Monday, July 12, 2010

{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


43 comments:

Unknown said...

ABSOLUTELY stunning, you left no stone unturned! Looks like a wonderful way to spend your birthday with friends. Happy Birthday!

Terri said...

What a beautiful party and a lovely gift. How do I get on your friend list and invited to the next one, LOL, JK! Happy Belated Birthday and great job!

Unknown said...

How beautiful! The table was gorgeous and it was so toughtful of you to give your guests such nice gifts on your birthday!

cindy gatewood said...

Christi...

The party looks just beautiful!

Cindy

Rach said...

Lovely! What a royal table. The food looks exquisite!!

kristen said...

happy birthday christi!! such a gorgeous party!!!

Cari @ Socially Circled said...

What a special birthday dinner! Beautiful details! Happy Birthday!!

Unknown said...

Happy Birthday!
Everything looked Beautiful!

Jenn said...

Love it all! What a FUN Birthday! You looked gorgoues! I love Haley's work, I hope to use her for my wedding paper goods! That is SO cute that you put a frame of each couple, how clever!! Umm what did I wanna comment on, loved the monogram napkins.. I've never tried the place where you got the pies, I'll have to look into it..

I Hope you have a great Birthday!

I might be contacting you soon to assist with a Engagement party, still working out some details

Chris @ Celebrations At Home said...

Christi, this is beautiful and elegant, and looks like so much fun. I love the neutral table with the pops of pink!

Donna @ Party Wishes said...

What an amazing celebration! You have great friends to add so many lovely touches to your party.

Save the Date for Cupcakes said...

Gorgeous set up. Who can go wrong with Z Gallerie, Crate and Barrel, and a little bit of Garnish;o) Happy B~day!

Hayley Hardcastle said...

Wow, wow, WOW!!! It's amazing to see it all come together! It was everything I imagined it would be and more! A beautiful evening for a beautiful friend! xoxo

The Lacys said...

i've been so excited to see these pictures! you are so talented. it was absolutely beautiful.

Amy said...

WOW WOW WOW that is amazing! you are so talented and also lucky to have equally talented friends! i want to have a dinner party now and use all my china and crystal!

Unknown said...

Absolutely breathtaking! Beautiful party Christi, every detail is stunning, I can't even pick a favorite element, I love them all! I am so glad you had such a spectacular birthday celebration, very much deserved! Happy happy belated to you!

Unknown said...

Of course, your party did not disappoint! Gorgeous details! I love the floral arrangements,your china, and the party favor. Kudos!

Unknown said...

wow! so very exquisite! what a dream for a party girl to get to throw her own perfect party! so many amazing details!

colleen
www.figandruby.blogspot.com

Paige said...

What a FABULOUS birthday party! I love it!!:)

amy * stem * said...

Just as gorgeous as you are and as lovely as I expected from you. What a wonderful night with friends.

Cheers to you!
Ames

Lili said...

everything looks amazing! and you can never go wrong with Abuso!

Cammi at Cammi Lee Events said...

Gorgeous!! I love the color scheme you went with - classy and beautiful!

A Blissful Nest said...

Christi- this is SO gorgeous and elegant. What a lovely evening and I would never had wanted to leave!! Happy belated birthday!!

DrBabyMamaDrama said...

you can really throw a fabulous party!

Melissa C said...

So elegant! Thanks for sharing & Happy Birthday!

Bird said...

GORGEOUS!! Chic, romantic, stunning attention to detail!!

Loved it!!

Congratulations and Happy Birthday too!! :)

Love,
Bird

Anonymous said...

This is beyond beautiful! LOVE the elegance and the colors. Nice work on your own celebration :O)

Shelley said...

It looks beautiful!!! Hope you had a wonderful birthday!

Shelley @ http://divinepartyconcepts.com/

Praveen said...

I love this, it's gorgeous! So grown up and pretty! I can't wait to share with my readers {www.rivernorthlove.blogspot.com}

jackie fo said...

This is SO gorgeous!!! I love that you decorated for your birthday dinner - that would be a present for me too :) You did a wonderful job as usual!

A To Zebra Celebrations said...

AWESOME PARTY!!! I want one like that :):) Happy belated birthday!! Everything is gorgeous!

Kinser Event Company said...

Gorgeous! I love the detail! Would love to feature it on my blog: http://www.kinsereventcompany.blogspot.com - happy belated birthday!

Ashley @ The Sweet Life Studio said...

How fun! Everything looks gorgeous!

Festa said...

Christi, congratulations!!! your birthday party looks amazing beautiful. I love every single detail, the colors, the flowers. Great job.

Enchanted Expectations said...

OMG! I thought I left a comment. I LOOOOVVVVEEE this party. It is so beautiful and such great inspiration. What a Perfect Day!

Enchanted Expectations said...

PS-If you don't mind, I will be re-posting

amy & lisa said...

Beautiful!! Wow. I love it all! :)

Unknown said...

everything turned out so beautiful!

Laura said...

Just used the champagne slushie idea this weekend for a bridal shower and it was such a HUGE hit! Thanks for the wonderful ideas and this looks like it was an amazing birthday!

Carolyn said...

I know that girl, Courtney (and Justin) in the table photo! :) Pretty house and beautiful party!

MMW said...

I'm visiting here from Garnish. What a lovely party. And fantastic idea with the forks.

Happy BD.

Unknown said...

That looked like such a wonderful party! Everything was just gorgeous! I have to ask (and I hope you don't mind) what paint color is on your dining room walls? It's exactly what I am looking to do in my guest bedroom but can't find the right color. I love it. And that gathered tablecloth is amazing!!

Unknown said...

What a lovely idea. My 40th is next year and I love the idea of an intimate dinner with my closest friends and family... with a private chef. What great parents you have.

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