordable for almost every budget.

Vendor Faire Shopping- $10 at the door (look for discount coupons online the week before the event) - access to incredible shopping including the latest products and even discounts on your favorite supplies! You can also expect to see some great Make and Takes, demonstrations, and inspirational samples.

Classes are offered all day and evening, subject to availability. Prices range from $20 to $60. There are over 100 classes to choose from during 3 scrap-filled days! Acquire new skills and perfect techniques in classes featuring popular products, expert instruction, and diverse projects.

For class schedules and more information, please visit Creating Keepsakes at http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com or call customer service at 1-800-815-3538.

Over the course of the last year, Gateway Center worked with Lifetime Media to create new promotional videos. Check them out!

We are extremely pleased with the results. And, we are very grateful to our clients both past and present that took time out of their busy lives to be a part of the videos for us.

In 2009, Gateway Center had a Rock Your Reception Contest for the Gateway Bridal Show. Engaged couples entered the contest by sharing their love story. Out of all the entries, we picked a "Top 3" stories and then invited the public to vote for the winner. The winner of that contest was Nikki & Tom.

There truly could not have been a more deserving couple...

Nikki was diagnosed with cancer at the young age of 25. She began a long battle to fight for her life. And, Tom stood by her side the entire time. Their love grew as they rode this roller coaster together. Their story touched the lives of all of those that knew them and even those who did not. Their love endured through thick and thin and it was so inspiring.

Sadly, Nikki recently lost her battle with cancer. I may not have known Nikki and Tom very well, but what I do know is how much they are loved. I remember the outpouring of care and concern from the nearly 500 people that voted for them to win the contest.

In honor of Nikki and the love that Nikki and Tom shared, I wanted to share their love story that Nikki entered the contest with. I hope this love story will inspire people to not take one minute of their lives for granted and to hold on tight to their loved ones.

Nikki & Tom's Story:

For better or for worse-a vow most couples have only really seen one side of when they eagerly commit to each other on their wedding day. No one ever plans for that “worse” side of the “better.” When I first met Tom six years ago on my 21st birthday, neither of us could have ever foreseen the wonderful, and yet tumultuous road ahead of us.

Tom and I have shared a million wonderful experiences together; we’ve traveled together, and celebrated together. In many ways we’ve become adults together, finishing college, searching for careers and finding a life together. He is my best friend, and a wonderful man. I can’t imagine my life without him. However I’m inclined to believe that the true test of a lasting relationship isn’t how amazing it is when things are good, but rather how two people come together when things are bad.

Tom was holding my hand a year and a half ago when the doctor came into my hospital room to tell me that at the age of 25 I had cancer. I was diagnosed with a very rare cancer, and the outlook did not look good. He looked at me and said, “We can beat this.” Tom was by my side through debilitating rounds of chemotherapy that left me weak and extremely sick. When he couldn’t be with me because of his job, he would sit on the phone with me for hours until I was able to fall asleep. He held me when I cried, and told me every day how beautiful I was despite the fact I no longer had hair. He was at the hospital with me through a rough surgery, and he celebrated with me when I was told the cancer was gone. Two short months later, he cried with me when we found out the cancer was back. He was by my side through another difficult surgery, and when I was admitted to the hospital for a month to undergo high-dose chemotherapy with a stem cell transplant, he slept next to my hospital bed every night. He held me tight and told me not to give up when we found out these did not work, and the cancer had spread.

Through much of this we had been working to plan a June 2009 wedding, a goal that kept me focused on getting past all this. While in the hospital I surrounded myself with bridal magazines and we dreamed about all the details we wanted, all the time knowing how uncertain the future really is. After much talk, Tom and I decided that while we still wanted to work toward our June wedding, we also wanted to spend as much time as we could as husband and wife. We eloped in September, one day before the 6 year anniversary of our first meeting. We decided to keep our June date, but if we’ve learned anything it’s that life is unpredictable. It is very important to us to celebrate our love with all of our family and friends in June, and we are still excitedly planning our wedding.

In July I started a new kind of chemotherapy. By October we were seeing wonderful results. Tom was by my side December 9th when I had my very last round of this new treatment. I left the hospital cancer free, and in remission. We have no idea what the future will hold, but we do know how strong our love is for one another. We’ve battled through the “worse” and we are cherishing the “better.” We are counting down the days to our wedding in June, and hopefully a long life together.

- - -

Thankfully, Nikki and Tom were able to have the wedding that they had dreamed of. The pictures from their special day (see above) were captured by Nikki & Tom's wedding photographers (and friends) Karin & Roger Doolin with Starry Eyed Studios.

The staff of Gateway Center & Eurest Dining Services would like to wish you
GOOD TIMES,
LOTS OF CHEER,
AND A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

***
Planning a holiday party? Looking for inspiration? No matter if you are planning a holiday party at Gateway Center or at your home, check out these websites with lots of great ideas for decor and menu.

Hostess with the Mostess
Mad for plaid! This website is always providing fresh and creative ideas for party planning.

The Food Network
Here are some yummy ideas for your holiday menu.

Evite
Evite is a great party planning resource. Evite is not all about the invites or evites. Evite also provides many new ideas for activities, decorations, food, and drinks.

Taste of Home
If you want to impress your guests, this festive main dish will do the trick! And, it's easy to make too!

Incorporating some of these ideas into your holiday party will leave your guests saying, Wow! LET'S EAT, DRINK & BE MERRY!

Engaged? Feeling overwhelmed?

These wedding planning websites are designed to help make things easier for you. They have free tools that allow you to create a personalized wedding website as well as set a budget, manage your guest list, and keep you on track with a planning checklist.

The best feature about these planning websites is that they have comprehensive information about local vendors including photos and reviews.


Here is a short list of just a few of our favorites:


Perfect Wedding Guide



Wedding Wire

The Knot




Wedding Channel

Good luck and happy planning!!