An Engaging Evening!

I could not be more excited to marry my fiancé.  I have been waiting for quite some time (almost 4 years) for him to pop the question so when he finally did in June, I couldn’t wait to start planning the engagement party.  Yes, typically an engagement party is hosted by a friend or family member but, as a wedding planner, I could not relinquish that much control.  I thought it would be “fun” to plan a party for 110 of our closest friends and family at our home.  I learned early in the process that being a wedding planner made the planning even more stressful because I knew every detail counted … especially to me.  My fiancé allowed me to handle all of the décor while he took care of the food. 

The invitations dictated our color scheme of bright orange and peach.  Our love of Miami dictated the overall look and feel of the party.  Since we were planning on hosting our party in the backyard of our house, I loved the idea of bright linen on the tall cocktails tables to add a bit of a color to an otherwise green background.  So, with the help of Liz at DC Rental, I was able to find the perfect orange cocktail table linen.  

 

Bill and his amazing team at Edge Flowers helped to make the cocktail tables and our pre-existing wrought iron tables pop by creating gorgeous low arrangements that included orange orchids, fluffy peach garden roses (my favorite!) and fun green accents.  They also created a 4 foot tall “C” and “V” that served as the centerpiece of our main food buffet and also as the main focal point as our guests entered the tent area.  

My fiance actually prepared the entire menu (along with his mother), which included items such as lobster tails, seared tuna, homemade meatballs, BBQ ribs, crab legs, grape leaves, and exotic cheeses. 

The furniture was very important to me so I brought in Jeffrey Fox of Fox Ventures to help me turn my backyard into a Miami-style party.  We placed 2 white leather furniture groupings with a frosted Lucite coffee tables in 2 corners of the tent.  Accented with orange and white pillows, this was a great area for our guests (specifically my friends) to gather.  The main buffet was a chunky white 8ft long wood table.  The 2 seafood buffets were 3.5ft frosted Lucite squares and placed on each side of the main buffet.  

Fox Ventures also created 2 Lucite mirrored bars that served as a dessert buffet and self-serve drink station that included blackberry mojitos, Lynchburg lemonade and mini bottles of champagne (my personal favorite).  All of the drinks came with orange straws (flexi straws for the champagne) and personalized napkins that included 4 different fun facts about us.  Fox Ventures also provided Lucite benches that we added to a rectangular table for additional seating.  Lining the center with orange vases and tall glass candles created an intimate area for our guests to eat and relax.  

Some of the additional fun touches were the orange bow ties our bartenders and drivers wore, the photos of the two of us throughout our relationship (printed on orange paper) that were scattered around the party, printed signs for the beverages and bar menu, and custom napkins with fun facts about us.

 Not to mention the delicious chocolate peanut butter topped with orange buttercream, vanilla with dolce de leche center and peach buttercream cupcakes that Kendall of Kendall’s Cakes crafted for us.  Wow, is about all I can say about them!

A special thanks to Occasions Caterers for providing an awesome bartender that kept the drinks flowing all night!  Thank you to Remona for styling my hair!  Thank you to Zach Gibson for the amazing photos!

Oh, what a night!