70th wedding anniversary open house party?!
70th wedding anniversary open house party?
my mother-in-law and father-in-law will be celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary in 2 1/2 months. The kids want to have an open house party for them at the Senior Center here in town. But we are stumped as to what kind of decorations and colors to use. They like bluegrass music but are both very hard hearing, so we don't know rather to have music or not. We would like to have a potluck meal for the immediate family before this all starts. I just need help for this. It is a very big deal in this family and we want to get it right.
Answers:
First, have their wedding picture framed and displayed by a wedding cake to be served at a specified time. If they have a picture of the original cake, see if you can duplicate it. Look at the wedding picture for clues as to the choices they made when they began their life long journey together. If he wore a boutonniere, have the same kind made for him to where at the party and have her wedding bouquet made for her. If her gown is still around, ask a local department store to borrow a manican and have her dress displayed as well. If any members of the wedding party are still around, make sure they're invited. Have a guest book and encourage their friends and family to jot down happy memories shared with them, this will make a great keepsake that they can read together later. Search through their pictures and have their children's baby pictures copied, blown up and framed. Next, have a collage of their 70 years together on display. Soft music should be in the background just for the festivity of the occassion, if you can, get a copy of their wedding song and the song they first danced to at their reception. As for foods, I suggest a dessert buffet, nothing hard to eat for the elderly and I don't know many of them who don't care for sweets, just make sure you have some sugar-free as well. As for drinks, teas, coffee and cold beverages. What a wonderful reason to celebrate, I hope you all have a wonderful day, and please, take plenty of pictures.
No wonder its a big deal WOW 70 yrs is amazing Shout out to them for that...Why not use a rainbow of colours for them to enjoy.As for music hey if they enjoy it why not give it to them its their day..potluck for family is good, but for guests just have finger food carrot sticks ,celery, cheese & crackers tou get the idea..Have fun hope it turns out well..
An open house party is a great idea, but keep in mind that you need to set a specific time frame. At their age, they won't be able to handle a long, drawn out day. Although they may not be able to hear the music, the other guests would enjoy it. It would need to be kept at a reasonable level being that this is a Senior Center. As far as colors go, what are their favorite colors? What is your mother in-laws favorite flower? You can start with her favorite flowers and then pull the colors from there. If you remember that the day is FOR and ABOUT them, then you can't go wrong. Or, why not take a look at her wedding album and go with her wedding colors and flowers? It is their 70th anniversary after all, and what could be better than to bring back memories of the day it all began?
Did your parents have a color theme for their wedding? Since you will be having as many of the old pictures of that day around it might be fun to do a bit of reproducing around their original event.
Pot luck works...how many people? I am assuming that you will be inviting other folks from the senior center as well so plan on lots of easy to eat foods that are different than or better than what is served for regular meals. What are your parents' favorite things to eat that they don't get anymore?
Good luck and have a ball! My congratulations to them!