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to be ridiculous and over the top for it to work— and luckily balloons are some of the most wallet-friendly party decorations. The suspended chandelier was constructed of different elements, including fringed garland, paper fans, and tissue poms with streamers woven throughout and pouring over the sides. When putting the table together, I decided to deconstruct the traditional candy buffet. Instead of having the malt balls and gummies in glass apothecary jars or fish bowls, I scattered them over the tabletop to make it appear like the remains of a very pink piñata. Candy buffets are a popular party trick nowadays, but that doesn’t mean you should avoid it! Good ideas often become popular ones; just make it your own by putting a creative spin on it. Creating candy chaos on the dessert table was an unexpected twist. Since our cake topper was freshly spun cotton candy, it didn’t make sense to peel it off and stick in twenty- nine candles (and I’m not sure Maura would have appreciated that!). But every birthday girl needs a candle to blow out! Candlelight is such a beautiful way to warm up a room, so I wanted candles flickering throughout the party. Traditional candleholders didn’t seem to evoke the right vibe, so I decided to get a little
The absolute best way to top off a sunny beach day is a scrumptious, towering ice cream sundae. I wanted to offer my guests a refreshing treat, so I put my own twist on the tradition and created a colorful sorbet bar. To serve, I made bowls out of pineapples and mini watermelons by halving them, hollowing out the core, and shaving enough down on the sides so they could rest flat. Then I filled them with raspberry, apricot, coconut- kiwi, peach, and lemon gelatos. For the toppings, I found halved coconut shells from an online party supply store and filled them with fresh berries and shredded coconut. Because sorbets would quickly melt in the sun, I prepped everything ahead of time in frozen, halved pineapples and kept it in the freezer (the frozen fruit helped keep the sorbet cold once on display), then set everything out on an oversized vintage dough board when all the girls arrived. I invited everyone to help themselves to fill coconut shells with their favorite sundae combo! After an afternoon in the sun, I knew we’d all be craving something yummy (and filling) for dinner: Hawaiian BBQ pork sandwiches with tangy grilled pineapple and arugula. Before the party, I started slow cooking a BBQ pork shoulder so it would be ready by the time we were all hungry. Just add some classic Hawaiian potato chips and enjoy!
crafty and fill mason jars with pink rice (which I dyed with food coloring) and place an assortment of pink tapered candlesticks in each one. I’m a sucker for festive signage, so I had my mind set on a sprinkle- covered “Happy Birthday” banner for the soiree. While I could have easily found one, it was the easiest DIY imaginable: cardboard letters (I used boxes I had lying around), Elmer’s glue, and buckets of rainbow- colored sprinkles. Voilà!
the details As a little girl, I never wanted the party to end, but I could hardly contain my excitement when my eyes fell on the brightly decorated favor bags. I couldn’t wait to jump into the car and pour the contents out on the backseat: lip gloss, a necklace, candy, a noisemaker . . . you get the idea. To celebrate Maura’s birthday, we wanted to offer the women and the men fun, festive party favors to thank them for coming.
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the bar Okay, so it may have been my second bachelorette party, but it still required a well-stocked bar! I wanted to re- create the sort of delicious, cheerful drinks you’d find on the cocktail menu at your favorite tropical resort: piña coladas, strawberry
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What does celebrating mean to you? When I began working on this project, I as figure out what it was about a party that made it member, I’ve loved celebrating, so I know my obse through shoeboxes of old photos, reminisced with crackly home movies that, as fuzzy or imperfect charm we’re incapable of capturing on our smar strolls down memory lane, I was reminded of som and how they were filled with people, music, food, the time my dad drove my best friends and me t party to celebrate my thirteenth birthday and h to put on makeup for the first time. I thought a came together to trim the Christmas tree, listen to to one night catch my mother redecorating the t
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