EVENT STAFF

There's More to These Bashes Than Hiring a Stripper Bachelor and bachelorette parties are a rite of passage as much as they are a party. They mark the transition from a single independent lifestyle into the commitments of married life.

In recent years, both bachelor and bachelorette parties have become a lot more creative. Drinking and sexuality are no longer mandatory activities at these events. Camaraderie and celebration are more the order of the day. Men may go out to sporting events, play sports themselves or head out for a hike in the woods. Women enjoy days at the spa, camping trips, or head off to a restaurant for a gourmet dinner. As you plan to host one of these fun pre-wedding events, here are the basics that you'll need to keep in mind.

Bachelor and Bachelorette Party Planning Considerations

These events are usually organized by members of the bridal party. In no case does the bride or groom pay for their activities. The participants in the party pay the full bill. Be sure you plan an activity that is affordable to those who will cover the bill. It's okay to surprise the bride or groom with the activity that has been planned for the send-off party. That said, you should keep in mind the personality and wishes of the bride or groom. Although everyone else in the bridal party may expect and desire a stripper, the preferences of the honoree need to be respected. Don't embarrass the bride or groom with a stripper if you really know that wouldn't amuse them. These parties are a great opportunity to warmly roast the bride or groom, and to make a few off-color jokes about married life (again, as long as you know the guest-of-honor won't be offended). Therefore, plan for lots of amusing toasts. You might ask a few guests to prepare a toast in advance to get things started. Anyone who is invited to the bachelor/bachelorette party should be on the guestlist for the wedding.

Don't plan this party for the night before the wedding. Both the bride and groom want to be at their best for the big day, and if alcohol is involved, that's not likely to be the case. Even with a more mellow kind of party, there's usually lots of last-minute details for the bride or groom to attend to the day before the wedding.

From Donna Pilato, Your Guide to Entertaining.

http://entertaining.about.com/

Any of us can throw a party or get together easily. It’s not that hard to put all the basic essentials together. Once you got your visitors, food, drinks, and entertainment together, you basically have a party. How many of us actually tried to host a big organized event? Organizing a party is one thing, but putting together an organized event is another. This is not a major problem; you can simply call an event planner to help you out. But hiring an event planner? How often do you need an event planner? It’s not so often that we need an event planner, how do we know that we’re picking the right one?

Your event or party is in the hands of these people. The first thing to do is know what type of party you’re going to have, from the theme to the types of food and drinks. Now that you have your theme in mind, let the event planner paint the picture.

Here are some ideas as to what to look for in an event planner: A great event planner should be able to listen closely as to what the client’s needs are and identify the right questions to ask as an advocate based on their experience. A great event planner should be able to gain confidence and maximize budgets giving their clients assurance that they’ve picked the right person. A good event planner knows how to communicate their ideas and how to motivate the people around them so that everyone is working towards the same goal as the team.

Lastly, when selecting a great event planner find one that you can have fun with; you can respect as a professional and look forward to working with. Well look at it this way, you have to be able to trust your event planner as you do with your lawyer or doctor. The right event planner can go a long way towards producing a great event and will ensure that not only will you have a successful event but one that is enjoyed by all the attendance and remembered for years to come.

Having an engagement party is a good way to introduce your fiance or fiancee to your family and friends. Today, in our mobile society, the bride and groom may not live near family or old friends. Therefore, having an engagement party is a quick way to introduce a future spouse to a group of people at one time. The following tips will help you have a successful party:

Parents
The parents of either the bride or groom usually host the party, though grandparents, an aunt, an uncle, a close friend of the parents, or a godparent may choose to host it instead. If both sets of parents live in the same community and are acquainted, they might co-host the party.

Multiple Parties
It is okay to have two engagement parties, each hosted by one set of parents if the parents of the bride and groom live in different communities and have different friends. If both families live in the same community, only one party is held and both sets of parents are invited. However, only the friends of the hosting parents are invited unless both sets of parents co-host the party.

When
The purpose of the party is to celebrate the engagement. Therefore, the party should be held shortly after the engagement occurs and several months before the wedding. If most of the guests don't yet know about the engagement, the hosting parents might announce the engagement at the party.

