Here's to great beginings!

Photo By: Alison Herndon ©2005 IBS Design, LLC

Being an event planner I thought it would be appropriate to start my blog with some event tips, resources and inspirations for celebration.
Hosting a dinner party
There is nothing like an evening of good friends, good conversation, and good wine. The good wine will help with the good conversation. With that in mind, I’ve put together a guide to dinner parties that can help reduce stress.
Consider essential points as you start planning:
• What type of dinner party is this to be, casual or formal? Do you want a theme? A theme will help make the menu and table décor easier to plan.
• What is the budget? Be realistic! Don't try to impress by overspending - even with a fairly small budget and a little creativity, you can achieve fantastic results.
• How many guests? Never invite more than you can comfortably sit at your table. You don’t want your guests to feel like they are in a can of sardines. Limit your guest list to 12 or under. Six to ten is ideal.
• Plan the menu! This is not the time to tryout that new recipe that you saw on the Food Network. You want to go with recipes that you feel confident in making.
• Plan your guest list. As a general rule, you'll want to invite people who have common interests and who get along well. Now it’s time to send out the invitations. For a more casual dinner party, Evite or email is fine - but give your guests at least 2 weeks notice and I prefer 3 weeks notice.
• Create to-do lists - one for shopping, one for table decor and one for jobs to do.
• Now it’s time to set the mood! A good dinner party is all about ambiance. If you decided to go with a theme dinner have your table décor, music and menu reflect that theme. Example if you go with an Italian theme you could have The Godfather soundtrack as your background music, Dean Martin’s Italian Love Songs, or for a whimsical feel Mob Hits - Music From and a Tribute to the Great Mob Movies. An Italian theme doesn’t mean that you have to use red and white checkered table clothes. You can use grapes, vines, and wine bottles to create a Tuscan vineyard feel. For dessert you can order authentic italian cannoli from one of the oldest New York City italian cafes. Ferrara Cafe has been in business since 1892 and you can have their tasty cannolis or tiramisu delivered to your home.

Write down a timeline for the day of the party, counting back from party time. Leave plenty of time for food preparation, baking, cooling and decorating, setting the table, arranging flowers, planning music or games, and getting yourself and family ready!

In order to save time the day of your party prepare foods that can be made ahead of time and store in refrigerator or freezer. Set the table décor the day before.Try to plan so you have very little to do on the actual day of the party. Now pour yourself a glass of wine, relax, and enjoy your beautiful, clean house before the guests arrive. Bon appetit!