So, this has been a long time coming. Many of you may have already seen some of the amazing shower photos on Hostess with the Mostess. One of the many perks of being a contributor is that I get to feature some of my own work on Jenn’s site. The downfall is that I am usually more concerned about getting Jenn all the information, that I forget about my own blog. Also, all of these items are NOW available in my shop.

My dear friend, Courtney Jade, took a million photos and there are so MANY that you haven’t seen. Since the party, Laura’s shower has been featured on a ton of websites/blog sites and several countries too including Hostess Blog {Part 1} and {Part 2}, Courtney Jade Photography Events, Marabous {Bridal Shower} and {Dessert Buffet}, and So Lovely Moments, and I hope more. . .

Here are all the details from the shower starting from the beginning, but now all of this is past tense. I was lazy and didn’t feel like re-writing it all. Sorry. . . here are all the details. . .

*****

My dear friend, Laura is getting married in August and her twin sister, Lindsey was in charge of throwing her a beautiful bridal shower. She started planning months prior, which is a good thing because we had a lot of work to do! I was lucky enough to help out with the designing and styling.

Lindsey took inspiration from many different places, but Paige of Paiges of Style was a huge inspiration to us all. Lindsey wanted the shower to be romantic and stylish. Her color palette included shades of gray along with pretty corals and shades of soft pink. Lindsey also wanted to include many vintage pieces to tie the theme together. We also added the chevron stipe pattern for a clean and timeless feel.

The shower was held in a terraced backyard. It was a very intimate bridal shower with 30 of Laura’s closest friends and family members. We served brunch along with many sweet pastries and desserts. The shower featured the main food table and a drink bar. Lindsey styled and designed this whole fabulous drink area. The incredible table came from a second-hand store. Lindsey, along with the help of her Mom, did an incredible job refurbishing it. It looked so amazing and to think they only bought it for $30, what a steal!

Since the party was outside, we still wanted it to feel warm and inviting. We set up several vignettes throughout including the seating area, gift station, and of course the bar. The backyard really went through a major transformation and looked so beautiful! Each table was also styled. The centerpieces were comprised of bundles of books. The mother-of-the-bride, took paper back books, removed the covers, and tied them with twine. She also incorporated scrabble tiles that said “Bride to be.” She pinned beautiful vintage broaches on them, which happen to be the broaches that will be on the bridesmaid bouquets for the wedding. We then topped the book bundles with beautiful vases full of peonies. In the center of the peonies we placed floral pins to glam them up a bit. Lastly, we we used the same flags that we used on the straws and placed those around the base of the vases. They were stunning!

Thanks to all the people who helped make this shower possible. We seriously had a whole group of people who selflessly pitched in. We couldn’t have done it without each and every one of you. We spent countless hours cutting, gluing, and making sure every detail was perfect!

Here are a few photos of Emerson. He accompanied me to the shower. Also, here is a photo of the gift that my Mom and I put together for Laura.

Ready to see more? Stay tuned for Part 2 coming soon. . .

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VENDOR CREDITS:
– Event Styling - Modern Moments Designs, Laura Grim & Lindsey Ter Har {Double Take} & D’Lorah Ter Har
– Invitation & Party Printables – Modern Moments Designs
– Paper Straws – Shop Sweet Lulu
– Fondant Peony Flowers - Two Sugar Babies
– Tables, Chairs, & Linen Rentals – The Party Pros
– Donut Holes – Every Day is a Donut Day
– Macarons - Jade Teahouse
– Edible Cookie Designs – Frost
– Coasters & Parchment Bags – Run Ellie Run
– Chocolate Cups and Chocolate Sticks – Whole Foods
– Large Gray Frame – IKEA (spray painted Gray to match the party)
– Ribbon – Fabric Depot
– Table Cloth -Table Vogue
– Photography – Courtney Jade Photography

I’m so excited to share some WONDERFUL news with you!!!! Want to know what it is??? Some of my designs were featured on Style Me Pretty today!! Can you even believe it? I’m beyond excited and wanted to share the news with you this AM, but you know time flys. . .

I met Mary, several months ago. She asked me to design a graphic for a baby shower she was helping throw. It was an adaptation of my little owl design. She was super fun and easy to work with. Fast forward a month or two, and Mary came calling again. This time, she wanted me to work on her WHOLE wedding collection. Wait, Me? Seriously?? What a huge compliment that was and I surely didn’t want to disappoint.

Mary sent me a sketch of her and John and their adorable dogs. At first, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but it all started to come together!! I’ll let you take a look for yourself. . .

You might recognize these from my “MIA Maddness” post waaaaaaaaaaay back in May? Mary was one of four brides that I worked with this summer!! I will be sharing a few more of the wedding collections I did, someday. . .I know, I have commitment issues!

I designed the wedding invitation, RSVP card, map, tag, jam label, program, and place cards! It was a ton of work, but so much fun!

If you want to know a little more about the bride and groom, check out what Mary had to say. She even mentioned me by name, oh how I love her!!!! Here is how she describes their style. . .

“John and I love having friends over for cozy dinner parties and wine nights, and we really wanted our wedding guests to feel as welcomed and comfortable as they would in our home. I grew up in Napa, and we wanted to share the wine country scenery and hospitality we love so much. As soon as we arrived at the Sylvan Lake Estate, it was love at first sight. The home felt like a hidden garden, and we loved the idea of bringing our guests to a place we knew they had never been before. It was important to me that we have some handmade elements, but I also didn’t want to go crazy with too many projects.