Invites
Invite only close friends and family who are also friends of the bride or groom, not just the parent's friends. Don't invite people that you don't expect to invite to the wedding.

Simplicity
Keep the party simple and relaxed. You might have a barbeque or a cocktail party without a pre-planned program and at which guests can mingle and visit.

Gifts
Gifts aren't usually given at engagement parties. If they are, it is most often a bottle of wine or a wedding planning book for the bride. The couple might accept any gifts that they receive, then put them aside to be opened at a later time so that guests who didn't bring anything don't feel awkward. Gifts of wine or food do not need to be served at the party.

Having an engagement party is a way to officially kick off the wedding planning process, so enjoy your time as you get better acquainted with each other's families and friends.

Article Written By
Glenna Tooman
Memory Makers Event Planning, LLC

Glenna Tooman is the owner of Memory Makers Event Planning, LLC. She specializes in planning unique and personal events while keeping the client's budget in mind. Glenna is an internationally recognized authority on wedding and event planning. She is also the author of a regional wedding guide "The Commonsense Guide to Planning Your Wedding."
 

Source from: http://www.weddingvendors.com/

With all the effort, time, and money that goes into planning a wedding, one detail that is often overlooked is floral preservation. Now you do not need to discard your lovely, sentimental, bridal bouquet or let it dry and shrivel away! Thanks to the latest technology in flower preservation, freeze-drying. A blend of science and art, freeze-drying retains the shape and color of your flowers giving them that "just picked look".

Man has been involved in some form of floral preservation since the beginning of time. Air drying and floral pressing are age-old arts dating back to before Egyptian times. Cornmeal & borax and silica gel drying came into vogue in the late 1700s. Ancient Indians in the high Andes Mountains practiced a form of freeze-drying. William Hyde Wollaston introduced the first modern freeze-drying method in 1813 to the Royal Society in London. The freeze-drying method used today was perfected during World War II as a method to assist the storage of human plasma. Freeze drying is now employed quite extensively by pharmaceutical manufactures and food producers. About 15 years ago the first flowers were successfully freeze-dried and over the years floral freeze-drying has become a combination of art and science.

Proper freeze-drying doesn't produce flowers that are brittle and lifeless as traditional drying methods do. There are very few experts in this industry because the equipment is expensive, requires extensive training to operate, and knowledge about flowers and floral design is imperative. Flowers stay in the freeze dry equipment for about two weeks and the complete process can take up to 12 weeks.

There are a few things you should know prior to selecting a company to preserve your flowers: - Do they pretreat and rehydrate the flowers before they freeze-dry them? This process helps retain the color of your flowers and opens the cells so they freeze-dry with a natural look. - Are all bouquets photographed and then disassembled for freeze-drying? This is the only way each flower will retain its color and shape. - Are the flowers post-treated after freeze-drying? This process coats each flower with a thin, transparent layer that protects them from light and humidity.

Not all freeze-drying companies complete each step because of the time and labor required. Without these steps; however, your flowers may not retain their natural look or will have a shorter lifespan.

Preserved flowers are attractive accents for any home and appear much more natural than silk arrangements. There are hundreds of frames, glass or acrylic domes, and beautifully creative custom wall and tabletop designs available to display your flowers. Shop around for the look that fits your style.

Consult a floral preservationist at least two months prior to your wedding so you can arrange to have your flowers shipped or delivered while they are still fresh. Thousands of brides are now preserving their bouquets and wedding flowers; with so few experts in this industry, reservations must be made months in advance so you will not be disappointed.

Enjoy the sentimental memories for years to come- make this extraordinary display a key centerpiece in your new homes d? or a gift to someone special. Just as you preserve your wedding gown, photographs, and other sentimental memorabilia, you can now preserve your bridal flowers for a lifetime of enjoyment.

--- This article was written and copyrighted by Kathy Reid co-owner of Heller & Reid ( a flower Preservation Company). Heller & Reid is located in Richardson, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. Heller & Reid provides preservation services nationwide.------

Source from: http://www.the-wedding-planner.com