In January my youngest child turned 3, after having 10 years of boys parties, it was nice to bring out my girly side. She is obsessed with princesses and fairies and frankly anything pink. We invited just a few of her friends to a princess party, despite being amazingly busy with Dream Occasions I managed to pull together a small party for her. My only regret is that I didn’t have more time (although I’m sure my husbands credit card is thankful) or that I didn’t have a professional photographer on the day. Next time I might trick Mark Bothwell over for tea considering he is so local (therefore please excuse the quality of my images!)

My husband is a beaver scout leader so we were able to use ‘Scout HQ’ for the party.  I asked the talented Emma from A Bespoke Design to create some fun invites for me, we wanted the invites to reflect the theme but more importantly the age of the children, we thought it would be fun for the ‘princesses’ to be able to colour in their own invites. Each invite was tied with ribbon and had their own named tag.

The Games

Due to the age we had to be careful with what games we played, therefore we stuck to:

• Freeze Fairy (aka musical statues) , I thought this would be an easy game but they were all so shy they linked hands with me and we ‘flew’ likes fairies instead, just as well I was dressed as a grown up fairy
• Musical Chimes, I told the children that if they made musical chimes the fairies would come and visit their gardens
• Pin the Crown, we had a large picture of a fairy princess so the children were blindfolded then had to place the crown on the princess head
• Sleeping Fairies, frankly I think this is the best game ever, perfect for some quiet time
• Pass the Parcel, good old favourite never fails

The Table

• Unless I went OTT and called in James there wasn’t much I could do with the scout HQ so I just concentrated on making the actual table pretty instead
• I had some gorgeous fairy helium balloons but due to my wonderful photography, you can’t actually see them!
• I borrowed some wire handbags from Jades Flowers and filled with jewelry, marshmallows and flowers
• The plates were alternate rounded spotted and floral pink ones and every guest had a wand so they could create their own spells

The Food

Just for you

On the 6^th October I was in London running a training course for the UKAWP, whilst there I received a call from a lady asking if I was free to organise a party for her 50^th  birthday on the 20^th October. I arranged to see her on the 7^th  where I showed her lots of images to get an understanding of her likes/dislikes, this was no formal consultation and I wouldn’t be sending a proposal. With such a short timescale there was no time for various meetings or phone calls, especially considering I would be in New York 10^th – 15^th October! We decided on a party theme of Autumn so wonderfully seasonal.

The party was to take place at their home in Suffolk in a hanger/barn, thus I arranged for James to line & light the space for me, Mark from American Marquees carpeted the hanger and added a small frame marquee for the entrance. On the day it was hard to tell where the hanger started as the connection was seamless.

I hired Caroline from Endless Love to be my lady on the ground when I was in New York and co-ordinate the party on the day as I was at a wedding. I trained Caroline many years ago and she is one of our fabulous members at the UKAWP. At breakfast before heading out for meetings in N.Y I would email Caroline for a catch up! We had a lot of fun setting the party up on the Friday and I am grateful she was there on my behalf on the Saturday.

I consider myself lucky I have so many fabulous suppliers at my disposal meaning I was able to organise the party in such a short time. For example the table plan & guest list was finalised on the 17^th October, I was proofing the stationery with Emma at A Bespoke Design at gone midnight so goodness knows what time she finished printing! She understood the brief so the end result blended with the flowers & linen perfectly. She designed some autumn leaves for the stationery which included escort cards for garlic and a napkin band for the place cards.

The night before I flew to New York I briefed 2 top florists in London, my client confirmed Euphoric Flowers on the 12^th October meaning they had a week to order all the flowers & accessories. I’ve worked with Euphoric many times via the UKAWP events but this was the first function they have done for Dream Occasions. I loved the end result, the trees were just outstanding – the colours were complete gorgeousness.

In terms of entertainment we had a pianist for the cocktail hour, fireworks just before dinner, an aerial performer during dinner and The Kitts band to dance to.

