Simply Southern Events

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2011-06-25T18:31:00.001-04:00

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The Sugarplum Tea

2010-12-05T12:11:00.013-05:00

This past Saturday I co-hosted the International City School of Ballet's Sugarplum Tea. Each year the Ballet Company host the Sugarplum Tea to raise money for the Ballet Company. This year, I was asked to design a centerpiece for the tables and decor.

I decided to keep the centerpiece simple so the lovely christmas cookies, sweets and tea cakes could be showcased. The bows, which are placed at the top of the the plate stands, were handmade; and, I placed christmas wreaths around the bottom of the plate stands to give it a more christmas feel.

The little girls all came dressed up in their best Christmas dresses and they really enjoyed the Sugarplum Tea. The photos are below.

Baby Shower for Bentley Kate

2010-06-17T22:05:00.001-04:00

My friends and I finally got to host a baby shower this weekend for our very pregnant friend Brooke. I have known Brooke since the 8th grade and I was just thrilled when I found out she was having a little girl. I feel so blessed to have her in my life and can't wait to see her embark on the journey of motherhood.

My wonderful friends gave me the honor of being in-charge of the invitations and shower decor. They know how much I love coming up with party decor. Seriously, I go a little crazy sometimes. Of course I thought of using the color pink, but how boring is that. Since Brooke has always been a very bubbly and outgoing gal, I decided against using pink and went with red, black and white polka dots; and boy I am so glad I did! All and all, I think the decor turned out really cute and different. The pictures are below and I hope you enjoy! By the way, my friend Kelli took the pictures and I think she is talented!

Thank you for your understanding!!

These cute cheesecake bars were made by my friend Amber. They were really tasty and I loved the way she included the letter "B" for Bentley.

I actually saw the words of encouragement cards on the baby gardner website and decided to make my own version. I think they turned out pretty cute!

Brooke's Baby Shower Invitation

2010-05-28T10:24:00.000-04:00

Recently, I was given the honor of co-hosting my friend Brooke's baby shower. I have been put in charge of invitations and decor, which my friends know are my favorite things to do for a party. The baby shower is not for a couple of more weeks but I recently mailed out the invitations and thought I would dedicate a post to them since they turned out so cute.

Brooke is having a little girl, so of course the invitation needed to be extremely girly. At first I thought of using the color pink, but then I remembered Brooke's bridal shower invitations had been pink. It was back to the drawing board. I needed something different and cute, so I selected a red, white and black polka dot theme.

After the invitatins had been designed and printed, I felt they needed a little extra something. I decided to make little, fabric diaper sleeves for the invitations to slide down into. These were made from polka dot fabric I found at Hobby Lobby. I just used a diaper template and cut out each diaper sleeve. Once all the diaper sleeves had been made, I added an embroidered B to the front of them. Why the letter B? Brooke has decided to name her little girl Bentley, which I think is just adorable and perfect. I thought it would be sweet to have something on the invitation which represented Bentley's name, hence the embroidered B.

Photos of Brooke's baby shower invitations are below, and I hope you, guys enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed creating them.

Our Easter Bunny Breakfast

2010-04-03T13:04:00.000-04:00

Whether you're hosting a brunch, lunch, or dinner, Easter is a time to celebrate the return of warmer weather with fresh, festive decorations.

This year, I decided to host an Easter Bunny Breakfast for my kids. The theme for the breakfast was simple really. I wanted them to feel as though they were sitting in the grass having breakfast with the Easter Bunny himself.

For the table decor I used yellow placemats, which I topped with fake, green, grass mats. The yellow placemats I found at Target, and the grass mats at Hobby Lobby. The grass mats are really what inspired the breakfast in the first place. The carrot shaped utensil holder was extremely easy to make. I just rolled orange paper napkins into the shape of a carrot, and added green pipe cleaners for the leaves.

For the centerpiece, I found three really cute flowers at Kroger. I had originally planned on making a centerpiece but the time just got away from me. However, these flowers are really easy to make, and later on this month I will show you how to make them.

Now for the menu. I served pancakes in the shape of an Easter bunny. I added blueberries and thinly sliced bananas for the whiskers. My kids loved the pancakes so much that they almost didn't want to eat them.

Overall, the Easter Bunny Breakfast was a hit. The pictures are below for all to enjoy.

Adding To Their Nest Baby Shower

2010-03-22T12:38:00.000-04:00

I promised more details and photos from the baby shower I hosted this past Saturday for my sweet friends Ashley & Brett Altman. Here they are.

I wanted to incorporate feathers into Ashley & Brett's baby shower decor, especially since the invitations had included feathers. The guest were greeted with a beautiful, white feather wreath. I added a blue, silk bow to the wreath and instantly the tone for the baby shower was set.

Because Ashley and Brett are so close to their family and friends, I knew they would enjoy having each guest write a message to them. These words of encouragement and advice cards added a special touch to the baby shower, and their guest had fun filling them out.

My goal for the baby shower décor was simple elegance with a touch of nature. The decor was made from recycled paper and a few little things I picked up here and there.

My favorite décor at the shower was the centerpiece I created. A tall and beautiful vase held tree branches and bird seed. To dress the centerpiece up, I created two paper birds from recycled paper and hung them from the branches of the centerpiece. Located in the middle of the centerpiece was a nest holding a single blue egg. To add one last touch of elegance I made three flower balls using white daisies and carnations, and I hung these from the other branches. My friend Laurie actually helped make the white carnation flower ball and I think it turned out beautiful.

