preserving photos after a disaster

If your parents have reached fifty years of being married to the same person, they definitely deserve to have a celebration held in their honor. If you are planning that celebration yourself, here are some ideas that might help you to plan something special and memorable.

The Invitations - Of course you can send everybody an email invitation and the word will go out immediately. However, there's just something wonderful about getting an invitation in the mail. It sets the mood for the event. Create a clever invitation yourself. One idea is to feature your parents wedding picture on the front of the invitation card. Have the picture copied on high gloss photo paper and place it on off-white or white card stock paper. Have the caption read something like, It Started With A Kiss or It Was Only Puppy Love. Besides all the pertinent information your guests need, don't forget to ask for RSVPs so you'll know about how many people will be at the event. Contact a business such as Refill Ink for more information on printing. 

The Decorations - Whether you hold the celebration at your home or at a banquet hall, focus on your parent's life together for the decorations. Collect pictures of them from the time they got engaged through the present time. Enlarge the pictures and copy them onto high gloss photo paper. Then place each picture on different colors of poster board and place them on the walls and on easels in the party area. Use smaller pictures with floral arrangements as centerpieces on the dining tables.

The Menu - Are you going for something casual or for something elegant? If you're wanting a casual meal, consider a barbecue meal or even a do-it-yourself bar of Mexican food. For a more elegant meal, think of offering a choice of chicken or roast beef with a choice of salads. Either way, wedding cake and groom's cake would be perfect for the dessert. A nice touch is to use the same high gloss photo paper that you used for the invitations to feature the menu for the event. Add a message on the bottom of the menu that says something like Thank You For Celebrating This Important Occasion With Us or You Have Been An Important Part In Our Happiness.

When the event is over, collect all the photographs and make a scrapbook out of them. Frame the largest ones to create a photo grouping for your parent's home.