There were no fewer then 22 suppliers at the party and all did an amazing job, my thanks to them all, I’m lucky to work with such talented people. The main suppliers are listed below.

Roll Call

Photographer – Mark Bothwell

Lighting – Wedding Creative

Marquee – American Marqees

Stationery – A Bespoke Design

Bar – Intents Effects

Flowers – Euphoric

Furniture – Great Hire

Linen – Northfields

Pianist & Evening Band – The Kitts

Aerial Performer – Contraband Events

As the training director for the UKAWP I help tutor students at our training courses, over the years I have literally trained hundreds of planners. In 2005 I ran a course where one of the students was from Essex (like me) and was so incredibly enthusiastic and intelligent I remember liking her instantly. As well as organising parties and events she became the co-ordinator for Creeksea Place  in Essex. After taking a break Teresa has re-launched ‘Cherry Street Weddings ’ alongside Anabel who is the current co-ordinator for Creeksea Place (and recently won best wedding co-ordinator for East of England  )

Moving forward a few years, namely the end of 2011 when I was contacted by Teresa to organise a dinner to celebrate her 40th birthday in March. I felt privileged to be asked by Teresa, contrary to belief I have worked with a lot of event planners over the years, I think they love ‘handing over’ the reigns to someone else for their own personal functions! (I love this picture taken of us on the night – yes even in heels Teresa towered over me!)

Teresa wanted an intimate dinner in central London where the emphasis was on good food, close friends and fun entertainment. This wasn’t to be an event with flashy detailing. After viewing some venues Teresa settled on the Private Rooms at The Ivy . The traditional English décor with large oval table was perfect for what Teresa wanted.

Next stop was a meeting with Emma from A Bespoke Design  to create a fun and quirky invite, the end result was a caricature of Teresa (although she still looked gorgeous) made to look like a sleek black clutch bag.

The day started with Teresa getting ready at the Savoy before heading over to the Ivy for pre dinner cocktails and canapés.

A pianist sung some wonderful songs throughout the cocktail hour putting everyone in the right frame of mind. On display in the room where some mini cakes we commissioned Zoe Clark to make, every ‘shoe’ was different and was a great talking point on the night.

A caricaturist  created a fab piece with all guests at the table and finally we had the most amazing illusionist/magician .

My thanks to Mark Bothwell for capturing some wonderful images and the staff at the Ivy for the most amazing hospitality, the attention to detail from staff was wonderful on the night.

When I’m organising events for clients I always ask what is important for them, what memories do they want in years to come? For many, they want their friends and family to have a great time, yes they want a beautiful event but not to the detriment of guest ‘fun’.

In April this year my Mum reached a milestone birthday, not sure she’ll want me to broadcast the age so I better keep that a secret! We have a large family, at the last count I have 7 aunts/uncles + 8 cousins (just on my Mums side) and I won’t even start on the cousins children! We are all over the country and don’t always get the chance to see each other.

My Mum wanted everyone together for a lunch so after some venue searching we confirmed the gorgeous Downhall Hotel in Hertfordshire. I asked the delightful Emma at A Bespoke Design to design an invitation for us which my Mum loved.

With 25 adults + 15 children accepting the invitation we were thrilled that Rebecca reserved the Ibbetsons room which had an adjacent room ideal for the children to ‘hang out’ in! We bought some of our smaller games from Dream Occasions Hire and the children played perfectly until my ex sergeant cousin started teaching the children to use them as missles – honestly some people never grow up!

I asked Ilknur from Mediterranean Occasions to cover the conference chairs and add her lace tie backs.

I knew we didn’t have space for many flowers and with 15 children candles were a NO but I did manage to place some arrangements on the tables, I wanted to keep it elegant but informal as it was family after all.

My Mum goes away a LOT so I had to have a cake that reflected her love of holiday! Sarah from Sugarsponge Cakes did a fab job creating a suitcase cake for us. Calling for ‘cutting’ of the cake was much easier then when I have 200 guests at a wedding!

