anniversaryanniversary partyparty decorations
An anniversary party is the perfect way to celebrate a couple’s time spent together with family & friends. Whether you’re organising your own or a friend’s anniversary party, it can sound a little daunting, but it really doesn’t need to be. With this in mind, we’ve broken it down into seven simple steps to ensure you have everything you need to throw the perfect anniversary party.
1. Set a Date
2. Choose A Location
3. Choose a theme
4. Send out Invitations
5. The Party Supplies
6. Food & Drink
7. Capture the moments
The first and most important step is to decide on a date for the celebration! You’ll want to make it as close to the wedding anniversary date as possible and give the guests at least a months’ notice to make sure they can attend and to allow yourself enough planning time. Whilst you’re deciding on a date, you may want to consider the time of the party too, are you planning a daytime party or an evening celebration? Make sure if you’re planning it on behalf of the couple you ask for their preference here.
Choosing a location to host the anniversary party really depends on a few details such as, are you having a daytime or evening celebration, will it be a formal or an informal occasion, how many guests have you invited? Once you’ve answered those questions it’ll make it a lot easier to come to a decision on the venue. For a small get-together then you have the option to host the party at the couple’s house or another member of the family’s. If you can rely on the weather, an outdoors get-together maybe in the park or a garden could be a lovely touch. It’ll feel more personal but also keep costs down too.
On the other hand, if you’re planning to go all out for this big occasion then you may want to consider renting a larger venue i.e. country club lounge, hotel, church hall or restaurant. Either of these would work well but just make sure to book the venue out sooner rather than late to avoid disappointment.
Now this is where the fun part begins, choosing a theme! Generally, you want the theme to be fun and reflect the couple you’re celebrating and/or the type of occasion you’re hosting. For formal occasions there is normally a colour-based theme in place to ensure the anniversary party decorations match and everything looks cohesive. Whereas, for casual parties you don’t need to worry too much about sticking to a strict theme. You’ll have a little more freedom to choose a range of anniversary party decorations within your theme, for example a rustic anniversary party or a floral anniversary party.
Another popular choice when deciding on the décor is to build the theme around the couple’s wedding anniversary symbol. For instance, the symbol and colour for a 40th Wedding Anniversary is Ruby, so you can expect majority of the décor including tableware to be red. The theme will also influence the anniversary gifts people buy, so keep this in mind.
Sending out invitations isn’t always necessary. For a formal event where the invitation includes information such as dress code, children, plus ones then its advised to send out printed anniversary invitations around 4 weeks in advance to ensure everyone can make it. It’s also worth noting, the venue may require an idea on how many guests to expect to make sure they have enough seating etc so you’ll need to allow enough time for your guests to RSVP.
If, however you’re keeping it low key, then you might consider setting up a Facebook event group where it’s easy to keep everyone updated with times and key information around the day. Alternatively, sending everyone an online invitation could be an option too. Read below for our top tips on the information you’ll need to include on your anniversary invitations:
- Name of couple
- The number of years your celebrating
- Date & Time
- Location
- RSVP information
- Any additional info they may need to know, i.e. dress code or plus ones.
Nothing transforms your party more than the decorations. We’ve put together a short list of all the party supplies you’ll need to transform your venue into the perfect anniversary set up!
No party is complete without food and drinks! The types of food you serve your guests is completely up to you. Some prefer to have their parties fully catered for, whereas others prefer to serve buffet style foods. Either way, you’ll want to consider the theme, the number of people attending and the location to decide on the menu, as well as any dietary preferences.
If you’ve planned to have the party in the couple’s house and are hosting for a small crowd, then opting for a buffet style food could be the best decision. It’ll allow you to get a range of different finger foods in meaning they’ll be something for everyone. Whereas if you’re hosting for a larger crowd typically 30 people or more, then having the party catered for could take the stress out of having to cook enough food for everyone and leave you to enjoy the day. Just remember whichever food style you choose, make sure to provide a variety of dishes to suit everyone i.e. vegetarian, gluten free. Don’t forget the cake! Every party needs cake and we have plenty of gorgeous cake toppers to complete the look.
The best way to cherish the day is to hire a photographer to capture all of the special moments at the party. Similar to a wedding, it’s so easy to forget on the day to stop and take photos. There is no doubt you’ll be so swept up catching up with all your loved ones, just making sure the day runs smoothly that you won’t need any additional stresses. If like a lot of couples, there isn’t the budget to hire a photographer then there are lots of ways to capture these special moments on a budget.
One way is to purchase a few disposable cameras and dot them around the venue for your guests to take pictures. You can collect them at the end of the day and get all the lovely photos developed.
Or for a modern touch, place a few of our Instagram signs on each of the tables. The idea behind these are that your guests can take as many photos as they like, tag them on Instagram under your very own anniversary hashtag i.e. #10yearsofthesmiths and you’ll have all of those wonderful photos to look back on forever, plus you might give your followers some anniversary party ideas.
Voila, everything you need to throw the most memorable anniversary party. Now if you’ve got this far you’re probably planning your own anniversary party, we hope we inspired you and be sure to share your real parties and tag us @gingerrayuk!
