Sweet Sweetheart Dinner Dance

Every year the Social Committee, which is under the Homeowner's Association,  and other volunteers put on an elegant dinner dance on Valentine's Day  to honor all the couples in Savanna Club who are celebrating their 50th Anniversary during that year.  Every year it gets more and more elegant.  I would never have believed how many hours we worked and how many people it took to perfect all the well-planned details.

This year we had 13 couples and it was like planning 13 weddings!  The couples could invite friends and relatives, some of whom flew in from all over the country.  This year there were about 280 people there and it was held in the theater of our community.

My first job was setting up the centerpieces.  We washed each mirror, each slim glass vase, filled them almost full of glass rocks, put in the tea lights (getting them level was challenging!) fluffed the bows, and put them on the 35 tables.

Every table had a number and the honorees' tables also had a gold bow so the caterer could serve them first.

Next, I helped set up the appetizer tables.  (Wish I'd taken a photo of the appetizers.....they were lovely.)  We put a white tablecloth and I thought that looked fine.  But, these busy bees decided we needed skirts and flowers.  That took several of us quite a while to set them up.

The gals who set up the bar spent most of the morning making the bar tables elegant with the gold trim and bows.  Some of the husbands of our committee were wine waiters in their tux pants, crisp white shirts, and ties.  Once the caterers started serving the food, people came to this back table for their wine. 

There were tables along the side where couples brought in their wedding photos and albums.  The gals who set up those tables worked a long time to get them "just so."

This was my favorite --- the cake table.  Besides the cake served to everyone, each couple was given a small cake to take home, as well as a basket with a small bottle of champagne, glasses, etc .

Upon their arrival, each couple was ushered backstage where they were served appetizers and wine.  Then each couple was introduced one at a time and the MC told a cute story about their dating days.  While "their song" was played, there was a short slide show on the big wall above them of highlights from their life together.   A photographer also took a picture of each couple under the arch.

Here is a sample below. This is my friend, Wendy and her hubby, not one of the honorees, but you can see what a nice photo setting it was.  Many hours were spent setting up and decorating the arch and getting the black curtains behind it to look right.

I wore a black outfit.  The pants had an overlay in the front that made it look like a long skirt.  The jacket was long, styled sort of like a tux jacket.  Then I added the sparkly blue shell and the blue earrings.

The back of my long jacket had criss-cross lacing.

They had the 13 honoree couples dance the first dance.  Then they invited all the couples in the room who had been married over 50 years to join them.  It was inspiring (made me choke up) to see that the institute of marriage is still alive in this country!

Someone's grandchildren caught our eye during the electric slide - such energy.  Later everyone gathered around and they agreed to dance one dance for us.  Wow!

The DJ lives here in Savanna Club and spent hours choosing music that drew people to the dance floor. I did join in the line dances such as the Electric Slide and the Cupid Shuffle. 

After all honorees were gone, everyone pitched in and we got a lot of the un-decorating finished.  The next day everyone worked again.  Various ladies took some tablecloths and wine glasses to wash. 

This Sweetheart Dinner Dance was a special tribute to sweethearts who are still sweethearts after 50 years.  In this day and age, that is commendable!  Congratulations!