Hello and happy Sunday!
I hope your weekend has been great. I am still recovering! Last
week I only worked two days. I took off the day before and after my bestie’swedding so I could help her prepare and clean up. Because she was trying to
keep costs low, we did it all ourselves pretty much. One bridesmaid did the
catering for about 65 people [crazy crazy girl]! I mostly helped with décor and
placement of things. I was in for a surprise on how much energy it would take
and how much really needed to be done. And my weather app totally mislead me.
We started Wednesday by packing up her father’s pick up and
trailer. Katie has been making, thrifting, and saving stuff for over a year. We
also packed up our two cars. Seriously. We hauled it up to the pretty mountain
top and unloaded at a cabin the couple had reserved for a few days for the
bridal party. It was such a beautiful park and the amenities were really
impressive.
We laughed later at the fact that we brought up smores,
board games, and alcohol thinking there’d be time for such a thing. Um, no. And
on top of the immense amount of decorating, cooking, and primping to be done,
she had a few snafoo’s hit her head on. Her brother/guitarist for the wedding
broke his finger and wasn’t able to serenade her down the aisle. The photobooth
never showed [they booked it for the wrong day]. It was pretty close to
freezing outside. She didn’t bat an eyelash. Not one bridezilla moment. It was
amazing. I commend her and don’t blame her for any crying/cursing that may
occur later.
But everything went smoothly considering the circumstances
and the ceremony was beyond beautiful. The reception? Everything she pictured.
It was a great time. I even managed to face my fears and give a toast which had
me shaking in my pretty little flats.
Afterwards, we cleaned up all Friday and even had dinner
together. I wanted to visit the family [she married my cousin] so it turned out
nicely. So Friday equals getting up early to clean and haul, showering at home,
antiquing with my mom and visiting aunt, and dinner with family.
Saturday, did
I rest? No. I guess it wasn’t enough. I went back to my home town, Front Royal,
for the Festival of Leaves. It’s kind of a big deal here but really, it’s your
typical parade/festival. Any excuse for funnel cake, is a good excuse to me.
So today, as you can imagine, I’m beyond exhausted. And I
have a rough week ahead of me [working five days instead of three and on call
all weekend]. I hope by getting off early I’ll be able to keep my posts up
since you got jipped this week. But it was all in the name of love ;]
Moving on! Katie’s wedding got me all excited. I love party
planning, decorating, and cooking. I’ve even done some light weight catering and
party throwing myself so I thought I’d share in the name of fun. My 11th
niece, Alexandria, is turning two this month. This is her awhile back but isn’t
she adorable?
I have 2 sisters and a brother [technically, they’re half]
that are about 15 years older than me, give or take. So in a weird way I grew
up as the youngest and an only child since I never lived with any of them. But
it was kind of cool since they could take me places and spoil me. When I was at
the ripe age of six, I became an auntie. And then they kept on coming. So, when
my one sister found out she was pregnant and I had just become a homeowner, I
was ecstatic. I had never been able to treat my sisters to parties and now I
was finally able to do something for them.
This little girl was baby number five. Hence, Anna [baby
mama] wasn’t too controlling over the direction of the party. She had a guest
list and a date. And I went to town. I thought it would be cute to do a little
library/book theme.
I bought some book due date cards from etsy and used a stamp
that could be changed. I liked the rough and imperfect look mixed with the
pink. I had a lot of fun with the décor. I bought the pink and white poufs
hanging from the ceiling. I feel kind of silly now that I know you can make
them. Those were the days before Pinterest. Live and learn.
I also bought some adorable wooden blocks [that were later
given to mama] and used them all around. I also bought a small and adorable
bunting seen hanging in the center of the window. If you haven’t caught on,
price was of no concern. I wanted to really treat her and as one of my first
parties, I didn’t have any idea of how quickly it would add up in the end.
One of my biggest expenses was the pink hydrangeas I ordered
online. I actually think my mom went in on them with me. I love hydrangeas [we
even used them in our wedding] because a little goes a long way. I don’t regret
the expense because they really “made” the party and it was a nice test run for
my future wedding [although I didn’t know it at the time].
For the food table I used old books I had collected around
the house, a dollar tree magnifying glass, extra wooden blocks, flowers, and
white dishes. I’m a huge fan of white, clean lined, serving dishes. The can be
used for any theme and are so flexible. I made cupcakes with my nutella
frosting [my sister was the one to introduce me to nutella so it only seemed
right]. There was fruit salad, tuna pate, salad, deviled eggs, veggies, and a
white bean/garlic dip with baked pitas. She wanted the food to be healthy so I
tried to stick with that.
I found these magnets somewhere, for cheap. It’s been awhile
ok? I spray painted them pink. The favors were notebooks and pencils I got on
clearance with cute Michael’s erasers I got in the dollar bin. I love me some
craft brown with color.
Speaking of brown, wow. This was our dining room before we
painted it and changed the curtains to white. Kind of slaps you in the face,
huh? I made the dining table into the buffet table and took all of the chairs
into the living room for gifts and mingling. I got these adorable alphabet
flashcards at Michaels and hung them up to spell out “Congrats.”
If I would do it over again I would save money by doing
things myself. I had convinced myself I needed to buy a pennant banner since I
couldn’t sew. But now I know, I could’ve made a cute one out of twine and
doilies for the fraction of a price. But no regrets. It was fun to spoil my
sister for a change and start to learn how to entertain.
great minds pick grey dresses! |
Have you thrown a party recently? Do you wish you could do something
differently? Anyone have any entertaining tips? My biggest tip would have to be
to delegate things like friends bringing dishes- and ice so you don’t have to
leave the house!
What a cute theme idea for a shower. I love the idea of giving books for babies...reading is so important.
ReplyDeletethanks for the comment! she is turning two next week... and she's already moved on to keys and cell phones :p
DeleteGreat party theme but I especially love the collection of succulent plants in white pots.
ReplyDeleteJordana
thanks jordana! that was actually from my best friend's wedding. the link is to her blog where she'll give all the details [once she's back from her honeymoon!]
Delete