For smaller tents:

Envision the room in three horizontal planes: the sky, the eye and the earth. Prioritize what is the most important to you but do not neglect the other two! Think if you were having your reception in a ballroom, overhead the ‘sky’ is the chandeliers, the ‘eye’ is wall sconces and wall paper and the earth is the flooring or even the tabletops.

One of our most popular decoration packages consists of fabric draping for the sky, twinkle lights running around the tent perimeter for the eye, and the use of an abundance of decorative votives on the tables for earth, to create a magical transition from day to evening.

For larger tents:

To make large tents appear intimate, create the feel of ‘rooms’ within the tent. By designing personalized décor to the different areas of your reception, you are fooling the mind into forgetting that you’re swimming in an ocean of space. Not only that, creating rooms breaks up the monotony of the entire tent looking the same, leaving the guests with no motivation to mingle about the entire tent. Some fun rooms to create are: the bar (all the better to give the guests different surroundings if they are waiting for drinks), the dance floor, the head table area, a photograph area and the cake/dessert area.

Our next post will go into the specifics of each of them and give you ideas on how to differentiate by décor the rooms of your tent

The post Secrets to Designing Spectacular Reception Tents appeared first on YorkMama.com.

• Even if you do not have a pool, you can still set up little comfort stations for your guests, similar to ones you see at amusement parks. Of course sprinklers or slip and slides are always fun for kids. For adults, you can get creative and rig up some soaker hoses to refresh your guests. You can use the hooks you have in your house gutters left from Christmas lights to run it the length of you patio, allowing a gentle mist to befall on your guests. Or if you have tables with market umbrellas you could twist and tie the soaker hose up the poleand around the center of the umbrella. Since you wouldn’t want the entire length of it spraying (i.e. in their faces), simply use some pvc piping around the part of the hose you do not want spraying.

• Two quick words about dogs…my extensive knowledge about soaker hoses is because ALL of the hoses at my home are soaker hoses due to a beautiful blonde Labrador named Ally Oop. Little known fact: Labradors hate anacondas, especially those juicy imaginary ones that appear as garden hoses to you and me. If you have an old hose you want made into a soaker hose, just take a nail and make some holes in it, or just bring it over and attempt to water my flowers with it. Second and tons more important DOGS CAN DIE OF HEAT STROKE. No matter how much your pup loves a party do not let them play for extended periods of time in extreme heat. They don’t know when to stop.

• Be sure to have plenty of suntan lotion available in your bathrooms and powder rooms for your guests to apply. Place it right beside the hand towels so there is no doubt it is for them to use.

• If your party extends into the evening, make sure to pass some bug spray around and fire up the citronella candles.

• If your party is held in a safe location, give some responsible teen the car keys to the vehicles to open the doors or windows so your guests don’t have to get into a sweltering vehicle when they leave. Another nice touch would be for the kids to place homemade lemon wipes wrapped in aluminum foil in the cars for the guests to freshen up with before travelling home. A simple mixture of 1 tablespoon lemon oil, 1 tablespoon unscented baby wash and 3 cups water, poured over strong folded paper towels will freshen up the grimiest guest. A little note explaining what is and a thanks for coming will be appreciated and remembered.
Party On!
Yours in planning, Amy

The post Dog Day Party Tips appeared first on YorkMama.com.

Regardless the reason, our phones are ringing and people seem to be celebrating life like I haven’t seen for a while. Here are some of the common denominators, aka trends.

1. COLOR! Bless my soul people are just getting giddy with colors in their themes! Still uber hot is the fuchsia & lime green combo, we did a lot with it last year and it continues this season. Next event we’re pairing it with black to make a huge white (read: boring) tent come alive! A new edition for an event later in the season is a strong, lemon yellow.

2. Speaking of, lemons and all sorts of citrus actually, are showing up in floral arrangements. You can’t throw a stick without hitting an event magazine showing that look right now. Well, at least not in my house anyway. Fruit is such a beautiful cheap alternative or addition to flowers, it’s good to see its stature elevated to decoration.

3. The PHOTO BOOTH craze continues and is such a playful addition to sometimes stoic events such as weddings. I just got a great mental picture of the Queen sitting on the little stool in one at Will and Kate’s upcoming nuptials.

Even cooler than the photo booth concept is the appearance of the Flip Book Maker, invented in Japan and currently being seen mainly on the West Coast. The flip book maker allows you to make a short video and converts it to pictures, then prints and assembles it into a flipbook format! Add a green screen and the possibilities are endless! But I digress…back to current trends…

4. CRAZY FUN THEMES – People have gotten more creative and have actually come to us with their event vision already established, just needing us to make their vision a reality. This past weekend we had an African themed baby shower where Party Belles transformed an area at our local Hilton into a jungle! Next weekend we’ll be creating the space down the rabbit hole at an Alice In Wonderland event. Guests will get to choose between Rabbit Ears and Top Hats as they arrive to get everyone in the mood. This summer we’ll be hosting a Hitchcock Party where guest will arrive as their favorite character. People LOVE going to themed parties and the more unique the better. Attendance rates rise dramatically when we hold a heavily themed event and are more often than not 100 percent.

