I Know How to Throw a Party!

On Saturday, Stephanie and Jordan hosted an engagement party for Morgan and Olly. Well, technically, I hosted it. They asked if they could use our house--because it's big enough to hold 50+ people. Of course I said "yes." When Stephanie laid out the plans, it was everything I could do to hold myself back from taking over. I have entertained a lot over the years. A. Lot! And I don't mean little parties--although there have been plenty. I know how to do big parties. 

Stephanie said that all I needed to do was provide the decorated house--as I always have some nice fall decor. I agreed. Then she told me about hiring a "barista" to serve coffee. What?? When she mentioned the cost (GASP: $600) I just had to intervene. So, I offered to handle the coffee bar which lead to a hot chocolate bar, which lead to tea punch and water. One thing always leads to another!

While we were on our safari, we were discussing the party. When she told me what she was paying to have it catered, I---just---could---not---hold---back! I said that doing a party for 50 would be so easy and cost so much less. So in the end, I took over!! 

I put my rear in gear when we returned from the safari and got it done--in less than a week--since we were going to be leaving for our wine trip. During that week, I (along with help from Butch):

1. Decorated (and realized that when it came down to it, I did NOT have as much "fall" decor as I did Halloween--which I didn't want to use). That meant a trip to Hobby Lobby and putting my new Cricut to use. The theme was to be "Morgan and Olly FALL in love!" 

I bought the garland and "Fall" wooden sign and added the wording cut from my Cricut. I had the photos printed at Walgreens and then matted them.

I bought the sign "Together they built the life they loved" at a second-hand store in Georgia and added another framed picture this time. (All of the personalized decor is going home with Morgan and Olly).

One of my favorite things to do is to layer tablecloths for a fun look and decorating the table.

I laid out all of the serving pieces for the food.

Kept the decorations simple in the living room.

More framed prints. 

I bought and decorated these fake pumpkins. All the guests will be invited to leave a thought or bit of advice for the happy couple. These will also become part of Morgan's own fall decor.

2. Planned the food (actually Stephanie told me everything she wanted--I added a couple other things) and made the grocery list. I went to Sam's and Kroger's for the non-perishables. 

3. Made the food cards:

Well, because you need to know what you are eating!

4. I made my timeline and planned what had to be bought at the last minute. When we got home from Sonoma/Napa, I had two days to finish up. Plus, I had quite a few appointments on those days, so pre-planning was crucial. 

5. Moved and arranged all the chairs around the house and set up the coffee makers.

We left on our vacation in good shape for the party--having done everything in advance that we could. When we got home, we:

1. Went back to Sam's and Kroger's for the fresh fruits and vegetables.

2. We bought pumpkins and flowers for the front porch. I made flower arrangements for the inside.

3. Butch cleaned off the tables on the patio--since it's going to be nice weather. Some people might want to go outside. 

4. Checked and double-checked my list and timeline. Unfortunately, there's a lot to be done at the last minute. Luckily, Butch is a huge help in the kitchen. Steph and Jordan will be coming early to help too.

5. Here I am at 6:30 a.m. the day of the party, writing this blog post.

Now on to the party! 

Okay, I'll post about it tomorrow!!