Alive and Kicking Some Wedding To-Do Butt

Hey there, just popping in to give you all an update on where I've been, and how we're doing now that we're only a mere 46 DAYS out from our wedding! Sorry I've been MIA. But I've actually accomplished a TON in my time away from blogging...

• Made some bout's - don't have any good pics, but basically took out some of the cute small flowers from my bouquets and made boutonnieres out of them
• Sent out some invites - that's right, it's official now, the invites are out! Stay tuned for a reveal of our simple yet pretty invitations
• Lost a bridesmaid, and in turn, a groomsman - yep, my Friendster H had to back out of her role as my bridesmaid. After moving to Texas a while back, she and her hubby are having a hard time getting the time off work, finding plane tickets they can afford, etc etc. I would never want to put a friend in a position have to go broke in order to be at my wedding. So we decided together that she wouldn't be in our bridal party. *Tear*. And as a result, Mr. S gave one of his groomsmen a choice to either walk by himself, or just to come as a guest. Since said groomsman is one of the most laid back dudes I've met, he was totally fine just coming as a guest to enjoy the festivities. Phew!
• Picked a hotel - after getting group rate quotes from multiple hotels near our venue, I decided on the closest one, which also happens to be the least costly. And in addition, their online booking rates are CHEAPER than their discounted group rates! WHA? So I've encouraged our guests via our wedding website to book online for the best pricing.

My bachelorette party, planned by MOH/Sister K, is this weekend! I still don't know what we are doing, but I've been told we have to leave at 8 am Saturday morning, and won't be back until Sunday. People, I have no idea what to expect. Mr. S keeps messing with me saying that MOH K told him where we're going and that he will never tell. Then he says he has no idea. I guess I'll find out when we get there!

My bridal shower is planned for Sunday May 5th. My lovely Cousin's J and L are hosting it for me, and I couldn't be more appreciative and excited! I'm trying not to be a registry stalker, but as soon as I saw things being taken off our list, I couldn't control myself! Please tell me I'm not the only one :)

Well that was a lot. I hope you aren't overwhelmed with all my accomplishments ;) I have a lot more to share in the coming days so stay tuned!

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti

4 Month Check-in & MOH K's Wedding

Well readers, you may have noticed that I've been absent the past few weeks. With the exception of my blog posts about hosting my sister and MOH K's Bachelorette Party, and bridesmaid dress shopping, I haven't had a whole lot to say. But there is a reason for that...MOH K's wedding is TOMORROW!

I just can't believe how quickly the time has gone. Just like when we were planning for BM S's wedding back in October, we seemed to have so much time and then all of a sudden BAM it's here. The arrival of MOH K's wedding means that our own wedding is only 4 months away. Luckily, I've got a lot the big stuff done. Here's what I've checked off the list so far...

• Catering - JT's Catering (remember our tasty pizza/pasta feast!)
• Photography - Katy Batdorff Photography
• Venue - Johnson Park
• Wedding Dress - David's Bridal (stay tuned after the wedding for the reveal!)
• Bridesmaid Dresses - David's Bridal

Things I'm working on now:

• DJ
• Flowers
• Choosing hotel for room block
• Invitation design

As for the rest, I'm not thinking about any of it until after this weekend is over. I've been hard at work getting all the paper goods printed for K's wedding, which I will post after the weekend is through. Until then, stay tuned for lots more wedding planning goodies on the way!

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti

Planning a Kick-A$$ Bachelorette Party...Done!

My feet are still recovering from MOH K's Bachelorette party this past Saturday. While all things went extremely well, my nerves are definitely still rebuilding themselves after they were barely holding together dealing with the COMPLETELY anal-retentive, control-freak bridesmaid that helped me plan it. I mean it, I had one nerve left and it was stretched and yanked as far as possible without breaking. The only thing that kept me from jumping across the table at her was making sure my sis was having the best time ever. Luckily my love for her is stronger than even the most obnoxious person in the world!

So anyway, the party started at my place. Mr. S was AMAZING and helped me clean the whole house during the week before the party. He left for a few hours while us ladies were there, and when he came home after we left, he even cleaned up after us. AWWWW I got a good one!

Pin the Lips on the Hunk Game - Amazon

We started with some drinks and snacks, played "Pin the Lips on the Hunk" and jammed to some tunes. From there we went to have dinner, more drinks, and open gifts at J. Gardella's in downtown Grand Rapids. After they opened up our space to all the patrons (45 minutes earlier than they were supposed to) we walked down to another popular bar McFadden's. After telling them about our experience at the last place, they gave us the VIP section and a bottle of champagne FREE! We ended up hanging out until 1 a.m., and  the bride-to-be had an awesome time.

From there we went home, and 6 of the guests stayed at my place. Mr. S, once again, was on as host and made all the beds, made us frozen pizzas, and played "DJ" as we all wound down and passed out. The next morning, he even made breakfast for everyone!

Now that I've successfully planned and hosted my first bachelorette party, I thought I'd give a few tips on what worked, and what didn't. Some of these really could go for any type of party you host:

• DO let others help! Fellow bridesmaids and other guests will offer to help with anything you need. Take them up on it. You have enough to do.
• DO keep it simple! There are so many fun games, themes and gift ideas out there, but you don't need to do them all. Especially if you are planning to do a lot yourself, for example: making the food instead of buying it the store. Pick a couple simple dishes, a couple signature drinks, and a dessert. Going all out sounds like a great party, but trust me, know one will care if you don't have 50 options of everything.
• DO have a few frozen pizzas in the freezer if you are having anyone stay over. A bunch of girls coming down from a buzz can only think of one thing, and that's greasy food. Trust me, you won't be sorry.
• DON'T let people sleep on an air mattress unless you KNOW for a fact that it won't deflate. I had 2 people (the bride-to-be and her 4-months pregnant friend) sleeping on an air mattress, and by morning they were pretty much sleeping on the hardwood floor. Not a good thing...
• DO plan ahead and have transportation figured out before the party. I live and work downtown, so I coordinated a few of us who aren't big drinkers to drive and drop other people off at the bar, then park at my work (which is only a few blocks away). Then we were able to quickly walk the gifts, supplies, and decorations back to our cars while the rest of the guests walked to another bar. Also DO put everything in the trunk, not in the backseat. You are just asking some homeless guy to break your window and take it all.
• DO have a plan for breakfast the next morning. Again, this is if you have people stay over at your house. We asked everyone to bring some type of breakfast goodie. Mr. S made us scrambled eggs, toast and smoky links. Hungover girls will want breakfast, I guarantee it.
• DON'T expect everything to go exactly as planned. Nothing ever does. You have to be "fluid", otherwise everyone will sense your mood. Go with the flow and just focus on everyone having fun.
•  DON'T get trashed. I know it's a bachelorette party. And you are probably the maid of honor if you are hosting and planning it. But your main goal is to keep the bride happy and off the floor. I had a couple glasses of wine at the house, but had water the rest of the night. This may sound boring to you (and I'm not a big drinker anyway), but I was glad I did because I needed my head on straight to make sure things didn't ever get out of hand. I still danced, laughed, and had an awesome time.
• DO pick one fun game for everyone to participate in. But just one. You won't have time for more if you are planning on going out for the night as well. We played the "Panty Game" in which each guest brings a pair of panties in their own style that they would wear. We pinned them on a clothesline. The bride then had to guess who brought each one. We went through 5 rounds and she finally got them all right. Everyone had fun with it, and it got all the guests laughing and throwing panties at each other. Success.
• DO clean up as the night goes on. I know the last thing you want to do is step away from the party for a few minutes, but I did it every so often just to dump things out and throw things away after they were used. This made cleanup the next day so much easier. Also, DON'T let anyone dump anything in your sink. Mr. S had to unclog the drain because someone put some sort of paper in the sink that didn't have the disposal. No biggie, but a pain in the butt that could have been prevented if I had put the trash out in the main area so it was more visible.

