The Anniversary Party

At The Point
67 Comments

It’s hard to believe that James and I have been married for 25 years.

Since we first got married I wanted to do something special for our 25th, so we had a small dinner party.  I’ve been planning it for weeks….every detail like the freak I am.  James is one lucky guy to have spent 25 years with my OCD.

We had the party outside on the patio where our family loves to hang out.  It’s in the front of our house, where it’s shady in the late evening and there’s always a breeze.

In an effort to save money, I chose the color scheme from tablecloths and dishes that I already owned.

The only pop of color came from the flower arrangements on each table.  I made the centerpieces small so they wouldn’t distract from the conversations.  Our main goal for the evening was to encourage each other in our marriages.

Of course I used my beloved Cricut to put names on the cups.

I wanted the tables to be elegant, but simple and relaxed.

We made little mint bags to keep the napkins from blowing away.

I LOVE the napkins.  I ordered them from my friend Sharon at Eloquence.

I recovered the outdoor pillows that I already owned so they would match the table settings.

The flowers were just the perfect mix of hot pink with a touch of orange.  The silver buckets were a nod to our silver anniversary.

We used a corner of the patio to set out the drinks.

The white cart usually sits on my front porch holding plants.  It was perfect for the water dispenser, ice bucket and to hide the speaker for music…..80’s wedding music of course.

The cooler was originally bright red, so I spray painted it and of course….used my Cricut to add the word “DRINKS.”  I fell in love with the old bottle top opener. (I’m not sure why the cooler’s color looks different in each picture, but it is most like the picture above….light teal)

I had insect repellent on hand just in case.

Nestled between the ice bucket and water dispenser was our wedding picture and the topper that was on our wedding cake and also my parent’s wedding cake in 1963.

We set the food out on the front porch…..barbeque of course.  This is Texas…..it’s what we do.

Great, now I’m hungry.

We also had beans, rolls and green salad.

My favorite spot was the dessert bar.  Remember the table my mom and I tried to build?  Well here it is, just a table made from wood scraps that I covered with sheets.

I borrowed the apothecary jars from my friend Sara and filled them with candies.

We had seven different desserts cut into bite sized pieces and served in “treat cups.”  We served lemon bars, brownies, berries, cheesecake, chocolate mousse cups and chocolate covered Oreos.

The girls and I made the beautiful chocolate covered Oreos.  I saw Amanda’s tutorial for them on Gina’s blog party and I knew instantly that I had to make them for our party.  They were a hit.

It was fun searching for just the right candy to fill the jars.

We turned the trays upside down and put ziploc bags of ice underneath….it kept the desserts cool on a warm evening.

The little white napkins are from our original wedding 25 years ago.

After everyone had their first dessert, we covered the trays with netted covers that we made just for the party.

They were a pain to make, but it worked perfectly to keep the flies away.

This is one of my favorite pictures…..

I bought the old section of fence at the flea market last year.  We copied pictures of James and I through the years and tacked them to the fence.  I used twine to tie our original wedding rings to the pickets.

We’ve come a long way baby……

Our guests all seemed to enjoy the party and they blessed us by sharing the evening with us.  I wish we could have invited everyone we knew…..our friends are such amazing people.

And now on to the next 25 years.

You can read how the party went here.

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Here’s a rundown of some of my purchases:  strings of lights-Home Depot, cups & ice bucket-Bed, Bath and Beyond (yes, that’s what I was doing when my skirt fell off), cooler & trays-Home Goods, treat cups-Wilton.com, silver gumballs & candy buttons-Party City, jelly beans-Target, Candy sticks-Cracker Barrel.

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Linking to: Keeping it Simple, Craftomaniac, Tater Tots and Jello, Centsational Girl, Under the Table and Dreaming, Someday Crafts, Anti-Procrastination Tuesdays, Fireflies and Jelly Beans, Between Naps on the Front Porch, Somewhat Simple, Tidy Mom, Romantic Home, Shabby Nest, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Finding Fabulous, The Girl Creative, Tater Tots and Jello, Be Different Act Normal, Funky Junk Interiors, Today’s Creative Blog, Tip Junkie, C.R.A.F.T., Between Naps on the Porch,  Making the World Cuter, The Shabby Chic Cottage, The Trendy Treehouse, The DIY Showoff, All Things Related, The Thrifty Home, Sentimental Sunday, Between Naps on the Porch, Workshop Wednesdays, No Minimalist Here

One Month To Win It

67 Comments

  1. That is fabulous!!! Happy Anniversary, friend!! Congratulations! I LOVE EVERYTHING you did!!!! And waiting for the unveiling was fun. Now you can rest and recover. 🙂

  3. Oh, what a beautiful day!! Your decorations were divine and I am sure everyone was blessed by you and your husband:). I love the color scheme and all of the neat little touches. Congratulations on 25 years!!

