MBHS 10 Year Reunion!

The 1999 MBHS Class Officers contacted me this summer and asked me to help them plan their upcoming reunion. Given that is was my graduating class, there was a little pressure to make sure the event was a blast for everyone involved.

After 5 months of hard work, the reunion went off without a hitch and everyone had a great time!!

I chose Workplay for the venue due to the size of the room and how AWESOME they are to work with! Lorriane is the event coordinator for Workplay and she goes above and beyond the call of duty to make sure your event is exactly as you want it. If you are looking for a large venue, be sure to consider Workplay.


The entire ceiling was draped with white fabric and the green up-lighting added a green glow to the room. The biggest hit was the slide show that played throughout the night.

I made the centerpieces with greenery I picked up from Davis Wholesale Florist. I thought we needed a little more light on the tables, so I submerged the greenery in water and floated a candle on the top. My goal was to spend less than $100 on 10 centerpieces and I came in at $94.30.

This is an easy centerpiece to do with just about any type of flower....try it for your next event!

The Koozies were a nice addition that were donated by EBSCO Creative Concepts. Everyone loves a little something to take home!

We set up a voting station for guests to vote classmates for certain categories.

1. Classmate with the most children

2. Classmate with the most interesting job

3. Classmate that will most likely not attend the next reunion

We had 10 different categories and announced the winners at the end. The prizes were gag gifts that gave the crowd a good laugh.

Instead of having the class officers work the registration table the entire night, Lane Turley's parents volunteered to help out! This worked out perfectly!!! They were able to check people in, hand out name tags and collect last minute checks at the door.

I color copied the senior pictures out of the year book to make the name tags. I had the spouses/guests of our classmates not only write their name, but also write who they were attending the reunion with. This helped include everyone in conversation!

NAME:______________________

SPOUSE/GUEST OF:____________

Planning a class reunion is HUGE undertaking! The class officers did an amazing job of contacting the entire class and making sure money was collected. I was so happy to be a part of the planning process!

Happy Planning!

-NB

Thanksgiving Table Arrangements

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We were supposed to spend the holiday at Lake Martin, but ended up having the entire family to our house in Birmingham instead. Since this was a last minute change, I pulled my house together on Thursday morning.

The girls and I had read "Branching Out" on the Nest Egg Blog and thought it would be fun to create our centerpieces from sticks, leaves and branches found in our neighborhood. I wish you could have seen Tom, the girls and me walking the neighborhood in PJs and coats at 7:45 AM (my house wakes up very early) cutting branches and picking up pine cones. The girls had an absolute blast and we managed to create some pretty neat arrangements.

(The pine cone arrangement is actually being used for another event that is tonight at Workplay)

(The turkey place cards were another art project that added excitement to the day)

Happy Planning!

-NB

Dessert Party

I have a client that is turning 18 in January and she wants a birthday party that both her guy friends and girl friends will enjoy. During our consultation meeting I had her tell me what she liked to do on the weekends, what her favorite things were and if she could have anything at her party, what would it be...and this is what we came up with:

Theme: Dessert Party
Colors: Pink, Gray and White

Time: 8PM-10PM

Location: Client's Home

Ideas: See Below

Yogurt Mountain has become the new hangout for teenagers from all the surrounding areas. If you have been on a Sunday night, you will know what I am talking about. My thought is to bring the concept of Yogurt Mountain to the party while adding a few additional twists.

Tom and I were out running errands for an event I have this weekend and came across a huge S'more making kit (of course we bought two for the girls...we LOVE S'mores at our house). This kit was so cute that it got me thinking about the favors for the dessert party.

I think it would be fun to put a few marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate bars in a cellophane bag and hand one to each guest as they leave.

Below is a picture what I am talking about....I found this on a really neat blog I can not wait to start reading...www.giverslog.com

I think this "sugar and spice" favor is pretty cute as well!

Given that Amy Atlas is the Dessert Bar Queen, a few of the photos were found on her blog and a few were found on Kara's Party Ideas.

Happy Planning!

-NB

My Neglected Blog!

As you may have noticed, my blog has been running a little slow these days. While I miss the good old days of researching random events and sharing my thoughts, I am excited (actually...thrilled, ecstatic, so thankful, can not be happier....) that I have been slammed with new clients and I have not found enough hours in the day to fill you in on all the fun events I am working on (but, of course, I always have time for new clients :)).

Sooooo, I have decided to make time everyday (okay, maybe a few times a week) to share with you what all is going on in the event world of Gather!

Check back tomorrow for a Dessert Lover's Dream!

Happy Planning!
-NB

Event thoughts and ideas from Atlanta.....

Tom and I made quick trip over to Atlanta this weekend to get away and enjoy everything the big city has to offer. We had dinner at an amazing new restaurant called Abattoir. The french country design of the restaurant was beautiful and full of style. The colors of the restaurant created a neutral palette and the lighting was dimmed just enough. Everything from the over sized napkins to the small stemless glasses were perfectly in place to create a sophisticated, yet relaxed feel.

Being in the business I am in....I couldn't help but let my mind wonder.

Oh what a cool party I could have....If only I worked in Atlanta!

There is a great bar area when you first walk in and then the room opens up to the large dining space.

This was the long farm table in the bar area.


The overhead lighting might be a little awkward for a reception style party, but you could definitely use it to your benefit for a seated dinner event.

While I love the Birmingham venue market, I wish we had more restaurants like Abattoir that would allow for more event space in our city. The Birmingham restaurants and their owners are FABULOUS about allowing private events, but it sure would be nice to have more to choose from! Maureen at Little Savannah offered her restaurant up for a 50th birthday party I was working on a few weeks ago, Cafe Dupont will let me have just about anything with them and while I have only used Hot & Hot as a caterer, I have heard of some amazing parties being held at the restaurant.

A trip to Atlanta would not be complete without stopping by Ikea on the way out of town. I am usually looking for random home items when I go, but I was on a different mission Sunday. I wanted to scope out the vases, candles and lighting for an Christmas project I am working on right now. Not only did I find a huge selection of funky vases and festive lighting, I found the wine glasses from Abattoir!!!

Items to get from Ikea for your next event:

Wine, Champagne and Water Glasses

Unique Beer Mugs

Colored Votives

Colored Vases

White Paper Lanterns

Cocktail Napkins

Disposable Plates (Not paper...but cheap enough to toss if you want)

My Favorite Ikea find of the day!

***The inspiration for my Valentine's Day Party****

Happy Planning!

-NB