March 4, 2013 by Sara

A Beautiful Day

To stay true to this blogs theme of celebrating events large and small, and to events that I am planning in my life, I want to show you some of the details of my grandmother’s services last week. I don’t mean for this to be sad, but to share some things that I was able to do to honor my grandmother, and to support my family during this difficult time by putting my event planning skills to use.

My mom asked everyone to gather photos of my grandmother, so we ended up with a wonderful selection, despite my grandmother’s best attempt to stay out of them for the past 40 years or so. I bought 2 large frames at Michael’s and hinged them together to create a screen to serve as her memory board. As you can see from the picture above, the effect was much more organized than a photo collage. I was able to tell the story of my grandmother in a beautiful, dignified way. Also, taking note from numerous movies, we were able to take a photo from my wedding {one of the few high resolution images we had}, crop it, and blow it up. The effect was amazing– and brought me to tears immediately upon seeing it.

My stepdad is a wonderful orator and gave a eulogy that was both funny and touching, sharing stories and remembrances. He also put together these personal cards which summed up my grandmother in all aspects of her life.

My parents hosted lunch at a golf club nearby {with printed directions, naturally} that offered guests the opportunity to share their own stories and memories. The idea was for guests to share publicly, but in the end, most of us shared at our tables, and it felt just right. We also gave a “toast” of sorts, using my grandma’s favorite little debbie cakes, with many guests wearing the badges out.

It turned out beautifully, and I was happy to contribute to the day by organizing and adding thoughtful touches I knew my grandmother would like, from using navy and beige {her favorite colors} to her favorite food. We celebrated her life and I hope we made her proud.

November 23, 2012 by Sara

A Hong Kong Thanksgiving

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, full of family, food and love. I was able to skype with some of my family and feel their love, half way across the globe.

In case you were wondering what Thanksgiving looks like in Hong Kong, I thought I’d share a few pictures {taken by the lovely Kim, who also organized this event.} Also, the finished pumpkin seeds!

Kim was nice enough to work with a restaurant to offer a set menu, then invited 25 or so of her closest friends. It was a great to see old friends and meet new ones, especially so early on into my Hong Kong adventure.

Around 7:30 we gathered and had some cocktails…

The table looked great–

Oh! What’s that? Is that our little favor?? I think they turned out nicely.

Once we sat down, we had a choice of appetizers– shrimp, soup or crab cakes.

Then a buffet with turkey or roast beef {or both} with all the fixings.

Then we finished with pecan or apple pie {sadly, no pictures of that!}.

All and all it was a wonderful {and filling} Thanksgiving meal! Thanks Kim!

{Ask-A-Planner will be back next week, with a great question! I can’t wait!}

September 24, 2012 by Sara

Gold Cocktails

I love gold {well documented by this blog} and happy hour is one of my favorite parts of the day. So I thought I would combine my two loves into a simple little party for a handful of friends.

Since happy hour is just a couple of hours, or a pre-drink before heading out, I kept it simple with 2 drinks {bubbly and bubbly + a mixer}, one main appetizer and nuts to snack. Nothing to heavy, but a little bit of protein to get through to dinner. I used this fun tissue paper from kate spade {you may recognize it from last weeks party!} added a copper vase and pear, and a little bit of gold confetti. Gold signage and gold painted chinese take-away boxes {with treats for later} complete the look. I love the two little touches of turquoise that pop just a bit and keep the look from being too washed out.

What do you think? Would you come to my gold party? xoxo

September 17, 2012 by Sara

Sophisticated Indoor Picnic

Even though we are in September, it’s not quite fall {we have another week!} — so I am going to enjoy the bright colors while I can!

I put together this casual look for a dinner party, as a way to bring the outdoors in. This time of year often brings a few showers, so here’s a way to enjoy the flowers from the comfort of your own home.

The runner is wrapping paper that I picked up from Target, most likely from their $1 section {one of my favorite places to shop}. I used the striped gold paper and cups to play with the pattern and add some sophistication. The tea towel napkin and tea tin votives ensure that the look stays casual and doesn’t get too fussy, while the colored vases make the flowers pop. I painted a few of the petals gold to add some sparkle to the centerpieces.

This look is simple and fun— easy to put together with items you already have around your house. Enjoy your last days of summer!

