Thanksgiving was good but the after party was 20x better

Nate and I had been planning a San Diego Thanksgiving since May because my grandparents were having a big wedding reception sized party for their 50th wedding anniversary.

It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving and I had been working on stuff for it months prior. My uncles were taking care of some big ticket things like food, alcohol, music(i.e. the same mariachis and taco caterers from my wedding plus an awesome DJ) and I was to take on invitations and making the whole event look nice.

Granted I'm no Heather Balliet, but I wanted my grandparents to be pleasantly surprised by how capable I am at suiting the taste of the occasion instead of my own taste. ( I'm pretty sure my family thought I was nuts when they saw the bridesmaids outfits I planned out for my wedding.)

The day of the party Nate and I had spent over 7 hrs setting up for the event, 4 1/2 hours enjoying the event, and 40 min cleaning up with family after the event, and every minute was well well worth it. I have never seen my grandPARENTS, yes BOTH of them, so happy before.

My grandpa had been very against the party and tryed really hard to play his role as the stick in the mud, but he finally gave in and had admitted to having a fun time and "really enjoying himself." Anyone who knows my grandpa knows that he rarely admits to enjoying himself.

The decor wasn't perfect the way I wanted it to be, lots of projects fell through and weren't completed, but I left San Diego satisfied knowing how happy my grandparents were with the whole event.


These are the perfect invitations, created by Mrs. Alison Faulkner-Robertson




These are the envelope liners i made featuring my grandparents circa 1955



Here is where the main chunk of 7 hrs went to. Nate sweetly slaving away on a ladder while I annoyingly gave direction



and the real night version



The centepieces




Hotty Lupe (Age 89) on the left before she tore it up on the dance floor. She's into younger men, any takers? Pinna on the right (Age 90)



Grandpa trying to socialize with everyone one on one and trying to stay far away from the dance floor and out of reach from being the center of attention. He was really hard to find all night, this is the only picture I got of him. This is Ronnie & Jackie before they danced danced to every song that came out between the years 1950-1985



My uncle and aunt, Dennis and Lyn, and my cousin Gabe just bartending the night away in that balloon corner



My mom in a sexy red number trying to dance salsa for every song and screaming "Ayayaya" when the mariachis were playing. Mmhmm



I really blew it at not getting a picture of my grandparents together, and I REALLY REALLY blew it not getting a picture of my grandma pleading nate to stop body rolling and freaking her because she was laughing so hard she thought she was going to pee her pants.

But we did get one moment that captured the night and summed up how happy my grandma was dancing the night away to nearly every song played that night. Here she is with awesome uncle Larry. The best is when she pauses while she is completely bent over draping her arms down.