I am not into writing blogs but when my son's 1st birthday party turned into a successful one, I thought of sharing my planning, supplier ratings and some DIY stuffs that I did for the benefit of other mommies out there who are already preparing and doing their own research for their babies' or kids' upcoming birthday.
So let's start with the planning. This includes identifying the theme, location, party details that you would like to have in your party such as host or entertainer, caterer, candy buffet, food carts, etcetera and of course the most important of all, your working budget. For the budget, you may need to consult first your partner. It would be better if he is aware of the possible expenses so as not to ruin your plan.
So first is choosing a theme for your party. Party theme can be a color motif, a favorite tv or movie character of your baby or kid or it can also be your personal choice. Some mommies decide on the theme regardless of what their babies like while other moms like me choose a theme that I think can be enjoyed by my son because it is related to one of his favorites. For my son's 1st birthday, I was torn between Mickey Mouse and Gingerbread Man as both are his favorites. I started collecting images for both themes and I got more confused because both can bring a beautiful party. I created a simple mood board for the two themes. Mood board is just a collage of all images that I collected. This helped me compare the two themes and somehow helped me decide too. But the two themes are just awesome which makes it difficult for me to decide. Here are the mood boards I made for Mickey Mouse and Gingerbread Man Themes.
However, I was not convinced that it should be Mickey Mouse. So what I did was, I get our Mickey Mouse and Gingerbread Man (Gingy) stuff toys, handed both of them to my son and let him choose and gotcha! I got an answer :) He chose and get Gingy first then Mickey. I repeated it several times and he consistently gets Gingy first. And so that's how I got my final theme for Andrei's party.
Now let's run through the list of my major suppliers and my ratings for each one of them for Andrei at One party!
Rating Guide: 1 to 10 (10 as the highest)
1. Venue -> Northeast Greenhills Clubhouse
Highly recommended venue for 160-180 number of guests. It is air-conditioned and has a semi-high ceiling which is very nice for ceiling decors. The ceiling has wooden trusses where you can hang the decors. The admin staff in charge in the venue rental was very accommodating and kind. And most of all, it has only few limitations or restrictions when it comes to setting up the venue. They have rules like, no smoking inside the function hall which is very typical since it is an air-conditioned area. The only challenge in renting this venue was the sponsorship requirement. Thanks to the friend of my friend she gave us the sponsorship that we need.
Rating: 9 (because of the sponsorship requirement)
Highly recommended! Thanks to the power of internet technology because I found this supplier. Their food was sooo good and very affordable considering the quality and amount of their serving. I also got numerous good reviews about them from the internet which helped me decide to book them. Their staff in-charge of me was also accommodating and kind. She ensured that all my requests are in place during the event. They have carton boxes to pack the leftover foods and all were handed to us after the event. I will definitely book this caterer again on my next event :)
Rating: 10!
3. Party Stylist -> Partyrific!
Highly recommended! Their rates are quite pricey but the output was worth it! Brigitte Co was the owner of this and she was so accommodating, responsive and very friendly! She even helped me out in some of my DIY during the event even though it was no longer part of the contract. I will definitely get her again in my future events.
Rating: 9
4. Host/Entertainment -> Symond Francisco
Highly recommended! Symond was not my first choice. I already forgot who was but as far as I remember he was not available on the date of my event and so I looked over the internet to find a replacement. I found Symond from a party blog too and he was highly recommended there. I looked for other testimonials and I got nice reviews. We only transact online and I only met him during the party. He was very friendly and he knows his job very well. He was very good in hosting, fluent in English and very lively! He also throws funny jokes and side comments which makes the crowd laugh really hard! Haha! He drove the party from the start until the end. I almost thought that I am also a guest in my own party because he did his job very well.
Rating: 10!
5. Food Carts -> Partyrific!
I booked my food carts through Partyrific! as well. Again, the carts are quite pricey. However, I no longer have time to check on other food carts suppliers so I resorted to them. I got Ice Cream bar, Corn Dog cart and Face Painting. The food carts were a hit especially the Corn Dog. I heard several compliments and even asked me who the supplier was. So even though they were pricey it's still worth it :)
Rating: 9
6. Candy Buffet -> Gingy's Candy Buffet
My candy buffet was done by yours truly :) Yes! I did DIY for this. At first I checked on suppliers who caters candy buffet services but all I inquired were a little bit pricey. So I thought of doing it myself. I started collecting jars, I even find some apothecary jars but later found out that they are also expensive. But my husband told me that it can be an investment. So I thought of putting up our own business for candy buffet needs in the future. And yes, we named it as Gingy's Candy Buffet. Why? My first ever candy buffet was Gingy inspired and it was my son's favorite character even until now. We offered sugar cookies, lollipops, gummies, choco coated candies, hard candies, chocolate eggs, wafers, meringue cookies, chocolate chip cookies, yes all of that haha! It was my son's first birthday so I thought I must give it all. Don't forget to check out our page for our candy buffet samples ;)
7. Cake -> Sheryberry Sweet Cakes
Highly recommended! I sooo loved the cake. It was sooo beautiful and yummy! The cake was so moist and chocolatey but not too sweet. And the best of all she exceeded the image sample that I sent her. She added other details in the cake which made it more beautiful and yummy! I will definitely book her again in my future events. Oh actually, I booked her again in my son's 2nd birthday cake, dinosaur theme. And again, I loved it. :)
Rating: 10!
8. Souvenirs -> Handicrafts, atbp.
Highly recommended! I like the quality of their stools. It is exactly the image I sent to them. Their stools are sturdy and eve adults can sit on it. Until today (since March 28, 2015), we can still use the stool and even adults can sit on it.
Rating: 10!
9. Kiddie Activity -> Yours truly :)
Yes, I also DIY'd the activity of the kids. We organized the Gingerbread Cookie decorating contest. It was a hit! While waiting for other guests, the kids were seen busy decorating their gingy cookies.
Other Suppliers:
Photos -> Bon Alegre Photography.
Bon who is the owner of this is my officemate who happens to have a sideline in photography. At a very young age he is almost like a professional when it comes to taking photos and different angle shots. His rates are very affordable and his photos have high quality. Please visit his page for inquiries and for his portfolio. I left his FB page thru the above link.
Photobooth -> Digiprint
Loot Bags -> DIY
Items bought in Divi :)
Overall, I like the outcome of this party. All suppliers I got was so professional, easy to talk to and most of all, trustworthy. My transactions with them are all online and I am so thankful that I did not get bogus suppliers. Yey! Till my next event :)
For any questions or inquiries, feel free to comment here or send me an email thru annalynsb@live.com.
Cheers,
Ann
No comments:
Post a Comment