How to Plan a Memorable Anniversary Party
May 30, 2020
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1. Set a Date
2. Choose A Location
3. Choose a theme
4. Send out Invitations
5. The Party Supplies
6. Food & Drink
7. Capture the moments
Step 1: Set a Date
The first and most important step is to decide on a date for the celebration! You’ll want to make it as close to the wedding anniversary date as possible and give the guests at least a months’ notice to make sure they can attend and to allow yourself enough planning time. Whilst you’re deciding on a date, you may want to consider the time of the party too, are you planning a daytime party or an evening celebration? Make sure if you’re planning it on behalf of the couple you ask for their preference here.
Step 2: Pick a Location
Choosing a location to host the anniversary party really depends on a few details such as, are you having a daytime or evening celebration, will it be a formal or an informal occasion, how many guests have you invited? Once you’ve answered those questions it’ll make it a lot easier to come to a decision on the venue. For a small get-together then you have the option to host the party at the couple’s house or another member of the family’s. If you can rely on the weather, an outdoors get-together maybe in the park or a garden could be a lovely touch. It’ll feel more personal but also keep costs down too.
On the other hand, if you’re planning to go all out for this big occasion then you may want to consider renting a larger venue i.e. country club lounge, hotel, church hall or restaurant. Either of these would work well but just make sure to book the venue out sooner rather than late to avoid disappointment.
Step 3: Choose a Theme
Now this is where the fun part begins, choosing a theme! Generally, you want the theme to be fun and reflect the couple you’re celebrating and/or the type of occasion you’re hosting. For formal occasions there is normally a colour-based theme in place to ensure the anniversary party decorations match and everything looks cohesive. Whereas, for casual parties you don’t need to worry too much about sticking to a strict theme. You’ll have a little more freedom to choose a range of anniversary party decorations within your theme, for example a rustic anniversary party or a floral anniversary party.
Another popular choice when deciding on the décor is to build the theme around the couple’s wedding anniversary symbol. For instance, the symbol and colour for a 40th Wedding Anniversary is Ruby, so you can expect majority of the décor including tableware to be red. The theme will also influence the anniversary gifts people buy, so keep this in mind.
Step 4: Send out Invitations
Sending out invitations isn’t always necessary. For a formal event where the invitation includes information such as dress code, children, plus ones then its advised to send out printed anniversary invitations around 4 weeks in advance to ensure everyone can make it. It’s also worth noting, the venue may require an idea on how many guests to expect to make sure they have enough seating etc so you’ll need to allow enough time for your guests to RSVP.
If, however you’re keeping it low key, then you might consider setting up a Facebook event group where it’s easy to keep everyone updated with times and key information around the day. Alternatively, sending everyone an online invitation could be an option too. Read below for our top tips on the information you’ll need to include on your anniversary invitations:
- Name of couple
- The number of years your celebrating
- Date & Time
- Location
- RSVP information
- Any additional info they may need to know, i.e. dress code or plus ones.
Step 5: The Party Supplies
Nothing transforms your party more than the decorations. We’ve put together a short list of all the party supplies you’ll need to transform your venue into the perfect anniversary set up!
Step 6: Food & Drink
No party is complete without food and drinks! The types of food you serve your guests is completely up to you. Some prefer to have their parties fully catered for, whereas others prefer to serve buffet style foods. Either way, you’ll want to consider the theme, the number of people attending and the location to decide on the menu, as well as any dietary preferences.
If you’ve planned to have the party in the couple’s house and are hosting for a small crowd, then opting for a buffet style food could be the best decision. It’ll allow you to get a range of different finger foods in meaning they’ll be something for everyone. Whereas if you’re hosting for a larger crowd typically 30 people or more, then having the party catered for could take the stress out of having to cook enough food for everyone and leave you to enjoy the day. Just remember whichever food style you choose, make sure to provide a variety of dishes to suit everyone i.e. vegetarian, gluten free. Don’t forget the cake! Every party needs cake and we have plenty of gorgeous cake toppers to complete the look.
Step 7: Capture the Moments
The best way to cherish the day is to hire a photographer to capture all of the special moments at the party. Similar to a wedding, it’s so easy to forget on the day to stop and take photos. There is no doubt you’ll be so swept up catching up with all your loved ones, just making sure the day runs smoothly that you won’t need any additional stresses. If like a lot of couples, there isn’t the budget to hire a photographer then there are lots of ways to capture these special moments on a budget.
One way is to purchase a few disposable cameras and dot them around the venue for your guests to take pictures. You can collect them at the end of the day and get all the lovely photos developed.
Or for a modern touch, place a few of our Instagram signs on each of the tables. The idea behind these are that your guests can take as many photos as they like, tag them on Instagram under your very own anniversary hashtag i.e. #10yearsofthesmiths and you’ll have all of those wonderful photos to look back on forever, plus you might give your followers some anniversary party ideas.
Voila, everything you need to throw the most memorable anniversary party. Now if you’ve got this far you’re probably planning your own anniversary party, we hope we inspired you and be sure to share your real parties and tag us @gingerrayuk!
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