Halloween Party Planning Made Easy

It's never too late (or early) to start planning a theme party, especially one as fun as Halloween. With the Halloween countdown leaving us with less than 7 days to get organized, we've put together a basic list of the most important things to start with when planning your Halloween party this year.

1. Guest List. Like any event (large or small) start with your guest list. Knowing exactly who you will be inviting will help you determine what kind of party you'll be having and more importantly, what your budget will be.

2. Decide on the date. This probably sounds like a no-brainer but there's so much to consider when choosing a date. While the obvious choice would be to host the party on Halloween night, first see which night of the week it falls on. Weekdays and Sunday's are probably not the best party hopping nights so perhaps you can have your party in advance on the Friday or Saturday evening before.

3. Determine where the party will be held. While some people love to host a house party, other's may want to take their costume clad friends on a club hop to dance the night away. Remember, you are the host however a party can be hosted in any location, you're not bound to your home.

4. Invitations. With only 7 days away it might be cutting it too close to send paper invites however free party planning websites such as Evite.com have many themed invitations to choose from. It's fast and electronic, what's not to love about email invites? If you're a social media junkie like we are, try setting up an event page on Facebook and send the invite to all your friends. Not sure how? Here is a tutorial on how to set up and event using Facebook.

5. Food and drinks. Appetizers, dinner, snacks, refreshments, pot luck, Halloween style cuisine, the sky is the limit as to what kind of food or meal you'd like to provide.

Now that you have the basic checklist for planning your party, you might want to check out our blog post Last Minute Halloween Party Solutions for recipes, decor ideas, games and party favors.

Wordless Wednesday: Halloween Decor for Grown Ups

{Photo Source: Vintage Mint Blog}

Wedding Spotlight: Ashley & Bobby

Ashley and Bobby’s country chic fall wedding took place on September 18, 2010. An absolute pleasure to work with, this down-to-earth couple incorporated many personal elements into their wedding day, reflecting their personalities and their strong family bond.

The ceremony and reception took place at Ashley’s family’s residence, located on a sprawling countryside property. The ceremony was setup in the back of the property, with the tented reception taking place towards the front. Hand carved signs, created by the bride’s father, were placed throughout the grounds, directing guests and furry friends.

After the ceremony was over, guests were invited to mingle at the cocktail reception just outside the tent, while Serge from Photografika took Ashley and Bobby’s wedding photos. The guests’ place cards were hung with clothespins between two trees, located beside the treasure chest of well wishes from the guests.

McLean-Sherwood Party Rental provided all rented items for the reception: the tent, tables, linens, chairs, and dance floor. While the bouquets, boutonnieres, and centerpiece flowers were provided by Devine Design, Ashley’s father carved each of the vases himself from trees found on his property. Ashley’s mother put together a photo collage, which sat on the gift table, and was a lovely surprise for the bride and groom when they walked into the tent. The children in attendance were also surprised to find gift bags filled with toys and activities for them at each table. It is very clear to us that family means a lot to this newly wedded couple.

In order for each table to get in line for the buffet dinner, provided by Silver Thyme Catering, the MCs had the guests play a trivia game to determine who would go first, second, third, etc. We give kudos to the MCs for being able to decipher between all the tables shouting out their answers. After every last morsel of food was gone, the sweets table was put out. The wedding cake, which was made by a close friend of Ashley’s Grandmother, looked beautiful and tasted delicious.

Ashley and Bobby hosted a wedding with a lot of personal touches for all their friends and family to remember forever and always. We hope they had fun on their European honeymoon!

*All photos courtsey of Simply Sophisticated Events.

Wordless Wednesday: Decor Fit for a Vampire

With Halloween just around the corner we couldn't resist featuring this Vampire Dinner Party style as featured on http://www.pizzazzerie.com/.

Photo Source: Pizzazzerie

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing our fellow Canadians a
very happy and safe Thanksgiving Day.

Tell us: how did you spend your Thanksgiving?

Wordless Wednesday: DIY Thanksgiving Centrepiece

{Photo Source and DIY instructions}

Q & A: Bridal Hair Accessory HELP!

Q: HELP I have all of my accessories for my wedding day but I have no idea what to wear in my hair. I'm not wearing a veil so I'd like some funky bling for my tresses.

A: These days, brides and their maids have many of choices for how they'd like to accessorize their hair. From traditional veils and tiaras to decorative hair pins, headbands or hats, the sky is the limit with options. We love these bridal hair accessories featured on http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/. The best part about them? They aren't just for bridal hair, use your imagination and reuse them for the next wedding you attend or even your next girls night out hair do.

Crystal Bobby Pins by Roberta Chiarella
Crystal Hair Sticks by Roberta Chiarella
Crystal and Pearl Hairpin by Winters & Rain