Excellent Events

I’m sure many of you will be participating in one of the most time-honored traditions of summer – the family reunion! I myself am looking forward to catching up and spending some quality time with my extended family during our own reunion later this summer. As the party planning continues up until the big weekend, I’m going to share some of the tips I’ve come across for planning the perfect family get-together.

First up: the invitation.

Let’s say you have decided to be part of the planning committee for this year’s reunion. First, decide on a date and location and compile the guest list. Remember to check that you’ve included new additions to the family, name changes or updated addresses for anyone who might have moved. Once these major items are set, you can start thinking about how to get the word out!

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This is Part Two in a three-part series on celebrating the upcoming Fourth of July holiday in style! Today’s guest blogger, Kelli, is a mom of 3 active boys.  You can find her blogging about homemaking, parenting, and organization at her blog, 3 Boys and a Dog. Be sure to follow Kelli on Twitter to be kept in the loop about everything from product reviews to giveaways!

Are you looking forward to Independence Day? Down here in the south, it is a BIG family day.  We BBQ, swim, eat watermelon, and hang together all day and most of the night.  I have many memories of awesome July Fourth days from my childhood and strive to give my kids memories of their own.

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This is Part One in a three-part series on celebrating the upcoming Fourth of July holiday in style!

The Fourth of July is coming up, which means cookouts and picnics and neighborhood get together. I am in Texas which also means the temperature will be somewhere between 100 and one million degrees outside, depending on the heat index. It is entirely possible I will become stuck walking through melted asphalt at some point during the day.

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The class of 2010 will soon be sporting caps and gowns and parading across stages everywhere.  And whether the students in your life are graduating from pre-school, high school, college or a post-graduate degree program, they deserve kudos and celebration.  

From big graduation parties to intimate family gatherings, here are some ways to make it festive and fun. 

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At my work, the “pregnancy bug” seems to be going around. Whether it’s their first or second child (or their sixth in some cases!), expecting mothers agree having a baby is an exciting time. All the planning and preparation can be overwhelming, especially when added to the unbalanced hormones. Baby showers are a welcomed escape because you get to leave the planning to someone else! Many women have multiple showers thrown for them by family, friends, and co-workers.  

A few years ago I threw a baby shower for a close friend of mine and I wanted every detail to be perfect. When it came time for celebrating my own pregnancy, I could truly appreciate all the time, love, and effort that go into planning such an event.  

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I want to share one last idea before my wedding. For my ceremony, I decided to give little bells as our wedding favor, partly to pay homage to my last name one last time and also because I love the sweet, cheerful sound they make.  

I put them in baskets for my nephew to hand out to our guests just before my new husband and I get ready to say goodbye and hop in the vintage car we’ve rented. They’re small silver bells and I’ve made little tags to tie on each of them that say “Ring this bell for a fond farewell” on one side and “thank you for being part of our special day” on the other side.” After our guests send us off, they can keep the bell as a reminder of the day. 

Here’s how I made the tags: ...read more

As a follow-up to Jenny’s post from last week, I thought I would share with you some fabulous shower ideas I’ve come across. Whether you’re planning for a boy or a girl or need to keep the party gender-neutral, Creative Party Place has some wonderful inspiration and ideas to create a perfect party experience. From themes and decorations, to games and spreads, this site is adorable. I love the variety of themes they offer like the “Bumble Bee” shower or “Nautical” shower. MyPunchbowl is another amazing one-stop party planning site worth checking out as well.  ...read more

This series has covered the gamut on wedding planning – but there’s still so much more to cover. I know we’ll come back to feature even more great wedding ideas in the months ahead, but I couldn’t let this series end without a quick round-up on some of the wedding planning sites we’ve all come to love as we plan these wonderful events for ourselves and our loved ones! ...read more

Have you ever hosted a baby shower for a friend or relative? I remember how much I enjoyed my own, and I’ve had my fair share of opportunities to help organize these special occasions, too. My favorite part is designing the invitations. I love to personalize the invites and find unique ways to tie the theme of the party to the style of the invitations. It’s easier than you might think!

You can create your own design with programs like Microsoft Publisher or Adobe Photoshop Elements and use colorful borders, patterns and adorable clip art that match the theme of the shower. Shower themes can range from pastel-inspired parties to spa showers or tea parties. Whatever theme you decide on, don’t forget to weave that style into the decorations and invitations to create a consistent look throughout the party. There’s nothing more confusing than getting an elegant, formal event invitation, but you show up and it’s a very casual, informal affair!  ...read more

Guest Blogger Emily Sommers is a design professional living in the Dallas-area. She loves reading and sewing and recently opened a shop on Etsy under the name Lily June.

In August 2008 my husband and I were engaged, and in November 2009 we were married. We had 15 months to do the research for the wedding, make the decisions, and second guess those decisions. Early in the process I came across a couple who had created a life-size cut-out of themselves for their guests to take photos with. Chris and I decided we must have one. It turned out wonderfully and is one of the decisions I’m glad we stuck with.  ...read more