WOW, what an evening! Amy can attest to this – afterwards, I was ready to completely fall over! At the end of the evening she asked me what else I needed done, and I said I needed her to sit and relax. “Gladly!” she said! Ha! We worked our butts off. Sorry, I said butts. Tushes? Booties? Sorry mom. ;)

Back to the beginning!

Amy and I worked REALLY hard all day preparing for the party. I had intentions of curling my hair, and that just didn’t happen because we were still preparing when the beautiful Robbie arrived to set up the tables. Oops! I got my camera out with the intention of taking photos, and I took I think two shots before someone called me over to talk. The camera went down on the counter, and wasn’t picked up again all. Night. Long. The ONLY reason that I have any photos at all was because Amy was on hand, making sure that we got some – thank you SO much Amy!! Unfortunately because we were both so busy, some of the photos are from later in the evening, so if the food looks a little low, you’ll understand why.

Robbie with Tablescapes by Design had asked if she could set up the decor and tablecloths for the soiree, and when someone else asks me if they can decorate, who am *I* to say no? I’m decor challenged, I was only too thrilled to let her handle it. And wow, she did an amazing job! My mother is rather… particular, when it comes to decor, especially at parties and events. Even SHE was thrilled with how it turned out!

The question of the month – what kind of champagne am I going to serve at the party!? I went back and forth and finally decided on the favorite. The bottles we gave away as favors at the wedding, which resulted in several messages asking “what WAS that, it was delicious!” (There were custom labels covering the labels, so guests couldn’t see the name.) Verdi Spumante, on hand, replenished all evening – with some awesome punch. We ended up mixing the two and it was fantastic!

I don’t mind speaking in front of people, but for some reason smaller crowds make me nervous. Get me in front of about 500 people, not a problem. 50? Yikes. But I had over $1,000 in giveaways for all that attended, so I had to say something! First, thank yous and introductions! I had to introduce the newest member of my studio – the nameless mannequin. More to come on her tomorrow!

My husband doesn’t believe that I’m funny, I think I’m going to do an entire blog post with photos of clients laughing. I’m hilarious! ;)

What an awesome bunch of ladies, and an amazing evening. I think I got to talk to everyone, which is not an easy task! I had past clients, other photographers, people I had never met before, and just ladies who wanted to have fun. I wanted to have an evening of girl time, and meet new people, and it was a success! I’m SO pleased with how everything turned out! Empty champagne glasses and hurting feet usually mean a fantastic evening, and this was no exception.

There were so many giveaways of amazing prizes, everything from pedicure sets to financial education. I really try to support local businesses, and while it wasn’t intentional, I’m excited to say that all of the giveaways were for female-owned local businesses! These professionals graciously provided giveaways or services for the soiree:

Tablescapes by Design, Robbie – amazing decor & linens

Nerium International, AdriAnn

PS It’s Perfect, Deb

Denver Money Coach, Amy

Fleur Decor & Couture Decor, Kristi

Alexa’s Supper Club, Alexa

Yahweh’s Hands, Nadiyah

My Discreet Desires & Passion Parties, Leslie

Chic Accessories, Valeria

Bella Calla, Lilly

And last but not least… I had a giveaway too! I gave away a free session with product credit, I can’t wait to work with the lucky winner!

Denver Boudoir Photography, Brooke Summer Photography

There are so many thank yous, I wrote them down so I didn’t forget them that night. I don’t want to forget them here either though! My amazing husband Tom helped me SO much with the preparation, from hanging the outdoor lights, to moving furniture. My family has been ever supportive and helpful, thank you to all of you! My assistant Amy was a GODSEND on Thursday, and helped me with everything, I don’t know how I could have done it without her! Thank you to all of the professionals that were a part of this evening and helped to make it awesome! And thank you to everyone that was able to attend. I have received emails and messages telling me that fun was had, and I’m so happy that you enjoyed yourselves. I wanted to have a night of fun, and that’s exactly what we had.

Thank you to everyone!

That sounds like the end, right? ;) I can’t end this post without giving you all what you had asked for…

These were a HIT. And in the interest of full disclosure, I must tell you that they are 100% zero calorie. Because if I don’t know how many calories are in them, that must mean zero, right? These Pecan Pie Bars were amazingly popular, and several people asked both Amy and myself for the recipe. SO, with that in mind, I will be sending out the recipe in the next edition of my newsletter! The newsletter goes out every two weeks, and will be emailed out again next week. If you’re not on the mailing list, believe me when I say that you probably want this recipe, it was SO good. I’m not a big fan of pie, and I will definitely be making these for Thanksgiving! To join the mailing list and receive the recipe next week, click here! There is no spam, I promise. And your email address will be guarded by the nameless mannequin. Wait, she doesn’t have arms, I guess that’s not a good guard. It will be guarded by… well, by me. And I’m pretty fierce when it comes to my clients! ;) I don’t sell or share or give away any of your personal information. So join the mailing list and the Pecan Pie Bar recipe will end up in your inbox next week!