Big Birthday Celebration - Planning the day

My Mother's birthday is coming up. Not just any birthday, a really really big birthday. My Mom will be 90. Ninety! 

We all have talents in our family and one of mine is organization and party planning. It's fun for me and I really enjoy it. So I have been the main planner for my Mom's big party. 

This thing has turned into the size of a wedding reception. We will have close to 100 guests, catering, music and dancing. 

I went through the instructions from my previous post on Party and Event Planning - Laying the Foundation and came up with the following list: 

• What is the purpose of the event? The purpose of the event is to celebrate my Mom and to make sure she knows she is loved and appreciated. 
• What do I want the tone or mood of the event to be? Relaxed and fun, but beautiful at the same time. Party casual dress, safe environment for all my Mom's friends, and a great party atmosphere.
• What is important to me? That my Mom has the best time of her life. That she is celebrated and knows how much we all love her.
• What do I want for my guests? I want them to be well taken care of. I want them to have a good time. I want to have some surprises, and to provide a beautiful and fun environment.
• How do I want to participate in the event? I want to eat and be able to participate fully in this event. I tend to take on too much leading up to events so I am exhausted at the party. I want to relax and have fun at this one.  

Starting the Planning

Now that I have a foundation for the event I can start planning. The first thing I like to do for a party is put together the guest list. This helps me understand the approximate number of people, which leads me to how much space, food, and drinks I will need.

We have a huge family. Our baseline of guests is 32 right now, and that is just my siblings and their families. My Mom came up with a guest list of 60 something people, so we are up near 100.

I don't hold surprise parties for 90 year olds, so having my Mom included in the initial planning helped to move things along. It also makes it easier to come up with the right guest list, theme, and color scheme. We have booked a hall to hold the event, and my Mom has a caterer she likes. We have chosen a tentative date of June 21.

Guest list:  Approximately 100 people
Theme: I struggled with this one. Was going to do Old Hollywood since my Mom grew up in Hollywood but, I have settled on no theme. I will write about this in  a future post.
Colors: Bright teals, corals, and pinks

Filling in the details

I like to create nice invitations. The invitation sets the tone for the party and lets your guests know what to expect. My niece created a gorgeous invitation which sets the tone perfectly for this party. I hand address the invitations per old Emily Post rules. There is something about receiving a more formal invitation that is properly addressed that creates anticipation. I love hearing the guests excitement when they RSVP. It keeps me motivated.

We have rented a hall, and it is huge. I think we could easily seat a few hundred people there. We will need to make the space more intimate. 
 
I love teals, corals, and pinks and hadn't used these colors for a party before. I found a great palette at The Perfect Palette (I found it on Pinterest and followed the links).

We will also add in a touch of black and gold to make the party shine and make the colors pop. 

So far we are having white tablecloths, teal blue table runners, gold centerpiece vases, black accent vases, and pink and coral flowers on the tables.





I have found a lot of items on eBay and others at floral supply stores. I will post pictures and where to buy in a future post. 

 
The party design is coming along. My biggest concern at this point is whether I should have put in an order for the flowers. I need to plan out what I need for a party of this size. I usually just go to the flower supply and pick out what works with my color theme, but I need a lot of flowers this time. 

Time will tell if I made the right decisions. More in a coming post! 

So how are you celebrating life? Leave me a comment below.
Laureen

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Party and Event Planning - Lay the foundation

For my day job, I teach people how to plan projects and follow them through to completion. I use the same techniques in event planning. I like to lay the foundation and have a clear image of the event before I plan details. This method works whether I am planning an intimate dinner party, a picnic, or a formal event. I start by asking myself the following questions:

• What is the purpose of the event?
• What do I want the tone or mood of the event to be?
• What is important to me?
• What do I want for my guests?
• How do I want to participate in the event?

What is the purpose of the event? 
Understand the real purpose or goal. Is it to get married? Is it to let someone know you love them? Is it to make sure someone is ready for their new child? Is it to get together and talk? Play games? Laugh? This is the cornerstone of your event. 

At the end of the day this purpose is the only thing that matters (I can feel Martha Stewart's unease as I write this--What about the guests???--they will come later). Having your primary goal straight in your own mind can often put the details of the party in perspective. This is your prime directive; keep your eyes on this goal at all times.


What do I want the tone or mood of the event to be?
Determine the tone of the event. Do I want a really formal event? Do I want a more relaxed event? Do I want people to mingle? Dance? Get wild? Imagine your guests as they arrive, during the party, and as they leave the event. This will help you determine how the event should progress. 
 
People will also pick up on how you're feeling and it will drive the undertone of the event. If you're stressed, people attending the event can see and feel it and they won't have as good of a time. To combat this, plan. How you prepare for the party and how you behave during the party will set the stage. 




What is important to me? 
Remember that no one other than you knows exactly how you planned the party to go. Therefore they won't know something isn't to plan unless you let them know. Decide what will be most important to you after the party is over. This should be the area you focus on most. For example, after my wedding what was important to me were memories, pictures, and my dress. During the wedding I made sure I was present and paid attention as the day unfolded. Afterwards, I had my pictures and gown to cherish. During planning, I made sure to plan what pictures I really wanted. Who I wanted to capture.


What do I want for my guests?
At the end of the party, do you see them as sweaty, hair messed, danced out, exhausted from fun? Or do you picture them leaving in the same elegant state that they arrived with huge smiles on their faces? 

Use your vision to help plan the next level of party details. Remember your guests' comfort is important. You want guests to have sore feet from dancing, not from there being too few chairs. 


For me, it is always important that people are comfortable in the environment I have set. This covers everything from parking, walking surfaces, space to move and mingle, plenty of food and drinks, chairs, good room temperature, etc.
 
How do I want to participate in the event?  
There are times when being in the background (i.e. kitchen) is okay. Most times when we host we want to participate as well. Determine how you want to be on that day. Will you be with your guests, mingling, and having fun?  Or do you want to play the role of caterer and be there just to serve? Pick where you want to be on this spectrum of choices and do all you can in advance to make sure you get to participate as much as you want. 


While you can never plan every step of the event you can make that day, as well as your planning process, go much more smoothly if you lay the groundwork before you dive into your plans. The journey to the event can be as much fun as the event itself. Just give yourself some time to imagine what you want, see it in your mind's eye, and then do it.  Imagine...see...do.