Growing up, I watched my mom and her best friend create magic for their kids on shoestring budgets.
Not your typical birthday parties. I'm talking full-scale productions:
Elegant High Tea parties- where mom spent days baking divinity and cream puffs, preparing tiny cucumber sandwiches, and setting heirloom teacups on her grandmother's tablecloths- all so my friends and I could eat fancy food in lace gloves while drinking hot cocoa (because my mom knew me well enough to skip the tea I didn't like back then).
Extreme Scavenger hunts- where friends piled into cars on different teams, racing around town to find specific locations she thought up, take ridiculous photos, and speed home first- all while (mostly) obeying speed limits because a ticket meant instant disqualification.
Have you heard of the show Survivor?- I’ve played it. On a farm with friends, not the real show, but my mom’s best friend planned it to be complete with colored bandanas, video-recorded jury votes, questionable food, and yes- a Sole Survivor, who wasn't even the birthday boy because we didn't believe in participation trophies.
What about The Amazing Race?- Think multiple teams racing across some of our state’s historical sites, pre-set food stations, miscommunicated directions, someone ending up on the wrong side of the river (still thinking about you, Nathan), and miles of driving and laughter.
The level of research, coordination, and sheer creativity that went into these celebrations was extraordinary.
But here's what matters most:
My mom and her best friend weren't trying to impress anyone; this was before social media. They weren't competing with other parents or chasing trends or spending money they didn't have.
They were creating experiences to honor the people they love.
That's the lesson I carried into my years of hospitality and events:
The best celebrations aren't about how much you spend- they're about how much heart you put into honoring the people who matter.
They're not about impressing guests with expensive details. They're about creating moments where genuine love, gratitude, and joy come together.
When I work with couples on destination weddings now, I think about these women constantly.
Because they taught me that:
✓ Knowing your clients deeply matters more than following formulas
✓ Intentional investment in what matters creates more meaning than arbitrary spending
✓ The celebrations people remember decades later are the ones where they felt genuinely celebrated- not just entertained
✓ Excellence is in the details- both the emotional moments and the logistics that support them
The couples I work with today get this instinctively.
They're not looking for the most expensive venue or the trendiest aesthetic. They're looking for celebrations that feel worthy of their journey- that honor the family who invested in them while reflecting who they authentically are as a couple.
They want substance with their beauty. Meaning alongside the magic.
That's exactly what those birthday parties taught me to create.
Not just beautiful events (though mine absolutely are), but celebrations where people feel genuinely honored, deeply connected, and profoundly grateful.
The best parties- whether backyard Survivor games or destination weddings- aren't about impressing the masses, they're about creating experiences people treasure for decades.
That's what these two women have given me, and that's what I give my couples.
Related Reading: