Ultimate Spa Destination? Your Own Backyard...

Want to celebrate that special birthday with your BFFs, but can't seem to get everyone's schedules to gel and find the perfect spa destination? Bring the spa to you.

That's what one special lady here in Fort Wayne recently received from her husband for her birthday - the entire backyard area was transformed into a luxury spa oasis, giving the lady of honor and her 12 guests the over-the-top experience usually found in a four-diamond luxury resort.

Pipe and draping framed individual outdoor intimate areas - creating privacy and an upscale, resort-like feel. Guests could recline poolside while deciding which items from the spa menu they would choose to experience. Others sought to relax and refresh behind flowing curtains by beginning in the row of chairs complete with soaking tubs and foot massages. Individual massage tables around the perimeter beckoned the tense and tight of muscle, while body, mind and spirit began to repair for those curled up among plush pillows on outdoor couches.

A Party Apart enjoyed collaborating with LML Estate Management to transform an already spectacular existing outdoor area into an oasis of a different type. View additional photos here of this ultimate spa experience. Relax, renew, recover...open your mind and say "omm" and "ummm" — pass the cake. Happy Birthday, Wendy!

Corporate Events and Sales Conferences Don't Have to Be Boring (Looking)

The end of summer and early fall for some means start thinking about trade shows, sales meetings and conferences and events for customers, so the time to plan is now.

Take a look at these fun photos of a sales conference setting for Matilda Jane earlier this summer. Such fun to help create the ambiance and add to environments for their Trunk Keepers (sales reps), Art Fair (customers) and a smaller pre-conference event the night before at the Grand Wayne Center.

Linens and extra decor items from A Party Apart blended nicely with so many of the elements of their fabrics. We loved working with Denise and Lynette and their wonderful group of women.

What could we help you with for creating the mood, theme or environment for YOUR next sales meeting, trade show or fall conference?

Outdoor receptions - always have a plan B (or C) for weather...

Recently, A Party Apart did a reception in Culver, Indiana. This reception site, next to the beautiful historic Culver Chapel where the ceremony took place, required a BIG tent — 60’x100’ to be exact, with a second, unattached catering tent next to it.

With torrential rains 24/7 the weeks and days before the big event, the large tent was delivered early in the wedding week with the hopes of keeping the space dry. Side-walls were also put in place, enclosing the entire space.

Friday morning we were ready and prepared for our usual reception set-up process, including the rehearsal dinner to set at the family’s lake house that evening - and one more task no one anticipated. The ground by the 60'x100' tent had become so saturated that a large portion of the tent was actually flooded! After evaluating the actual site and considering alternative locations, we asked a local water restoration company to remove the standing water. We continued to stand watch with one eye on the sky and one eye on the ground, lifting side-walls to allow wind and sun to continue to dry out the space, and then dropping them as scattered storms blew through the area Friday. And campus security helped keep an eye on it Friday evening and overnight.

By Saturday morning — THE WEDDING DAY — the sun was shining, the rain had moved through the northern part of Indiana, and the tent was DRY! WHEW!! The A Party Apart team moved in to quickly transform the space and set up chandeliers, tables, chairs, linens, napkins, dishes, staging for the groom’s large out-of-town band, cocktail tables, and bar areas for 220 guests. There was even an attempt to move sailboats (at the groom's request); "attempted" — because sail boats are enormously heavy when filled with rainwater!

This "destination by the water" included a bit more water than everyone bargained for — but the end result was a beautiful wedding day and reception for Alex and Stephanie.

Special thanks to Mandy and Greg Kopp of Kopp Photography for allowing us to feature some of their stunning photography; see more of their work by visiting www.kopp-photo.com or find them at www.facebook.com/KoppPhotography. Copyright Kopp Photography; all rights reserved.

You can view more photos of the Culver reception at A Party Apart's Facebook page: www.facebook.com/aPartyApart.