The Quick List: Prepping For Your New Year's Party

New Year's Eve is always a special time of year- one week after the hectic Christmas rush and the start of a whole new year of possibilities.  By your mid-twenties most of us have experienced the overblown & expensive hotel party experience.  If this type of NYE bash is not your style and you are opting for throwing your own house party, here are a few tips to make your night more enjoyable and keep your guests happy.

#1.  A new chic way to label drinks.  This idea is so easy, inexpensive and awesome that I can't believe I hadn't thought of it before!  Dip the base of your wine glasses in chalkboard paint so guests can write their names on their glass AND the chalk will rinse off in the wash  ready for your next party!  This chalkboard paint to label idea can also be used on pint glasses and on wine glasses to give pairing ideas as well.

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#2. Instead of spending a lot on a full bar, have a champagne bar.  Champagne is the drink for celebrations and specifically for New Year's Eve.  Create a champagne bar with different types of champagne, fresh sliced fruit and juices so guests can make any tasty cocktail from mimosas to bellinis to whatever their imagination can envision.  Also a free standing bar means the hosts can be free to mingle and not play bartender all night long.  Let guests know ahead of time that you are supplying a champagne bar and they are welcome to bring any other alcohol if they are not champagne drinkers.

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#3. Decide ahead of time what your crash policy is.  This is one of the few holiday parties throughout the year that you can almost guarantee that guests will want to crash at your place instead of go home at the end of the night.  There are few things worse than drinking the night away carefree only to realize that there is no room for you to stay over.   Hosting guests overnight brings a whole new set of responsibilities.  In addition to letting guests know how many people can stay over comfortably and asking them to bring pillows and blankets, make sure you have all your linens clean and ready to go.  Maybe even put a few 'night lights' around for people who are not familiar with your house to navigate in the dark.  A nice touch is to leave a basket of helpful items in each room/ area where people will be staying over to include; bottled water, tylenol, tissues, travel toothbrush set and anything else you think your guests might need.  Better for people to find the ammenities basket than try to wake you in the middle of the night for something.

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Do you have any other NYE party tips?  Leave them in the comments section or on the FCW facebook page!  Be safe and enjoy!

The Quick List: Making Your Holidays A Bit Easier

As we are right in the trenches of holiday shopping and all together holiday prep, I wanted to share a few tips for making this season a bit easier. 

#1. Holiday Cards-  As always, you have some options. You can buy cards (and upload your images) online in a 'one stop shop' like minted.com or vistaprint.com complete with printing and shipping, create your own template (I have used Microsoft Publisher) to send to your printer or you can buy stock cards without personalization (Target, Walmart, Kmart, etc.).  Well there is a NEW, affordable, time efficient option: using a professional template.  Blue Brush Studio on etsy.com offers uploadable templates on sale for as little as $3 and range up to $18!  I'm so excited about this new discovery, the one time purchase allows you to customize with your own photo(s) and print to your own printer instead of paying the printing and shipping fees associated with online card shops.   For that small template price, you can even splurge and print the cards off at a professional store like Staples or Kinko's.



#2. Gift tags- don't buy them.  Seriously.  They are such a waste since they are a one time use item.  My solution is for gift bags with tissue paper, fold a corner and write the 'to and from' on the tissue paper.  That way, the recipient can cut off that small section and re-use the tissue paper later.  

 

#3. Quick & easy recipes for your holiday parties- Most of us don't have time to make an elaborate dish for every holiday gathering this season.  While my tried & true recipe involves chocolate-covering pretzels and chips, I'm trying to expand my horizons.  Here are a few quick links to my favorite holiday recipes I've seen recently & I'm dying to try out!

http://camillestyles.com/2011/12-tastes-of-christmas-minty-meringues/

http://camillestyles.com/2011/12-tastes-of-christmas-candied-orange-peel/

http://theplungeproject.com/fab-friday-finds-cake-batter-recipe-roundup this link has 5 recipes!

New Look for FCW LLC's blog!!!

Now that 2011 wedding season is officially on the books, I am SO excited about 2012!  As my fellow vendors know, in the wedding industry there is no downtime.  But there is more time to work on my company during booking season.  One of my goals for the new year is to re-vamp the marketing efforts for Felicity C Weddings.  This is the first step, I really hope that you like the new blog and everything in it.  My goal is to make the blog cleaner and easier to navigate.  Let me know your thoughts on the Felicity C Weddings facebook page!

Introducing Felicity C Weddings LLC Consultation & Gift Certificates!

I have wanted to be a wedding planner since I was 15 years old.  I love the logistics (it takes a special person to utter that phrase), all things wedding and most of all, I love helping people.  I have been so blessed to work with so many great clients and their families in the 2.5 years since I started my company.  But I still understand that hiring a wedding planner is not a financial option for many couples.  Couples who still need direction and professional assistance in perfecting their wedding vision.  

Well, I have found a solution!  I am super excited to announce the introduction of the professional consultation service for Felicity C Weddings LLC!  I am offering my planning services by the hour, so that I can meet with couples to discuss the specific areas of wedding planning that are giving them the most trouble.  It could be overall organization, wedding budget, contract review, vendor selection, site visits, decor choices, ceremony and/or reception logistics, timeline of the day, etc.  I will also be offering my planning documents a la carte to the hourly consult clients.  The consultation prices are $65/hour for phone or skype meetings and $75/hour for in person meetings.  Please see the FCW website for specific details.      

In addition to the consultation, I am also adding gift certificates!  Let your friends and family buy a portion or all of your package for you!  Of all the gifts on your registry, wedding planning should be on the top of your list- this is an incredible gift from a bridal party or the groomsmen.  Or if you are reading this and know of a recently engaged couple, give them the gift of peace of mind.  This applies to all clients; consultation, day of coordination, partial and full planning.

As a special discount to introduce these exciting additions to Felicity C Weddings LLC, I am offering a discount for anyone who contacts me and purchases in the month of December!  $15 off your first hourly consultation fee and $20 off any gift certificates!  This discount is not advertised on my website, so it will only be honored for those who mention it when contacting me.  Spread the word to family and friends then please contact me at felicitycweddings@yahoo.com to get started!