{Series} When an Event Planner Plans Her Own Event

{all photos taken by Kristen, clearly not professional}

Hey y'all! Kristen here. You may or may not have heard through our social media grapevine, I recently got engaged (yay!). My fiancé Chris (oh, that's so fancy) proposed on our trip to Paris on our day trip to Versailles - a most royal day indeed. And Chris, a man after a planner's heart, hired a photographer to follow us and capture the moment without me knowing.

Of course as soon as we hopped on the train back to Paris my mind went immediately to planning mode: engagement party, invitations, picking a date, colors, venues, etc. Meanwhile, Chris, happy as a clam, didn't know what he got himself into.

By the end of the day I had already planned our engagement party: created an Evite, talked to my parents about supplying beverages, and reached out to two bakers regarding dessert. Chris's mom, who was a caterer in another life, offered to make all of the food along with my mom's assistance.

In the two weeks leading up to the party I planned and put together the finishing touches. I created a little slide show of images from our engagement, made floral ice cubes to chill the wine, and put together goody bags for our guests. Chris mocked me non stop for 4 days about my absolutely punny signs (sip, sip, hooray!, taco 'bout love - you guys, these are great). I've included a couple of my cute signs below for inspiration. To his credit, he also did some serious yard work.

The food was amazing (thanks moms!) - all finger foods and a taco bar, plus a cheesecake that grandma insisted on making. I assure you, no one left hungry or empty handed.

We opted for a small, casual event with close friends and family (about 20 guests), so this was a no stress evening. Except for maybe the moms, who had the task of feeding everyone and then took on the role as clean up crew. The planning was kicked a bit into overdrive, as Chris left 2 days later for deployment (boo!). But now comes the big fun, WEDDING PLANNING!!

Stay tuned and follow me on my journey: what happens when an event planner plans her own event.