PostsJulie was known for being a procrastinating type of person so it was no surprise to anyone that she started planning a party for 100 guests just two months before the actual event. Her parents’ 50th wedding anniversary was drawing close and the idea was to have a big gathering to celebrate the occasion. As reality set in, Julie started calling each establishment in the phone book that advertised Cincinnati catering and Northern Kentucky catering services. It soon became apparent that she had missed a window of opportunity to set things up effortlessly and would be spending much more time and attention than if she had made advance plans.
When Julie at last made contact with someone who could take her as a food service client, she was grateful that at least the food would be taken care of but she needed to make sure of many more details to ensure the party would be a success. She enlisted the help of her friend Connie who was able to talk her through the many steps that were left to finalize.
Some of Connie’s ideas included:
1. Determine if invitations should be mailed and if so, decide what would be the final cut-off time for an RSVP. This is such an important step and one that makes sure how much food to order.
2. Decide on whether to have a sit-down dinner or a buffet. Many people find a buffet more desirable so guests can mingle and converse with ease with each other. While both have their own unique qualities, usually one or the other is most appealing to hosts and will determine the tone of the party. Many people choose buffets for the casual mood it sets and for the easy way of getting the food to people.
3. Taste the food to be served to ensure quality and to see if it is really something you enjoy. Amazingly, something can seem like it’s wonderful and not really taste that special even though it has a costs a lot.
4. Consider hiring a photographer to come to the event to capture family pictures both spontaneous and portrait-like. This is a great idea when so many relatives are all together in one place.
5. Arrange to display wedding pictures of the happy couple for a sweet and reminiscent decoration. A nice touch is to use the colors that were in their wedding to decorate for the 50th anniversary party.
6. create the ambiance with music from your parents’ era. Consider hiring a pianist or even a small strings group to give an touch of glamour to your party. If there is room for it, arrange a dance space where people can truly have fun recalling old memories and dancing to old favorites.
As Connie worked with Julie many notes were made and thoughts were organized and what had been random thoughts became concrete suggestions and well ordered ideas that would make her party special and honestly pleasurable to her parents. Julie was surprised to find that she even took pleasure in gathering the pictures, suggesting several musical selections and choosing delicious specialty foods that her chosen vendor offered to supply. The weeks flew by, the party was a huge success and now Julie has wonderful family pictures in a delightful scrapbook to remind her that with a little planning and some personal touches, a great party is very possible to achieve.
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