Any party planners out there? I could really use your help!

[Just Kate]

My parents are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary next month and my brother and I are throwing them a surprise party. For what it's worth, I am not really in favor of the party because my mom has told me that she doesn't want a party, but for some reason I've lost the argument with my brother and the party is happening (my brother is older than me and has a MUCH stronger personality...I got tired of arguing so here we are). Because of my lack of enthusiasm, I am having trouble getting in the mood to plan for this party. Also, this is just not something I'm good at.

 

So, I'm hoping there is a party planner out there who would just love to tell me what to do!!! And please don't tell me that I should just stand my ground and refuse the party...that ship has since sailed and the party is happening. So I would like to make it as nice as possible for my parents.

 

Details:

• Party is in a little over three weeks.
• We are using the church "hall" (not sure what to call it?) for the party.
• My brother has already secured a caterer...very basic food (baked steak, mashed potatoes, beans, salad, tea, and lemonade). The caterer will handle plates, cups, napkins, and silverware.
• I need to order the cake. My parents didn't have a wedding (they were married in their pastor's home), so they didn't enjoy a wedding cake. I am thinking of ordering a tiered cake that looks like a wedding cake. Thoughts?
• I need to figure out what to put on the tables. 
• I need some other type of decorations.
• We are going to play some music from the late 50s/early 60s.
• Favors???

 

I really stink at this and would love some ideas. We live in a small, fairly rural town, so this will obviously not be a fancy party. But I still want it to be nice. 

 

Anybody with a knack for party planning want to help me out here???  :D

[Valley Girl]

Not a party planner, but I had a thought about decorations. Did they have wedding photos taken? If not, do you have some photos of them together near the time of their marriage. See if you can get those enlarged poster-size and hang them up as decorations.

[AnnE-girl]

For my parents' fortieth anniversary my sister set up a table of photos from their life together, from their wedding through the years with us kids and a picture of all the grandkids that was part of our gift to them.

 

For table decorations, I like using small potted plants that can either be given away as favors or later used in your own yard. Our wedding centerpieces were little pots of ivy (symbolizing friendship and the foundation of our marriage) and votive candles. The ivy plants were our favors.

[momto10blessings]

If your mom doesn't want a party I would not throw a surprise party for her. My mom was in the same scenario with her mom and her mom ended up mad! She stormed out of the house and wouldn't come in for half an hour. Some people are not fans of surprise parties. At least give her a heads up.

 

Decorations:

Golden anniversary so use gold in your decorations. I'd decorate with pictures of your parents on their wedding day and throughout their marriage. I'd also use gold "50"s around the hall and incorporate the date or year of their wedding, so "1965" or "May 8, 1965".

Maybe use the kind of flowers she had in her bouquet as the centerpieces? Or the 50th anniversary flower: violets.

This is a cute, easyish and inexpensive centerpiece:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/10203536629992348/

 

Pinterest will show a ton of ideas

Good luck!

[momto10blessings]

Not a party planner, but I had a thought about decorations. Did they have wedding photos taken? If not, do you have some photos of them together near the time of their marriage. See if you can get those enlarged poster-size and hang them up as decorations.

And then make sure you take a picture of them by the poster sized old pics

[J-rap]

One more thing to add...  for my parents' 50th, we put together a playlist of music popular during the decade they were first married.

[TechWife]

I ordered a two tiered "wedding" cake for my parents' 50th anniversary. Honestly, I ordered it at a grocery store instead of at a bakery. I probably wouldn't have done that for a wedding, but it was small enough we could transport it ourselves. A bakery would have delivered, which would have increased the cost. 

 

For decor: 

You will need to decide if you want the setting to be formal or informal or somewhere in between. Personally, I prefer to match the personality of the honorees. This site has some wonderful ideas - neutral color schemes are easy to pull off and you can always accent with a color here and there if you want to. Just pull an idea here and there until you have something that will work for you. 

 

Generally, you will need: 

Tablecloths - First, check to see if the church has a linen service. If so, order white tablecloths through them. If not, look for a heavy duty paper tablecloth that feels more like fabric than paper, like this. They are relatively inexpensive and can be dressed up or down. 

 

Centerpieces - You can use this candleholder as a "base" for a centerpiece. If you are going with a formal setting, wrap a piece of ribbon around the center; if you are going casual, wrap a piece of burlap around the middle and if somewhere in-between, wrap burlap and then a piece of lace or colored ribbon on top of it.  You can use either blooming flowers or candles in them. Hydrangeas will be blooming and would look lovely. A florist could advise you on what will be available - if expense is a concern, a grocery store florist at a place like Harris Teeter or Publix will be less expensive than a florist shop. Grocery stores don't offer delivery, so you will have to take care of that on your own. Keep in mind, though, that while a florist delivers, they also charge for that service. 

 

Fun stuff - Place a card and a pen at each place setting and have guests write down a special memory they have of your parents. You can put a basket on a table by the door for them to be placed into throughout the evening. If you're going to do "toasts" - read a few of them out load then. 

 

Party favor - A very simple one would to be get candy that is wrapped in gold foil (Rollo's come to mind) and put them in a favor bag. For the favor bag itself, there are a few ways you can go.  You could use clear bags (from the cake decorating supplies) and then use ribbon or twine to secure them. You could also use burlap favor bags or organza favor bags. Muslin is another option, although more expensive. To spruce up the bags a little, you can get small wood letters at a craft store, use the first letter of your parent's last name, then either paint them (use spray paint for a quick job) black or gold and put them on the string before the bag is tied. If you are going informal, you can either paint them (great place to carry through a theme color or an accent color) or leave them bare. If you use the muslin bags and are feeling adventurous, you could stencil their last initial on the bag with some fabric paint. 

