Party Planning 101

Once I heard the announcement of the engagement and official dates, I was all on it! I love throwing a good party and it's even better when it's not my money.

I knew I wanted something modern/contemporary. I need it to pop but very simple. Nothing too ornate.

Poor Linda couldn't really decide on her colors except for olive green. I knew her favorite color was purple and she loved cala lilies. So I just took the initiative from there. Told them to trust my mom and me.

First things learned in this process. It's time consuming! Second, you need to have a team of helpers that are on the same page as you. My mom had some great sisters from the ward willing to help but getting them in the same frame of mind as us was kind of difficult. We trying really hard to get out of the "norm" for a Mormon reception. We like some twist. Lets just say we took a few things down that they put up.

I created the layout and my mom covered filling in all the empty spots. The palms were a genius filler. Plants are such a necessary item to any party.The tall centerpieces my mom decided on and I wasn't sold on completely. I was glad she convinced me because I thought they worked perfectly. I picked the flowers and beads and the table coverings. However, my mom had to do all the hard work of putting them all together since I couldn't get in town until later in the afternoon.
Then we had the centerpieces for the serving table. We bought so many vases. It got a little out of hand. Every vase was different and every arrangement. All in shades of purple, whites and green. Yet, each setting was the same. I had a vision and my mom let me complete that vision. Thank you, Mom. We had to make a few adjustments, as in any case, but the arrangements still turned out. You would never guess that I mixed fake and real flowers together.

The caters started to add the food around the arrangements.We wanted monograms somewhere. After spending money on everything else we just couldn't figure out how to work it out or in. We thought maybe it would just be too much. I knew I needed to buy candles. So, I called my friend up who has a vinyl business and asked if it would stick to wax. She wasn't sure. We designed a simple design and it worked beautifully. Candles and monograms cost all of about $20.The cupcake-cake in the center, I loved. We just wrapped boxes in a real pretty wedding paper, trying to give the appearance of a cake with a purple ribbon on the edges.My Dad was very patient with the hanging lanterns. I gave him the design and he had to hang them. Then when I got there later and would have him move them around. I was driving him insane. Love you Dad.