When we started talking about design, John made it clear that a pink wedding was out of the question. While grey and yellow is a modern color palette, I loved the idea of softening it and giving it some charm. The white rustic farm tables had the casual elegance that Napa is known for, and my mom sewed all the table runners herself. Our centerpieces came from the farmers’ market, and my bridesmaids and grandma put them together the day before the wedding. I knew I wanted to do a homemade favor, and jams and pickles were the perfect fit because they could be done ahead of time. My mom, my maid of honor, and I all tackled the favors whenever we had a free day, and they were one of my favorite elements of the wedding. The paper goods by Jessica Wilcox were amazing, and really tied everything together. She created a custom yellow lace pattern that we used on the invitation suite, as well as the favors, place cards, and programs.”

If you want to read more about Mary and John’s wedding, check out their feature!!!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish Mary and John the best of luck in their life and marriage! Thank you for allowing me to be a special part of your big day! I will be forever grateful!!!

Vendor Credits:
Venue: The Sylvan Lake Estate / Caterer: Alex’s Catering / Photographer: 39 East Photography / Paper: Modern Moments Designs / Bouquets: Green Valley Floral / Cake: Hannah’s Edible Art / Dress: San Patrick / Officiant: Gina Zimmerman / DJ: Platinum Entertainment / Bridesmaids Dresses: The Dessy Group / Photo Booth: Open Air Photo Booth / Glow sticks: Cool Glow / Hair & Makeup: Ceridonas Salon / Veil: Manon of Hollywood

When is comes to school Halloween parties, you have to get creative. Since you are limited to bringing in store bought food and catering to 25+ kids, there definitely are challenges. I’ve been in charge of helping plan Skyler and Jackson’s preschool parties for the last 4 years. For the first two years, we were handed down ideas from the previous parents. Last year, we stepped outside the box a bit and came up with some cool ideas! This year, I wanted to shake things up a bit!

Thank goodness for Pinterest. I’ve been pinning Halloween ideas since I discovered Pinterest back in March (btw, contact me if you need an invite, I’ll hook you up. I should be getting paid for my constant endorsements, haha.) Also, make sure you follow me on Pinterest, if you don’t already. I’m constantly pinning everything from holiday ideas to hairdos and everything in between.

Before our party planning meeting, I went to my “Boo“ Halloween board and started pulling ideas for the party. It was so fun and so EASY!!! It always seems like you see an idea for something during the off time of year and when the holiday rolls around you can’t remember what it was or how to do it. Well, that’s why Pinterest is so great. You can pin something and forget it until you need it. Then when you are ready to access it, it’s right there waiting for you!!!

For our Snack we selected these adorable Mummy “Scary” Sippers and Spooky Popcorn Hands

{Parents.com via Pinterest}

{Dollarstore Mom via Pinterest}

Here are some of the activities that we’ve planned. I can’t wait to watch the kids do the donut on the string game:

{Tip Junkie via Pinterest}

{Martha Stewart via Pinterest}

{Jeanetics.net via Pinterest}

{Classic Play! via Pinterest}

Treat for the Kids!!

{Skip to my Lou via Pinterest}

You can download all of these fun snacks and activities and use them for you kids parties. Click on the images above to download! Just thought it would be fun to share them with you! Like I said, we’ve done many different activities and games in the past, but if there is something uber fun that I am missing, send me an email! Maybe we will add it to our list of activities!!!

Whoop Whoop! This is three times in one week! Bet you’re sick of me already, right? Hahaha! Too bad!!! So this post might not apply to all of you, but it’s something that is near and dear to my heart! Oregon Ducks Football. I’m sure you all have a favorite college sports team. Am I right? Well, mine happens to be the Oregon Ducks!! I actually attended the University of Oregon for awhile my freshman year. Oh how I miss Eugene!!! There’s just something special about Eugene that you can’t get anywhere else. There’s a ton of people wearing Birkenstocks, tree lovers, pot smokers, and . . . your likely to have your car stolen at least once if you live there for more than a few months. Hahaha. Okay, so those are slight exaggerations, but you get the idea. However, there’s one thing that brings everyone together. It’s Oregon Duck Football! I’ve never seen people bleed yellow and green until I moved there. The school spirit is phenomenal. It’s not just in Eugene either. Though the state may be divided since we also have another major university-there are more Duck fans than there are Beaver (Oregon State is the OTHER rival university) fans throughout the state (at least, that’s what I’d like to believe)!

My sister Jamie’s boyfriend, Josh (I’m the match maker behind this love connection) was celebrating his 27th birthday. Jamie wanted to throw Josh a really nice birthday party, but Josh kept changing his mind on what he wanted to do. Just 48 hours before the big event, the plans changed AGAIN! Jamie came to me for help and we had the task of throwing together a shotgun birthday party! Thankfully, I have a little party planning experience! Lucky for me, Josh is a HUGE Duck fan and Oregon Alumni. The plan the whole time was to watch the Oregon Duck game for his birthday party! The location was the only thing that kept changing. So, it was only natural to throw him a Duck’s Birthday party!!! I got to work designing fun Duck details. Guess what? You get to have them for FREE! Okay, so I know it’s not that cool if you’re not a Duck fan, but if you are, I hope you enjoy them!!!

Here are some photos from the party and your FREE PRINTABLES!

Oregon Ducks Cupcake Toppers 1

Oregon Ducks Cupcake Toppers 2