{Real Parties} My Birthday Dinner

A few weeks ago, we celebrated my birthday in a special way! My parents, being the kind and generous people they are, had a private chef and a small staff come to our house and wine and dine us for the evening. I had such a wonderful time spending quality time with some of my closest friends. Of course, being the party planner that I am, I had to try and make the night as memorable as I could for our guests.

The color palette for the party came from my china which is the Queen Victoria pattern by Herend. It is bright and colorful and is filled with intricate flowers and butterflies. My talented friend, Hayley Hardcastle, designed the most gorgeous invitation which she hand wrote for each couple. My best friend, Whitney, asked Hayley to paint the door sign {shown above} as a surprise gift for me! My jaw dropped when I opened the package!

I had so much fun pulling the dinner table together! I wanted to combine modern and traditional touches which I did by using my china, silver and crystal along with modern white vases from Crate & Barrel.

One of my favorite parts of the decor were the pink napkins I purchased from World Market and had monogrammed with our initial.

As our friends sat down, they found a gift at their seat. Each lady received a butterfly frame with a picture of them and their significant other. This also helped direct them to their place.

The guys each received a monogrammed Jon Hart koozie which was wrapped in coordinating pink toile paper. I know, PINK! But I was not about to wrap their gifts in a masculine paper that took away from the table setting. Sorry guys! It's the inside that counts though, right?!

The table was filled with beautiful pink peonies and roses. I was beyond pleased with how the flowers turned out!

Hayley Hardcastle also hand wrote each menu card which served as the place card as well. Each guests name was written in a dark pink pink to give it a fun pop of color.

The guys monogrammed koozies which they found packaged in their seat.

Before we sat down for dinner, we sampled many delicious bites. My favorite had to be the tomato basil soup shots with mini grilled cheese sandwiches!

I changed the specialty drink the day before to Champagne Slushies after I saw this gorgeous photo shoot on Style Me Pretty. The drink was light and refreshing and perfect to start with. On the drink tray that the waiter passed, a card was placed near the glasses so guests could see what was being offered.

Another goodie for my friends to take home! I individually wrapped mini pies from my favorite source, Royer's Round Top Cafe. They are divine!

I tucked bamboo forks {from Garnish} which Hayley embellished with the word, Indulge, inside the ribbon.

It truly was such a memorable celebration for me and I hope my friends had a wonderful time as well. Here is a picture of me and my hubby before everyone arrived...

Ellen Johnson took all of the beautiful photographs and was such a pleasure to work with. Ellen also photographed the clothing swap that I hosted last August.

Party Sources:

* Invitations, menus, specialty drink card & hand painted door sign - Hayley Hardcastle

* Flowers - Whole Foods {Woodway/Jose}

* Pink napkins - World Market

* Gold beaded chargers - A Finer Event

* White, square vases - Crate & Barrel

* Butterfly frames - Z Gallerie

* Jon Hart kozzies - Bering's...stamped at Maidas

* Toile packages - wrapped by Bering's

* Mini pies {chocolate chip, buttermilk & pecan} - Royer's Round Top Cafe

* Bamboo forks - Garnish

* White boxes - Palmer Packaging

* Sheer, pink ribbon - Michael's

* Catering - Abuso Catering