I love to entertain but I will be first to admit that hosting an event is time consuming and can get expensive really quickly. Over the years I have discovered a few tricks that help to make the party planning and execution process more enjoyable.
In June I hosted a Rosé themed party. In this blog post I will be sharing some of my party planning and hosting secrets to show you how I brought my vision to life and how I saved money by doing it all myself!
Parties can get really expensive really fast! Setting a budget means determining how much money you want to spend for all of the expenses associated with the party.
Choosing a theme for your party early on in the planning process gives you a direction to go in with the food, activities and decor. If you do not already have a theme in mind you can use Pinterest for inspiration.
To better illustrate my party planning tips I will be using a recent party that I hosted as a case study. I knew that I wanted my party to celebrate the Summer season so I came up with the idea of hosting the Rosé Soiree. The idea was to create a small gathering where my guests could enjoy each others company, delicious food and various rosé varieties. This wine tasting at a vineyard.
A theme sets the overall tone and the vibe is how you manifest the theme using the 5 senses at the event.
Questions to ask as you are developing your theme:
How do I want my guests to feel at the event?
How do I want my guests to feel after they leave the event?
What does my theme look like?
What does my theme feel like?
What does my theme taste like?
What does my theme sound like?
I wanted the vibe of my party to be modern, Chic, with earthy, organic, feminine elements.
Color really sets the tone when party planning. Choosing a color scheme helps you to maintain a cohesive aesthetic for every item related to the event. Having color references makes shopping and planning a breeze because you are not left wondering what colors to choose for utensils, plates balloons etc.
I drew color inspiration from the pink color of rosé wine and the metallic elements
COLOR SCHEME
Soft Pink • Rose Gold • Champagne • Metallic Gold
COOLORS.COM has an amazing color scheme selection tool if you need to explore color scheme options.
How your guests find out about your event is very important. Invitations are their first impression of what to expect at the event and 1st impressions are the only impressions in my book. I always assure that my invitation embodies the essence of the event itself. Everything from the colors you use to the words you use matter. Nowadays most people are using web based digital invites because they save money , time and the planet! Most people throw away paper invitations anyway!
I created my invitation using Paperless Post. This online invite building site offers hundreds of free templates and their “flyer” option allows you to send your guests a url that links directly to your invitation and the best part is that they can RSVP without creating an account.
I believe that food and drink really make a party memorable. My number one tip when formulating a menu is to choose a cuisine. This will make choosing your menu items much easier because you are working within a limited cuisine category. For instance if you choose American Comfort Food, you can now work within that category to find menu items.
For the Rosé Soiree I choose a Mediterranean Small plates themed menu. An image of the menu is below. I made everything with the exception of the pita, hummus and falafel.
MEDITERRANEAN GRAZING PLATTER
Assorted Vegetables, Falaffel, Pita,
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Tzatziki
KABOBS
Shrimp / Chicken / Vegetable
ISRALI COUSCOUS SALAD
Pearled CousCous, Tomato,
Cucumber, Lemon Dressing
GREEK SALAD
Romaine, Spring Greens, Kalamata Olives, Red Onion, Grape Tomato, Feta, Greek Vinaigrette
STRAWBERRY LEMONADE CUPCAKES
I wanted to keep the decor minimal for my party, simple and casual. I turned to amazon where I found this paper pennant and paper tassel set they were under $10. They were both pretty easy to put together but the tassels were more time consuming because you had to construct each one individually.
The Menu
I designed the menu using Canva.com. I printed it out on eggshell paper and attached it to a clip board for a casual vibe. I embellished the clipboard by making a bow out of the handle of a brown shopping bag. Once I formed the bow I attached it with a bit of hot glue.
DIY Tools to always have on hand
Scissors
Hot Glue Gun
Ruler
Level
Tape
Sharpie Markers
Thumb Tacks
Pens/Pencils
Exacto Knife
Paper Clips
