Anthony James' Christening/First Birthday party. Many vendor reviews and pics.

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Jessica
I'm a mommy :)

Member since 1/06

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~Jess~

Anthony James' Christening/First Birthday party. Many vendor reviews and pics.

I am not an avid poster anymore but I always search for reviews. Hopefully this review will help future party planners!
I knew when I was pregnant that I wanted to do the same combined celebration for my son. At first I had grand ideas and wanted to invite the world and have it at a catering hall, etc…Budget was 4-5k.
My DH quickly snapped me back to reality and made me realize that we did not need to spend so much for a party he would not even remember. I reset our budget to 2k. From stamps, to ice, to tacky glue… I itemized EVERYTHING and the grand total came out to 1799.63. Not too shabby! Money that we saved from my original budget has gone directly to his savings. We also decided to donate a portion of our unused original budget to a few baby/child related fundraisers and charities in the name of our son.

Invite and Special Touches
[email protected] or www.facebook.com/andreapdesigns
First person I contacted was Ang from Andreap designs. I emailed her one night and she responded within a few hours that she was in the hospital giving birth and would get back to me in a few days. Talk about dedication to your job! Love her work and will continue to use her for future events.
She designed both the Christening and birthday invite. I printed them double sided on Mpix. She also designed the favor stickers; the favor sign telling everyone to “Please help yourself to something sweet, and grab a bag to fill with treats” ; the “Not yet/Dig in” sign for the dessert table; the cute progression banner; and all the description tent folds for the food and desserts. She’s amazing and O so patient. Prices are very reasonable as well.

Christening Suit
http://www.rococlothing.co.uk/
I did not want satin or silk and I was adamant on having it be ivory and not stark white. I found Roco Clothing based out in Manchester. Ordered on a Tuesday and it was delivered the following Monday. With the exchange rate and shipping, godmother spent only $55. My sis still has not emailed me the “getting ready” pics so there are no close up shots of the suit in this review.

Party outfit was just Jets shirt from Children’s Place and jeans and shoes he already had.

Food:
Appetizers were cheese and crackers, veggie platter, pretzels, healthy chips and dips, hummus and bruschetta from Trader Joe’s and Costco.
Catered food was from Famous Daves. Food was excellent. I ordered the “3 Meat Sampler” for $11.99 a person. It consisted of spareribs, BBQ chicken, pulled pork with bun, cornbread and 2 sides. I chose to have waiters for 2 hours so they came with the tables, tablecloths, and utensils. I ordered for 45 people. My family NEVER, EVER RSVPs so I guestimated around 40-45 people. 55 people plus 10 kids showed up. There were still leftovers at the end of the party which some family members took home in doggy bags. Allotted time was 3-5pm. They came at 2:30 and stayed till 5:15. Price was $751.09 with waiters, tax and delivery charge. It excludes tip.
I also orded a half American/ half Italian 6foot hero from Stop and Shop. Price was 70 plus tax. My MIL made baked ziti and my mom made Spanish rice and empanadas. DH made a salad. I don’t cook.

Entertainment: Professional Kids Entertainment
http://www.bookyourkidsparty.com
I chose the silver package for $225 plus tax and tip. Prices are on the website. Two clowns came and did a crowning ceremony, face painting, balloon animals, bubble show, parachute, magic show with live rabbit, some dancing and gave out cotton candy. Kids seemed to love them. I’m a first time mommy so this whole kids shrieking in excitement is new to me but they seemed to have a ball. I’m uneasy around clowns so I kept a distance lol. I highly recommend them.

Centerpieces and party decorations:
I used Party city, Birthdaydirect.com, Shindigz.com (banner), and my Superman, my dad, made the goal post centerpieces for the tables and an extra large one for the dessert table.
Etsy Purchases:
I had great communication with all of them. All three products I received within 7-8 days from purchase. I previously used “getthepartystarted” for Anthony’s monthly progression stickers.
Jets reversible bib: “KrisKidsCreations”
Highchair banner: “Getthepartystarted”
Party Hat: “Sunshinedaydream4u”

Football Cake pops and Oreos:
[email protected] or http://www.facebook.com/DeliciousnessNY
I live near a Super Walmart so I purchased all desserts there minus the football cake pops and chocolate covered oreos. Cake pops and oreos were from Maria from Deliciousness. Prices were great and people raved about them. The adults grabbed them before the kids could. She was very prompt with replies and the finished products were perfection!!! She’s also really sweet! We went to middle school together many many years ago. Use her! You will not be disappointed!!!

Cake:
http://www.facebook.com/dawn.olson.921?ref=ts
Who else but Dawn! LOVE her work. I gave her some two-three layer ideas. I go and pick up the cake and she tells me, “I hope you don’t mind, but I envisioned it as four layers hee hee.” Her prices are insanely low and her cakes are insanely delicious!

Tent, tables and chairs:
www.ptpartyrentals.com
So my DH and I were sitting having dinner last week and realized we did everything but the tent rental. It COMPLETELY slipped our minds. I posted in the Business section and within half an hour Christine fm’d me. We spoke on Thursday and I booked her. She beat the lowest price I was quoted from another tent company by 15% and I called over 10 of them. She then called on Friday to tell me delivery time and then again on Saturday to reconfirm delivery time. Everything was dropped of and set up Saturday morning and picked up Monday afternoon. EXCELLENT SERVICE!

Front of invite
External Image

Back of invite. Invite was wrapped in green vellum and sealed with a football sticker and green raffia.

tent

good pic of centerpieces as guests started arriving

famous daves setting up

us

end of night opening gifts

LIF picture album

Posted 9/24/12 1:45 PM