by guest blogger Donna Emley, Principal and Creative Director, Emley Design Group, and co-hostess of the 2011 Mad Hatter Tea to benefit Early Childhood Alliance
Sometimes we have an idea that takes a long time to come to fruition. The Mad Hatter Tea theme has been alive in my mind's eye since the creation of the tea committee for
Early Childhood Alliance over five years ago. The appropriateness of this theme presents itself fairly obviously, but all the subtle nuances (and not so subtle - it is, after all, the Mad Hatter!) and how exactly it could be executed is what has been percolating for so long - waiting for the right time and the right place to reveal itself. This past Saturday was that time and place.
Typically held in a private home, the annual tea has become a signature fundraising event for
Early Childhood Alliance and an opportunity for 60-65 women to gather for a three-course traditional afternoon tea in a unique, intimate setting. For our 5th anniversary celebration, we wanted to do something over-the-top. The idea of holding it at
A Party Apart, the largest party dealer in Northeast Indiana, on its 3rd floor and transforming a warehouse and storage area into a "wonderland" of sorts, took seed and began to blossom the minute Cheryl and I started our conversation.
Cheryl sees things in her mind's eye too. She immediately understood the idea of including children for this anniversary year, and the need for the environment to be magical and appeal to young and old alike. The space began to take shape - separate intimate areas for tables, linens and color schemes, centerpieces and hanging lanterns; tableware to please the eye and entice the palette. The vision became a shared one and she and
A Party Apart were committed.
Here's the thing you need to understand about Cheryl and Jim, her husband, and
A Party Apart. They are two of the hardest working business owners in town. They are the unsung heroes of community involvement and their support of nonprofits is widespread. They are professional and experienced and humble and they inspire their staff to be the same. So expectations were high, but as usual, they promised, and then over-delivered.
Most of you may not realize the depth and breadth of props
A Party Apart stores on its 2nd and 3rd floors. After years of special events, fundraisers, themed parties, proms and wedding/receptions, you accumulate a lot of "stuff." As we toured the storage area, giant cut-outs of everything from playing cards to Vegas show girls peered out from behind the pillars. A Christmas scene with life-size carolers stood singing beside a giant pirate ship with skeletons and a treasure chest. Oversized air-brushed beach bums stood along side Mardi Gras masks the size of a kitchen table. Columns, courtyards and lattice window cut-outs created mini garden settings and suggested where the Queen of Hearts and her knave would have been shouting "off with their heads!" We had found the perfect environment.
Each time the committee would make a visit to A Party Apart, the enthusiasm would bubble up. Our "Iron Chef" and her crew would get excited about the options for tableware, serving plates, and "super" coolers. Our tea master brewer was delighted with the behind-the-scenes set-up for brewing, serving and washing our vast collection of over 250 heirloom tea cups onsite. Early Childhood's executive director and marketing/development director continued to be impressed by ideas for check-in stations, areas and decor for silent auction, and the individually themed areas for 20 tables and over 100 guests, including 26 children. I was happily distracted by the idea of bugs in the centerpieces (literally - and our two little boy guests were over the moon about these - where else do you see bees and butterflies and a praying mantis as part of the table decor unless it's a Mad Hatter party at A Party Apart?)!
On the Friday before set-up, with each hour that passed, the evidence of attention to detail and the vast amount of experience Cheryl and her staff have continued to amaze and delight us. What was once a blank space at the top of the stairs now was transformed into a giant pink garden setting, with oversized flowers, Mad Hatter sayings, and an "Alice-like" bench perfect for a photo opt. The elevator transformed into a "down-the-rabbit-hole" environment with fake grass, a park bench, potted topiary, and color accents. Garden vignettes defined space, and table decor included crazy candlesticks, a multi-color chandelier, feathers, boas and bird cages. The black and white polka-dot linens provided the perfect base for the pop of vibrant color from the napkins and the tea cups.
More serving tables? Not a problem. LED-flashing tumblers for the children? Here you go. More greenery or another table setting? Done. Additional triangle plates and champagne glasses? On the way. Each request was met with immediate attention and a smile. Customer service is a core value at A Party Apart. And with over
150,000 items available in its online catalog, it's hard to stump A Party Apart with a request.
At the end of the day, the true test of a successful event is the memories guests take away with them. Our guests couldn't wipe the smiles off of their faces. They were submerged in the experience because of the environment Cheryl and A Party Apart helped to create. They were delighted almost every moment by the discovery of something new. "Best event ever!" "Truly over-the-top!"
Click here to view more photos.
A Party Apart approaches every event and rental opportunity in this same manner. As the largest and most diversified rental and event planning company in Fort Wayne and northeast Indiana, Cheryl and Jim and their staff continue to be innovative and creative with every client. Intimate party or lavish fundraiser; company picnic or outdoor wedding/reception for 500 complete with tent rentals, lighting, staging, and more — your next event will benefit from their experience, professionalism and commitment to quality. I know ours did. Now that I've imagined and experienced our Mad Hatter Tea, I couldn't have imagined it any other way than with Cheryl and
A Party Apart as such an integral part of our team and success.
...and as the song goes, the back of everyone's necks is "getting dirty and gritty" from putting up what seems like thousands of tents for events already. Festival season is in full swing in Fort Wayne and northeastern Indiana — and if it's hot, you need a tent (for shade); if it's raining, you need a tent (for cover); if you have vendors, you need tents (for what they're doing), and if you have beer, you need a tent (to define your beer garden). So we have had A LOT who have needed tents for a variety of reasons.
If you attended RiverFest last weekend at IPFW in Fort Wayne, you saw much of what we do for festivals. Besides the large tenting, tables, and chairs, we also did the stage area for the bands, and the decorative large paddle balloons and 
sky lanterns. The large balloons, sky lanterns, and large balloon arches are all the rage for weddings this summer too - a dramatic finishing touch and attention-getter for weddings and reception sites. Tie the color into your overall wedding theme, and these really create a "wow" for guests and wedding parties alike.
BBQ RibFest, Germanfest and Greek Festival in downtown Fort Wayne at Headwaters Park used A Party Apart tents of varying sizes, tables, chairs and ceiling decor. And don't forget about making food prep easier - we can supply propane cooking stoves, ovens and warming cabinets for your next event, regardless of the size of your crowd. Thirsty too? Our margarita machines are flying out of here when the weather heats up.
or Three Rivers Festival (Fort Wayne's Biggest Summer Party since 1969) next week in downtown Fort Wayne, we're ready with set-ups for staging, tents, the parade, park set-ups and children's fest activities - when you see our trucks all over town, you know it's festival time in Fort Wayne, Indiana and the A Party Apart truck fleet is on the move!
