celebrating many, many milestones this year

The happy family that runs
the place.

This past weekend we celebrated my mother and father's sixtieth birthdays and their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary. Instead of a forty-person blowout, my sister and I decided to have a soup to nuts dinner party with them, our grandparents, and my husband. I researched online for spaces in western and central Massachusetts that had private dining rooms. Needless to say my options were not as plentiful as they would have been in New York City, but I narrowed it down to a few and began making inquiries. I was shocked at how rude certain event planners were and knew we would run into some scheduling conflicts because of the time of year, but it ended up working out quite well. (Yes it is November, yes Thanksgiving is this week, and yes it will be December next week. Like whoa!) 

To our joy and delight, our dinner party needs and wants (and there were more than a few!) were met by a restaurant in Southbridge, Massachusetts, called the Vienna Restaurant and Historic Inn. They had a private parlor space available, complete with a wood-burning fireplace, and served German, Austrian, and Polish-influenced food. Win. Although I wouldn't normally choose a venue that was an hour drive away, I knew my audience well enough to know no one would mind the commute. Needless to say, it was a little strange at first because when you arrive at a dinner party you normally sit at a dinner table, but we scheduled a cocktail hour in front of the fireplace to start off the evening, complete with passed hors d'oeuvres. Once we were finished, I gave a speech to honor our wonderful parents and then we finally moved to the table. Before our soups and salads came, the birthday boy and girl opened a few gifts - the rest were opened before dinner was served. Dessert went off without a hitch and then we bundled up and prepared for our drive home. The woman who served us owns the restaurant and inn with her husband. She was an absolute dream to work with and made our birthday/anniversary event quite special. If you are in need of a private space and A+ service, I suggest you take a trip to Vienna (not the Austria one, although I'm sure that would be nice too). Click here to visit their website and order the fried sauerkraut balls.