Planning a Surprise Party......in less than 72 hours!

The ENVI team has been busy at work and we have not been blogging as much as our readers have liked, however....we're back!

We recently planned a surprise dinner birthday party and here's the catch.....we pulled it off perfectly in less than 72 hours!

We are here to share the secrets, some do's and don'ts so if you have a surprise party you want to plan you can do it stress-free, with ease, and enjoy yourself in the process!

The daughter of the special guest contacted our office for expertise in planning this type of shindig in a short amount of time....3 days to be exact!

Well, how do you do that?

1. Book it!
The venue that is. When searching for your venue for a party, you first have to have an idea of how many guests you are expecting. In a short time frame of 3 days, you would like to keep it to a minimum, it's easier to manage that way. Not only do you keep the guest list to a minimum, but search for a place that has all amenities included so that you have less to worry about. For this event we had a guest list of 15 people and our venue was Kiku at Camp Creek, a Japanese Steak House.

2. Spread it!
The word that is. Now it's time to let your guests know about the plans and share all the details. After you have gathered phone numbers and email addresses of all invitees and quickly start dialing and / or sending evites out to let them know about the plans. Don't forget to let them know the time of arrival for guests and the time of arrival of the special guest. The worst thing would be for your guests to arrive at the same time of the honoree!!! Not only do you have to inform your guests of the plans, but you have to stress that it is a SURPRISE and designate someone to get the guest of honor there.

3. Theme it!
Depending on the vibe you are going for with the party, you may want to have a theme. For this party, we didn't have a theme per se, but we did keep a certain color scheme of pink, orange, and gold. Also the dessert plates were the same color scheme with a damask print. It was absolutely gorgeous.
4. Wrap it!
Wrap up the details and get ready to have fun! Final details include ordering the cake, providing ideas for gifts to the guests, and taking care of any loose ends. Make sure that you are there as the party host early enough to greet the guests, especially in the case of using a restaurant. Sometimes restaurants have you in a special party room and other times, especially on busy nights, as in the case with Kiku you will be seated once the entire party gets there. Stress the importance of timeliness and you will be set to go!

The party at Kiku was a great success. The honoree was thrilled, super surprised, and had a wonderful time with her family and friends.

Seaside Vacations: End of Summer Outdoor Dinner Party

As the summer quickly comes to a close, we can reminisce on the vacations we took, the great food we ate, and the friends we spent countless hours with. Beach vacations are usually a call for some great seaside cuisine. As Labor Day approaches in the next 6 days, this weekend is an excuse to bring back some of those memories for a last hoorah and host a smashing good time in your backyard with some of your closest buds for a Summer Outdoor Dinner Party.


Party Basics:

There are few essentials that come to play when organizing a smashing good party.

• Venue
• Entertainment
• Decor
• Guest List
• Food & Beverage

and last but certainly NOT least....

• BUDGET!

VENUE: For the purposes of today's post and the reason for the season (**yes one of my faves is the holidays and holiday entertaining is the absolute BEST....only a few months left**), we will set the venue for the festivities to be held in the quaint backyard, deck, or patio of your home. Setting the scene, its a fairly large space to hold comfortably about 40-50 guests for your dinner party, complete with high boy tables, rounds for comfortable seating and a dance floor too!

ENTERTAINMENT: The entertainment for the evening, would be a nice mixture of contemporary music. From various genres so that everyone in attendance is comfortable. Since this is going to be an adult affair, lots of mixing and mingling of acquaintances will happen so there is no need for anything too formal for this casual gathering of friends coming together for a end of the summer shabang! **Hint....a live band wouldn't set well in this casual affair**

DECOR: I absolutely love piecing together arrangements for parties. For this fun and festive occasion, you would definately need lighting to get through the rest of the night. So some hanging lights, maybe some chinese lanterns hanging from the trees and white lights lining the fence. On the tables, I'm a lover of round tables, but have white/aqua linens with some small votives illuminating the space as well sitting atop glass chargers. In the votive centerpiece, since we are remembering our Seaside Vacation, include some sand or blue marbles to resemble the water aspect of the beach.

GUEST LIST: Wrapping up the summer festivities, including your closest friends and some work acquaintances it should be a great time! A simple evite is the easiest way to communicate your upcoming event and also be able to keep tabs on the RSVP's....a must in party planning.

FOOD & BEVERAGE: Time to eat! Having an array of finger foods, kabobs, and anything else that will just give your guests a little bit to eat, mix and mingle....cocktail style. You don't have to have anything heavy, it is a party you know! To drink....I'm all about the siggy drinks. Since this is a seaside vacation remembrance dinner party, incorporate a tropical paradise alcoholic or you can make it non-alcoholic as well. It's your party, engage your guests as much as possible and make it fun. Of course, have some other non alcoholic options for your guests who are non drinkers.

Last Point......BUDGET (but it really comes in first before ANY planning can begin). Your budget is your single handed most important piece of the puzzle. For any event, big or small, you have to know the funds your are working with to make it come together. When you have your total number, then you can find out which direction you are going to go for the pieces and which is most important in your party to WOW your guests.

After you put all these pieces together, don't forget to thank your guests for coming at the end of your smashing good party!

Happy Labor Day!

Until next time....

ENVIExec