Hey Babes!

Fall is upon us! It’s getting colder outside, leaves are changing colors, and we’re wearing layers. So grab your pumpkin spice latte, because today I am going to tell you all about how to throw an awesome Halloween party for friends and family.🎃👻 And the best part is, you can do it all from home. I’m going to tell you five things you need to plan when hosting an awesome Halloween party.

As an event planner Halloween is one of my favorite holidays because we can really let our imaginations run wild. So let’s go above and beyond, and let’s get spooky!

So as many of you know, I am the party planner for Travis and Stephanie Holman’s from the real housewives of Dallas. In order to walk you through all of the elements of a fun Halloween party, I am going to use the party I planned for Stephanie as a reference!

5 Things You Need for an Epic Halloween Party

1. Spooky Entrance: We brought in this awesome red uplighting, and we created what we called a chandelier graveyard. So we had chandeliers and crystals draped all over the floor, and we had columns with spooky flower arrangements in them with dead roses. We also had a fog machine at the entrance to create that spooky vibe upon entry! Make sure your guests are spooked as soon as they walk in the door!

2. Make the Food Interesting: If you’re a Pinterest junky, you know you can twist any appetizer or food product to fit your party’s theme. For this Halloween party, we actually did candy apples.🍎 There are so many options, but just make sure your food reflects your theme!

3. Specialty Cocktail: For this particular party we did a blood orange martini. It was coated with a red sugar rim to fit the decor of the theme, and we used dry ice to make the cocktail actually smoke and give it that spooky appeal. Pinterest is your place to go for the BEST and SPOOKIEST cocktail recipes!🍹

4. Keep Decor Interesting: For this particular party, I actually presented the theme of “Bad Romance.” The whole vibe of the party was red and black tones. So we had black lacy linens, tons of red rose petals scattered everywhere, and we even incorporated some dead red roses to give it that ultimate spooky vibe for Halloween. We found these incredible silver crystal skulls that we placed around places to give it a little more glam!💀 We used a lot of red and black tones to make the decor spooky yet glamorous at the same time. 🥀✨

5. Have Themed Costumes: With this particular party having a bad romance theme, and we actually requested that the guests come as infamous couples. So it was really fun to see all of the creative ideas that the guests had, and what they chose to come as. Whether you have a specific theme or not, definitely require your guests to wear a costume because it just makes it that much more fun!👻

Hope this list of 5 tips helps you plan the most EPIC Halloween party ever! Now, hop on over to Pinterest and get started planning! 🎃🎉

Until Next Time -

BYE, BABES 😘

Hey Babes! I hope you enjoyed my post last week on an inside scoop of one of the the Real Housewives of Dallas’ Backyard BBQ!

I’m back this week with another Real Housewives of Dallas blog, but this time I’m giving you the behind-the-scenes of Season 5’s Real Housewives of Dallas at SouthFork Ranch!

First, if you don’t know why SouthFork ranch is such a cool spot, I’ll break it down for you. SouthFork is mostly known for the 13 season TV series “Dallas” that was super popular in the mid-1980s. “Dallas” starred multiple very well-known actors and actresses, a few being Patrick Duffy, Charlene Tilton, and Victoria Principal. If you haven’t heard of the show, your parents probably have! 😜

Besides SouthFork being popular because of the show, it holds great memories for Housewife Brandi Redmond, when she was a Dallas Cowboy’s Cheerleader. The cheerleaders had a tradition of hosting a ‘lock-in’ type of event where they welcome the new girls to the team and have a giant sleepover. So much fun!

To get into the details from the show, I’ll start by saying it was a 3-day event, including set up and a 2-day filming event. Both days had different themes and different activities for the girls to partake in.

DAY 1: On the first day, setup day, we got to meet the amazing SouthFork team, got a tour of the ranch, and started prepping for the busy weekend. Each Housewife was assigned a room that they were sleeping in where they found super fun Texas-themed welcome bags that had hot sauce, chips, topo chico, boot-shaped gourmet chocolates🍫 and so much more. The rest of the day, we got familiar with the space and brought in any fun props or items that we had for the weekend.

