Ten Summer Party Essentials

Summer parties are in full force and we wanted to share some of our favorite summer party buys!

1. A string of globe lights to transform your backyard into a trendy bistro

These amazing lights come in a mix of lengths 25ft, 50ft, 100ft.  All perfect to transform your back yard into a beautiful bistro or garden paradise.

2. Pool floats that transform your pool into the fun zone

Pool floats shaped like food and animals are all the rage!  Do you want to lounge in a doughnut, on some pizza, or would you rather ride an animal like a swan, unicorn or flamingo?

3.  Fujifilm Mini 9 Instant Camera to take some amazing instant photo’s of all your guests

Use these amazing Instant Camera’s to take quick snaps of your guests or to set up a fun DIY Photo Booth! Plus it comes in lots of cute colors to go with any party theme!

5. Fun Party Tassels to hang over your buffet table.

Having a lemonade, ice tea, flavored water table?  Great!  Add some of these cute party tassels above the table or hanging around it for some cute summer flair!

6. Hanging Tea Light Mason Jars that really bring your garden up a level

Add these amazing star lids to your mason jars to create an instant hanging flickering light garden.

7. Lawn Games are still all the rage

You can’t go wrong with a game like bocce!  Throw in some ladder golf or corn hole and you have hours of fun for everyone!

8. Every good party needs some good furniture to accommodate guests!

This beautiful seven piece set can accommodate your al fresco dinner party, bbq, or serve as a great buffet table! It’s cute, durable, and functional.

9. A cute vintage cooler to give your party that throwback feel

This cute cooler just like the one you remember with its classic design first developed in 1954. Large enough to hold 85 cans and tall enough to hold 2-liter bottles upright, you’ll have plenty of space for refreshments for a whole group of people.  Plus it has a great built in bottle opener!

10. You will need this fire pit to roast your marshmallows this summer

This fire pit is great for any occasion. Suitable for backyard, outdoor entertaining, bonfire pit, RV trips, camping, tailgating, beach, parties, BBQ’s, relaxing, chilly evenings parties this is a great addition to your back yard party. 

 

Wedding Dress Bustles What are They and How Do We Bustle?

The bustle is used to lift the trains of wedding gowns off the floor. Instead of a framework worn under the wedding gown, the long train is lifted with buttons or ties to create a lovely bouffant style that is also very practical.  Does your wedding dress have a train? It doesn’t matter how long your train is, if you have one you will need a bustle to make dancing easier and so that the bottom of your dress doesn’t get dirty.

The Bustle is Added

Although almost all brides use a bustle for their wedding gowns, dresses do not come with bustles in place.  They are added during alterations. This is because all brides are not the same height and your bustle should lift the back of your gown to your hem length. So your bustle must be custom made.

Different Bustle Styles

Pick a style that will flatter your dress best.  Your seamstress will have a good idea so make sure you listen to their suggestions.

American Bustle (Over Bustle)- The American Bustle consists of hooks and eyes lifting your dress train off the floor. The “eyes” are placed along the waistline. The “hooks” are sewn in about 14″ to 20″ down the back skirt. Lace appliques, rosettes or bows may be needed to cover the hooks and eyes. Covered buttons also work well, and may look nicer, especially if you have buttons down the back of your gown.  The longer your train is, the more hooks or buttons you will need.

French Bustle (Under Bustle)– This method works especially well for gowns without a waistline and gowns that are especially decorative in the back area, as it doesn’t cover up any lace or details in the gown right below the waist. The gown is lifted from the bottom area. The Under Bustle is also more secure than the Over Bustle.

bridal wedding gown bustle

For the Under Bustle, ribbons are sewn under the gown securing the outer fabric to the lining. Use different colors of ribbon to make the task of tying the wedding gown bustle easier. Another way to make a French Bustle is sew loops into the inside back side of the gown in a diamond shape. A ribbon is run through the loops, gathered and tied to give the gown a bouffant look.  It’s a good idea to ask your seamstress to label your ribbons A to A or B to B so it’s easy to match the ribbons.

 

 

 

 

Printable Party Planning Checklist

If you have a party coming up then please take a moment and download and print this awesome checklist!

DATE/TIME/PLACE

Date: ______________

Time: ______________

Place: _____________

THEME

______________________________________________

BUGET

$_____________________________________________

MENU

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

SHOPPING LIST

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

CHECKLIST

  • Determine Date/Time/Place
  • If needed ask for helpers
  • Create a Guest List
  • Pick a RSVP Date
  • Chose a theme
  • Determine your Budget
  • Send Invitations
  • determine decor
  • pick centerpieces
  • chose table settings
  • Plan your menu
  • plan activites/entertainment
  • Make a Shopping List
  • Confirm your guest list
  • Book Photographer (if needed)
  • Go Shopping
  • Determine your Schedule
  • Plan for Parking
  • Chose a Space for Coats/Bags
  • Pick a Gift Spot (if needed)
  • Plan your Food Display
  • Make Place Cards or Signage
  • Clean the Party Location
  • Make or Purchase food
  • Set out Decorations
  • Set Table
  • Prepare Drinks
  • Do any Last Minute Touches
  • Get Ready for the Party
  • Enjoy!

Passover and Easter Printable Placemats

Passover and Easter are coming up very shortly!  So to celebrate I have made placemats for kids to celebrate both holidays! Make sure you head over to our Etsy Shop to pick yours up today! only $6 each but since you’re visiting our site to get them I’m going to give you a discount! Apply this code at check out and receive 15% off: EASYEVENTIDEAS15

 

How to Block Book Hotel Rooms for your Next Event

Reserving a room block for your next big event be it a wedding, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, anniversary, family reunion, or even a conference is the best way to ensure that your guests have a place to stay by your venue and at a discounted rate!  Doing a block booking gives you all sorts of deals like free wifi, parking, discounted room rates for your guests or even a free room for the wedding/anniversary couple or conference chair person. Here is everything you need to know to complete a block booking.

How do you block hotel rooms for a wedding or special event?

When looking into hotels there a few key points to keep in mind:

  • Price Point
  • Amenities (do you need parking available, wifi, a gym or pool, bridal suite, etc)
  • Distance to your venue
  • Or if you are in need of a venue does the hotel have one available
  • Free bridal suite included in booking enough rooms
  • Extra discounts for people who book early

If you’re having a wedding with a lot of out-of-town guests try to block at two different hotels with two different price points.  That way your guests can have a selection of prices to play around with for their travel budget.  This is also helpful as hotels might not be able to offer you a big enough block to cover all of your guests.

How do you Begin your Hotel Block Booking Process?

Start by searching online.  Look up hotels that are close to your venue and check out what a normal price is there around the time of your event.  Narrow down your search to two or three hotels that meet your criteria.  You can then contact their booking managers to coordinate the block.

When you call remember to give them the dates you want to reserve.  You may want to reserve blocks for a day before and a day after your event if you have out of town guests looking to make a weekend trip out of their travel. You should also give them any special requests like dropping off welcome bags in guests rooms or having them at the desk when they check in.  Start by blocking a smaller number of rooms, you can add more later but discuss this with the booking manager they might also allow you to block a larger number and release them as time goes on.  Especially if you are booking during a busy season for the hotel, you don’t want to lose spots to other guests.

You can also use free hotel room block series like Skipper or Group Travel to do the work for you.  They let you search all the major hotels near your venue, helps you negotiate the price, and you can even reserve your block right through them.

How do you Negotiate your Hotel Block?

Now that you’ve found a room block that works for your event it’s time to negotiate the contract with the hotel.  There are certain key words to know when review the contract terms.  Here they are:

  • Allowable Shrinkage Clause: The percentage of rooms that are allowed to go unbooked.
    Your target percentage is between 10–20 percent. Which means, if you’ve blocked 20 rooms but 2–4 go unbooked, you will not be penalized with a fee.
  • Attrition Rate or Minimum Commitment: The percentage of rooms that must be filled in order to avoid paying a penalty fee which should be between 80–90 percent.  Example: If the entire room block is not used, you’ll owe the hotel damages for all unused rooms based on a minimum commitment of 80 percent. This means that if you do not book the minimum amount of rooms agreed to, you will owe for up to 80 percent of the room block.
  • Mitigation Clause or Resell Clause: The hotel will try to book unused rooms in your block so that you are no longer responsible for them you in essence release them, and they are sold to other customers and there for you aren’t paying for rooms that other guests are renting.

How Should you Communicate your Block Information to Guests?

The best way to let them know about the block booking options is to include it all in your wedding website. That way they can know all of the information and options available.  You can point your guests to your website in your invitation.  You can include information such as: please visit our website at http://www.wedding.com to see more information about our wedding and accommodations. It’s also nice to include directions to and from the venue to the hotel or transportation information on the website.

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