Planning 101

abigail Whisnant
Oct 31, 2016
3 min read

Planning an event, whether it's for a friend or a family member, can be difficult. I'd like to suggest hiring a planner for everything you do, but realistically, it is all up to us -- as the host -- to figure it out. The best thing you can do is sit down, write out all of your ideas, and create a list. Lists are seriously the most underrated helping tool, because who has time to do that? But, who has time to buy more than necessary, or even worse, buy something you already have? Looking around your home is essential. Write down everything you will need from food to decorations and create a budget. This is how I usually format my planning list:

After writing everything down in an organized fashion, I head to the store with my list in hand. It makes life so much easier, knowing everything you need before you walk through the doors of the store. I cannot stress enough, but STICK TO THE LIST. You will be thankful when looking back on the budget you spent. Those extra crazy straws would have been cute, but the decorative ones you have left over from Susan's 22nd birthday will suffice. Once you have arrived to the venue, you should then start decorating. Food is important, but as long as the place is decorated and the snacks are out, you should be okay. I always decorate the cake table and food area, because that is where guest tend to linger through out the night.

I usually label where everything should go and place it in that area. This makes the whole process easier when trying to find certain pieces of decorations. Usually I have to bring my own fold out plastic tables, so make sure to add that to any lists you may have. A few essential items I always bring with me when planning offsite events:

-Tables

-Table cloths (this dresses up any plastic table)

-Tape

-Scissors

-Permanent markers

-Card stock

-Lighter

-String/wire

All of these items are sure to come in handy.

After everything is decorated, I place bowls and platters on the table, that way as the food is prepared, I can easily distribute everything to the tables.

In this photo I used a lot of what I already had laying around the house. I used those clear water bottles as part of the decorations on the table. The runners were made out of pages from an old book, which I taped together while putting each piece together on the dinning table. I already had gold buckets for the flowers. The flowers were bought at Albertson's for $4.99 a bundle. I only bought 2 bundles for this event. The champagne bottle was a cheap $6 bottle of champagne and was dipped in glue and then glitter. The candles, napkins, and plastic champagne flutes were bought at the dollar store. The plates were plastic, but made to look like fine china, and those I dug out of a sales bin at Tuesday Morning's.

On a side note, Tuesday Mornings literally gets a new shipment of items every Tuesday Morning (who would have thought), and the prices are pretty good.

Most importantly have fun! I know that sounds cliche and is probably told to you way too often without any meaning behind it, but your presence is so much more important than anything. There isn't anything worse than arriving to a house where the host is stressed out beyond belief. The decorations and food make a party fun, but having a host with a smile and positive attitude is even more fun.