5. Money is still scarce, however, and that continues to be an important force. As professionals we don’t really mind that, as it allows us to use more creativity and make events much more personalized. The excesses of the 90’s and early 00’s are long a thing of the past, but we have found our groove in the T’weens and are having a fine, fine time.

The post Party like it’s…2011? appeared first on YorkMama.com.

Everybody knows the main components of this day are football and food. It’s an easy get together to host because there is already built-in entertainment. However there are a few points to mind.

If possible, it’s a nice idea to try to include non-football fans with football fans by having a brief tutorial prior to the game, key words: brief and prior. Some 13 years ago my husband told me all I really needed to know: ‘A team gets four tries to move the ball 10 yards. They continue doing that till they fail. Then the other team gets to try.’ With that simple explanation I was able to follow what was going on and I was hooked.

Sure, it takes a lot longer than that to learn the idiosyncrasies of the game, but no one is going to comprehend all that at your Super Bowl party. Nor do you want to spend your day explaining them all, so share with them that nugget of wisdom and enjoy yourself. If there is a chance you think this may just whet a guest’s appetite to inquire further, it wouldn’t hurt to have a ‘for dummies’ book or an ‘idiots guide’ of the game lying around.

If there are guests with no interest in the game, segregation is important. Nothing starts an argument quicker than Margaret holding a conversation with Betty across the room about a great sale she found when the Steelers are 4^th and goal. Since it is more of a dude’s party respect that and provide a suitable haven out of the way where Margaret and Betty can chat and play a card game or something. This does not mean you must entertain everyone’s own whims, you clearly invited the to a Super Bowl Party and you need not make any apologies for serving chips in a helmet.

As I mentioned, this is more of a dude’s party which allows for some plain silliness, reminiscent of college days. Break out the beer pong. Hide your Snobabies collection and have lots of inflatable footballs lying around to be thrown at the TV and each other. Have a game pool and place a variety of goofy bets on the commercials. Get some face paint in team colors. Admittance to the party requires at least a swipe of color on their face. If they pull the ‘I’m not for either team’ baloney they get a swipe of each.   Oh, and whatever you do, make sure you cheer for the Steelers.

Yours in planning, Amy

The post 5 Fabulous February Festivities Part I appeared first on YorkMama.com.

For example, say your friend exclaims she needs a new coffee pot and her birthday is next week. Would you seriously even consider picking one out for her and what would it be? A french press? A single serve system? A brew and go? Even if you forgo the pot idea all together and decide just to buy her some coffee the possibilities are endless! My mantra is indeed God Bless America as I stand glassy eyed in the abundantly lit cereal aisle at Giant, scanning the brightly colored boxes in search of my Special K with red berries… but I digress…

Gifts from one adult to another can be tricky. There are a few classic gifts that you really can’t go wrong with, a photograph of a shared moment or of something the receiver has some affection for, be it a signed sports figure or an artistic rendering of their hometown. Personally nothing is dearer to me than a gift that personifies the talents of the giver. To this day, the most sentimental wedding gifts we received was from an elderly couple, she a needlepoint of the Lord’s Prayer and he a Scrimshaw crafted by the giver himself.

If you do not know the intended that personally the thought really is what matters. For instance, I’m pretty sure I could teach my 8 year old English Labrador how to buy a bottle of wine. Carding would only be an issue until the note tucked into her collar explained she is well over the legal age in human years. But a bottle of wine placed in a designer basket the receiver collects or with the Houdini Corkscrew for the man who loves ‘as seen on TV’ products, brings that boring bottle of wine to a whole new level!

If finances allow, turning any single item into “A night of fun” kit is an awesome gift! Endless possibilities from A night at The Jersey Shore, including tanning spray, a Jersey Shore DJ Pauly D Talking Bobble Head, a clip in hair extension and Jersey Shore: Season One Uncensored .

Another idea would be for a friend who loves to cook, a crème brulee kit of ramekins, a chefs torch and the key ingredients to create this amazing dessert!

Memorable gifts are always worth giving and so appreciated when we received.
Yours in planning, Amy

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This month of course is the ever popular ‘Feast of Fabulous Wild Men Day‘ (1/12, a hump day this year, but I digress). No, I don’t know what this holiday is or where it came from …apparently no one does but there it is, registering 112,000 results when you Google it.

There are some other fun ones, Opposite Day on the 24th (or Backwards Day, 1/31) a great day to serve them their favorite breakfast, for dinner!

If you look hard enough, darn near every day has some kind of holiday associated with it somewhere in the world, some are easily adaptable to celebrations such as National Kazoo Day (1/28) or National Puzzle Day on the 29th.

Alas, today is the Feast of Fabulous Wild Men Day and I have so much to prepare!
Yours in planning, A

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