Party Planning Guide

I have been a busy bee lately between Easter, graduation, and a few family gatherings. Something that brings me pure joy is planning a party- from the early stages of sketching out a menu and theme, to making a scheduled to-do list, and arranging flowers and other decor, I love it all. I think in another life I was an event or wedding planner. I love imaging beautiful things and bringing them to life!

I realized recently that not everyone loves this as much as me??? Impossible, right? Well, if you’re one of those people, fear not. I think party planning gets a bad reputation because it seems complicated and exhausting. However, I think both of those things can be avoided by planning ahead. I’m sharing some of my favorite tips for making an event, from a small gathering for wine and hors d’oeuvres to an engagement party or baby shower for 30 people.

1) Start with a vision board (or at the very least, a list).

What kind of occasion is this? Is your best friend getting married? Maybe your cousin is expecting? Perhaps your brother is graduating? Better yet, is it a holiday? You have to start with the occasion. A major holiday calls for a larger protein, like a ham or turkey. For those, I like to split the menu into starters, mains, sides, and dessert. That way you can make sure all your bases are covered, and don’t end up with five different potato dishes and nothing else (although, that might not be half bad…). A birthday, graduation, wedding, or pregnancy likely is going to require smaller bites, like handheld appetizers (or as I call them, “Grove Food”). Make a list of the types of things that you want to serve, and make a note of anything that requires special ordering.

I like to start with Pinterest for anything that I’m planning. I’ve always been a visual learner, and I think Pinterest helps me get creative and bring my ideas to life. It’s also a great place to go when you don’t even know where to start. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel- your friend is not the first woman to be pregnant, and thus there are hundreds of thousands of other women who have planned a shower before you, and have shared their ideas on the internet.

You’ll also want to take into account the time of the party and how many people are attending. I am the QUEEN of preparing enough food for a football team when approximately 8 people will be attending a function. There’s nothing wrong with leftovers, but I do like to avoid being wasteful. For example, for 8 people on a major holiday, you probably want a protein, vegetable/salad, 2 sides, and rolls. There’s tons of charts all over the internet for this kind of thing, but I like to measure with my heart. For a cocktail party, I usually like to have 4-5 choices: one dip, something with fruit or vegetables, some kind of sandwich, some kind of sweet, and some kind of carb-y finger food. You’ll always want to do more, and it’s really not the worst case scenario if you do (I typically tend to go overboard on sweets).

2) Make a list of everything that you’ll need.

Writing down everything that you possibly will need for a recipe or decoration ensures that you won’t leave the store without those things.

3) Make a schedule.

Can y’all tell that I like lists? But seriously. This is so helpful when it comes to making things ahead. I love to prep as much as possible before a party. The ideal party for me is one that day of I can put makeup on and get dressed for, set out food, and pour myself a drink without any fuss.

4) Decor— keep it simple.

We live in a day and age that does everything for social media: staging photos that didn’t occur the way that they seemed, doing things “for the ‘Gram,” the list goes on. I like to keep things simple with decor. A balloon garland is fun (and pretty easy and inexpensive with a kit like this from Amazon), and a few floral arrangements do the trick. I love ordering flowers from Dollar Hydrangea— they arrive with little bags of water at the stems and are so affordable for the amount that you get. If you feel confident making your own arrangements, I cannot recommend them more.

5) Relax and have fun.

This is the step I always have to remind myself. At the end of the day, any guests at a party that you’re throwing are attending because they want to spend time with you. They don’t expect everything to be perfect, but rather to eat, drink, and have a good time. Guests will have so much more fun with a host that can sit back and have fun with them. With that said, inevitably, something will burn, someone will spill wine or a cocktail, or in my experience, your dog will eat a dozen salted caramel cupcakes (true story). Laugh it off. Refill your wine. Smile. Life is too short!