Friday, July 5, 2013

A PrincESS Bridal SHOWER

A good planner ALWAYS has some ideas rolling around; after all, I have to be prepared when people corner me for the knowledge. You tell anybody you plan events in your spare time and watch they hit you with “what can I do for this...for that?” I enjoy the random and various conversations. I mean, I don’t put in the research nor do I brainstorm for hours for an answer to their questions (time and money), but anything off the dome is free!!!  Your people ALWAYS like free!

A girlfriend (never thought I’d refer to my franns as girlfriend but I see that I’m getting old) hit me with “but seriously any help you can provide with this bridal shower would be amazingggggg but here is the catch tho”

Ain’t it ALWAYS a catch?

The catch was that budget BAAABBEEEEE! It was $100 that could be stretched to $150! The shower was scheduled 2 weeks from the time of the conversation. Wheeeew right? Don’t fret my pet…after needing a seat on this budget…a good ole lazy boy reclining seat…I started to ask the appropriate questions to access how I could best assist! I suggested having it at an attendee’s home, campus room (need a campus hook up), or an apartment club house. Most of the time the venue and food cost the most so scaling back on those big ticket items makes all the difference. Luckily the venue wasn’t hard…my client had access to a NICE club house! FREE! Yelp! Off to a great start!

My next suggestion was food…Ahh COOK, accept donations by a few select cooks, and pick up some party trays at the local Walmart or neighborhood grocery. I find that buying fruits and veggies is cheaper than having a tray prepared and you have plenty left over to keep refilling the trays through the end of the event.  A lot of people LOVE grapes, when I’m on a budget I buy bundles of grapes, even if that’s my only fruit because they are fairly cheap and always a HIT. I might even hit you with red and GREEN grapes! Watch out now! Lol One fruit isn’t ratchett, after all they make grape and cheese trays so go to town! Walmart, your local Wing spot, or actually Chinese eateries have pretty good wings! Looking for slightly more upscale, your local deli may even have a decent chicken salad or finger sandwich tray.

The client had the idea to create favors with pearls… bracelets or necklaces and add some candy, creating a cute baggie! Then on second thought the client wanted to use plastic slippers filled with candy for favors and save the pearl jewelry as prizes for the games. I suggested the client bake premiere delectable treats for favors…flour is fairly cheap and I knew my client loved to bake! It’s always a win-win. Remember candy and baked good favors if a person doesn’t mind the hassle. Putting baked goods in a pink and white box would be cute. I found a princess cookie cutter and my client ordered it right away. It came together nicely.

On to DÉCOR! A nice room makes all the difference! There were 6 high pub/bistro tables and the clubhouse was pretty nice soo a few splashes of pink would be all she needed for décor. I thought it may be a good idea to purchase pomander balls and lantern balls to decorate the space.  Hanging decorations have the potential to be tacky so one must be careful!! Party City came to mind ( of course) and depending on the vison of the bride we could go juvenile with Disney princesses or a bit more mature and only focus on tiaras! The client agreed she’d plan to get her a tiara! Centerpieces are always my favorite…my suggestion???? Bud vases with pink and white carnations!! Carnations are pretty cheap. Often purchasing from Walmart or Harris teeter instead of your local florist is inexpensive and worth it!
http://www.partycity.com/search.do?query=princess&category=Birthday+Tableware&pp=60&sortby=bestMatchesDescend&sortType=1

http://www.partycity.com/product/princess+cutter+set+3ct.do?sortby=ourPicks&size=all&from=Search&navSet=princess+cookie

 Peace lovies…

No comments:

Post a Comment