Party Planning Tips from a Pro

August 28th, 2010 |

By Working Mommy, Contributor, Lessons Learned (@lessonslrndblog)

Not many people know this, but I am a wedding planner by trade. Before you get all giddy – no, it is NOT like the Jennifer Lopez movie. I mean, some big clients do act like that – renting statues and live trees and such – but the majority just don’t have the expendable money. (*Just a side note…I love the ones with expendable money, though! They usually give me the most leeway when selecting over-the-top decor!)

Moving on…as a wedding planner, I have had the pleasure the privilege the opportunity to wear multiple hats for one event. These hats include – but are not limited to – minister, caterer, bar tender, psychologist, family therapist, pre-marital counselor, lion (mother/mother-in-law) tamer, seamstress, photographer, chicken wrangler (babysitter), florist and, most recently, security.

In my 10+ years of experience I have learned that not every event is the same, and THAT is what makes each one unique and interesting.

So, after all of my trials and tribulations, I can honestly say that I finally have the ability to pass on some knowledge when it comes to self-planning an event. The example I am going to use is my daughter’s recent first birthday.

The most important part of this shin-dig, besides the food, was the guest list. I opted for an e-vite because they are just so dang useful! I mean, you save money on postage, can email it to anyone you want, and update as often as you need to with information for your guests. It is a FREE one-stop-shop for smaller gatherings.

When it comes to menu planning, make sure you serve things that are either easy for you to make (like a family recipe you could whip up in your sleep), able to be made and brought by someone attending, or can be bought for relatively little money.

The menu for The Babe’s party was:

* Cheese and Crackers (this is super easy to do)
* Fruit Balls (again, super easy and can be prepped days ahead of time)
* Beef Kabobs (with peppers and onions – marinated in garlic and teriyaki sauce)
* Potato Salad
* Deviled Eggs (ridiculously easy)
* Broccoli Salad (a la my mama)
* Egg Rolls (another famous offering by my mama…luckily she makes HUGE batches and freezes them)
* Birthday Cupcakes (The Man even helped me decorate them the night before…YUM)
* Birthday Cake (it was my first time decorating…LOVE how it turned out)

For a party of 30 people, everything cost about $150 total, which really isn’t bad considering all the food we had available. No one went hungry and we had left-overs for days – always a plus!!!

Add some great friends and you will have one of the BEST parties ever!!! I mean, this face doesn’t lie…yet!!