My Parent's 50th Anniversary Party

Well, this is just a little snapshot of how my parent's 50th anniversary party turned out. My whole family really worked our rears off getting everything prepared and set-up. Everything looked amazing! I'm so thankful for a hard-working & supportive family!!

My mom & dad knew that I was throwing them a party. My dad knew more of what was going on than my mom did, just so she wouldn't fret so much. =) My dad decided that he wanted the party on their property...all I had to do is make it happen. =P

The night before all of us set up as much as possible.

The house looked like slight chaos. =)

There were things and boxes everywhere...this is towards the end of the night, so everyone is really tired.

This is mom & my brother's ball jar collection in boxes.

We had desserts coming out of the woodwork.

 I think there were 30 plus homemade desserts that my sisters, mom, sister-in-law, niece, & I made.

 The clever decorations my brother did to hide the 'stuff' dad had behind the garage.

 The 30X60 tent was all set up & ready to go!

 I used 4 old windows that my dad had in the basement for a picture display.

My dad & I replaced the old broken windows, then my sister & I cleaned them up & stuck the pictures in each window pane.

It's hard to get 50 years worth of pictures in just a few windows!!

 Each person got a ball jar drinking cup to take home as their favor. All we did was hole punch the lid so a straw could slide in. I purchased the paper straws from BonFortune.

 All the ball jars had a ball jar tag tied on them with hemp string. 

 The guests were instructed to write their name on the tag so they wouldn't set their cup down and pick up someone else's by accident.

 I had a string of bagged cotton candy that people could grab.

 Each table had white linens and a burlap table runner.

If you don't want to spend a fortune on table cloths buy white flat sheets from Walmart.

They work great as table cloths & no one knows the difference. 

The burlap I purchased from SaveOnCrafts.

 Down the center of each table was scattered ball jars of different sizes & colors.

 My brother, Chip, assembled all the flower arrangement. They turned out beautifully!! Each flower arrangement had cocks combs, bells of ireland, sunflowers, roses, wheat, & antiqued hydrangeas in them.

 A wooden berry box with an antique handkerchief (all pulled from my mom's collection of hankies) filled with roasted peanuts was placed on each table as well.

 I rented the chairs. They were a dark walnut. 

I would recommend renting a wooden chair over the plastic or metal chairs any day. 

They are more sturdy for the elderly plus they look very classy.

 Try going to a local farmers market or produce auction to get fresh flowers at a lower cost to you. I bought large, medium, & small Indian corn from a produce auction along with the wheat, fairytale pumpkins, & cock's combs. I was able to find the rest of the flowers at a local farmers market.

 The teal ball jars are my favorites! =)

 My nieces, Jaimee & Tashia, painstakingly arranged the Indian corn on all of the tables.  

 My face hole cutouts looked great with the supports my hubby made.

All the games were set up & ready to be played!

 I remember playing with this game when I was a little girl. 

Glad my mom never got rid of giant checkers on a rug!

 These were all the games we had available to play...

we had ring toss too, but we ran out of room to write it on there. =/

We just bought some plywood and painted it with chalkboard paint to make the signs.

Some more pictures in the window...

 My mom's wedding dress.

 I made each hot air balloon. My husband & I tag-teamed on the making the baskets.

Guest book table along with gumball guess & card basket.

 I just love my mom's dress! Can't believe it's so perfect...she never even preserved it!

 The cake topper I made...as well as the "wedding" cake. =)

 If I were to have a favorite of the party, it would probably be the dessert bar.

 I bought the barrels off of Craigslist. 

You could probably check local wineries to see if they have any available.

 These are the sugar cookies that Tashia & I baked. 

My brother, husband, & I icinged these...they took forever! 

It was my very first time working with royal icing. They didn't turn out too bad though.

 My mom & dad were married in 1962, both were 17.

The wine barrels just looked so cool!

I found some vintage looking hot air balloon art at a flea market.

The prize ribbons I found on Ebay...I just covered the button part with my own fabric to make them look my own.

I bought these custom napkins from TheKnot.

 The arrow signs I found at SaveOnCrafts. I can't brag enough about SaveOnCrafts...this is the best place to get party decor for very inexpensive.

We had a trolley running the entire length of the party, since the party was open house & parking was up the street at a local church. The trolley was SOOO cool!!! Everyone really enjoyed it!

 The sign I was able to get from VistaPrint.

One of the pastors of my church owns a 57' & he was gracious enough to allow me put his car on display.

My dad used to own a 57' chevy.

My dad's friend also brought his mustang.

 Another one of my dad's friends brought his corvette. It was pretty neat...I had my own mini car show going on. The men really enjoyed the cars being there. They were taking pictures of the engines, the insides, & outsides of the cars! haahaa!

 We invited about 265 people. 217 were in attendance.

 My hubby & nephews enjoying a good old fashioned game of croquet

 My sister, Sherri Lin, got 2 ringers!!!!

 My mom talking to a friend.

 My sister & her daughter trying out the face hole cutouts.

Even some of the older folks were trying them out!!

 It was a great day. Overcast, but no rain...pretty much perfect!

 There are a lot of people!

  Yum! Yum! My cousin made the pulled pork....he makes the BEST pulled pork EVER!!! Seriously, no one compares to his pulled pork. We had the rest of it catered...we hired 2 people to stay and make sure all the food & drink refills were properly taken care of...that way my family could enjoy the party & not have to worry about anything.

 This is my dad with his side of the family...with siblings, cousins, & aunts.

 My dad with his sisters.

 Now they are with their spouses.

 Mom & Dad with the kids & the cousins. =)

After we cleaned up a bit we sat my parents down & made them open their presents. =) They were overwhelmed with the kind words and gifts of love they received...there were even a couple of tears shed (happy tears).

 One of the funnier gifts they received...'The first 50 years of Marriage are the Hardest'. Haahaa! 

My mom & dad were so appreciative of the party. Everyone said how nice it was. I was so glad everything went smoothly. I wouldn't have been able to do it without the hard work of my family setting up and breaking down everything. A HUGE thank you to them! I LOVE my family!

To see where I got all of my inspiration from visit my Pinterest page: AmanditaDesigns on Pinterest. 

ALSO, to see the professional pictures of the party visit Josh Berg Photography. =) They are excellent!!!!