Onward, event planner!

It just hit me last night that I have a Steampunk Valentines Day ball fundraiser coming up in February and I haven't done a thing to prepare for it. So I immediately started working on the decor plan and budget and now I feel a little better. What's so crazy about this, is this is going to be my first event to host post pregnancy. How weird. The baby is due January 15th and as soon as we get all settled in, I've got a ball to throw! Oh, I hope I can handle this! Luckily, I've got help. I've got two dedicated folks who helped me with the Ren Faire and I know they won't let me down with this ball- in fact they've taken plenty of initiative with this event already: finding the location, paying the deposit and such. Good folks.
Last year, we did a steampunk Christmas ball. Eh, it was ok. I think it would have gone a little better if we started advertising a little earlier. I was handing out flyers for the event like a week before it started. We don't have very many people in our town who can throw together a steampunk outfit in a week, so attendance was pretty low. I blame myself for this- (even though I had a team of about 20 people that were supposed to be helping with advertising... but that's another story for another time).
Last February we did a "Valentine's Shindig". I hired a Delta blues musician, a comedian, we had a raffle for semi-naughty gifts.... no one came. We raised about $17. The event was the biggest flop ever. I'm really not sure why. If I had to guess I think the event bombed because it was held at a coffee shop, not a sports bar... people around here just don't know how to have fun without booze. It's kinda sad.
So I've decided to combine the two events- A Steampunk Valentines Day Ball! Man I hope this works out. This fundraiser will officially kick off promoting the 2013 Renaissance Faire and I'm a little nervous.
Anywho, here's some of the inspiration for the ball I collected last night from Pinterest:
I'm going for a softer Romantic feel... less rust and useless gadgets.

 To keep decor cost down, we will be DIYing a lot of stuff. Last year we decorated with paper chains made from vintage book pages. I think if we make tons of it and pair it with doily bunting and extra large wall hangings, things will look spectacular.

Here's some ideas for the table centerpieces- for the vases and other dishes I still can't decide if I want to go pretty Victorian crystal and china or more industrial looking metals.

Heh, this is pretty much the menu menu minus the tea, fruits and veggies. Gotta keep the cost low!! I found some killer recipes on Pinterest to make these everyday tea party sandwiches into fancy gourmet creations, so I hope people will be impressed!

I'm just throwing in me and the husband's attire inspiration. We're not steampunk fans, but we LOVE to dress up- so when we dress up, we DRESS UP.