Who says an Anniversary Party can never be as stunning as a wedding? Wrong!! Last year, my company, A Day Like No Other, had the honor and the joy to put together Joan’s and Jim’s very unusual wedding celebration – have a look here – and this year we were on board again for an equally unusual First Anniversary celebration, combined with a housewarming party! The couple had meanwhile bought and remodeled a beautiful house together – and the best of it: an incredible garden! What had been a drab backyard, became a lush oasis under Joan’s hands, with the expert help of her extraordinary landscape designer Sharon Finkle ….

Nearly exactly on the day of their anniversary, Joan and Jim opened the doors of their gorgeous new home to 120 friends…

With rental items and lighting from Stuart Event Rentals, elegant yet effortless-looking floral decor from Green Petal Designs that looked as if the flowers had just been cut from Joan’s garden (that’s how perfectly they fit!!)

… and incredible food from Global Gourmet Catering…

… complete with a bar stocked with the couple’s favorite wines from local wineries, guests had the ultimate festive experience.

Jim’s son Andy, a professional DJ, put on the couple’s all-time musical favorites, and live painter Talia Koval painted the scene right then and there, to the delight of the guests who kept looking over her shoulder and admiring how the canvas was coming together right under their eyes!

If that hadn’t been enough – guests were also treated to professional portrait photography by Vanity Portrait Studio. Photographer Billy Cole was tirelessly at work staging his subjects and capturing their poses…

… so that everyone could take home their framed portrait as an extraordinary party favor.

And here is Billy’s official photo of our wonderful couple, Joan and Jim!

As darkness fell and the lights came on, the couple had yet one more task to perform: to ceremonially cut their cake – an exact replica of their wedding cake from a year ago…

… and that was also the official opening of the dessert buffet!

The last highlight of this memorable party was the unveiling of Talia’s painting – she had at the last moment added two tiny figures to the scene: Joan and Jim toasting their guests on the lawn. That way, Joan’s words: “Friends are the flowers in the garden of life,” will forever stay with us… Cheers!