Moving right along to part II of my engagement party series, woohoo!  Better late than never, right?!

I hope you guys enjoyed my sharing of our party and details from part I. My goal in sharing our experience is to make yours ultimately WAY EASIER and EXACTLY HOW YOU WANT IT.

SO I’ve thought a lot about how to best show you guys how you can have the party you want, on the budget you want and with all the guests you want. Sounds impossible, right?!

Hang tight because I’m about to break down the little details from planning to celebrating and surviving the morning after so stay tuned!

A budget is usually the first thing that pops into people’s heads when planning a party. Fair enough, you want to be fiscal and all but at the same time you really want to make your dream party come to life, don’t you?! I mean, being engaged is a pretty important moment in our lives. I totally believe in finding a way to celebrate in your style, AND party like a rockstar should you choose to do so.

Your venue…

SO let’s forget about the budget for a second and focus on the WHERE. I recommend you make a list of the top three places you would like to have your party. They could be anything from your fave restaurant to hotel lounge to your parent’s backyard. I always choose places with meaning to “us.” We listed a restaurant where we first met, a European style hotel (since we are getting married in Europe, we thought it would be nice to keep the same theme), and my dream spot and fave resort in the USA, Rancho Valencia.

Naturally, I got details from ALL three venues. I drug Anton with me (he was actually pretty good about this part) to get a feel for all three and see what they could offer and what kind of budget we could come up with.

Isn’t it great when you’re marrying a guy who’s on the same page as you?! As much as we liked the other two venues, I just could not let go of my dream to have our engagement party on the croquet lawn at Rancho Valencia. Also Anton’s top choice, we made a decision to make it happen, together.

Now a budget and your guest list…

In a perfect world, I’d have thrown an all night party with caviar and oysters, godiva chocolate fountains and a performance by John Legend. However, getting back to REALITY and our BUDGET here LOL, we needed to figure out what arrangement would work best for us, our guests and our finances.

Basically, we didn’t want to rob a bank to pay for our engagement party! The wedding is right around the corner, remember???

Negotiate. Just because the venue gives you a figure does not mean there’s no room for negotiations. I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend you wheel and deal a little to get the best possible options.

Once your deal is set and contract signed, think about your guest list. Maybe you want 100 guests so you liimit the time of your event? Or maybe you only want 20 close friends and family so you can afford to splurge on a decadent menu of fine wines, caviars and desserts. You can always play with the numbers and options to get what you want. Kinda like life if you ask me.

COMPROMISE.

This is where you have to compromise a bit. YES, you can still have the party you want with just a tiny bit of compromise. Serving lobster to 100 guests can be kind of pricey, YA THINK? Think about creative alternatives. Champagne and chocolate, appetizers and wine only, or maybe you’re a beer, sliders and finger food kinda couple? Whatever you love and are known to love by your guests, do that! It’s your party and the number one couple that deserves to be happy with the menu and drinks is YOU!

Next, write out your guest list and assume 10% won’t show up because they’re sick or flakey. That’s just a good rule to follow no matter who you invite, TRUST ME. Then you’ll know about how many guests you’ll have at your party and how to calculate your food and drink costs.

If you’re paying per head, think about how you want to do the alcohol tab. Do you want an open bar for the entire event? Or the first hour? Do you want to host wine and beer only? Champagne? Well cocktails? Or maybe you want to serve fine appetizers and spend your budget on food and offer a cash bar for guests?

There’s no wrong way to celebrate if you get my drift. It’s all about how you feel comfortable hosting YOUR party! And always always always STAY ON BUDGET. You’re getting married. You’ve got more costs coming down the line… no need to spend it all at once. People get it. And if they judge you because you didn’t serve them endless Dom Perignon champagne, you probably want to think about ditching them as friends before the wedding. Know what I mean? 🙂

Moving right along aren’t we? So your venue is set, guest list is decided and food and drinks have been chosen. What next?

Flowers, decorations and a theme…

I don’t know about you guys, but this is definitely my favorite part! I LOVE LOVE LOVE getting creative and using my hands for some of the dirty work. Psst… you can also save some money doing many of these things yourself. I certainly did and I had a blast doing them!

