Tuesday, April 26, 2011

April Shower: The Details

Here are some of the details!  With 60 people attending, I knew the bulk of our budget would go toward food and drinks.  So the challenge Anita and I had was to pack a big punch on a relatively small budget.  I think we mostly succeeded.  Lesson learned here....when you make something, take a picture of it at home if you want a picture of it.  Setting up was pretty intense, so I didn't get pictures of everything. Boo.  But, here's what I did get pictures of.....


The advice cards.  This is something I like to do at showers because showers can get hectic.  This serves as an opportunity for each person attending to write down something special for the guest of honor that they might not have a chance to say at the shower itself.  Their thoughts, words advice, or wishes for the guest of honor can later be kept as a keepsake for the guest of honor.  I usually like to keep them private but often people like to have them read out loud. 


Here is a close up.  I designed the cards in PSE using the same elements from the invite.  I kept them long so they coordinated with the invitation.  The pens were made by one of the hosts, Priti.  She's an amazing cook/baker/crafter - as you can see from my previous post.  She covered each pen with floral tape and added a silk flower to the tops.  It's hard to imagine that something so cute was also functional.  We ended up placing each pen at each place setting along with a little box of chocolate covered raisins - Priti's doing - and it looked really nice....but you will have to take my word for it.  That was yet another one of the pictures I didn't get a chance to take. :(


The favor bags.  Priti got these cute white lunch bags for guests to fit all their goodies in.  Despite how roomy they were, some guests still filled two and sometimes three bags up.  I don't blame them.  If I was a guest, I would have hit the dessert table up before the food.  Just sayin'.

  

Here is a close up of the tags I made.  I used my silhouette to cut out 60 tags and wrote "Love is Sweet" on each one.  

I wanted something guests could just clip onto the bags to close them with, but I couldn't find any red medium sized clothespins.  So, I did what any self respecting craft addict would do.  I called my friend Mandy over and we hand painted 60 of those puppies.  And I don't regret one second of it.  It was the perfect shade of red and the perfect amount of cuteness.  

Then, as if that wasn't enough fun - it really was - we tied bows around the tags and placed a glue dot on each one so that guests didn't have to fool with adding their own tag.  They just had to place the clothespin on their bag and call it a day because the tag was already attached. 


Here is what they looked like in action on the dessert table. Oh my.  I'm so proud of them.  I think I just teared up.


The napkins. Since there were so many people, I wanted the buffet to run smoothly and didn't want to have anyone having to go back to get their plasticware. So, I wrapped the plasticware with a napkin. But, well, you know me.  I can't just leave it at that.  So I added a doily and some ribbon.  Doily, have I told you lately how much I love you? 


The tables.  The tables were 72" rounds, so I knew I needed a centerpiece that made a statement.  I would have loved to have had real flowers, but it wasn't in the budget.  So, Anita helped me make some tissue flowers that tied our whole color scheme in.  Much to Mr. Bean's chagrin, I used our cereal bowls as vases to hold said flowers in.  He only missed one morning's worth of cereal, so no worries. Then, I added ribbon because, well, I'll say it again, ribbon makes everything prettier.  For an extra punch of color, I used my old fall back and cut wrapping paper.  Priti brought her left over silk flowers and we tossed them around the centerpieces.  What I didn't get a snap of was the favor boxes Priti made with the chocolate covered raisins in them. The tables looked pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. 


The photo wall.  OK, so here is where I get a little crazy.  Only here though. ;)  Sharmee loves:  red, hearts, and taking pictures.  So, I thought, why not incorporate all three into her shower? So I did. I made a photo wall.  Anita was forced to wanted to make some tissue poofs that we hung around the photo wall.  We bought a lot of other elements that we didn't have time to hang but I love it all the same.  I was really nervous it would look cheesy.  And, well, it did.  In a good, Sharmee kind of way.


Here is the close up.  Anita and I made cut out the letters with the silhouette, which was hung using clothespins to cut down on time.  I then made a few doily banners and then attached lots and lots of streamers and ribbons to a pre-made tinsel curtain.  Unfortunately, the photo wall wasn't used but twice. And by twice I mean only two pictures were taken in front of it.  So, it was a lot of work sort of wasted but at least I got to try my hand at a photo wall.  I did learn a few things about these backdrops, though.  No matter how huge it looks in your house, it will look very puny in a 34' x 26' room.  Also, I shouldn't have let the tear down crew at it so quickly.  There were plenty of people helping me tear down that could have taken pics with it.  So.  Better luck next time.

All in all, I have to say I will never do this again. Ha.  Seriously, though, about 50 people ended up coming.  That is a lot of people.  We couldn't really do a whole lot with decor, but I think Anita and I managed....what do you think??  :)

I hate to make this out like an awards ceremony, but....thanks to everyone that had to put up with all my crazy emails.  I know they were almost a daily thing. :) A HUGE shout out to Priti.  You are amazing and so talented.  And to Julie for helping coordinate everything.  And to Anita for putting up with my obsessive craft-pulsiveness.  And to all the people that helped set up, namely Sonal, Bhavik, Mehul and Kishan.  We couldn't have finished everything without you guys.  And to Mandy for always willing to put in some hard labor for events you will never see in person.  That's dedication.  And lastly, HUGE thanks to Sarah and my Seester for having to listen to my worries and woes. Love you guys.

3 comments:

Sarah said...

Everything turned out awesomely! People say no one notices the details, but I don't believe it at all. I noticed and appreciated all the effort and awesome little touches you made. Ha. That makes it sound like it was my shower. Mine or not, it was fantastic. Kudos!

pintobean said...

Thanks, Sarah!!!

Unknown said...

I'd also like to add a shout out of my own. To my BFF (you know who you are)- you are FREAKIN' AWESOME

also, "All in all, I have to say I will never do this again. Ha.".... does that mean I should find someone else to host any other showers I might need in the future?

:)