Decorations | Celebration Advisor - Wedding and Party Network Blog

March 28, 2015 by Laken Watts

DIY of the Month – Tissue Flowers

Tissue paper flowers are an easy, inexpensive way to add some decoration to any event. This simple tutorial with pictures, will walk you through how to make them step by step.

What You'll Need:

Tissue paper (whatever colors you like)
Pipe Cleaners

Directions

1. Lay out materials2. Begin by measuring and cutting your tissue paper into 10-12” squares. You can do smaller or bigger, but this is for a medium sized flower. You will need 5 pieces of tissue paper. Extra tip: Use different colors for multi colored flowers!
3. Stack the tissue paper

4. Start to fold like a fan
5. Wrap pipe cleaner around folded tissue paper
Continue reading "DIY of the Month – Tissue Flowers" »

June 10, 2013 by Celebration Advisor

You're Engaged — Now it's Time to Party!

So, he got down on his knee. and offered you a shiny diamond. Before he could even get the question out of his mouth, you excitedly said "YES!" You called your mom, friends, and family, while letting the rest of the world know by Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. So, what do you do next?

Engagement Portrait

Throw a party, of course! Engagement parties are more common now than ever before, and you can plan one easily with a few of Wedding and Party’s simple and easy-to-follow tips.

Where and When?

First, you should decide where and when to have your party. You can do it at a local hotel, your church's fellowship hall, or even your favorite restaurant. Whatever you choose, make sure it fits you and your fiance's personality well.

What to Serve at Your Engagement Party

Next, you should decide what kind of food and beverages to offer. If you're having a party for under 20 guests, consider providing finger foods or small appetizers. If you're having a larger guest list, you may want to offer full-sized meals and dessert options. Talk with your caterer about different options that can be served.

Make sure to consider beverage options as well. Do you want to serve alcohol? This may be determined by whether you have kids at your engagement party. It's really up to you.

A Good Time

Drinks

Don't forget entertainment! Find a good DJ from your area to keep the tunes going. If you're having a smaller scaled event, maybe have a friend plug-in his or her iPod and play songs from a playlist you and your fiancé created.

Decor is Key

Decor is a must. You want to make sure the decor truly captures your personality. For example, do you like Paris? Have a Paris themed engagement party! You can find all sorts of Eiffel Tower decorations at any party store. Maybe you both have a love for the outdoors, you can incorporate that into your engagement party as well. Remember to keep it very "you-nique." This party is to celebrate YOU two as a newly engaged, blissful couple.

Above all else, remember to have fun. This is a party. It's meant to be fun. Enjoy it; it's your only engagement party!

April 29, 2013 by Celebration Advisor

How to Plan & Decorate for Cinco De Mayo

Cinco De Mayo is a spanish holiday held on the 5th of May each year, and celebrates the Mexican army’s' victory over French troops in the Battle of Puebla. However, for many it is simply a day to celebrate the mexican culture.

Celebrate Cinco De Mayo With Style

Parties are a great way to get together and celebrate, but how does one go about decorating for this holiday? Why not celebrate with a festive fiesta. Here are a few tips to help plan and decorate for this holiday:

Be festive with some brightly colored party invitations with the word "fiesta" printed on them.
The Spanish are all about bright colors, so choose some brightly colored tablecloths and bowls. These are good for chips, salsa, and other finger foods.
Don't forget photo props! A fun way to keep guests entertained is with a homemade "photo booth." Just grab some small banjos, guitars, maracas and sombreros to create that Mexico feel. Provide cheap, disposable cameras for guests to take pictures on, and have them create copies of the prints for you to keep in a keepsake album.
It wouldn’t be a fiesta without some lively music. Play tropical, Spanish style music to create a beachy, party environment.

Parties and celebrations are fun no matter what the occasion! Just remember to spice up the party with tasty foods, sweet beverages, entertaining music, games, and fun things to do. You'll be the best party host ever!

November 12, 2010 by Kelly Curtis

An Autumn Affair Engagement Party

Are you in search of an party idea for an engagement party? Well, shower the bride & groom to be with An Autumn Affair. This is a great engagement party theme that will have everyone enjoying each others company. Invite the bride & groom's close friends and family or throw a big shindig with everyone. Whatever you choose, the bride & groom will truly enjoy sharing this time together. Lets shower them with an engagement party they'll never forget.

When planning this get together, keep the bride & groom in mind; always! Keep their style and taste in mind. However, An Autumn Affair themed party will be something everyone will enjoy.

Beautiful Table Arrangements

Beautiful Detailing

Invitations: Keep them simple and elegant. An elegant invitation with embossed detailing will be absolutely lovely. If you choose to do a simple brown invitation with orange writing, that would be great too. A nice, classic engagement party invitation will be ideal for this event.