May 22, 2012 by Sara

Helen + Joel’s at the Newton White Mansion

A couple of weekends ago I was the wedding coordinator for a sweet couple here in D.C. They got married at the Newton White Mansion, a gorgeous venue in Maryland– not too far out of the city. It was a good time– all the more so because the photographer was a friend of mine. Laura Elizabeth Pohl did an amazing job, along with her assistant Amanda Lucidon. They really know how to tell a story, don’t they?

It was a wonderful wedding. Congrats to Helen + Joel!

April 11, 2012 by Sara

DIY Polka Dot Tablecloth

Taking a quick break from the day- of the party, here’s a quick DIY of the tablecloths from Charlee’s 5th birthday. Even though this element was the biggest thorn in my side– the other design from the party took so much longer than I expected. But they all made such a statement in the room. I’m so glad I did them. I might even try these polka dot ones again. {ya know– in a few weeks…}

Instructions

1. We don’t have a lot of room in our little apartment, so we had to lay out the tablecloth folded in half. We taped together strips of paper to go in the middle of the fold, because the paint would seep through.

2. I layed out bowls, painted on the bottom, to figure out the pattern. They were close to the size of my circles, so it gave me a good idea of what it would like. I wanted it to be a bit random, but still get across the rainbow concept.

3. I created stencils {used some thick, ugly paper I had on hand}, then used them to paint my circles, one color at a time. I went through 3-4 stencils per color.

4. I waited until one side dried (2-3 hours) then flipped it over and repeated steps 1-3.

April 10, 2012 by Sara

Unicorn Rainbow Birthday Party- Part 1 {Decor}

I got up early so I could put together the photos from the big birthday party I organized the other weekend to celebrate Charlee turning 5 years old. {remember this planning post?}

These invites were designed by Three Little Monkeys Studio– she customized the colors and we bought the entire matching paper suite from her. I got the envelopes and extra jewels from paper source to give it that extra touch.

The room was bright with color–

These tables are the kids’ activity tables, with their unicorn horn hats, water and the first activity laid out.

The dessert table—

The cake, cupcakes, cake pops and cookies were made by Tiffany & Cake. The rest– my amazing husband, Christian.

The cherry blossoms were in bloom– perfectly in color, just for us.

The reading tent– with the loose balloons, which were the hit of the party.

Favor gift bags for the kids–

And a tray ready to take out to the kids and the unicorn…

More photos– and activities to come! xoxo

February 27, 2012 by Sara

Brightly Colored Chiavari

I love this new trend of colorful chairs at weddings. I’ve seen it in pictures and rental companies ads– but not at real parties until now. I’m totally on board– what a great pop!

{Image source 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

December 2, 2011 by Sara

Impromptu Birthday Party

TODAY is my sweet husband’s birthday! Yea!

My mom came to visit last weekend, so we decided Sunday morning to have a little party for him. The only problem was that we were out all day and we wanted it to be a surprise. So we got some cupcakes, popped a bottle of champagne, and donned party hats. It was very festive!

My big party fail? We didn’t have any candles in the house! So I plan to have some for him to blow out tonight.

Happy Birthday, my sweet! I hope this coming year is full of success, joy and happiness for you. xoxo

October 21, 2011 by Sara

Indulge Me – Part 2

Just one more day– indulge me one more day and I’ll be done.

Lauren Lester, a friend of mine, sang all my favorites at cocktail hour:

And, since everyone had a drink in their hand, we did speeches at the end of cocktail hour, when the new mr &mrs arrived. My best friend, Ashley gave the most touching speech. And the best man {not pictured} gave a speech that I quote to myself often. It makes me fall in love with my husband a little bit more, “For Christian, there has never been anyone but Sara. It was always her.” Isn’t that the best?

Decor & Food, which was served family style– it was beautiful and a good ice breaker.

I put together kits for the kids, to keep them entertained. I don’t remember what it was.

One of the best stories of our wedding is our name– and another example of how my husband is great. When we started talking about names, it was important to me that we have the same names, but I didn’t really want to take his (it just wasn’t right for me. It’s too close to ownership.). It was important to him that he still have a Spanish last name. So we decided to translate my name, Wood, into Spanish, which is “Madera.” Some days it doesn’t sound like me, and some days it doesn’t sound like him. But it’s us.