A Holiday Engagement Party

Saturday was the big day here for 

the engagement party

for my gorgeous daughter and her handsome fiancé!

After a week of prepping

with fingers crossed for a rainless night

things went off  beautifully without a hitch!

Every great party here always starts off with a beautiful invite.

I am a believer in invites you can touch and hold

To me there is a magical party spell cast with a proper invite!

Ellis and I found these in La Jolla 

at the Kate Spade store.

They started out as New Year's cards

but with an embellished sticker and gold pen

they turned personal for the occasion.

Ellis's background in graphic design was put to use 

for the stylish insides!

These invites really had me with the beautifully dots sprinkled inside 

as well as a lined envelope

with a grey trimmed outside.

It's details like these that make my heart sing!

I started off my holiday paper whites

the day after Halloween.

With the heat we have had here

they were ready for the party!

When my husband brought home the giant poinsettia

he receives each year from one of his vendors

I knew it would be a perfect backdrop for the table!

I start pulling together pieces days before a party

to make sure I have everything I need before hand.

I never want to feel undone with last minute scrambles.

I start at least a week ahead with a planned daily schedule of what needs to be accomplished.

This time I needed to buy a few more glasses to have enough for everyone.

I found what I needed to add to my glasses from Ikea

at the flea market.

When I pulled them all together on mirrored trays

they looked much more impressive in mass

but I still wasn't quite satisfied.

I decided my naked glasses needed a little accessorizing of their own.

So with a quick trip to the craft store for

some earring hoops, gems and red jingle bells

perfect wine charms were added for a festive dash jingle!

With the table coming along nicely

I set off to dress the rest of the room.

Our chalkboard above the mantle 

was the perfect place

to write out a party message!

I simply copied the font from the invites that Ellis made

and

 custom art work was created in a flash!

With the party to take place in our backyard

I moved our large farm table against the wall

to create space for the bar

 and

ample room for traffic flow.

I used our dining chairs outside for extra seating.

Since the party was a cocktail party

I made sure to have lots of champagne on ice!

the addition of this large bowl was the anchor for the table

both for aesthetics as well as usefulness.

I dressed the table with textiles from Anthropologie

edged them with kraft paper banners

and 

finally garnished the table with Christmas greens.

Ellis and I were absolutely tickled with the Engagement cake!

Having been inspired from our Pinterest boards

we ordered a diner cake from the grocery bakery.

I specified no frosting trim with clean sides

for the three layer cake.

 W thene topped the cake with some vintage finds

a few cinnamon sticks

 a snowfall of powdered sugar

a ring of fresh cranberries

and

Voila

the cake we had imagined came to life!

And all for under 15 dollars!

Since the party had no staff

the bar was set up serve yourself style.

I made sure to welcome and serve each guest upon arrival

then had everything at the ready for refills.

I had pulled out everything else 

that would be needed for the party food

 and

 cake 

onto the table as well

so everything was always at the ready.

With the inside all ready to go

it was on to the backyard!

After a rainy week

we were blessed with the most perfect party weather.

One of the big hits of the party

was the photo booth 

we created on the back deck.

Jeff made an 8x8ft frame

that we draped with a drop cloth

 then added a sparky table cloth

and

geometric garland 

both from Target.

I dressed all my tables in the backyard as well.

For almost instant holiday decoration

I used greens all the way down both sides of my custom candle holder.

I sprinkled some more greens on the sitting area tables as well

so that all the spaces felt addressed.

When the backyard was done

all that was left was to get dressed for the party!

Then it was party time to 

celebrate the engagement

of this fabulous couple!

A signature champagne cocktail

made with pomegranate juice,  Saint Germaine and a garnish of pomegranate seeds

only needed to have the chilled champagne added

when guest arrived!

After dinner

sparklers were handed out to all of the guests

for a toast to the engaged couple!

Then it was time for cake!

With plenty of time left to play in the photo booth!

We ordered a huge ballon from Geronimo

and
 made the tassels ourselves from a Christmas garland

to finish the look!

The photo booth ended up to be just as entertaining as it was useful for 

great picture backdrops!

I think I might have one every party now!

I want to say a huge thank you to Jarrett Thomas

(the handsome husband of the maid of honor)

for the fabulous night shots of the party!

I will be ever grateful

for the wonderful captures on such an important night

for family and friends!

Ellis is the baker in the family

and

 made gingerbread cookies

tied with twine and jingles

for everyone to take home!

Wishing my darling daughter and her wonderful fiancé

so much love 

as they begin their journey towards wedded happiness!

As always my friends

I wish you love and joy

as you style your life