    ~Julia

  5. Thank you all for the congratulations. It’s been a looong 25 years. Lol!

    Becky, I didn’t make the BBQ. I ordered it from a great place in town. As it was I was barely going to be ready in time, I can’t imagine what would have happened if I had tried to make the meal. Just the making the desserts took us all day. 🙂

    Lisa~

  6. Happy Anniversary! 25 years….. imagine…. When I was young, the people celebrating their 25th were old – OLD! We have our 20th this year, and I reckon there must be some mistake.
    Your porch is absolutely gorgeous. What a dream to be able to eat outside….. sadly, not a thing we could plan to do, but your tables and decor is just stunning.
    Hope you have another 25 happy years together. God bless y’all!

  7. Beautiful party! I absolutely LOVE that you didn’t feel the need to make everything silver and went with such a jazzy color scheme. It’s classy and fun all at the same time. Your outdoor area looks better than any bistro I’ve ever visited. What IS it about bare light bulbs that creates such a festive ambiance?

    Blessings on the next couple of 25 year chunks.

  8. Um. Trying not to be jealous here. Not succeeding.

    I have NO gifts at all when it comes to decorating creatively like that. We’re coming up on our 30th anniversary in January and it will probably consist of a cake with a “3” and a “0” candle stuck on the top. Woo-hoo!

    Your pictures were so much fun to browse through on a Monday morning. Congrats to you both; you inspire so many of us!

    Becky

  9. Lisa, my heart is full right now. I love everything about this of course the decor is amazing but the part that gets me is all the personal touches– the napkins, the cake topper, your rings oooohhhhh, I love it all. I wish I could have sat there and taken it all in and celebrated the two of you. I love you, thank you for being a role model for marraige, you are so special to me.

    Cha Cha

  10. Oh, many, many congratulations!! What a fun way to celebrate — truly beautiful area you created out there. Wow! You amaze me.

    Congratulations on 25 years, and best wishes for 25 more (and then some!). Have to agree, you guys seem much younger than to be married 25 years. Yes, even though I know that your oldest children are adult-sized. Still.

    Again, many, many congrats!!!

  12. Happy anniversary! Your decorations are absolutely, positively amazing! Want to come to Kansas in a month to do my little sister’s Bee My Baby shower for her?!! 🙂 I’m in awe of your creativity and all the things you made yourself. Such an artistic gift!

  14. Wow wow wow! You sure know how to throw a party Lisa. Congratulations on 25 years together! That is truly something to be proud of, here’s wishing you guys a lifetime of love and happiness and many more milestones to get dressed up and celebrate!

  15. Great! Now I’M hungry. 🙂 My what a fete! James is indeed SO lucky to have you (and your OCD) for 25 years. I am going to use that line on my husband. 🙂

    I think you might like the giveaway on my blog, stop by.

  18. Happy Anniversary! What a lovely party. Every time I look at your pictures, I am tempted to buy the Cricut. But then I would have something else to store and use. Or store and not use and feel guilty about buying! So I resist.

    We also just had an anniversary! 27 years. And I wrote about that this morning too. So it was double fun to read your post.
    http://whatevermylord.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-to-stay-married.html

    Happy Anniversary- and congratulations for Hanging On! God is glorified in your faithfulness.

    Love- Susan

  19. Happy Anniversary. What a beautiful party. so many gorgeous details. wishing you and your beautiful family a lifetime of happiness

  21. Awww! I guessed it! It was such a pleasure to look at these photos today! Congratulations, you two! Much love and 25 x 25 more happy years of wedding bliss!

  22. Happy Anniversary! Your party was so, so lovely! I love seeing everything coordinated like that. Your beverage cooler is so neat…I love vintage looking things like that. Have been on the lookout for one. Such a great party!

    Visiting from Centsational Girl’s Picnic & BBQ Party. Hope you’ll stop by my blog to say hi too. 🙂

  24. oh my gosh, that is all fantastic! i love all your details, the vintage coke bottles, but mostly i love that fence with the pictures. great idea to hang it there and use it like that. genius! it looks like a wonderful day.

  25. What a wonderful party!
    Congratulations on 25 years!
    I hope I can do something as amazing on my 25th in 3 and a bit years!

  26. WOW, Lisa!
    What a beautiful party for a beautiful couple!
    I thought I was detail-oriented- I think you’ve got me beat! Crikey! I think I need a cricut!
    Is your anniversary today or the 15th?
    Could barely see the date on the piece of paper…
    How God has blessed you! I praise Him that you and James are an example of a long marriage!
    Here’s to 25, no 50+ more years!
    HAPPY HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!
    ~Leslie

  29. Happy 25 years, congrats to you both!
    What a wonderful party, every detail is delightful and I’ll bet it was great fun!
    Visiting from BNOTP
    Cathy @ Room Rx

  30. This was one amazing party! How I wish that I would of been on your guest list! You left no detail undone. Amazing! I espescially love that you redid what you had to make it work. You have sooo inspired me! Now, if only my patio could hurry up and get finished, I could throw a party!! Amazing job and your kids are lucky to have you! Happy Day

  31. ps- maybe someone has already mentioned this, but I would love a tutorial on how you made your screen desert covers. Everything that is truly fabulous are always a pain!

  33. absolutely beautiful…I just want to come hang with you for about a……year.
    love you! Congratulations! and Blessings for at least 25 more…you know my parents made it to 72 years.