That's all I can think of at this point. Hopefully these tips can help you plan the perfect KICK-A$$ party for any event! And remember to have fun! This was probably the only bachelorette party I will ever host, and I'm sure it will be memorable to everyone who was there. It sure will be to me :)

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti

Party Planning

I have to be honest here guys, December is sucking the life out of me. I swear. It's just one thing after another, every task taking a little piece of my sanity along with it. Don't get me wrong, life is good, I'm happy, no worries there. It's just that everything that needs to be done happens at once and I have to split into 15 me's to get it all done. Work is the main culprit, being followed closely by my "can't-say-no-to-anyone" projects for friends and family. And Christmas, ugh, don't get me started. Just over a week from Christmas and I'm not even halfway through my shopping list. I tried desperately to get all my bridesmaids together to look at dresses before BM H moves to Texas (next weekend) but it's just not going to work. And I've spent so much time trying to do MOH K's wedding stationery and BM S's photo thank you note cards and my own save-the-dates that I've completely slacked off on planning MOH K's Bachelorette party, which is in a month! Scold me, go ahead, I deserve it. But honestly I have the whole thing planned in my head and in a spreadsheet (lol) and all I have to do is finalize where we are having it. Yeah, that's the most important part. I'm working on it!

Since I'm trying to get that little shindig planned, I thought I'd share some of the things I'm going to try to do. I am only divulging this little bit of info because I know my sis doesn't read this blog. The plan is to have the all the bridesmaids and the bride-to-be meet first at my place to have snacks and wine and girlie time. Then we will go to the restaurant/bar (tbd) and have the rest of the guests meet there for dinner, dessert, more drinks, gifts, and dancing of course. I've got some cute ideas for games, party favors, and lots more.

The Theme: Classy and Fabulous

The Food:
My sis LOVES spinach artichoke dip. I found a relatively easy and delicious looking recipe over at Annie's Eats that I plan on attempting. If that doesn't work I'll go buy a batch of TGIFriday's frozen version :)

The Drinks:
Wine, hello! But not just any wine, my sister's fave Ed Hardy Sangria.

Ed Hardy Sangria

The Favors:
Glittered wine glasses for each girl in the bridal party.

Glittered Wine Glasses

And for the main event, we will have a game in which each guest brings a gift of a pair of panties. The bride then has to guess who brought what panties as she opens them. This was her idea, and I think with 16 people on the guest list she will have her work cut out for her!

I also plan on having a few little "giveaways" which will consist of sets of cocktailing accessories that we make at my work...

A small sampling of our products. From top left: can hugger, coaster, beverage napkin,
bottle tote, bottle attire, and another bottle tote - personal image

I'm working on the invites now, and I will share with you once they are sent out and we have some responses. But one thing I've incorporated into it is a QR code that links to a website I set up that gives guests information about the party. They can RSVP there, get maps to the event, and much more.  Unnecessary? Maybe for some, but to me the thought of getting an invitation with a QR code on it, scanning it with my phone, and RSVP'ing right on the website is pretty cool and simple! What do you think?

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti

I Guess I'm Not Very Bachelorette-y

Happy Monday fellow planners! This past week was a blur, leading up to BM S's Bachelorette party on Saturday. We had a blast, and my feet still hurt...but my black boots looked great! I will have 2 more coming up before my own, MOH Sister K's is in January, and although currently unplanned, BM Friendster's will most likely be sometime in February or early March. All these parties have got me thinking...

Do you HAVE to go out drinking and dancing for your Bachelorette party? Personally, I'm not an out-all-night kinda girl. I don't mind going out once in a while, but I would much rather be in bed by 11 (yes, I'm old). I just can't picture myself out at a bar or restaurant with a necklace of male genitalia hanging around my neck. I'm not a big drinker either. So how do you throw a Bachelorette party for someone who is not very...Bachelorette-y?

As I begin to plan MOH Sister K's party in January, I realize just how different we are. She would love a big party with her bridal party, co-workers and friends all there having dinner, buying her drinks, and lots of sexy apparel. What kinds of Bachelorette parties have you been to? And if you are already married, what did you like or dislike about your own?

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti