AmyDesigns's Profile

Display Name:	AmyDesigns
Personal URL:	http://naturalorderstaging.com
Member Since:	11/8/12

Latest Comments...

@letterwoman I feel for you. My ex didn't care, so I made all the decor decisions. I wish he had wanted to share that, but at least he didn't want to second-guess me, which is what you are dealing with.

You husband's opinions probably have more to do with power than decorating, so why not let him have some? To wit:

Have you thought of dividing up the rooms? He gets one, you get one. If you have kids, they each can decorate their rooms, with approval from you of course. You can create ground rules for everyone, such as: wall trim stays white, or, no matt black walls allowed, no Nascar 'art', or whatever would drive you nuts. No one is allowed to comment until each person's room is finished. Basic stuff. Then let everyone work at it. If the home looks crazy when finished, so much the better. The important thing is to add personality to it. Just that alone will lead to more fun.

Who Makes Decorating Decisions in Your Home?

11/8/12 7:14 PM

This problem is nothing new--don't worry that it's only the younger generation. I'm age 64, and have been having parties for decades. In my experience, rarely more than 50% respond in a reasonable time frame, even for black-tie, multi-thousand dollar events.

What is different (and scary) is that strangers think it's OK to show up. That would never have happened 20+ years ago--unless Aunt Sally wanted to make a scene. The only way to take care of that is to state, ON THE INVITATION, that invitations will be required at the door. Then post someone strong to check and 'police' the guests. Sad, but I guess necessary.

For the non-responsers, I have a system. On your list, count the YES responses, then subtract them from the non-responses. Add back in about 50% of the non-responses and you'll have a pretty good count. For example, let say you invited 60 people. 10 responded, 50 did not. Half of 50 is 25. 25 + 10 = 35. So, 35 is your party total. This system works pretty well. I've used it for parties ranging from 50 - 300.

To cope with the cost of non-arrivals, I have another method. Get the restaurant/caterers to serve the food "family style" instead of plating it. This is also a great compromise between a buffet line and individual plating. I have done this even at restaurants that NEVER do it. Your costs will be less, the guests like it more, and you will be able to absorb the non-show-ups much more easily.

Happy planning!

Party Planning Vent: What's So Hard About RSVPing?

11/8/12 5:24 PM