International Party Planning

That counts as adulting, right?

Jul 24, 2024

Hi Friends,

It’s been a busy spring that involved tons of post-move-in housework, a trip back to the States for me, preparation for family visitors, and planning a big party in Italy.

This week I’ll catch you up on a few things:

Planning a 20-Person Murder Mystery in Italy (in July)
Quick Hits

Let’s get into it!

Planning a 20-Person Murder Mystery in Italy

We got married on July 4th, 2004, just outside Portland, OR. Hilary’s Swarovsky dress was stunning, and she dreamed of a chance to wear it again…

So for our 10th anniversary, she devised “The Wedding Party,” a wedding-themed bash, at the same place where we got married. We told everyone to wear their wedding gowns, bridesmaid dresses, tuxes, or similar. There was a Beastie Boys cover band and we were re-married by an Elvis impersonator. Hilary was just as gorgeous in her dress again. It was magic.

For our 20th, we decided to host a “Destination Wedding” party. And what better place than Italy?

The inspector is on the case, group tour in Orvieto.

Finding a place to host a group event in Italy in July is no easy task.

You have to send a ‘save the date’ way in advance to get an idea of how many people will come. Then track down a property that’s big enough (despite not knowing exactly how many people you’ll have). And compete with a zillion other tourists who also want to spend high season in the Italian countryside.

We did this all while managing a remodel!

We decided on Orvieto, one of our favorite destinations in Umbria, a region similar to Tuscany but a bit further from the tourist path. We have a local friend, Fabio, which makes a massive difference when planning logistics for a large event.

Hilary worked tirelessly, scouring the Umbrian countryside, watching villa after villa get snatched up online as others planned their holidays.

Finally, she stumbled upon a B&B with just the right number of rooms, not far from town, that was completely un-booked. Bonus points - the owner and Fabio knew each other. It’s a rustic stone manor on a big property with a pool atop an Umbrian hill. Perfect.

The plan? Three nights at the B&B that included a family dinner. A trip/tour to Orvieto the next day, followed by a 1920s-wedding-themed murder mystery party. And then a pool day to relax (the “honeymoon”), with an optional Italian cooking class.

DIY’ing an event like this from afar means meticulously thinking through every logistical detail.

What does the physical layout look like for group events?
How do we solve for vegans?
Are there speakers for music?
Can we bring our own drinks? What about glassware and ice?
How do we get 20+ people from the train station and into town and back?
Where can we find a tour guide?
How do you host a murder mystery?

Missing the smallest detail can cause a massive headache.

Orvieto: Fred and Shasta; Emily, Pete, and Hudson at the cooking class.

Hilary spent months working around the logistics, and I helped where I could. Fabio and Giampiero (the B&B owner) were a wealth of information and helped us out a ton.

Building good local connections wherever you go is so valuable.

Napoli: Hilary with fried vegan pizza, Maradona is a god, busy streets.

Hilary purchased a kit online for the murder mystery, only to find out it was a super weak storyline. So she spent a month writing an entire 1920s wedding murder scenario (with a little help from Chat GPT) to fit our exact group. It included complex backstories and motivations, objectives, money for bribes, and all sorts of skullduggery.

Everything turned out fantastic.

The rustic B&B was incredible (yet surprisingly affordable). The staff cared for our every need. The tour to Orvieto went off without a hitch. The murder mystery dinner was beyond fun. Relaxing poolside the next day was just what we needed. It couldn’t have gone better.

Thank goodness we have 10 years until we have to plan the next one! Huge thanks to everyone who made the trip to celebrate with us!

Rome: Ice bar (at Ella’s insistence), views from a run along the river, colosseum selfie.

Quick Hits

Hilary’s family (mom Elaine, stepdad Max, and sister Amelia) visited Portugal for a week before we headed to Italy together for the party. We celebrated our second São João festival with them (and some good friends from childhood) in Porto. Local friends Jim and Jessica hosted a party on their downtown rooftop with commanding vistas of the city. The views from the rooftop were spectacular, and the crowd was way fun. We ate, drank, and danced the night away while soaking in the stunning display of the lanterns being launched across the city, and the fireworks at midnight. It was magical.

Florence: A famous statue, a less-famous statue, and the Duomo from Piazza Michelangelo.

We flew with Hilary’s family from Porto to Napoli and spent a few days there, followed by Rome, Orvieto, and then on to Florence and Bologna/Modena. We had a variety of friends and family find us along the way as we were all converging on Orvieto for the celebration.

Part of the trip was to celebrate Max’s 70th birthday. His family emigrated from Venafro, a small hill town north of Napoli, in the early 1900s. So we made a pilgrimage there with Max on the way from Napoli to Rome and visited the cemetery to see if we could track down his ancestors. We discovered a lot of graves with his old family name (Mascio), had a delicious lunch, and chatted with the locals. It was pretty special.

Sculpted glutes in Florence, Max finding the Macios, Orvieto Duomo shining in the sun.

Napoli was an incredible surprise - it felt very authentic and was far less touristy than the rest. We had heard nothing but bad things about it, and we found it to be quite the opposite. Finding more family (Rob, Chris, and Ella) and friends (Daran and Kari), was an unplanned but very pleasant surprise. What a joy to be with people you love in far-flung places. We also met Ninja from Die Antwoord at a vegan restaurant, which was pretty cool.

Orvieto: Catching a view with Miguel and Marta, The Duomo, poolside relaxation

We happened to be in Napoli for Pride, and so of course we had to go check it out. It’s so fun to see people celebrating in different parts of the world. Even in heavily-catholic Italy, the older local folks were leaning out windows smiling, cheering, and partying along with everyone out in the street.

Napoli pride, glass beach with Vesuvius in the background, insane Neapolitan pizza diavolo.

I returned to the States in late May for work and my niece Sophie’s graduation. I got to see a few folks along the way and filled my checked bag with things can’t get here. Seeing friends and family recharged my batteries. I’m sad I missed seeing more folks - if we didn’t connect when I was in town, I apologize. It was a quick trip. Next time!