A First Birthday Party for Lizzie!

Ah, the sweet first birthday party we designed for Lizzie! This was such a fun party to work on--the client was dreamy, the birthday girl adorable, and the party details came together so well.

As you can see, it was a girly pink party with lots of color and pattern. We used a fun fabric for the backdrop and added custom details like illustrated borders for photos of the birthday girl. One feature of the party that I especially loved was the kids area we created within the party room. It was a play space just their size with wooden toys, a playhouse and two comfy plush chairs that the kids could crawl on and off all afternoon. It was also a perfect place for the children to gather while Miss Christine sang songs and led the musical entertainment.

A big thanks to the folks at Kenwood Country Club for accommodating all our special requests and to Emily Morel who captured the event in photographs.

Beautiful flower centerpieces were created by Sprouts in vintage containers provided by Stellar Party.

How about those adorable custom sippy cups created for us by The Social Butterfly AR etsy store? No wondering whose cup is whose!

We pretty much don't book a party until we can confirm the cake design by Sugar Realm. Ileana never ceases to amaze me! The cake topper was designed and created by me. It was one of those "if I can't find it, I'll make it" moments. I'm not getting into the cake topper business, trust me!

All other decorations and ephemera were supplied by Stellar Party and are available for rent in the Cincinnati area if you have an ambition to create a fun party like this for your own special birthday girl. Click here for more details!

A sneak peek at the October Barn Wedding...

While we wait *patiently* for the official photographs of the barn wedding Stellar Party helped style in October, I thought I'd put out a few photos to tease you a little. It was a beautiful day for a wedding in the country...

A moss and flower covered monogram looks great on the 100+ year old horse barn.

This sign was created from an old door found in the barn when clearing it out! Miraculously, 6 metal bins fit perfectly within the old horse trough.

This sign was in the front of the house.

Bridal bouquets set to dry after the Big Event.

So much of the original barn "decor" was used.

Parisian Pink and Gold Party

We've been completely smitten with pink and gold and it just seemed like a perfect party for a sweet girl with lots of 'Joix De Vivre'. Fortunately, we was lucky enough to meet Nina and her mom who fit the Paris Pink and Gold party theme perfectly. Nina even has golden red hair! What are the chances that the honoree even matches her own party theme?? Not many, I tell you. It was a stroke of creative luck.

The party took place at the Hilton Garden Inn in Blue Ash. Kathy, Diyor and her crew were super accommodating and the room was a lovely space to work in.

Outside the doors was a seating chart created with individual gold frames hung on a pink covered bulletin board. This was propped up by a black floor easel with fleur de lis accents. Trés cute, oui? A bonus benefit to this method for a seating chart is that it is easy to fix last minute guest rearrangements. Just pop out the card and put in a new one.

The tables were covered in light pink linens. Centerpieces were loose and eclectic; we were going for that effortless french café feel. (Which, by the way is not effortless at all for this American girl!) Each centerpiece included a vintage gold rimmed highball glass with pink sweetheart roses, french pressed glass juice cups with baby's breath, a gold picture frame with the table number hand drawn in gold marker, a customized glass bottle (Ikea) filled with fresh water or French pink lemonade (find the same great black labels from JenMarie on etsy), a brass candlestick (from the client's stash) and some frigging adorable Photofetti. Each place setting had a gold charger and a stick of pink rock candy tied with a simple black ribbon.

Of course, we couldn't have a French themed dinner party without a French patisserie themed dessert table. I took some design cues from the famed French patisserie Ladurée and created a custom table skirt with the gold banner drawn on charcoal gray canvas and a pink and white backdrop. A fanciful gold frame bordered Nina's name written in gold. The dessert table was really just to provide a beautiful space to display the amazing desserts created by Kim at Garnish Catering. Filling the cake plates were rich chocolate pots de creme (ok frenchie grammar sticklers, I'm missing the proper accent circumflex over the 'e'. I can't find it on my keyboard), vanilla cupcakes with pink buttercream frosting, pink macarons with real gold flake embellishments, chocolate covered profiteroles (think eclairs), creme brulée, chocolate cupcakes and raspberry tartes de fruits. Our client reported that the dessert table was ravished by the guests, who left nothing but the spoons!

How much and how many?

I came across this super cute chart from Chickabug and thought I'd share. Aren't you always wondering how much and how many when planning a party????

First Birthday Cake Topper

While custom cake toppers is not necessarily in the job description, we thought that creating such a special detail would really enhance the first birthday party we are planning for our client. She resembles the birthday girl and I'm hoping this will be an heirloom for all the cakes to come. It has a holder for one candle, which will forever more be the "one to grow on". The cake is the real beauty and will be created by Ileana from Sugar Realm. Now THAT'S going to be the real masterpiece! Can't wait to share all the goody details later...

How to decorate a barn for a wedding

Stellar Party has been working on the decor for a country wedding coming up this October. The property has a beautiful countryside vista with bucolic scenes from every vantage point. A dreamy place to get hitched, don't you think?

At the heart of the wedding and reception is a weathered gray barn. The couple is going to get married right in front of the open doors and the reception will take place within the barn and under some white tents. So, how does one actually tackle the decorating of a huge barn? We've got some good ideas brewing, but I thought I'd share some of our inspirational photos from our Pinterest board on country weddings.

Source: littlebluedeer.com via Margot on Pinterest

Source: weddingsbylilly.com via Margot on Pinterest

Source: weddingsbylilly.com via Margot on Pinterest

Source: greenweddingshoes.com via Margot on Pinterest

Source: elizabethannedesigns.com via Margot on Pinterest

Tips from an expert: Getting the most out of your Rehearsal

Are you thinking about your rehearsal dinner and not the actual rehearsal itself? Click here for an excellent article from event master Colin Cowie on making the most of that practice time the night before the Big Day.

Starting with color...

Sometimes the best place to start planning a party theme is with a color palette. Here is one of my favorite places to find inspirational color combinations. It's a website called Design Seeds. Each day is a new photograph that has the colors pulled out in a side bar. What colors do you think make a room look great? Do they make you feel a certain emotion? These are considerations for your next event because a sweet baby shower feels pretty different from a wild and crazy bachelorette party, right?

I also include proportions of color when looking at a palette. This image is proportionately about half of the lighter gray and the other half is a combination of light purples and just a spot of dark purple. How would this translate into a tablescape? or an entire banquet hall?