Engagement Party for Josh & Claire! Last weekend we hosted an engagement party for my brother, Josh, and his fiance, Claire! We absolutely love Claire (isn’t she gorgeous?!) and are excited to officially welcome her to the family. They’ve been dating since our wedding (5 years ago) and the girls already consider her their favorite Aunt. Of course, I love throwing parties, so when they were engaged, I enlisted Jill (my sister) and together we insisted that we host a big party for all of their friends and our families. It was so much fun to kick-off the wedding festivities by mixing both sides together – their multiple sets of friends from high school, along with their hometown and college friends… and our families. I’ll take you through the details of the decor and menu below. Tomorrow I’ll post a step-by-step for the menu along with a shopping list and to-do schedule for hosting a similar party. I used many products from the store and will list all of them at the bottom of the post for your reference. Congrats, Josh & Claire! We can’t wait to really celebrate at the wedding : )
WeddingPaperDivas.com invitation
Josh and Claire (along with Mike and Me, and Jill and Kevin…) met at Mizzou, so we figured it was a perfect way to welcome guests.
Willow hanging basket filled with hydrangea and a new wheat satin ribbon I’ll share in a couple of weeks.
The living room has undergone some changes in the last couple of weeks in preparation for the party. The new (old) ship painting is one of my favorite additions.
And these Laurel Wreath Lamps. I had little bunches of white roses from my garden throughout the house in my favorite tumblers.
I also had hydrangeas around in pitchers. I love little setups like this with a candle- it makes every little corner seem festive.
The bar set up in the library with a linen, champagne and white wine.
Linen towel and flowers spruce up the powder room.
Dining table set up as buffet for heavy hors d’oeuvres.
More little blooms : )
Cheese and berry platter set up on the breadboard.
Jill and Kate sampling just before the party.
Jill ordered these coasters (and coordinating napkins) from Paper-Source. It is hard to tell in the photo, but they are cream with navy letterpress. They made the party seem official!
Another shot of the food table just before guests arrived. This was a real party (and not a photo shoot…) so I didn’t have time to take beauty shots of everything.
Beef Tenderloin Platter with Horseradish
Mini Lobster Rolls
Tomato & Mozzarella Platter
Creamy Shrimp Dip in a the Tart Pan – great for dips.
Blanched Asparagus for dipping.
Wedding Cake Cupcakes with Gold Celebration Candles
The outside was set up for seating. Since it was a cocktail party for 50 guests, we decided on 3 tables of 6, and the picnic table outside. Everyone else gathered around sofas, the kitchen island and random chairs we had placed throughout the house. I made the linens with outdoor awning striped fabric and we rented the chairs from a party store. I wish I had taken a photo later in the night when we had all of the candles, lanterns and fire pit lit – it was so festive!
Here are the couple of honor with their biggest fans! Products used : Door : Hanging Willow Basket Bar area : Provence Beige Tablecloth Classic Ice Bucket for Champagne Classic Pitcher (with hydrangeas) Living Room : Provence Indigo Pillow Cover Classic Long Tray (holding flowers) Tumbler with Flowers (as vase) Dark Grey Herringbone Stripe Rattan Basket Trays Tuscany Pillow Cover On Buffet: Tuscany Linen Tablecloth Marble & Pewter Cake Stands Classic Service Tray with Handles (Tomatoes & Mozzarella) Rattan Basket Trays Multi Stripe Linen Tea Towel (with rolls) Laurel Wreath Cards for food labels Classic Maple Cheese Board with Pewter Base Harvest Basketfor Bread with Tuscany Stripe Tea Towel
Bread Board for Lobster Rolls
Creamware Tart Pan for Dip
Cupcakes : Celebration Gold Candles Gold Stripe Cupcake Papers Marble & Pewter Cake Stands