Table Decorations: It's Autumn, right? Well keep with that theme and think rustic chic. The table setting should be elegant, yet rustic. Have your local florist create simple, Fall centerpieces or find vintage bottles and fill them with a single flower. Place small tea light candles out on the table as a great accent to your flowers. You could also set apples or small pumpkins out too.

Another great way to create a unique table setting is to pick a bold patterned tablecloth. Browns, oranges, pinks or golds will be great colors in a tablecloth. It just makes it more fun. You can keep the plates simple to let the pattern speak for itself. The dinner plates should be simple & white. You could even switch it around, have bold plates and a simple tablecloth.

Place settings are another fun idea to create a glamorous tablescape. Wrap the guest's utensils up with twine and attach a cute place setting card to it. How about a decadent candy apple with the guest's name on it. It serves as a tasty place setting, but also a party favor they enjoy back home.

Ambrosial Bites

Meal For Everyone: A sit down dinner would be a great setting for this event. It will give the guests of honor a time to enjoy everyone's company. When planning the meal, keep everyone in mind. There are great dinners out there that everyone does enjoy. One idea that comes to mind is pasta.

Appetizing Party Food

Create a pasta bar! Have your party caterer create different pastas and different sauces so everyone can pick their favorite and even let them pick their favorite meat and vegetables to go in it. Get with your party caterer and they'll have lots of creative pasta dishes. So elegant and simple, just serve your guests in fun and unique shaped serving bowls and there you go.

And, for dessert? Serve up mini desserts. Everyone may be a little stuffed from the rich and hearty pasta that just a tiny bite of something to refresh their pallet would be ideal. Mini lemon drops, cake pops, mini cheesecakes or even small puff pasty's will be great for dessert. Just something small, yet ambrosial that your guests can pop in their mouth. Your expertise baker can come up with something yummy!

An engagement party doesn't have to be a big showing, just a great time with good friends celebrating the joining of two friends. An elegant setting with delicious food will be just the thing to create a relaxing mood, while everyone enjoys your great hosting skills.

This post is brought to you by Baltimore Party Foodproviders.
Not in Baltimore, MD? No worries, use Wedding and Party Network's handy party planning directory to help you find party food suppliers near you!

Table setting photo, rustic arrangement, mini dessert photo, pasta photo provided by Elin B, Pluentje, chotda, cproppe via flickr.

April 14, 2009 by Jamie Jamison Adams

Where Can I Find Plant Rentals In Calgary?

Ask The Celebration Advisor: I am looking for some plants to rent for a gathering on monday the 2oth of April…

i need
20 plants:

§ 6 tropical floor plant (bamboo palm, areca palm)

§ 6 ficus tree

§ 8 premium floor plant ( rhaphis palm, kentia palm)

Do you know if you can accommodate this ? Or know someone who can? Adam from Calgary

Celebration Advisor Reply:

The Wedding and Party Network directory has several members who rent plants for various occasions. Plant rentals, which are often used for decorations, can vary from place to place. Some will rent blooming plants while others will rent tropical plants, silk plants or even desert plants. Most will rent common houseplants. I'll start with a couple suggestions for the Calgary area and we can go from there.

Calgary Plant Rentals:
Red Rose Florist at 2004 Center St NE Calgary, AB T2E2T1 (403) 276-1184.
Panda Flowers (Southwood) at 155 – 10233 Elbow Dr. SW, Calgary, AB T2W1E8 (403)253-8888.

You can call these shops to find out what type of plant rentals they have. You can also email these shops using the contact us section on their website. In the comment section let them know you want to rent plants in Calgary.

Keep me posted on your search. If I can help with anything else, please let me know.

December 8, 2008 by Jordon Robinson

Traditional Christmas Meets Contemporary Atmosphere

Christmas is my favorite time of year, which means Christmas parties are my favorite kind to host. I always get so excited about my annual Christmas party and this year I wanted to do some really unique things. Done with Christmas trees and garland, I decided I wanted to create a very modern, but whimsical atmosphere for this years’ party.

Add A Little Party Sparkle

I decided that lighting would be my main focus to create the atmosphere I wanted, and what better and more practical than strands of clear lights. Inexpensive, resourceful and able to be used later for Continue reading "Traditional Christmas Meets Contemporary Atmosphere" »

April 9, 2008 by Celebration Advisor

2008 Wedding Reception Decorations Trends Tips

Reception Decorations Trends
The focus of wedding reception decorations in 2008 is intimate elegance with a carefree and natural flow. Brides are increasingly incorporating nature into the receptions, often moving the celebration outdoors. There are several ways that this year’s brides are enjoying the festivities. The following are tips for following the bridal reception trends popular in 2008. Continue reading "2008 Wedding Reception Decorations Trends Tips" »

DIY of the Month – Tissue Flowers