Lorne and I had been planning my 30th birthday bash for about 3 years and it was finally here. After mulling over some different theme ideas, we both decided disco would be appropriate and fun for everyone! Disco music is good for dancing and singing along and the clothes of the era are fun too!
We chose the Letelier Theater in Georgetown as our location for the party. We also hired a DJ, a caterer and a party planner. Well, a few days before the party - Tuesday to be exact (June 24), my event planner's husband called to tell me his wife had to be at her mother's surgery that weekend and could no longer plan my party. I was furious. It was 7 PM, three days before my party. I started to call and hire someone else but it being June and wedding season, everyone I called was booked. I finally found these two ladies who started their business a few years ago called Elite Events. They at first thought they wouldn't be able to do the party as they had other events over the weekend but they decided they could handle it all and they took the party with two days to put it all together. I would definitely hire them again and would never hire the original party planner from Pixie Dust Events. She was so unprofessional and well, there are so many more negative things I could say but I won't.Friday June 27th came and I was busy working on my cake. Marcia was out of the country so that left me on my own to do it. Lorne was a HUGE help. He baked the cakes and put all the fondant pieces on the Disco Ball! I designed and executed the rest of the cake and I must say it turned out fabulous and I loved it! My guests seemed to love it too. It was 3 tiers of cake, each a different flavor. The bottom tier was Raspberry Lemonade, a lemon sour cream cake with a raspberry filling. The middle tier was chocolate sour cream with a cookies and cream filling. The top tier was white sour cream and chocolate sour cream with a ganache filling. I finished the cake at 3:30 PM the day of the party which was a good thing since we needed to leave by 5:30 PM and I still needed to shower, change, and do my makeup and hair.
We left Jasmine at home that night. I felt this was more a party for adults and I didn't want to have to worry about her being up so late and also having to run around after her at the party. We felt it would be funner for her to have sitters devoted to her and better for us if we didn't have to worry. Jasmine got to do all her favorite things. She ran those sitters ragged by having them play in the sandbox with her, painting each others nails, blowing bubbles, playing with playdoh, and reading books. They even gave her a bath which is also one of her most favorite things.
We got there at 6 PM and the party was slated to begin at 7:30 PM. The cake made it perfectly and we got it inside just before a torrential downpour came crashing through Washington DC. We got to check out the room and I was happy to see everything coming together. The room looked amazing, like a Disco club and that was exactly the feel I was going for. I had a grand entrance planned and I got a chance to practice doing it about 3 times. The room had a great spiral staircase leading up to the projection room and I decided that was a perfect spot to enter the room. We lined the staircase with clear Christmas lights and it was ready to go.
The food was fun and very tasty. I wanted to go with the theme and so I had the caterer make foods from the 70's. We had Swedish meatballs, fruit skewers, mini reubens, mini burgers, cocktail franks, scallops wrapped in bacon, deviled eggs, shrimp cocktail, petit fours and of course, cheese fondue. We had tons of food. We ordered enough for 50 people (we had that many confirmed) and only 35 showed up. We ended up taking tons of food home and still have some in the freezer!
I wanted to wait until enough people had arrived before I did my grand entrance. I ended up having to wait up in the projector room for almost an hour since people were being fashionably late. I sat in the projection room and looked down at how fabulous my guests looked.
To get into the party, all the guests walked the red carpet and posed for a picture.
I greeted my guests for a bit and then went to change my costume. The disco goddess dress I wore (thank you eBay) was great but I had a more comfortable outfit to wear for the rest of the night.
The party went exactly as I wanted and people were dancing and eating and having a great time. So was I. Lorne was out there shaking his groove thing and it was fun to watch him have a blast. He was overheard saying, "This party cost a pretty penny and I will be damned if I am not going to enjoy every minute of it". I know he did! He later told me it was worth every penny. I concur.
We had several activities planned for the night. We did a Hustle dance contest where the guests were asked to show what they had learned from the video they were shown before my entrance where they learned to do the disco dance called the hustle. Everyone did an amazing job on the dance floor. The Hansens and the Morgans won.
We also had a dance off where a wheel was spun that had disco dances on it such as the werewolf of London, brushing the teeth, the funky chicken, the lawnmower and the sprinkler, not to mention a few more. Ryan Ricks (my bro) and Jeff Child really shown during the dance off. Jill Child did a mean sprinkler! All the winners got to take home one of the lava lamps I had bought to decorate the room.
One of my favorite things of the night and the funnest was when I called up Liz Vallejo (my best friend from high school who drove 5 hours to be at the party) and asked her to help me teach the guests at the party the dance we used to do in high school to YMCA.
I knew she hadn't forgotten and she was happy to oblige. We passed out hats (construction hat, biker hat, Indian headdress, and sailor hat) to everyone at the party to wear and take home. This was so fun, seeing everyone dance with their hats to YMCA!!
It was then time to blow out the candles on my cake. We all went across the courtyard into the cafe area where all the food was and my mom took the opportunity to tell the story of my birth to everyone. I was so touched that she had such nice and loving things to say about me and I love that she said some words to usher me into my 30's. Everyone sang the requisite song and then I blew out 30 candles...all in ONE breath! I always knew I had a lot of hot air! I better get my wish! I took this time to have a picture taken with my guests and also have a chat with everyone.
I always hate at these big parties that I don't have tome to spend boat loads of time with everyone so please, if you were there, I tried, I really did.
Before the end of the evening, I did a toast to all my friends who were turning 30 or who had already turned 30 this year. I wanted to do something to honor them and this was the only thing I could think of with all the craziness I have had lately. We danced the night away until midnight and then it was over and quite a success if you ask me.
Thank you everyone for the gifts - it took me 3 days before I even got a chance to open them I was so busy! I am still enjoying them, spending the gift cards and trying to find a spare minute to write you all thank you cards!
My Favorite things of the evening:1. Watching Lorne have the time of his life - it is fun that finally after 7 years, everyone got a glimpse of what I already knew - Lorne can dance!
2. Kung Foo Fighting - I love this song and when the DJ played it, everyone got into Kung Foo stances and it was so fun to see everyone letting loose and have a King Foo Fighting time!
3. Watching my parents and uncle and aunt dance together - when a couple has been married for a long time, their connection shows in their dancing, they move as one and look so comfortable together.
4. Dancing with my lover - enough said.
5. Knowing that everyone that was there having a good time was there to celebrate me and also because they loved me.
It was an amazing feeling to celebrate this milestone with my friends and I certainly missed those of you who couldn't make it for one reason or another. I had the most magical evening and wish all those I loved could have been there to party with me and so that I could have them close. I know a time will come where I can manage that. If you missed this one, please let me advise you not to miss the next one in 10 years! The 40th will be even bigger than this one!
Lastly, I cannot write this blog without expressing my appreciation for my husband. He didn't need to do this for me but I know he did it because he loves me and knew it would make me happy. I love him for always going out of his way to make sure I am happy, comfortable and well taken care of. I could not ask for a better man for me and a better person to share my eternity with. I love you babe!