Building a Party Theme

Making the vision of your event come to life greatly depends on how well you are able to develop the theme and saturate the space with this theme. Below are a couple tipsfor creating an amazing event with great visuals.

Get Inspired!!

The first thing to do once you’ve decided on a theme/palette it is to start brainstorming how it is going to come to life. I normally like to jot down keywords that describe the theme and then pull together the visuals for all of the terms. Once that is complete you should have a good idea of what is going to be needed to pull this thing off. Get creative and consider the colours, textures, and elements of your theme.

Get Organized!!

Now that you have direction, you need to make a party plan. This can be done as early as 6 weeks ahead of time by breaking up party planning responsibilities into manageable segments. You may have to be flexible once you get underway, allow for this and be willing to change a plan on a whim – this is bound to happen.

Get Going!!

You’ve got the plan and now you need to make it happen. Take time to price and source out a variety of options. Consider what you want to do yourself (DIYs) and what you are willing to pay for. Don’t forget to factor in the time it takes to complete DIYs and make sure it is worth your investment (time and money).

Get it Done!!!

2 to 3 days before your event, finalize all of the plans for the event, get your food prepared, and enlist helpers. There is nothing worse than taking the time to plan a great party that you do not have the means to set up. Try to have your theme present EVERYWHERE and in the smallest of details. Guests love to see your touch. Again, be willing to be flexible. The day of is bound to present surprises and unexpected obstacles. Take it in stride and work with what you have. If you have time to come back and redress these ‘issues’, great, but don’t let it bog down the set up and party vibes.

Contact us to have Cole’s Concepts help create an event for you.

Here is an example of how we helped a bride create a beach theme stag ‘n’ doe.

1. The bride was already set on the beach theme. She really wanted to play with the weather, being the middle of February, and give her guests a break from the winter blues. So, right away the theme lends to blue hues, water, sand, sun, warmth, and fun. You couple this with the colours of their wedding, aqua and silver, and voila, you’ve got yourself a head start on what this party is going to start looking like. Take a look at the board we created for this theme as a way to inform the client of what her party could look like.

2. Once the fundamental choices had been made, we were able to put together a full, deliverable, party plan that took into consideration the budget, timeline, and resources that were available to the couple. Very generally, this is what a party timeline could be:

6 weeks out – develop the THEME, GUESTLIST, DATE, VENUE
4 weeks out – create the INVITATIONS, FOOD AND DRINK MENU, ACTIVITY/ENTERTAINMENT, make PLAN
3 weeks out – send INVITES, BUY décor, PREP décor and games, enlist HELP
1 – 2 weeks out – make PARTY FAVOURS, create SCHEDULE, SAMPLE food and games, collect RSVPs
3 days out – BUY food, PREP food, FINALIZE schedules
1 – 2 days out – make/buy CAKE, ORGANIZE décor/activities * if your party is at home you may be able to set up décor at this time to cut down on day of hustle
DAY OF – final FOOD/DÉCOR set up (1-2 hours before start time), DELEGATE+COMMUNICATE with helpers, if presents are being given, and opened at the party, have a gift-list ready
AFTER – enlist your CLEAN UP CREW, send out THANK YOUs to guests and helpers that made the day special

3. Given that the event is a stag ‘n’ doe we wanted to keep out of house purchases and rentals to a minimum to relieve costs. That being said, our work space turned into a beach haven really quickly. DIYs included a treasure box, fishnets, various games/decor, sand bowls, and a direction pole.

4. The food was fun and the drinks laid back. The beach theme really lent to making a backyard BBQ set-up outfitted with Franks, Pulled Pork, Lavish Trays, and Delicious Desserts.

Contact us to help plan your next event