A Royal Wedding Viewing Party

We are only days away from the wedding of the decade, and I for one, can't wait to see how it all comes together! The wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton will be nothing short of amazing and I thought I'd share a few ideas with you in case you want to host a party and watch the nuptials in royal style.

Since this is primarily a "girly" event (weddings in general) I decided to use a feminine color palette of soft pink, rose, and cream for the decorative details. This is also reminiscent of the florals found on English china. This is the time to use your tiered serving stand, your best set of china, and your silver pieces.

You can set your DVR and record the event to watch later if you like, and host a brunch with scones, crumpets (English muffins), sliced ham, and fresh berries. For decor, make sure to use teapots and teacups and fill them with pretty flower arrangements. Place some hats, which you can get from a thrift store for little money, on various heights of hat stands or pillar candle holders. You can also have an array of hats for your guests to choose from and wear, or require them to wear their own. No proper royal event would be complete without them!

To add more interest to your food display, utilize the printable picks available from Bird's Party. This set incorporates our color scheme, gold crowns, and Union Jack. Another great printable resource, is Paper & Cake who has designed these fantastic photo props available in a top hat, a tiara, and of course, that gorgeous ring! Don't forget to toast the bride and groom with champagne. Set up a variety of juices to add to the glass - orange juice, peach nectar, and pear nectar are all great choices.

What's a wedding without wedding cake? I love these mini wedding cakes served instead of cupcakes. You can make these using a specially shaped baking pan, or by baking a sheet cake and cutting out different sized circles using a set of biscuit cutters. Just stack them, ice them, and add a few decorative touches with piping bags and decorating supplies. As a parting gift for your guests, place some "tea bag" cookies in a celephane bag and tie it up with a pretty ribbon. You could also add a couple of real tea bags to the gift if you like. These tea bag cookies are easy to make using a shortbread recipe and following the instructions found on Beurrista.

However you choose to celebrate, this Royal Wedding is sure to be a spectacular event!

Don't forget to visit me at the Blog Frog Coffee Talk community and discuss all things entertaining related!

Photos: teapot with flowers, hat on stand, tiered server(?), berries with printable picks, champagne, printable photo props, tea bag cookies, mini wedding cakes.

Beach Wedding Ideas {Styled Shoot}

Today's inspiration design has so many beautiful touches, you may need to take notes!  This is a styled shoot {see vendor list at bottom of post} for a beach wedding but you know my philosophy - take the ideas and incorporate them into your own celebration.  This would be beautiful for an engagement party for a couple having a destination wedding, a sophisticated backyard beach party, or any other occasion for those who love the seaside.  Inspiration begins now!

Great Tabletop Ideas:

• Use burlap to cover a low table {bring a coffee table outside}.
• Use old shutters as a table "runner".
• Use driftwood and colored glass bottles filled with tropical flowers as the centerpiece.
• Muted colors and surfboard motif adds a retro-kitschy feel.
• Fill small bottles with sand and use to hold food/drink markers.
• Use rafia and seashells to wrap napkins.

For dessert, a cookies and cream bar is set up.  This gives guests a variety of options: they can make an ice cream sundae, ice cream sandwiches, ice cream & soda floats, or simply enjoy them all separately.  I love the simplicity of this.

Dessert Table Ideas:

• Incorporate sea glass into your display - scatter along the table, fill bowls or bottles with it, or use it as a base layer to set other goodies on top of.
• Make a tiered stand by wrapping different sized boxes with wrapping paper and stacking them.
• Serve quarts of ice cream in buckets; provide dry toppings in small galvanized containers.

Another great idea is to set up an outdoor movie theater.  Use large pillows and blankets to sit on, and choose an old classic movie like Beach Blanket Bingo, an adventure drama like The Beach, or even the iconic Jaws.  Choose something your particular crowd will love. 

Vendor Credits:

Photography - Tinywater Photography

Design - Platinum Planning

Stationery - Alice Koswara

Florals - Botanica Floral Design

Cookies - The Cookie Drop

Mexican Fiesta Inspiration

{photos & styling by Celebrations At Home}

I can't believe it's nearly May!  Where has the first quarter gone?  Fortunately that means it's time for a Fiesta party to celebrate Cinco De Mayo!  You can see all my Fiesta design ideas in my latest contribution to Celebrations.com.  And find the recipe for delicious and refreshing Beer Margaritas here. 

I don't think you'll want to miss it!

Game Night Party

Every mom could use a good opportunity to spend quality time with her kids.  That's why Laura Lee {of Laura Lee Photography} decided to host a Mother & Son Game Night for some of her friends.  She set up several tables around the house, with different games at each one, and provided easy-to-eat snacks that both moms & sons would enjoy.  I love all the decorative touches Laura incorporated, using game pieces.  Read on for Laura's own description of the night and to see her beautiful photos...