Good food and service was important to my family and the staff at Downhall outdid themselves, the attention to detail was not unnoticed by any of us. The food was delicious, the staff friendly and professional and the ambience perfect. Staff even helped us arrange a photoshoot outside Downhall entrance which was beyond the call of duty. I can’t even begin to reiterate my thanks to them.

We had such a great time, why? Because it gave us a chance to catch up with family within a relaxed atmosphere. Perfect!

So does anyone else have familiy events to organise this year?

I originally posted this in 2009 but thought it was pretty prudent for now as this is when brides are interviewing suppliers for their weddings next year.

As part of their consultation I naturally ask clients if they have a budget, in past years clients would give me a rough budget but I’ve noticed a bit of a trend recently when clients say there is no budget determined. Far from being helpful this makes it very difficult to price what their wedding will cost.

After all there is a huge difference in weddings costing £10k compared to £30k and even more when the wedding is £80k+. Without a broad spectrum of a budget I have no idea as to what they want for their wedding. I pride myself on being an honest wedding planner so when a client gives me a budget I don’t set out to spend every penny or intentionally go over budget so I earn more! In fact my budget breakdowns are pretty accurate and we rarely go over the agreed budget.

Think about it another way, I have suppliers I recommend in each price bracket and I only recommend those the client can afford. There is nothing worse then seeing and falling in love with something only to discover it’s out of your budget. For example the bands I use can range from £700 – £4,000. Is there a big difference between them? To be honest yes, my top bands are fantastic but I only recommend them IF the client can afford it.

The same can be said of flowers, you could enter a meeting with a florist saying there is no budget, the florist will then quote giving you everything you wanted, you receive the quote and fall off your chair because you don’t want to spend that much so ask them to cut down. Wouldn’t it have been easier to say this is my budget in the first place?

So, the moral of the story is not every supplier is trying to spend ALL your money. We are only trying to give you the wedding or party you desire but without knowing what you want to spend, expectations are rarely met.

Please be honest with us!

Yesterday I popped along to the BBC Essex Radio studio to chat with Etholle about weddings and Halloween. I’ve been on BBC Essex many times over the years but I especially love Etholles show as we have a lot of fun, maybe we just like a gossip like most women!

There were some interesting callers throughout the show including one lady whose daughter was having a Halloween at Hogwarts themed wedding, my two favourites things, wonder if my invite is in the post?

I promised listeners to post some of my advice and tips on Halloween on my blog so here it is. If you want to listen to the show you can do so via i-player  

DÉCOR INSIDE

• Create or buy silhouettes for the windows
• Use the webbing to drape on mirrors, picture frames, banisters – basically anywhere it can stretch and hang
• Buy cheesecloth from somewhere like Amazon  , attach to the ceiling by tape. Then start cutting the cloth into strips, finally rip & tear. The effect is similar to ancient cloth disintegrating over the years.
• Cover furniture with white sheets to give the effect of the house is ‘unlived in’
• Fill a variety of clear pots & jugs with spooky spiky plants or vegetables then fill with water and use food colouring to give the effect of ‘specimen’ jars
• Fill a vase with black organza before filling with water, and place a little light inside (most florists will have them) then use something like calla lilies or roses, you can’t get black but you can get a very dark burgundy. Speak to your florist to create something spooky for you. You could add a few black feather as well.
• Or if orange is more your theme use a pumpkin and place orange chrysanthemums or similar inside.

