Okay, finally - time to tell you about Suz's birthday party. As you know, the theme of the party was "It's a Banner Day," which I announced in the invitations. I also showed you a few of the decorations I'd completed the week before the party. The hat and flag sculptures were courtesy of Jordan's instructions and the drink stirrers and pennants were my own creations.
We had a tea party for the afternoon party, but this is Florida so we opted against hot tea. Plus, hot tea just seemed really formal and fussy and not really our style. So I had several pitchers of iced tea and a tray full of tea condiments, including lemons, simple sugar syrup, mint leaves and raspberry syrup. The condiments were served in little creamers from my mom and my collection, and rested on a vintage silver platter of my mom's. I love how everywhere there are very traditional pieces that were used in a playful, fresh way. I also had lemonade in a big old-fashioned-looking glass urn thing and some iced water in my favorite silver pitcher. The glasses were both mine and my mom's, which we combined for an eclectic combination.
The food table included a three-tier plate stand with various traditional tea sandwiches (cheddar & chutney, cucumber & cream cheese and chicken salad), puff pastry bread twists, chocolate dipped strawberries, spinach & artichoke dip, homemade crackers and Pink Lemonade Cupcakes (lemon cupcakes with lemon icing dyed pink).
My mom and I combined our China salad and dessert plates for another eclectic collection and she brought several of her teapots to use as decoration around on the drink and food tables. The flowers are camellias I got from my friend Holly's yard and were significant because, when Suz was born, Holly came over to my house and filled every room with camellias which was such a touching surprise and, thanks to my postpartum hormones, made me cry! We used tea cups and saucers to display the flowers.
For Suz's cake, I originally had the plan to make my own cake using natural ingredients. I found a recipe online that used baby food in the ingredients and it actually tasted really good (Suz sampled some with her dinner the night before and loved it), but when it came time to ice it the whole thing just fell apart. So we called Publix a few hours before the party and they happily iced a tiny cake for us. I decided to keep it really simple with just Suz's monogram on top, which I thought was perfect. Suz apparently thought it was too perfect to eat, because she didn't really want to touch the cake, and when she did, she wouldn't eat any of it. So glad I stressed about the cake!
The food table included a three-tier plate stand with various traditional tea sandwiches (cheddar & chutney, cucumber & cream cheese and chicken salad), puff pastry bread twists, chocolate dipped strawberries, spinach & artichoke dip, homemade crackers and Pink Lemonade Cupcakes (lemon cupcakes with lemon icing dyed pink).My mom and I combined our China salad and dessert plates for another eclectic collection and she brought several of her teapots to use as decoration around on the drink and food tables. The flowers are camellias I got from my friend Holly's yard and were significant because, when Suz was born, Holly came over to my house and filled every room with camellias which was such a touching surprise and, thanks to my postpartum hormones, made me cry! We used tea cups and saucers to display the flowers.
For Suz's cake, I originally had the plan to make my own cake using natural ingredients. I found a recipe online that used baby food in the ingredients and it actually tasted really good (Suz sampled some with her dinner the night before and loved it), but when it came time to ice it the whole thing just fell apart. So we called Publix a few hours before the party and they happily iced a tiny cake for us. I decided to keep it really simple with just Suz's monogram on top, which I thought was perfect. Suz apparently thought it was too perfect to eat, because she didn't really want to touch the cake, and when she did, she wouldn't eat any of it. So glad I stressed about the cake!
I used the windows to display pictures and outfits of Suz's early days, like her going-home-from-the-hospital-outfit and one of the little T-shirts she practically lived in in the beginning. I used our large front window to display all of Suz's monthly pictures (background here) that I took in the same chair each month, with little banner indicating the month. So really, I have been planning this party for an entire year.
Probably the best idea I had relating to this party was the fact that I hired my friend, Annie McElhaney, to take pictures throughout the party and then family pictures afterwards. It was so nice to not have to think about taking pictures of everything and allowed everyone to enjoy the party without having to worry about documenting everything. The party began just as Suz's afternoon nap was ending, so Annie even joined Mr. Lass and me getting Suz out of bed and getting her dressed for the party. Here is information about Suz's dress, and the monogrammed bloomers were a gift from a friend of mine following her birth. They were perfect for the party because, whenever Suz had her cake (but did not eat it too), I stripped her down to just her bloomers, so they were cute to have on under her dress.
Phew - I think covered everything! It really was such a fun, exciting day that centered around family and Suz was the star. I was so grateful to all the family who made a special trip into town to attend the party. The whole party was a lot of work and preparation, but it was completely worth it. Is it too early to start planning for next year???
Probably the best idea I had relating to this party was the fact that I hired my friend, Annie McElhaney, to take pictures throughout the party and then family pictures afterwards. It was so nice to not have to think about taking pictures of everything and allowed everyone to enjoy the party without having to worry about documenting everything. The party began just as Suz's afternoon nap was ending, so Annie even joined Mr. Lass and me getting Suz out of bed and getting her dressed for the party. Here is information about Suz's dress, and the monogrammed bloomers were a gift from a friend of mine following her birth. They were perfect for the party because, whenever Suz had her cake (but did not eat it too), I stripped her down to just her bloomers, so they were cute to have on under her dress.
Phew - I think covered everything! It really was such a fun, exciting day that centered around family and Suz was the star. I was so grateful to all the family who made a special trip into town to attend the party. The whole party was a lot of work and preparation, but it was completely worth it. Is it too early to start planning for next year???Xoxo,
Kara
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1 comment:
This is soooo sweet!
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