Let’s start with a theme. What kind of theme do you want? Maybe you’re into country western songs and are hosting your party at a ranch or local country barn bar? Perhaps your parents are throwing you a party at their home and you want to decorate the yard with fake snow and icicles because you love winter and you’re getting married in Iceland? Sound crazy? I don’t think so! There are so many fun, free ideas out there- this is the perfect opportunity for you to be YOU. Let yourself go to create whatever you want to create. This is your celebration with the love of your life. It should be FUN and SPICY!

Since Anton and I are getting married in Italy, we decided a Venetian theme would be appropriate for our party. I got everyone masks and even hand painted them to match my colors and flowers. I also went out and bought all of our blue and clear mason jars you see in the photos. I bought the flowers the morning of our party and arranged ALL of them. I chose white flowers and tied pretty silver ribbon around them. I checked into the hotel early and set everything up two hours before the event.

(Just remember, time management is of the essence if you choose this route ladies…)

Most of you may not know, but I did work as a floral wedding specialist in high school so I totally know what I’m doing LOL. It’s a passion of mine and I enjoyed every minute of my floral arranging.

At the end of our party Anton and I even gifted the flowers and masks to guests. Of course we had other gifts for each guest but we wanted to add these as well. I always feel good a bout multitasking and using things for multiple purposes. 🙂 The flowers and masks made both beautiful decorations and additional gifts!

Now on to music and entertainment…

A party isn’t a party unless you have live music! We wanted an intimate setting where we could hear eachother converse so we chose a guitarist to come and play at our party. A harpist or violinist would have been a bit too serious for the kind of fun party vibes we were trying to give off.

The guitar was PERFECT. And definitely way less expensive than a full band. So you can save money here too guys– hint hint!

As for some extra entertainment, I opted to actually use our croquet lawn. I had the resort set up pétanque and cornhole games that our guests could play. It was fun! We got everybody moving so they weren’t just sitting, drinking, eating and talking! My brand is all about a lifestyle of movement and simplicity! As you can see, our party totally reflected this as yours will reflect your style too!

An afterparty…

Afterparties are by no means necessary, but they can be super fun! And you by no means need to play host. At the party let guests know you’ll be going out to the corner bar or dance club. Or maybe you’ll walk to a closeby restaurant or lobby bar for a nightcap?

We enjoyed time by the firepits at Rancho Valencia Resort and a few more cocktails before we ended up in our room, exhausted! We got a room because well, why not? The resort is not close to our house and we had a lot of things to set up. By the end of the evening we were exhausted and just wanted to enjoy a glass of champagne and watch a good movie. The room was the perfect place for our yorkies to retire during the party too. They needed little breaks throughout the evening as well. People can be overwhelming even for my superstars Vasco and Bushy haha.

The best part of the morning after? Waking up after sleeping in and heading to a delicious breakfast. YES we each had a Bloody Mary LOL. And yes we brought the yorkies with us. OF COURSE.

As you can see, we definitely did NOT hold back heehee. Planning your engagment party months before your wedding gives a bride plenty of time to diet and workout extra before the big day, RIGHT? LOL.

Don’t hesitate to get one of those American Express Platinum cards I was telling you about in previous blog posts. We enjoyed complimentary breakfast and a 4pm checkout. Time to snooze, open gifts and enjoy our upgraded complimentary suite’s jacuzzi!

As you can see, our Yorkstars enjoyed their hotel experience as much as we did! I am so happy we made our dream come true by having the special people we wanted at our party, at the very special place we wanted to have our party.

We made our budget work with compromises, detailed planning and a few decorations and floral arrangements of my own doing! Remember, I’m just slightly OCD… I always always think I can do everything exactly how I envision it– better than the professionals, LOLOLOL! I told you, I am a bit CRAZY!

And don’t forget to micromanage the heck out of your event planner. In my experience, they totally need it! You deserve to get everything you want out of your special day. (The reality is, for you it’s a dream, for them it’s a job.)

Happy planning and please email me with any questions. I am totally here to help!

xx Shanna