The setup for Day 1 started super early on Friday morning. My team and I first got niced up by the crew and then get to work on all the details. We were ready for the ladies with details like a neon colorful balloon garland🎈 that cascades the backyard balcony and a slinky chandelier space with a disco ball in the centerpiece to really bring alive the 80’s theme! And of course, there are fun pool floaties and an awesome DJ.

Upon arrival, each Housewife was greeted with a specialty mint julep cocktail🍹 and given a tour of the house. After this, we went directly into cocktails and lunch by the pool. Once the pool party was over, all the ladies got with their glam squad to get ready for the 80’s Prom-themed welcome party! Drinks were served before dinner and the evening flowed into the Murder Mystery event.

DAY 2: The second day of filming started off as one of the more entertaining days in my opinion!! My team and I repurposed the balloon garland and moved it to cascade the tree where the ladies were set to do 80’s jazzercise with an instructor. SO. FUN. We presented a jazzercise swag station where everyone got to pick out their leotard, sweatbands, and scrunches. Now I mentioned this was the most entertaining event because, it’s early in the morning, the ladies had an eventful night the night before and now they have to get up in the Texas heat to do a 45 min jazzercise workout.🤣 Unfortunately this was not aired on television but I can tell you, these ladies were all struggling. But at least they looked good while doing it! ✅

After sweating out all the toxins from the night before, the ladies had a break time to recoup and get ready for the rest of the day. During this time, Brandi and Stephanie had some one-on-one bestie time. Brandi gifted Stephanie a special pinky ring that has a back story that is just too sweet to share!💕

Later in the evening, the ladies’ husbands arrive at the ranch. At this point, everyone is dressed for the “Dallas” themed events. We had armadillo races, lasso competitions, a cork-gun competition…all the activities that normally go on in Texas.🤠 Prizes are being passed out accordingly as the games go on and shortly after, we head into dinner. Drinks and dancing followed shortly after dinner. It was a blast! Can you guess which housewife ended up in the pool?😬😂

Until Next Time -

BYE, BABES 😘

Until Next Time -

BYE, BABES 😘

Hey Babes!💕

I can’t believe it’s already been 5 years since I married the love of my life. I’m celebrating and reminiscing with you all by sharing my **top 5 FAVORITE things** from our spectacular wedding weekend.

Number 1 Theme. Theme. Theme. One of the best ways to pull everything together and incorporate your personality into your wedding day is to focus on a theme. Ours, in all honesty, was my husband’s idea-“Be a Part of Our Art”. We wanted this to be an all-encompassing experience and I think we nailed it! With my husband being an artist and me, a creative wedding planner, combining these two for our theme expressed who we are in such a beautiful and perfect artistic way.🎨👰💫 From our Save-the-date to our Groom’s cake, art led the way.

Our Save-the-date was such a fun idea. Taking it back to childhood memories, we sent Blind in Box cards with no visible message. I’m sure that was a surprise! Our guests used the watercolor paint set included to paint over the paper and reveal the save the date message! Some guests even sent us pictures of the artwork they painted!

Reminiscent of a gallery walk where guests perused my husband’s artwork with a drink and appetizer in hand is what defined our cocktail hour. This detail allowed our guests to connect with us through the art he created and the art I so deeply cherish. It also kept conversations flowing while guests awaited our arrival!

The sign-in book and what transpired from it now hangs in our home. It was a canvas with a base layer where everyone signed and painted their own image. It’s not stored away in a memory box at the top of my closet or in my garage, it sparks conversation as it’s displayed where we, and anyone who visits our home, can enjoy.

And you might be thinking, what’s a Groom’s cake?? Well, it’s a tradition in the South and ours was a replica of my husband’s work! It was a true representation of my husband’s tastes and what he loves. If you choose to have a groom’s cake, **this ** is the way to go. What does he love? Who is he? How can he best be represented? I’ve seen it all – from replicated college football stadiums to Rolex watches! Have fun with this and let him make the final decision (unless you hate the idea😜, then let your wedding planner take it from there!).

Number 2 has to be my flower wall. Soooo many people talked about the gorgeous creation by Bella Flora. So bright. So colorful. So fun. 💐 I just loved, loved, loved getting married in front of it. And who doesn’t love multipurpose? We transitioned it to the DJ backdrop where colorful tunes met the colorful flowers and intermixed perfectly for the bold and artistic vibe we had planned.