I intentionally kept the decorations kind of feminine for the moms. We mothers of boys see enough "Daddy's little All star" navy blue!

When the guests arrived they received mustaches. My middle son photographed them on the background paper and I am mailing each mom a photo from the party. Inside we had wine and fun drinks for the moms, lemonade and water for the kids. All over the tables were snacks like the ones I remembered loving way back when my parents played bridge.

Once all the guests arrived I called the moms one table at a time to the kitchen (there were about 40 people so I had tables scattered everywhere!). They chose from checkerboard sandwiches, homemade pulled BBQ sliders, sweet potato fries, cole slaw, pickles and strawberries. I intentionally chose the menu so that forks would not be needed. For dessert we had domino cookies from a recipe I'd found on Southern Living.



I cannot express how fun it was and how grateful the moms were who attended. Having a party just for our guests where they needn't bring a thing was a treat for us all. I think it will become an annual tradition. People are still talking about it. (The dads loved it too. The dads of boys got together at a local sports bars. The dads with girls were happy to have a free night for a special date.

Thank you for sharing this special night with us Laura!

I hope all the moms out there are inspired to host something similar!  Cheers!

St. Patrick's Day Ideas

I think St. Patrick's Day is one of the most fun celebrations of the year - right up there with Mardi Gras!  It's a time to throw a party just for the pure pleasure of having food & cocktails with friends, and it's acceptable to get a little 'cheeky' with decor and details!  I've put together some ideas here that you can implement for your own gathering.  With lots of green, a rainbow, and a "pot of gold" you're guests are sure to have a good time...

Set the table with a green tablecloth, vases, and party ware.  I like the cool flowery napkins shown here - they remind me of a stylized shamrock.  Green spider mums in dried split peas is an easy but attractive centerpiece.  Make an Irish flag banner with felt, fabric, or paper cut into triangles and hot glued to ribbon.

Serve a buffet of bite-sized foods consisting of traditional fish-n-chips, mini shepherd's pies, and mini reuben sandwiches.  Wash it down with a "Pot of Gold" cocktail with flecks of real gold from Goldschlager.  Set up your cocktail bar with rainbow colored streamers hanging as a backdrop, and place a sign that reads, "A 'Pot of Gold' at the end of the Rainbow."  Have some glasses already filled and lined in rows.  Scatter gold coins around the bar top and around the glasses.

For dessert and favors, set up a Sweets Table with candies, cupcakes, and green rice crispy treats, along with decorative take out boxes.  Be sure to have Irish Coffee available too.

Sources:
flower in split peas, tablescape, cupcakes, invitation, popcorn, cupcake toppers
candy display, take-out box, rainbow streamers, fish-n-chips, mini shepherd's pies, mini reuben sandwiches, Irish coffee, Pot of Gold cocktail, rice crispy treats.

Havana Nights Party

I'm excited to share this latest project with you!  I've recently had the opportunity to create some original party ideas for the Celebrations website.  I've had a long relationship with the site writing articles and sharing my "real parties" with them, but to create something from scratch for pure inspiration purposes is what I love doing most of all!  The first design I did is a Havana Nights theme and includes some simple styling ideas as well as food, drink, and favor recommendations.  This is a great party theme to welcome Spring, or to host for a males birthday celebration.  The traditional Cuban icons such as cigars and 'manly' cocktails bring a naturally masculine touch to the party.  You can check out the entire party gallery on the site to get all the ideas for hosting your own Night in Havana party.

Oscars Party 2011!

The count down to the Oscars is on with just a week to go before we see who will take home the golden statue.  We're here to help get you red-carpet-ready as you host a fun and festive night of your own.  These ideas and printable items collected from around the web will help you decorate with flair, as well as offer up some special activities.

From top to bottom:

The Food Network has some sleek and stylish ideas for dressing your table - Napkins folded like envelopes are a clever trick and these are finished off with a seal! 

You'll be seeing stars when you cut slices of star fruit to adorn your champagne glasses.

Re-create the classic Hollywood sign by printing out each letter and using to top cupcakes.

If you're looking for a go-to site that has a complete Oscars Party ready to print then visit MyGrafico for this set that includes invitation, napkin wraps, wine tag, buffet/name cards, and favor boxes.

After picking your best and worst dressed stars from the red carpet, take a moment to fill out this award ballot from Twig and Thistle.  Tally up the answers at the end of the night to see who chose the most correct winners.  You may want to give them a special prize like a bottle of champagne or movie tickets.

  Finally, make your guests the stars by hanging a curtain for a backdrop and offering these printable photo props from Paper & Cake.  Add in some other accessories like feather boas, hats, & tiaras and everyone will have a great time getting into character!

With these ideas and printable items available, you can all be winners this Oscars night!