I made a lot of excellent decisions when planning Elysha’s surprise party.
Preserving the surprise was one of them — probably the most important and most difficult when it comes to pulling off a surprise. Coordinating with a restaurant, vendors, and about 80 guests without your ever-present wife not catching on is not so easy.
Starting the planning six months before the party also helped a lot. A long runway for events like this is critical.
But hiring a photographer turned out to be pretty important, too.
The photographs turned out great. Even better, almost none of the guests had phones out during the party to take photos. At one point, I stood in the center of the room and purposely scanned the guests, and I didn’t see a single phone in a single hand.
I can’t remember the last time I stood in a crowd of people and didn’t see a phone.
Instead of staring at screens, we spent our time in the company of friends and family, celebrating Elysha’s birthday while a professional captured the memories on our behalf.
Here are just a few of the photos taken that night.
