How thoughtful of you to do this for your parents! Especially your wanting to ensure that your guests will be cool & comfortable (I'm so done with attending outdoor summer weddings & sweating/melting in my good clothes) is impressive. Your plans sound great - especially having it butlered so you can enjoy this special party along with your guests. I was just a kid in the 50's and barely remember attending those weddings & receptions (but I do remember they were lovely and low-key...either watercress sandwiches, champagne & wedding cake, or the sit-down dinners). I do remember my parents & their friends hosting cocktail parties (which were very popular)...my folks made daiquiries or whiskey sours. I don't remember the hor d'oeuvres as being all that great though - not like today's. Onion dip was popular (made from Lipton's dry onion soup)...you might want to make the Barefoot Contessa's onion dip which is much better and serve with home-made potato chips as a 50's hor d'oeuvres (along with current healthier appetizers!). Have some chilled champagne for a toast, do big posters with photos of your parents' school days, courtship, friends, early marriage, babies arriving, etc. (my sister & I did that for the 50th anniv. party we held for our parents--lots of fun to create & guests enjoyed seeing themselves "back in the day"). Maybe have a CD featuring hits from the 50's (what a major change in music over those 10 years, especially when rock and roll came along). And, if possible, someone who will do a bit of emceeing (for lack of a better word), welcoming everyone, saluting the guests of honor maybe with funny stories from their courting days or wedding day, introducing special guests (their wedding party), etc. Oh--and someone to take videos and photos. Have a good time planning this party. It will be a lot of fun for your family and your parents will be so pleased. Ann

Thank you, Laurie! The first one has the hat I originally thought of wearing but I also posted about this at the Holidays forum and someone suggested the idea of a top hat too (how would that look?). I like the idea of gold trim too! I think it would look better than the star motif that I thought of. I am going to look at the thrift stores for a jacket and pants. Switching from costume to props, I wanted to ask you what I should write on the "refreshment tray"? I was thinking about the name of the musical along with "Opening Tonight" on the front and on the sides I would just write "Refreshments" or "Candy" or something like that. How about some gold fringe trim from the box to make it look official? Just for fun: did anyone figure out what musical I'm talking about yet? Brad AKA Moonwolf

Will you be using an architect? It takes an eye plus knowledge to incorporate old and new additions aesthetically and structurally. Not only do you need an eye, skill and building knowledge you need a lot of money too. I did meet with contractors to discuss what my house could feasibly handle in regards to an addition and I told them what I could spend upfront to get my wishes met. We got estimates but no contracts. Than when it was decided I could afford the work we had an architect do drawings and building plans for town approval and for the chosen contractor to give us a final bid with contract according to the decided plans. Show the contractor your pictures, discuss you wishes, must haves and budget and than have a pro draw plans with cad three d designs for you to visualize.

Could you show some more of the actual house from all sides as is. I agree whoever is coming up with this plan needs to step away. This is a nice house and needs some TLC but be careful to not let them try to make it something it is not. The 1 st thing I would address is all the weird different sized windows , what is the reason for that?Since that seems to be the place for the entry I would want to have a multi teired deck going to the front door it would be a lot more attractive than what you have and also tie into a larger deck on top.Then the patio could be larger and a lot more usuer friendly.I can’t seem to find a picture but what you need is to make that entry special and inviting so this kind of idea but of course designed for your house it would allow for the larger deck above and the and a much easier walk up the entry.bigger patio,