Number 3 Well this one is easy – three, yes THREE!! wedding dresses for my third most favorite memory! Let’s start with the Berta gown from Bridal Boutique in Lewisville. Picture it- fitted, lace, long train, cathedral veil-absolute magic. For the reception, you might remember this one from my Say Yes to the Dress experience! The Mark Zunino gown, purchased at Kleinfeld, was adorned with black accents that exemplified our artistic theme and complimented the black bridesmaid dresses. I saved the simple, casual Bebe dress for the after-party. This hi/low dress allowed me to comfortably dance the night away.💃🏼 Not every bride has, or wants or needs 3 gowns- it’s what I wanted and what worked for me. You do you, babe, and if it’s one dress, then one dress it is!

Number 4 Our DJ takes the number four spot with his ROAST! You read that right! He roasted our bridal party and **it.was.the.best**. Everyone is still talking about it, F-I-V-E years later. Let me say this- make sure you know your bridal party and if they are down for something like this before you run with this So Chill, So Fun, So Crazy idea. Our bridal party lived.for.it. Let me set this up for you- our DJ interviewed them all prior to the wedding day and got the background info he needed for their introductory roast. It wasn’t your normal “Let me introduce the Maid of Honor and Best Man” while they danced into the room. It was fun facts, roasting, and good fun!!

Number 5 is one you MUST consider if your venue allows it- a confetti drop. It was a magical end to our most magical night. If confetti isn’t your thing or your venue is not down with it, that’s ok! Just end with something grand like a fun sparkler send-off, bubbles or petals. The endpoint of your wedding day seals the deal beautifully.

I know I said FIVE, but here’s a **bonus **that I just can’t leave out. We were married on a Friday so on Saturday, we had the most EPIC pool party. Friends and family loved this. We NEEDED it. AND it was such a chill way to round out the weekend!!☀️🍹

As you prep and plan for your day, remember the details- the details that will spark that smile, the details that will bring a moment back to life, and the details that will be forever embedded in your heart.

Until Next Time –

Until Next Time -

BYE, BABES 😘

Funny story…I actually had a blog years ago, and decided to delete it when I decided to rebrand my business in 2014. YIKES! Am I right? Then, I started ANOTHER blog earlier this year, but, let’s be real, the quality was NOT up to par. So, as much as I now regret losing all that content, I am actually excited for a fresh slate and a blog rebirth! It’s about to get high quality around here! #newblogwhodis

If you don’t know me, my name is Rachel Burt Garcia and I am a luxury event planner and designer. I do the BIG ONES- I’m talking BIG budgets, BIG celebrities and BIG TV shows.

I’ve worked with lots of fabulous people like Stephanie Hollman of Real Housewives of Dallas, Brandi Redmond of Real Housewives of Dallas, the KISS FM team, country music singer-Justin Moore, rapper- Coolio, Ross and Margot Perot, influencer- Sage Coralli of “So Sage Blog”, Mark Phariss and Vic Holmes- the couple that challenged the state of Texas to legalize gay marriage (and won!) and many more! Check it out on my “Clientele” tab!

You may have even seen me on Real Housewives of Dallas and Say Yes to the Dress- Hint Hint, Wink Wink! 😉

I absolutely love weddings and events, and it is always my goal for my clients to have the BEST experience and have FUN both at their event and during the planning process as a whole.

My clients hire me to plan their weddings, rehearsal dinners, other wedding-related parties (engagement parties, showers, after parties, brunches), milestone birthday parties, corporate events, baby showers and many other types of events! That’s right, I do it all 😊 Check all of that out on the “Hire Rachel” tab of this website!

Enough about me! The GOAL of this blog is to provide VALUE to my bride babes and groom loves out there that need a little wedding planning advice as well as tips for wedding planners who may be just starting out and need a little boost. This blog will also give you a BEHIND THE SCENES look into my life, my Reality TV experiences, my Real Weddings and more!

So, I hope you guys are ready to party! Grab a cocktail and join me right back here every week! And, until next time…

Until Next Time -

BYE, BABES 😘