10 Frogs! Anniversary Party

“Wow, Planned Spontaneity offers a good service!”  was what I kept saying to my team throughout the party. It’s one thing to know we offer s a great service, it’s a completely different thing to be on the receiving end of my company’s services.

This summer, my husband and I celebrated 10 years of marriage. We wanted our celebration to be a reflection of the gratitude we feel to our community who has supported and loved us over the history of our relationship. To this end, I brought the full force of Planned Spontaneity to bear in throwing an awesome party to honor our fabulous community. Stacey Tate, my banquet manager, and both of my interns, Hattie and Sunita,  staffed the party. Guests were welcomed, drinks were freshened, food platters were filled, and my kitchen was cleaned. During the party, all Dan and I had to do was enjoy our guests! After the party, there was no clean-up left and we got to blissfully enjoy a quiet post party evening with our children and the few remaining friends who stayed for dinner and board games. I didn’t feel exhausted or wrung out from a day of party hosting; I felt relaxed and pampered… It’s a great way to celebrate.

Our party was made special by the guests who attended, but we really enjoyed adding other personal touches. In our living room, where our quaker wedding certificate always resides, we hung pictures from our wedding and got out our wedding album. We also had one of our original wedding invitations and  some of the e-mails and poetry we wrote when we were courting. Early in the party, we invited our guests to join us in a circle and we renewed our vows- Quaker style. We also had  Tammy Schroeder of “Funny Faces Entertainment” for the children! Not only were they completely enchanted, all the parents got to enjoy grown-up conversations while the children were happily engrossed in getting their faces painted and donning balloon costumes.

A big shout out to Stacey Tate for making mouths water with her scrumptious delicacies. A colorful frog-pond cake with layers of cheese cake, sponge cake and various fruit fillings was made by Derrick Aimonetto of “Sweet Life Cakes and Confections” fit perfectly with our frog theme and was delicious. Last but not the least I want to thank Ingrid Laas for capturing all the beautiful moments with her camera.

It was very important to me to celebrate sustainably. We dyed thrift-store linens blue for a cohesive look. The frog-pond centerpieces used gel beads, glassware and stones I already owned, home grown hydrangea and porcelain frogs that I’m using in my home.  We used minimal disposables and composted or recycled  most of the party waste.

You can see a more extensive gallery and some of the details here!