Thursday, November 20, 2008

Budget Birthday

 

What do we as event planners do when we are not planning someone else's party? Plan someone else's party of course! Kate's sister turned 24 earlier this month, and as a present to her, she hired a chef, otherwise known as "Dad" to cook authentic chinese food Hibatchi style for a few friends and relatives. The ambiance was authentic as well, beautiful silk, gold and pink dishes with chopsticks straight from a trip to China, lanterns with a soft glow, and pretty silk orchids lined the table. The 4 course dinner lasted from the early evening into the wee hours of the night, and in between courses they sipped on sake (sa-kay) cosmos. We do apologize for the quality of the pictures.

Parties like this can take weeks to plan, but also can be put together with what you have at home already. Ask your dad or another relative to cook, use what you have stocked in your bar and add a simple, inexpensive ingredient to fit your theme. Use clothes, dishes, flowers from your garden, branches and leaves from trees, or anything else that you have around the house to spice up the theme as well. Above all, if you have a few munchy items, drinks to share, and a few friends, your party will be a success.

Monday, August 04, 2008

Miami Party

This past weekend, I flew down to Miami for a 30th birthday party, Puerto Rican style.  The theme of the evening was Movie star-esque.  First of all, the invites were movie tickets, that explained the run-down of the evening, and the dress code, which happened to be black, white, beige, and brown.  It was done this way, so that the birthday girl (celebrity movie star) could not be outdone.  There was a red carpet that all the guests walked down when they arrived, and where the Photographer a.k.a. Paparazi, took pictures of the guests arriving, and then posed in front of the famous white dress, picture of Marilyn Monroe .  He flashed his camera all night long and unexpectedly, just like the Paparazi.  From there a DJ was playing lounge music, and we were able to mingle with the other guests and munch on appetizers and sip cocktails.  After all the guests had arrived, the honoree was announced and made her grand entrance up the red carpet in a beautiful, red, ballroom gown, with a silver broach at the empire waistline.  She said a few words, and then the party began.  Lots of reggaeton, hot, latin, salsa music, hip-hop and more cocktails.  For a surprise birthday present, a spanish, love-ballad singer was hired, where he swooned the birthday girl with his amazing voice.  The evening ended at midnight where party favors were handed out.  A burned CD with a similar mix of that evening's music play list, and a shot glass with the birthday girl's famous saying.

 

What can we take from this as event designers and planners?  A new trend. . .  although this was reminiscent of a coming of age party, it was a 30th birthday party, much past the naive sweet 16 days.  This woman was celebrating herself, a successful, career-oriented woman, living independently.  So, what better way to celebrate the sometimes dreaded 30th birthday then to go all out.

 

For those of you out there that may have watched the great show "Sex and the City" this particular evening reminded me of one episode where Carrie went to a friend's babyshower, and lost one of her very expensive Monolo shoes.  She was furious, and demanded her friend to pay for a new pair.  Well, her friend did not understand this frame of thinking what-so-ever, and so Carrie put it into perspective for her.  You see, Carrie is single and childless, and over the years she has been to numerous weddings and showers where she has bought lavish gifts, but this has all been with no return for her.  So, she decides enough is enough, and she will have a shower for herself, complete with a gift registry at a Monolo shoe store.

 

And this my friend is the new trend for big city women, women who are past the momentous celebrations of age and career, and who just want to celebrate themselves.