In February of 2000, Elegant Occasions was the location chosen to host the 50th Anniversary Celebration for a Fort Wayne based business, Pettigrew & Sons, Inc. Pettigrews did not want the event to be too formal. They did not want their guests to be "glued" to their seats rather than mingling with each other. There were several meetings arranged and many people involved in the "brainstorming" before the Pettigrews ultimately decided that they wanted to entertain their guests by offering an elegant "Open House." One of the decisions made was for Elegant Occasions to provide food stations. This was decided to keep guests mobile, rather than filling a plate and finding a seat. One station offered a marvelous selection of canapés and tea sandwiches. Another station offered warm Hors d'Oeuvres including Fresh Bruschetta, Chicken & Pineapple Brochette and Stuffed Mushroom Caps. A third station included Fresh Fruit, Brie with Caramel & Pecans and Spanikopita. The final enticing station was a Sweet Table including Cheesecakes and Chocolate Dipped Pretzels. Elegant Occasions was very creative with the presentation and design of the food stations. Very simple cocktail tables and stools were clustered throughout each room. There were ice sculptures down the center of the North Hall. Pettigrew & Sons invited some of their sister companies and their vendors to set up displays along the perimeter of each room. Each couple was greeted by a member of the Pettigrew "Family" and given a special "Anniversary" chocolate from DeBrands and a long stemmed red rose. Pettigrews provided live entertainment in each room. The food, drinks, entertainment and networking were flowing. It was an absolutely outstanding evening. The mayor of Fort Wayne, Graham Richards was among the over 500 guests! This event was a first for Elegant Occasions. Pettigrew & Sons allowed us to "run with it". They gave us the budget to work within and let us put our ideas together with theirs. It turned out well for all of us. We are still meeting people who were in attendance and tell us what a special evening it was.

Another of the special events that Elegant Occasions has had the pleasure of arranging include an 80th birthday celebration held for a very special lady this past June. Her Family and Friends gathered on a Sunday afternoon to honor the birthday girl with gifts and wishes. The guest of honor's sister is a member of a local group of senior citizen tap dancers, the Alley Cats, who were kind enough to perform several numbers for the group. Maybe it was necessary to be in attendance to get the true feeling of love that was shared that day, but Elegant Occasions was glad to be a part of it.

Once a year we afford the location for the local chapter of Delta Sigma Sorority to hold one of it's fund-raising events. Their event called "Jazz in the Afternoon" offers a beautiful dinner, live jazz music and an outstanding fashion show. They have been holding this event with Elegant Occasions for many years. This past year they also allowed us to help them with another of their fundraising efforts call "Jabberwocky." This particular event was planned around a mystery dinner and was also a beautiful affair.

This, our tenth anniversary year, will allow us once again the honor of being the location of Holiday Celebrations for many area businesses. Some of these businesses have been with Elegant Occasions since 1990, the year we began our business. The event planners for these businesses are happy to make a few decisions and allow Elegant Occasions to do all the work. Elegant Occasions feels the rewards by the "repeat" business. Is there any greater compliment to a business than to allow them to provide the service again? We don't think so!