Tips on How to Plan a Successful 50th Wedding Anniversary Party

My sister and I had the honor of hosting our parents 50th wedding anniversary. It was a great success. From our experience, I have learned that there are four steps to planning a 50th wedding anniversary party:

Budgeting:

The first thing that you have to consider is your budget. How much can you afford to spend? Gather the family together and talk about how much each member can afford to give.

In our case, neither my sister nor I could afford an extravagant affair. Both of us struggle to make ends meet. So we were the event planners, caterers, entertainers and photographers.

Planning:

After you have your budget, the next thing you have to do is plan the party.

What do your parents want? Where and when will it be? How many people will there be? What kind of food will be served? What kind of entertainment will you have? What do you want to go into the wedding anniversary announcement? How much will all this cost?

Executing the plan:

After you have set up your budget and have planned the party the real work begins. You need to make reservations, send out invitations, and prepare the wedding anniversary announcement for the newspaper. You need to purchase decorations, party supplies and food (if you aren't having the party catered). If the party is catered, you need to hire the caterers. Depending on the budget, you may want to hire a DJ or live band for entertainment.

Planning for our low budget party included the following:

Because my parents wanted to renew their vows. The first thing that my sister and I had to do is speak with the minister of the church. With him, we planned the ceremony and reserved the church and fellowship hall.

Next, we had to get a list of our parent's friends and business associates and mailed out their invitations. We also contacted some local newspapers about placing their anniversary announcements. We found that some papers charge more than $100 to run this kind of announcement while others charge nothing for a basic one. We placed the announcement.

Next on our to-do list was planning the menu. Since the anniversary party was going to be held mid-afternoon, we decided to serve a light lunch, finger foods, non-alcoholic beverages and of course their anniversary cake. We purchased the cake from a bakery but prepared most of the other menu items ourselves.

We are lucky to have many talented people in our family. Among them are some very fine musicians and singers. We enlisted their help and had music and dancing at our party.

Next, we went to a local party shop and selected the decorations and party supplies.

My brother-in-law was our photographer. He is great with a digital camera. He photographed the whole party and made a video album for my parents computer.

After 50 years of marriage, my parents pretty much had everything that they needed or even wanted. This made deciding on an anniversary present a very difficult thing. But we came up with the perfect gift. On a large picture board, we placed pictures of my parents. The pictures ranged from their wedding picture to the most recent photograph taken of them. Surrounding our parents were pictures of all of their children and grandchildren. We framed our masterpiece. It became the centerpiece on the cake table. My parents and all of their friends really appreciated this gift.

To make the occasion even more special, I prepared a small speech to honor my parents and their long years of being together. I read this at the renewal ceremony.

Enjoying:

The final step is simply enjoying the party.

When my parents big day came; everything went off as planned. My parents were happy and we were exhausted. Everyone had a good time.

There are many ways to hold a 50th wedding anniversary. From the low budget affair, like ours, to the most extravagant one you can imagine. But they all come down to the same tasks:

1. Budgeting
2. Planning
3. Executing
4. Enjoying