“Independence Party” Outline

Sheree Whitfield

Real Housewives of Atlanta

“Independence Party”

Purpose of Divorce Ceremony

• If just discussing divorce in public seemed taboo a few years ago, the growing trend of divorce celebrations is helping lessen the stigma surrounding the end of marriage.
• It’s sad and it’s painful, but it’s not failure
• It’s part of life, and yet it’s the only major event for which we have no ritual.
• A celebration communicates that divorce is OK — life-affirming
• It’s like awake. Just because there’s been a death doesn’t mean you can’t have food and drink, acknowledge the past and hope good things for the future. It’s about closure
• A divorce ceremony is a way to gather them around and say, ‘I’m moving on. Please support me.
• My own celebration was a way for my friends to say, ‘We love you no matter what’

Divorce parties: One size doesn’t fit all

• Divorcees are seeking out (or creating from scratch) marriage-ending markers that resonate with them.
• In Britain, the Great Northern Firework Company offers a divorce-package fireworks display. Godammo.com will melt and mold your wedding ring into a (gunpowder-free) bullet, and WeddingRingCoffin.com sells just that: a practical, dignified way to bury your dead marriage’s hardware.
• Serve up signature cocktails with names like the “I Will Survive”

Focusing on the future

• Acknowledge the good that came out of the marriage, and let go of the anguish
• It’s about healing and transition
• Everyone has their own story in a divorce — there’s no blueprint for moving forward like there is with marriage
• Consider your motives in hosting a celebration, and not to overlook the key to emotional recovery after divorce: forgiveness, of oneself and one’s ex.
• Accept your divorce as the next step in your growth as a person, your party is a signal to everyone that you’re OK and looking to the future

When to do it

• When you’ve made it through the worst of a divorce. You and your spouse have finished you negotiations with each other, and the divorce decree is final or at least in the works.
  • The whole idea of a divorce party is that it’s a rite of passage — a way of erecting a big bright sign for yourself and your friends to say “It’s over. That part of my life is behind me now.”
  • People who have been through divorce are usually the best guests to invite to your divorce party. Most women invite only other women.
  • Avoid inviting anyone who will cast judgment or spread negative gossip
  • Decor that represents celebration
  • Storytelling, poems and positive readings
  • Empowering Music

Whom to invite

What to do

Here is you don’t do at your ceremony party:

• Allow your friends to go pick persons of the opposite sex and bring them to you in some real or imagined beauty contest to get you interested in them. Your divorce party should be about your becoming independent, not about your hooking up in a sordid one-night stand with somebody else.
  • Do anything that inflicts harm or embarrassment at your ceremony. This is about your healing, not about hurting someone else.
  • Burning of the photos from your wedding or the love letters you wrote to each other. They may not mean anything to you, but if your marriage produced children, those pictures and love letters will mean something one day to your children.

Sources: Divorceinfo.com  and CNN

Event

Sheree Whitfield Independence Party

Who

• Sheree Whitfield, Real Housewives of Atlanta
• Family/Friends
• 50-75 attendees

What

• Divorce Celebration – “Sheree Whitfield Independence Party”

When

• March 14^th, 2009

Where

• Twelve Centennial Park, 400 West Street, NW, Atlanta GA, 30308

How

• Flora: Roses (short, square vase)
  • Recommended Colors: Orange =confidence/passion for life
  • Yellow = joy/friendship
  • Green = health/resillience
• Lighting: copious votives (see attached)
• Music: Divas and songs of empowerment
  • I Will Survive – Gloria Gaynor
  • I’m Every Woman  – Chaka Khan
  • Golden – Jill Scott
  • Strength, Courage and Wisdom – India Arie
  • Deeper Love – Aretha Franklin
  • He is  – Heather Headley
  • Respect – Aretha Franklin
  • Respect – Adeva
  • Woman First – Kindred
  • Long Way – Choklate
  • Take Time – Ledisi
  • Yesterday – Mary Mary
  • Sista – Rachelle Ferrell
• Waiting to Exhale DVD looped
• Buffet – Pastas, Salad Station, Cheese & Fruit bar, assortment of chicken, beef, shrimp
• Signature Drink – “Independence”
• Gift bags – “Independence bags”
  • Scented candles (aroma therapy)
  • CD – Sheree Collection
  • Affirmation Booklet
  • Letter from Sheree
  • Information about Women’s Foundation
• Independence Cake
• Champaign (Veuve Clicquot)

R.O.S.

6:30 pm

• Sheree Whitfield arrives in chauffeured luxury car TBD
• Escort to reception by two male models
• Cocktail Reception
• Passed hors d’oeuvres
• Champaign
• Step & Repeat
• Red Carpet
• I’m everywoman playing upon arrival
• Announce of Sheree Whitfield
• Sheree to give a brief welcome with a “more to come”

7:00 pm

• Buffet stations

7:30 pm

• Start of Freedom Ceremony
• MC – Second Welcome
• Entertainment – female Poet (5 mins)
• Entertainment – female soloist (10 mins)
• Guest speaker – Female – positive affirmation (15 minutes)
• Sheree Whitefield –
  • Affirmations from the heart (5 mins)
  • Freedom box ceremony (10 mins)
    • Wedding ring
    • Letter of Forgiveness
    • A Wedding picture
    • Cutting of Freedom Cake

• Entertainment ~ woman impersonator lip sinking (10 mins)
• Presentation of Check to non-profit of choice (10 mins)
• MC/Sheree Whitefield ~ thanks you for coming!

8:25 pm -9:00 pm

• Mixer

10:00 pm

• Gift bags dispensed upon departure
• Conclusion

10:30

• After party at Tongue in Grove (Extended Family, Friends and Fans)

Advertisement