 

Photo booth - This is just a fun idea. You could set up a "photo booth" to the side for people to take pictures of each other or with your parents (they use their own cameras or phones). Make backdrop and have an accessory box on hand with crazy hats, big glasses, mustaches, etc.. Here are some photo booth ideas. 

 

 

 

 

[TechWife]

If you decide to make some "posters" like others have recommended, you can have that done at Wal Mart or you can use an online provider, like shutterfly. They are very reasonable. 

 

Oh - if you decide to do a cake, remember that you will need someone to cut & serve it. You can have your parents do the first cut, like at a wedding, but after that someone will need to cut it, plate it and hand them out. You can either bring a nice knife & cake server for home or pick up a wedding set at Party City or on Amazon. Don't forget plates & napkins for the cake. If they are being delivered to the tables, you can get an inexpensive plastic serving tray to use if you don't already have another one. Oh, and don't forget to set up a "cake table" to show off the cake before it is cut. Round works best, but rectangle will also work if it is on the side, not in the middle of the floor. Teen grand children are great servers. Look online for instructions on how to best dismantle and cut a multilayer wedding cake. 

 

If there are any columns or support beams in the middle of the room, wrap them in something - tulle can be purchased by the yard at Joann's and is fairly inexpensive, as is burlap. Remember the fabric is folded double on the bolt, but it can be a bit of a project if you want to cut it in half at the fold, so bring your patience and a sharp pair of scissors. Burlap in particular is messy when cut, so bring a vacuum and do it before you put the tablecloths out. 

 

For cake servers - If you don't have something you can use at home to cut & plate the cake and don't want a wedding set, you can purchase "regular" pieces at Target and use those. 

 

[Ellie]

Your parents had a wedding. It was just a small one. :-)

 

You don't need favors. Really. The guests are going to get yummy food and socializing; they don't need favors.

 

My daughters did a 25th anniversary party for Mr. Ellie and me. They used one of those boards that children use for science fairs, and made a collage with pictures of our life together. Inexpensive, easy peasy to do.

[PeachyDoodle]

A photo collage of their life together is easy to do on a large piece of foam core using Mod Podge. It can later be put under glass or in a nice frame. Or frame it or a nice photo of your parents or the entire family with an extra-large mat and let guests sign it with a short congratulatory message.

 

If you have any friends who are into photography, this might be a great time to capture your parents with their friends and family, since they didn't have a big wedding.

 

FWIW, my mom isn't a huge surprise person either, and she would have said she didn't want a party if asked, but we surprised her on her 60th birthday anyway, and she LOVED it. I hope all goes well for you!

[Just Kate]

Thank you all SO MUCH!!! And Tech Wife...I really appreciate your specific examples and links. That was exactly what I needed!

 

I know my parents will appreciate the party. As a matter of fact, we have done surprise birthday parties in the past and they both enjoyed them. They are just thoughtful parents, and they really hate the idea of us spending money on them. They always tell me to buy something for my kids instead. They will enjoy their special day and I am glad to be doing this for them.

 

Thanks again!!!

[KatieJ]

I am sure whatever you do it will be lovely and wonderful for your parents.

 

Favors? Really, skip them often they are left on the table after a wedding.

 

Centerpieces. They make me break out I a cold sweat. I can and have sewn the bridesmaid and flower girl dresses many times, but centerpieces seem to require a craftiness I don't have. Search Pinterest for some 50th anniversary centerpieces and do something that's easy for you to duplicate. If it's day time, go with gold wrapped candy idea or flowers. Maybe your mom has a favorite. If it's night time go with something that includes candles.

 

Have fun!

[justasque]

A friend did something like this for her mom, with a genius twist - she disguised it as a retirement party for her brother.  That way, mom was expecting a party and could buy a nice dress and generally be prepared for the event.    My friend made a few fake invites, etc. to sell the "retirement party" ruse.  It worked great.

[Susan in TN]

For my in-law's anniversary, we put little note cards and pens in small baskets on the tables for guests to write memories of the wedding, when they met in-laws, or other various stories and well wishes. These were later simply taped into a scrapbook.

 

A relatively simple decoration is to have "bouquets" of nice helium balloons with ribbons - can be found in any color (iridescent gold would be nice for a 50th) and you can buy little battery powered lights to put in them before inflating and they give off a lovely glow. The actual balloons are above head level and won't block people from seeing each other.

[Junie]

A friend did something like this for her mom, with a genius twist - she disguised it as a retirement party for her brother.  That way, mom was expecting a party and could buy a nice dress and generally be prepared for the event.    My friend made a few fake invites, etc. to sell the "retirement party" ruse.  It worked great.

 

Something similar happened for my aunt and uncle's 40th anniversary.  Their son was getting ready to go to the Philippines with his Air Force unit.  They thought it was a party for him.  Everyone else knew the "real" reason.  And we all got to see my cousin before he went overseas.

[Anne in CA]

You got a lot of good suggestions. I also agree with small potted plants for the tables, I would have a photo area with a back drop for pictures, in the day and age of social media everyone will be glad to put the pictures up on Facebook or Instagram. Anymore the photo op is half of an event. The grocery store cake is a great idea, and I would do a photo slide show playing somewhere in the room on a loop if you could. Also, if you have any musical relatives, a little musical tribute often makes this sort of party extra special.

[Happy]

Do a gold colored punch to serve with the cake...or better yet, champagne!

 

Have a couple of people designated to give a toast--perhaps you and your brother. :)

 

Enjoy!