Andrew’s 30th Birthday had to be HUUUGE! You only turn 30 once right?! I have been planning for about 3 months and I was so excited for it to all come together. It is so hard keeping secrets from your significant other and although he knew of the party date, I didn’t want him to know anything else about it. I had to double think before I said anything to make sure my excitement didn’t spill over. I planned out that his birthday party would be golf themed, and we would use the AWESOME Putttek Course we have in the backyard. I instantly thought of what we have talked about doing since we moved into this house. Our house came with a batting cage, but we really wanted to make it a driving bay. Then I thought it would be perfect to do a Drive, Chip and Putt contest!
As I got to thinking about scoring and how it would all work, I shortly decided we were going to need to get an actual golf simulator so we could calculate the distance to give a score based on the yardage of the drive. That would be Andrew’s present as well as it would work for the party! I had to tell him about two weeks before the party of the simulator and driving bay because I was going to have to have people come and install and he would definitely notice if I didn’t just tell him that little part. Chipping was easy, as we chip in the backyard already, just needed a target. It all started to come together! I knew I had to make it extra special with the Masters subtle theme, so I created the logo with a graphic designer [Drew Lamont of Progravix] and used actual photos of Andrew driving, chipping and putting. Masters green and yellow is a must and I added in Arnold Palmers for the “watering” hole. You can’t have a Masters themed party without Pimento & Cheese sandwiches, popcorn and apples to eat—just like when we were there in April! I also catered with Chipotle incase some people weren’t fans of Pimento & Cheese sandwiches and both were true hits! The logo I did for the front of the shirts was from another graphic designer I found on Etsy [icartoonall], and I couldn’t decide on just one saying so we went with three! We had David Kovacs with TenCow TeeShirts handle the printing of the shirts and they turned out absolutely perfect! They are super soft shirts which means it was a double score! I couldn’t not do custom balls and tees for the party favors and I was really happy with how they turned out as well [I used, Jen @ Par Golf Supply]. Fathead cutouts were a must for this party as well! I was so pleased with how well they turned out and honestly, while setting up the party I got scared by the full body cutout multiple times thinking it was really Andrew. Emily at the FASTSIGNS in Gilbert helped us out with yard signs with the logos on them and it was such a nice added touch! The cake was made by the wonderful Lesley’s Creative Cakes; she always is up for whatever challenge I throw her way and she nailed this one! The tournament had an all-around winner, longest drive, closest to the pin, and hole-in-one awards!
I am so thankful for Cameron Howell, owner of Putttek, for his help with making the scorecard and helping to ensure I got the scoring perfect. Although I have been married and dating Andrew [a golfer] for 10 years, I definitely needed to make sure what I was doing was up to “par”. The all-around winner would receive $250 to GolfNow.com, a Prime Lending head cover, mason jar with balls and tees and a $25 Target gift card—totaling a value at over $300! The other winners would receive gift cards to Target and bragging rights! Andrew actually ended up winning the all-around! Brandon Matthew won the longest drive by the hair of his chinny chin chin with 310 yards (Andrew hit 309 yards). Colton Lovett won closest to the pin, and my dad, Brandon, Andrew & Scott Sutherland all won the hole-in-one gifts! It was a blast to celebrate Andrew and getting watch him have a ball with the golf challenge! I am so appreciative of everybody who helped me out, especially my mom and grandma for really helping me pull it together and helped it all run smoothly! It was so special to have Colton & Jade Lovett to come into town to celebrate with us. It meant so much to Andrew and I to have you guys here!
I am also so thankful for Andrew! He deserved the best party possible and I was so honored to throw it for him!
Happy 30th Birthday Andrew, I love you more!
