themes

Variations on a Theme: Themeless

Third Time Wife, Wedding Planning
Moroccan-themed dining room with alcoves, windows and a wine glass.

Maybe a Moroccan theme? Maybe not?

I was a band geek. In high school I spent 4 years compromising other bits of my schedule, missing out some great classes with the rest of my fellow gifted students, just so that I could keep my band status current. One year it even meant enrolling in Jazz Band (and switching instruments for the semester) just so I could take a class that was only offered during one period that I had to have for my Senior Year externship.

And if you were in band, you were in Marching Band. Our director, as the story goes, was not actually fond of marching band. But the principal loved it so perform we did. My freshman year our program consisted of 3 latin-style songs follow by, of all things, “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” as our closer. The huh?

Sophomore and Junior years continued just as theme-less and I repeatedly petitioned the director for a themed show–one that made sense for pete’s sake! Finally, my Senior Year, our songs all came from Aladdin. By then I was on the Flag Corps for the marching season and you could not have found a happier girl. Even when we (the flag corps) only got 2s at Festival.

So it’s no surprise that when I plan a party there’s always a theme involved. A new project? I bet it started with a snappy name that directs the goals and visions for the final result. Dreaming in technicolor? Oh, yeah, there’s a single idea behind it all.

Except… when I thought about our wedding I was themeless.

It’s like being clueless but more frustrating.

I knew some things we weren’t going to do: anything that had been a major player in our previous weddings (big church ceremonies, no duplicating first dance songs, that sort of thing) and a few things I really wanted to include (dancing, a wine ceremony, comfort and ease). But there was no single, cohesive thread to stitch the bits together. I didn’t even have a color scheme in mind! (gasp!)

I voiced my confusion to Todd.

“Do we have to have a theme?” he replied.

Bless his heart.

I suppose, in truth, we don’t have to have any more cohesion than “we like this/we don’t like that.” But a theme helps. Not only does a theme contribute to easier decision making (does it go with the theme? yes or no) it helps the individual pieces of the ceremony and reception fit together like happy little cogs in our machine. Or–to be a little more modern–like sectors on our communal harddrive. Have you ever had a bad sector? It causes bumps and slow-downs and, eventually, a massive harddrive fail. We do NOT want a wedding harddrive fail.

So I was on the hunt for a theme.

Pretty Book and Flower Icon

Is having a theme as important to you as it was to me?
For you theme-less brides out there, what’s your decision process like without a theme to go by? 

The Naughty & Nice Party

Nibbles

Also known as a Heaven & Hell or Angel & Devil Party, this style of Valentine’s Party is a good way to bring both couples and singles together in a fun, low-pressure environment and have a little fun.

Invitations will ask the guests to come as either angels or devils. Now, depending on your friends this could mean anything from a halo or a pair of horns to fabulous costumes or even just wearing white and pink versus black and red. As long as they get into the spirit, it can be fun. Having some spare halos and horns (both very easy to construct if the party store isn’t helpful) is a good idea, though, for those who “forget” to embrace the theme.

Party rooms are to be divided in half–one side for Heaven, one side Hell, the former decorated in pastels and white and the latter decorated in bold shades of red and black. Colorful masking or painters tape is good for creating the dividing lines to keep it simple or you can go all out with spliced tablecloths , rug covers and sofa throws. Don’t restrict the decorations to the living room, either, feel free to divide any room your guests might wander into.

Potential foods for the angelic side of the table would be anything white, fluffy or sweet. Angel food cake, marshmallows, finger sandwiches , hummus & pita chips would all work well along with steamed dumplings, beggar’s purses and chicken salad puffs; all served on doilies or course. For the other side of the table, everything dark and spicy and decadent should be piled high on industrial looking serving-ware. Dark chocolates, devil’s food and red velvet cupcakes, deviled eggs (consider adding some onion skins to the boiling water and cracking the shells around before draining them to get a wicked-looking marbled effect), spicy shrimp on sugar cane skewers, meatballs in chili sauce… you get the picture.

One other idea, and I’ll leave the rest to your imagination: the party I attended of this sort had 2 colors of plastic cups and the instructions were given that single folks were to use the blue cups and those in a relationship or otherwise unavailable to use the red ones. What a great idea for eliminating the guessing in such a charged situation! Granted, if you didn’t want to use plastic cups at your party, wine glass charms in 2 distinct designs would work just as well.

This sort of shindig doesn’t have to be limited to Valentine’s Day, but it is as good an excuse as any!

A Superbowl Party for the Non-Fans

Nibbles

It’s no secret that I like to plan parties. (Sometimes the planning is even more fun than the execution, but only rarely.) Unfortunately, my imagination and notebooks sometimes contain more ideas than I can always accommodate on the calendar. Such is the case with this most recent party idea. Rather than hoard the idea for a year, I’ve decided to share it and hope that if someone uses this idea, they let me know how it goes!

The Commercial Bowl

Not everyone is a football fan but it seems a shame to waste a perfectly good opportunity to party. In order to make the most of the day, why not concentrate on the other fun to be had: the incredible (and sometimes deplorable) commercials that run in multi-million dollar spots throughout the show.

For this to work best, you obviously need a way to view the broadcast plus a DVR to watch and record live television simultaneously. Start the party an hour or so into the game, giving ample time for commercials to accumulate before you begin viewing them. It’s also not a bad idea to track down previous year’s commercials (some commercial collections are available on DVD or you can watch the cable networks for the best- and worst-of shows that air leading up to the big day) for some additional viewing.

Decorate the party room(s) with all sorts of branded items. Raid the party store for party supplies with major labels on them. This is also an excellent opportunity to put those empty boxes leftover from Christmas to work, with their logos readily apparent. Or you could take a page from an old Sabrina, The Teenage Witch episode and make up your own parodies of brand named items to emblazon the walls (I recall Popsi and Butterthumb with particular amusement). Think maximum product placement and then ratchet it up another notch or two.

Serve a variety of finger foods, just like any other Superbowl gathering. Chicken wings, sub sandwiches, chips and dip, etc. Feel free to spruce up each item, depending on your guest list, with your own twists on old favorites or make it easy on yourself and pick up deli platters with absolutely zero guilt.

Because watching commercials isn’t the most exciting thing in the world, make a game out of it by having guests vote on who they think will have the most ostentatious offering before-hand and then take votes on the winner after. Give guests personal whiteboards (purchased or easily created with special paint) and dry-erase markers to be the judges of each commercial. Add in some other games, like the Adverteasing Board Game to round out the fun. With the right group of people this party will be a lot of fun!