Cocktail party

 We wanted to know, did so few of our friends ever throw a cocktail party themselves? The answer, overwhelmingly, was: it's just too overwhelming! They all enjoyed going to cocktail parties, but hosting one? That sounded hard. As more than one person said: I wouldn't even know where to begin. Well, here's where to begin, and it's not nearly as hard as you may have thought. We've distilled the cocktail party into its three sheath wedding dresses essential elements-food, drinks and guests-and developed realistic strategies for getting a handle on each one.

 When it comes to food, what's more important than a wide variety is a gracious plenty. In the olden days, cocktail parties occupied a defined time slot, often only two hours long, and it was expected that guests would go from the party on to dinner. When we host a party, we want our friends to come and stay for the whole evening. Our start times is usually 7pm, and we like to provide enough food so that guests feel satisfied even without a sit-down meal.

 What would a cocktail party be without cocktails? In each party, we give you the recipe for a delicious signature cocktail or, depending on the party more than one. Designating a specific drink for each event makes the evening feel colored wedding dresses specie, plus it provides a simple and ingenious conversation starter-a way to get guests in the party mood.

 Astonishing as it may seem, the cocktail party as a social institution has not been around very long at all. Born in the 1920s, the cocktail party is much newer than the cocktail itself, which dates all the way back to American revolutionary times. But ironically, it was during the Prohibition era that Americans really fell in love with cocktails.

 Back in the nineteenth century, wine-usually in the form of Madeira-was popular with the smart set-thought it was considered very unladylike to drink alcohol. In fact, it was even looked upon as ungentlemanly for a man who smelled even vaguely of brandy to appear in a lady's company! You can see petite wedding dresses how this kind of thinking might preclude the notion of a cocktail party.