How To Put Together The Best Dinner Party: Learn From Your Mistakes And Hire A Caterer

Let me tell you a horror story about the last dinner party I had to plan.

My husband, his boss and work colleagues all were coming over for a very important dinner. Now, I thought I had plenty of time: finished the work I had that day, kids were at school, but by the time I got home, I realized the half of the food I wanted to get ready would take too long, as they were going to be here in an hour. So, my husband’s watching me run full speed around the kitchen. He’s offering to help but I know he’d just be a hindrance. And of course, the boss shows up first. I’m a sweaty mess with none of the food cooked and no plan. And let’s just say that my husband was not happy when I served mostly sides.

So how does a woman get extra time in the day? It’s not possible, but maybe if I could find full-service catering in Fort Collins or nearby, I could have the team behind me to put together the dinner party of my dreams and not exhaust myself.

A dinner party requires more than just two hands. The outfits, the design of the house, the music, and of course, the food, are all equally important, difficult and time-consuming components that require 100% of your energy and capabilities. To that end, finding full-service catering in Fort Collins was the main way for me to maintain my energy so I could focus on the rest of the planning for the event.

Luckily, my husband wasn’t too upset at the dinner party failure that had just happened. So much so, that he lovingly informed me of another party I had to plan, in a week! This time, I will not fail!

Now I’m a working woman myself, so I needed to carve out the necessary time to make every aspect of this upcoming event perfect. There are a plethora of Fort Collins business catering that you can employ to take that off your plate (and add some yummy food to your plate later). Pick a theme, a type of food that’ll match the ambience you’re trying to create. For us, we decided Old Hollywood would be the vibe. I told the guests to dress like movie stars, and we found the perfect full-service catering in Fort Collins that provided delicious meals as well as stylish desserts. The food would be coming, and I can now focus on being the best host I can be.

Now the music: for our Old Hollywood party, I lot of classical, personally Tchaikovsky is my favorite and perfectly fit the aesthetic I was going for. I always recommend buying a record player to make the music become a physically aspect of the evening. Place the record player near the dining room but not directly in it as to be too loud for conversation. I also found some 1950s inspired music that matched the whimsy perfectly. So that’s food and music, check!

My husband, of course, has no idea how to dress himself, so I laid out a classic Hollywood-inspired suit, as well as a stylish colored button down under it for when he inevitably takes it off because it’s too hot for him. I have a series of dresses, but I opted for a monochrome look: black and silver dress. All I needed was some silver gloves to match the vibe, which was very findable on Amazon. Don’t buy the cheapest option though, as it’ll look the cheapest. If you’re investing time and money into the rest of the event, you might as well invest in your own look too. Buy yourself something nice for all the hard work you’re putting into the event. Part of being a good host is looking good, too! If the children are invited, keep it simple, a nice dress for the girl, maybe a button up and bowtie for the boy, though make sure to get their opinion on the matter: if there’s a fashionista hiding in your child, give it a chance to shine!

Decorations and lighting can be a sure-fire way to make your dinner party a success, or a failure if done poorly. Fluorescent lighting is your enemy, and will show off an imperfect, not just within your house, but on the guests themselves. Everyone is happier with selective choice lighting that isn’t blasting onto their face. Turn off the house lights: replace them with lamps all over, buying color changing LED light bulbs that can attach to your smart home (if you have a smart home) and now you have full control of how bright the lighting is, what colors you want to focus on, and the general ambiance of the entire house. This is also just useful in general to change any evening event in your home to whatever you need it to be.

Now for our Old Hollywood theme, we got champagne flutes, a light amount of silver streamers so as to not overwhelm the theme. A classic silver and gold table cloth as well as numerous candles, but not too many: this isn’t a murder-mystery party (unless you want it to be!)

Now to recap, the perfect dinner party: good catering (we found the perfect full-service catering in Fort Collins), specific music, well-crafted but not tacky house decorations and lighting to ensure the exact ambiance needed, and the perfect outfits for you and your family. Now don’t forget time to get your hair and makeup done, as that is also extremely important to have the full “put together” look. Do not try to put this all together the day of, especially if you’re working. I promise you, you won’t have as much time as you think you need and the plans will fall apart. The second the dinner party becomes a plan, start there. Hiring catering asap so you have time to discuss the options and make an informed choice. Let your partner and children know ahead of time so they have time to get ready and mentally prepare. No one likes to be a host on a whim with zero time to get ready. Though you may need the most time to put yourself together, everyone deserves some prep time. No need to blow through your budget to put this together either. Some of the things mentioned above, like a record player or specific costume purchases aren’t needed for the perfect party: they’re just extra tips to really make it feel special. Do what feels right and what feels within budget. If the guests need to wear anything or bring anything, let them know way ahead of time, or it simply won’t happen.

And if you were wondering: yes, the next dinner party was fantastic. The guests loved our Fort Collins business catering, the vibe of the house and our outfits. People do appreciate when it looks like you put the work in, so try your best and have fun!