  34. lisa,
    your party decor was fabulous! love all the attention to details.
    congratulations on 25 years, such a feat in today’s world. we will be celebrating our 30th in 2012 and now i have some great ideas to borrow from you! love the idea of sharing it with dear friends.
    let me know how your pool deck gate works out…would love to see it.
    have a great week.
    judi

  35. Good Morning Lisa!
    Happy Anniversary & may you both be blessed with
    many many many more years to enjoy! 🙂
    What a lovely party………love the colors!
    Glad to see all is well,
    I am still here just so much of the time;
    I am sneaking a peak on my way to the “next to-do” I do not have time to comment! 😉
    As always enjoyed my visit!
    Blessing~
    ~Lori-Marie

  38. LOVE it! All of it, but especially the pictures displayed like that. So creative. And the tables. And the colors. And the food. Fabulous, of course!

  39. Ok, to call this anything other than perfect, well, that just wouldn’t be right!!
    What a delightful party, with not a single detail overlooked.
    I think my attention to detail has been waning, & I’ve been wrestling with that for a while… but after looking at this, I feel inspired!
    Thank you for sharing such a sweet moment in your life.

  40. You KNOW that I loved the decor….everything was amazing! But my favorite part was the time of sharing. Your lives have intertwined with and blessed so many people (in real life and through your blog). What joy to see you honored, blessed and prayed for! Love you!

  44. You must have married when you were 10, right?

    Belated Happy Anniversary to a very special couple. Maybe in 12 years I’ll remember this post and do something similar.

  45. What a beautiful anniversary party…and an enduring Christian marriage is something to celebrate!
    My husband and I will be celebrating 33 years together in August. I still can’t believe that so many years have passed. It almost seems as if we were never NOT married…and yet it seems like it was only yesterday that we were beginning.
    I pray that you have many more years of living and growing together!

  47. Thanks for sharing all these pictures. Your place looks gorgeous! Most of my house is red & gold, so when I see all your blues and whites and teals and greens I just love it. And thanks for sharing where you got those string lights, I was going to ask. I like the look of them.

    Someday I really need to look into this Cricut apparatus. But not now. Just purchased all of next year’s curriculum so I’d better wait lest I spend more money. 🙂

  48. Love the idea about the ice UNDER the trays.. completely a duh moment for me. Your colors are amazing, I loved how everything coordinated. Great job. Many blessings marlis

  51. Oh Lisa!!
    Everything looks beautiful! I love all the colors, candies, cleverness and creativity! You are amazing! Congratulations to you and James both.

  55. So many beautiful ideas here! I may incorporate these for a post-wedding cook out we’re having after our son gets married! Thanks for all of the great ideas and congratulations on 25 years!

  56. Yes, I am finally on and loving reading all the news! How I wish Dean and I could have shared the evening! Should I wear my bridesmaid dress?? Can I still fit into it??
    You did a beautiful job, will keep all your fab ideas!
    Love You,
    Cindy

  57. happy anniversary lisa! (oh, and james too :o) )
    25 years! wow!
    today just happens to be my parents’ 36th anniversary…
    love stories like that make my heart happy <3

    looks like a lovely evening for celebrating your 25 years of happiness!

  60. Happy Anniversary and congratulations on your 25 years of marriage! You did a great job with the decorations and I specially love the dessert table. Not only because of the sweets but I adore the fence with pictures.

  61. Hi-
    I am new to your blog. My name is Lisa. I have a blog with my sister Lori whom you may know. (To Everything There Is A Season) We now have a blog together.
    I just wanted to tell you what a wonderful job you did decorating for your party. I also just celebrated my 25th anniversary.
    I am very interested in your Cricut? I don’t know exactly what it is though. What did you use to make your glasses?
    If you have a moment & can let me know our site is http://www.twosisterscottage.blogspot.com.
    Thank you. I enjoy your blog. Lisa (Meme)

  62. I am also a contestant at OMTWI and I am so glad to find you. This party is so fabulous. I love the crafty touches like the glasses, drink bin and how you displayed those photos on wood scraps. So great and so lovely. Congrats on 25 years. I love the personal, sweet touches and the cake topper also used by your parents. I love, love all of this!!!
    ladeedacreations.com

  64. wow! what a party!

    love love love the color story. i can’t believe, well…yes, i can that you used your circuit for your drink cooler.

    the candy…
    the desserts…
    the tables…

    it all looks wonderful. congrats on the big 25! wow, great great great reason to throw a lovely party.

    enjoy your week.
    kellie

  65. Wow! You are an amazing party decor gal. I am super impressed and inspired to have a party so you could come to Colorado and make it awesome-looking. But you’d probably want me to pay for your travel, lodging, and all the supplies. Maybe a meal or two. Trust me, if it was in the budget, I would SO do it. Oh well.

    Seriously, you did a fabulous job!! I just love the entire setting. If I ever need some fun decorating ideas, your blog will be at the top of my list. Unless I have $$ to bring you here personally.

  66. Pingback: Outdoor Summer Party

  67. Lisa, I love this post. We just had our 25th and we didn’t have a party. I think maybe we should. 🙂

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