We invited about 125 people to celebrate Mom’s 90th birthday over Labor Day Weekend. Approximately 75 attendees traveled from as far as two states away! Family and friends joined in the celebration held in my backyard, which provided the perfect atmosphere for the evening. Live music, delicious food, and fun photos helped us celebrate our beloved mother.
For 75 people, we rented eight tables and chairs with white linens and gingham blue table runners. This gave the night a picnic vibe. Casual but elegant, like our mother. Flowers adorned the tables with hydrangeas, roses, sunflowers, wildflowers and greenery. I built the bouquets using market bunches from Albertsons. This cost me about $200 for 12 bouquets. A steal compared to going with a florist! I also decorated with floral banners, a giant 90, and some little birds in nests.
The highlight of the evening was the live music! When planning the party, I discovered a site called GigSalad, which is like a matchmaking service for entertainment and event services. You can search for musicians, comedians, face painters, magicians, DJs, photo booths, and just about any type of performer or party service imaginable. There were artists in several different price ranges that can fit any budget. I found a wonderful singer/guitar player who was perfect for the event. He really elevated the party, keeping everyone entertained while still allowing them to visit and enjoy the food. He sang for two hours, and it was the chef’s kiss of the party! I will always hire live music from now on; it elevates the evening to a fantastic, stunning experience.
A macaron tower with five flavors. Choclate Brownie, butter pecan with dulce de leche center, peach cobbler, berry vanilla, and caramel apple. Click here for recipes and tutorial.
I did not get very good photos of the food but it was a success. We had a build your own sandwich and salad bar, and a selection of premade salads. The premade salads included an antipasto salad, classic potato salad, sour cream red potato salad, harvest grain salad, Hawaiian macaroni salad, Caesar salad, and a fresh fruit platter with dip. None of the food had to be cooked or warmed the day of the party. Everything was precut and ready to go.
Another time and money saver was getting a Costco sheet cake. They are delicious. Come in two flavors: vanilla with cheesecake filling and chocolate with a fluffy chocolate filling. We had one of each.
This giant marquee 90 was stunning! it was made from foam board from hobby lobby. We used these upcycled plantation blind frames to frame the numbers and strung some lights through. It really elevated the vibe of the party.
This was my mom’s Honda Spree. She received this as a gift from my dad for her 50th birthday in 1985. She loved it and rode it around the neighborhood. It has been sitting in our garage for a few years and we decided to get it out and dust it off for the party. We had people take pictures with it and sent the pics to a qr code that displayed the photos on a tv we set up with Amazon photos. We also uploaded some old photos of mom. This added a nice, nostalgic touch to the even. The Spree is so cute and still looks very good. We just need to figure out how to get it running again.
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