DÉCOR OUTSIDE

• Create a graveyard in your front garden. Paint old bits of wood or cardboard and write RIP on them. If you have luminous paint then even better. Position in the garden and cover with spider webbing and fake spiders. Perhaps play spooky music you can download via Spooky Soundtrack 
• Line the graveyard with lanterns and lit pumpkins or you could hang small pumpkins from shepherds crooks

 GAMES

• Create a giant pumpkin on the wall by sticking lots of orange balloons to foam board. Fill balloons with sweets and confetti before blowing them up. The children then have to pop the balloons using little pins or darts. – Martha Stewart
• Apple bobbing, this classic is always popular
• Flour sweets – do a mound of flour, put sweet on top, beavers have to ‘cut away’ part of the flour until it then collapses. That person picks out sweet with his teeth.
• Tell a spooky story and use sound effects & turn lights to a low setting
• Donuts on a string – hang ring donuts from the ceiling using string, the children have to eat the donuts without using their hands and without breaking the strong.

Credits

Window Silhouette – Make it With Me

Pumpkin Balloons, Specimen Jars, Cheese Webbing – Martha Stewart

Graveyard & Mummies – Better Homes & Gardens  

Calla Lillies – Mark Bothwell

Q. We are having 200 guests for a marquee wedding, we did this to keep it more relaxed but I’m now wondering if we will need some formality and order on the day?

I have co-ordinated a lot of marquee weddings and highly advise you either have a co-ordinator or toastmaster or ideally both! A marquee does not have a dedicated person to ensure the whole event is running smoothly, in short there is no-one to take control. To explain the difference a co-ordinator will decorate your venue, manage the suppliers, manage the schedule and make announcements when requested. A toastmaster tends to dress in formal wear and instantly is recognisable by guests as a person of authority. They can arrange your receiving line, announce your guests, introduce the speakers etc.

At last I can now bring you all the remaining images from the retirement party I planned in July, more images from the table settings can be found here. I apologise for the delay but what with an event for the UKAWP on Friday, a wedding at Kelmarsh Hall on Saturday and a christening on Sunday it has been rather busy.

I hope you enjoy the images, if you are planning a party why not hire Dream Occasions for a creative edge?

This is the first time in 8 years I had an excuse to hire in a boat and anchors for an event, along with all the other props it made a huge difference in the marquee. Most items were from Event Prop Hire.

I used Wedding Creative who ordered some light blue netting and draped on the ceiling with blue organza, this made the whole marquee feel like a party, not a wedding.

The caterers for the day were Chimneys, Suffolk. Each table had a mini cheese board for after dinner. The service on the day was wonderful. I hope you like the tiny ships that Perfectly Tempered made for the event?

The evening ended with fireworks and the bespoke ”GORN SAILING’

Credits

My thanks to Nick Kontou for some wonderful photography

As promised I can now bring you some of the wonderful images from a nautical style retirement party in July. I was contacted by Philip who wanted me to organise his retirement party, I planned his daughters wedding in 2008 and although both events had been at the family home in Norfolk, Philip wanted to ensure this time the marquee was very different to an elegant wedding. I had such fun planning his party, Philip just let me loose on the design trusting it would be perfect on the day.

Today I’m going to show you the table setting, florist Julia Knights did a fantastic job, she used props on all the tables including light houses, lanterns, shells, netting. The end result was perfect for our theme.

Credits

Nick Kontou photography

Julia Knights 01493 780 248

Q. We have finally chosen our venue for our wedding next summer but I’m really stuck on what colour/theme. It seems whenever conversation comes up regarding the wedding it’s the first thing people say ‘whats your theme then’? Ahhh, I feel like screaming I DON’T KNOW!

For some brides choosing a theme/colour is so easy and something they have been thinking about secretly for years. But for others, it takes a little investigation to find a style that is right for you. First thing first, go back to the venue and look at the walls, floor and general décor – you don’t want to pick a theme of lilac in a red gothic building. Then speak with the venue about what colours looks great in their building. Finally start looking at interior magazines as well as wedding magazines to see what fabrics, colours, accessories and styles you like/dislike. Start cutting the ones you like out and stick to an A3 card. Take this to a DIY shop and collect paint swatches to find out what colours work well together. Hopefully after this process you have a colour and theme to work with!