Tammy's 40th Birthday Party turned Surprise Vow Renewal - 11.9.14

If you have a sweet tooth and live in the Wilmington, NC area then I bet you've heard of Creative Cake Design by Tammy Hodge. If you haven't had the pleasure of eating one of Tammy's pies, cake pops, banana pudding cups, cake or cookies, then you need to get out more!  Tammy's personality is sweeter than the best cakes! Everyone who meets her wants to be more like her. Tammy is a fellow wedding vendor and friend so when she approached me about planning her 40th birthday party, I was more than enthused. Tammy wanted to have a fun party with about 90 of her closest friends and family members to celebrate her 40th birthday. Then, she threw me a twist. She wanted to surprise everyone in attendance and renew her vows to her equally sweet husband, Eric. So, we got to planning and this is what we did.

Tammy hired her fellow photographer friend, Kelly with Anchored in Love, to take photos and baker assistant, Staci, to make lots and lots of desserts for this 1940's Old Hollywood glam themed party. We enlisted in ETC Party Rentals for additional tables, linens and plate ware. I loved the black and white damask print we chose to use on the tables. Bella Florals by Theresa made pretty white and green centerpieces and even incorporated one of my favorite elements - cotton! A Boxed Event designed the perfect Old Hollywood lounge complete with a photo booth from DJ Professionals + Video. 

As guests started to arrive to the party, they enjoyed sipping on coffee from the coffee bar provided by AM Coffee Bar and lots of delicious food from Middle of the Island. Tammy arrived through a red carpet entrance with her family in the fashionable British Taxi. They were introduced to the party by DJ Professionals and we all sang her "Happy Birthday". What happened next was completely unexpected. Tammy changed into a cute, white cocktail dress and came out as "At Last" by Etta James played over the speakers. The dress was custom made from her from Camille's of Wilmington! Everyone was on the dance floor with husband Eric front and center. Their pastor from Northside Church was also in the middle ready to surprise everyone with their vow renewal. Everyone stood around enjoying this special moment as Tammy + Eric experienced the wedding celebration they never got to have with everyone that mattered most to them. 

After they renewed their vows, it was back to dancing and eating more sweet treats. At the end of the party, The British Taxi took home our special cargo and we left with memories for a lifetime. It meant so much to me to be a special part of this day for Tammy and her family. I continue to work with Tammy during "wedding season" but it's always nice to see her outside of work too. And like I said in the beginning, if you haven't tried any of Tammy's made-with-love desserts, do so now! 

Click on the images below to enlarge.

Favorite Party Moment:
The surprise, of course! Since I as a little kid, I've always enjoyed planning surprise parties. I think it started in 5th grade when we surprised our teacher with almost 5 surprise parties that year. We threw one on her birthday, holidays and the last day of school. We even got the principal to call her up to the office so we could set everything up. I have planned surprise parties for many friends and even a surprise wedding in October 2014. I recently found a list of things I want to do before I'm 30 written at the age of 13. Two of the items on the list were to throw a surprise party for someone and to have a surprise party for me. Soo...I'm still waiting on someone to throw a surprise party for me but I like throwing them for now ;)

Vendors
Venue: The RiverRoom
Music + Photo Booth: DJ Professionals and Video
Catering: Middle of The Island
Photography: Anchored In Love
Lighting: The Audio Visual People
Rentals: ETC Party Rentals
Flowers: Bella Florals by Theresa
Cake + Desserts: Creative Cake Design by Tammy Hodge
Chalkboard Bar Design: Southern Bee Designs
Dress: Camille's of Wilmington
Transportation: The British Taxi
Officiant: Pastor Mike Morley
Partial Planning Event Coordination: Knot Too Shabby Events
Attendees: 90 guests