ENGAGEMENT PARTY

I am so thankful we prioritized events!!  It has somewhat made our lives much easier.  The only hard part is that my daughter and I live about 3 1/2 hours apart from each other, so that makes planning an engagement party very difficult.  We decided that it would be in Greensboro, NC where she lives, since the majority of their friends and Cam's family lives there.  Trying to find a venue that didn't charge an exorbitant rental amount AND would allow us to bring in our own caterer, or that could work within the dates we wanted was exhausting.  Worse yet, trying to handle all of it from 3 1/2 hours away was not the easiest.  My intent had been to put something together that did not involve my daughter having to plan it.  I did not feel like they should have to plan their own party, but as I sit here typing this, it turns out she had to get involved way more than I wanted.  That's okay because my ideas have evolved into something that she really wants and Cam is happy with.  Sadly, the groom doesn't have much say in the wedding planning process, so I am bound and determined to make sure the engagement party is just as special for him as it is for her.

So, where to begin?  Well, I sat down with Ashley to find out her vision for how she wanted this party.  She described an Arabian Nights type of theme, since she and my husband are Lebanese.  She wanted something relaxed, but still classy.  Her only stipulation was that we serve Lebanese food.  In the Lebanese culture, there are many wedding traditions that are so deeply ingrained into the culture that you really need to live in Lebanon to partake in them.   Essentially, weddings are large extravaganzas that celebrate the combining of two families.  Although the same could be said for American weddings, it's really not the same.  In Lebanon, brides wear spectacular gowns that mimic something out of a Cinderella movie.  Gowns so large that brides need help standing up.  Gowns that cost upwards of $15,000 or higher.  In addition, pre-ceremony parties are held - one for the bride at her family home and one for the groom at his family home.  These parties last hours and involve family, food, and lots of celebration.  Once the bride is ready to go she is surrounded by Zaffe drummers that escort her to the church.  Zaffe drummers also perform for the bride and grooms entrance to the reception.  The reception is also quite a performance.  Zaffe drummers and belly dancers perform.  Although I'm sure that's not always the case, it is fairly common.  So, why am I telling you all of this?  Because Ashley wants to embrace her Lebanese culture and incorporate as much of these traditions as she can into her wedding, beginning with the engagement party.  Bringing in authentic Lebanese food is one small way she can embrace her culture.

After lots of planning and perusing Pinterest, she and I came up with a game plan and shared it with Cam.  Being the amazing man he is, he only had one small stipulation.....Don't do it in the backyard.  He felt like their backyard was not large enough and would require too much work to get it presentable.  So, I sought out other venues.  After exhausting every where I could possibly think of, Ashley came up with the idea of renting an AirBnB home that had a spectacular backyard.  This was the smartest idea!  She contacted the owner, met him at the house, and video called me so that I could look at it with her.  The price was incredible, the backyard was spectacular, and the owner was wonderful to work with.  We both saw this as a blessing and secured the venue.

Next we moved on to renting tents, tables, lights, etc.  From there I placed a large order on Amazon for items to decorate under the tents and around the yard.  I'm still in that process, but so far, here's our idea of what the backyard should look like when we are done:

Image from Pinterest

Obviously, Ashley and Cam's party will have our own twist on it, but this was our guide.  Amazon ended up being the most cost effective way to order decorations.  I searched Walmart, Target, Dollar Tree, Wayfaire, Overstock, etc., but in the end Amazon had what we wanted for a better price.  Gotta love Amazon Prime with the free shipping!  Within in a day, the following items arrived and are now safely stored away until October 6, 2018.

I'm still looking for items and Ashley and I are still adding and adjusting the party as we go.  I think we are off to a good start.  I'll be sure to post pictures AFTER the party on October 6, 2018.