We enjoyed a buffet style lunch with lots of yummy items for everyone to try. My favorite item was Ashley and Brett’s baby shower cake and cupcakes. These were created by Nadia the lovely owner of YumYumCakeDesigns in Lawrenceville, GA. I simply gave her a drawing of what I wanted the cake to look like and she created it. It truly was beautiful and Ashley and Brett loved it.

Here are the wonderful mommy and daddy to be. I feel blessed to have Ashley and Brett call me their friend and hope they enjoyed their special day as much as I did putting it together.

I would also like to thank all of the wonderful people who helped to make Ashley and Brett's baby shower so special.

Ashley & Brett's Boxed Invitations

2010-02-06T12:26:00.000-05:00

Finally, Ashley and Brett's baby shower invitations are finished, and are on their way to the invited guests.

Set like a present in a box, the printed invitation is placed on top of white delicate feathers. Attached to the inside top of the box is a handmade sleeve holding Ashley and Brett's baby registry information and map directions to the baby shower. The outside of the box is wraped in recycled grocery bags, and contains a handmade label addressed to each recipient.

Sure, I could have mailed the invitations out in regular envelopes, but what fun would that have been? I wanted their guests to feel like they were getting a present themselves. I just thought it was a neat idea, and added a little extra special feel to Ashley and Brett's baby shower.

Overall, these invitations were pretty labor intense, but worth every moment I spent creating them. The pictures are below, and I hope you guys like them.

My Hunt For The Perfect Invitation

2010-01-28T22:54:00.000-05:00

Picking out invitations is probably one of the most important aspects of party planning. The invitation you select gives the guest a preview of the event they will be attending. The more unique and creative the invitation is, the more excited your guest will be about attending your event.

Recently, two very special people in my life found out they were expecting. I have been waiting for years for Ashley & Brett to have a baby, so you can just imagine how excited I was when I found out they were pregnant. Over the years I have been secretly planning a baby shower for them, and this March, Ashley and Brett's once imaginary baby shower will finally get the chance to make its day view.

Okay, back to picking out invitations. I love picking out invitations; however, it can be pretty daunting. It is really helpful to have a theme picked out. The theme for Ashley and Brett's baby shower is "They Are Adding to Their Nest". I love this theme, and though it may not be the most original of themes, I felt it fit their personalities perfectly.

Once you have finished picking out your theme you need to decide how much money you want to or are able to spend on them. Let's face it fellow party planners, professionally printed invitations are not cheap. There are discount invitation companies out there who carry really adorable invitations, and I have listed them on my blog.

For Ashley and Brett's baby shower, I chose PaperStyle.com. I am kind of a snob about invitations, cakes, food and well, so many things when it comes to planning events. I have to literally fall in love with something to actually spend money on it. One late night while hunting for the perfect invitaion on-line, I came across PaperStyle.com. I fell in love with this one invitation and I have posted it above.

What makes PaperStyle so wonderful is I was able to fill in the information and see the proof immediately, and in less then three days my beautiful invitations arrived. I had originally wanted to make the invitations myself, however, limited time prevented this. Don't worry, I do have a little trick up my sleeve, and it involves putting my very own signature touch on the invitations.

The invitations were not cheap. I spent $71.89, which is expensive for a baby shower but they turned out wonderful. They may have a simplistic look to them now, but soon a little extra something will be added and a whole new vision will be revealed.

I hope this blog post has been been helpful. Don't forget to check out PaperStyle.com.

http://www.paperstyle.com/is-bin/

A Surprise Party For My Hubby

2010-01-28T02:33:00.000-05:00

I dedicate this post to Ashley, Brett, Laurie, Todd, Tiffany, Carr, Lucie, Jeff, Wendy, Justin and Lisa

This past July I threw my husband a Surprise 30th Birthday Party. I had so much fun planning it, and I had to go above and beyond to keep him from finding out about it. The experience of planning it was more than I could have asked or hoped for, and I look back at it as a turning point in our lives.

Garett and I recently moved back to Georgia after being away for six years, and have reconnected with many of our old friends. Garett’s relationship with his friends is a truly unique and rare one. They all have known each other since the sixth grade, and have remained friends through college, marriages, and having children. As people get older and become busier in life, they often lose contact with the ones who mean the most to them growing up. Garett has always tried to remain close with his friends; he truly values each of them.

This is the part where I explain how planning and throwing his surprise 30th birthday party was a turning point in our lives. I am a relatively shy person at times, so the thought of me having to call his friends and talk with them about his birthday was daunting. Up until recently, I had never really spoken or had a one on one conversation with them. I knew they were nice people, but I had always thought of them as Garett’s friends. This changed during the process of planning his birthday party.

Through secretly planning his party, I gained ten wonderful friends of my own. We all had such a great time at the party, and at the end of the night Garett truly felt loved. He walked away not only with just another year added to his life, but knowing no matter how much time passes by or how many miles may get placed in-between, his bond with his friends will always be there.

Okay, now on to sharing all which went into planning his birthday party.

First, was picking the invitations. I decided to go with Evite.com. Evite.com is an electronic invitation site which allows you to send and electronic invitation via e-mail to your entire guest list. I love evite, because I didn’t have to spend money on invitations, or risk Garett finding out about his party. Evite also lets you customize your invitation by adding music. You can create a playlist to play while your guests are viewing the invitation. It worked perfectly for Garett’s party because the guest list was small, and I knew everyone’s e-mail address. If you are planning a larger party, I would go with traditional paper invitations.

Second, was picking the destination where his party was going to be held. I take this back. I picked the location before picking the invitation, but I’m sure you figured that part out. Garett’s birthday party, was held at Dominick’s Restaurant located in downtown Lawrenceville, GA. They were wonderful with helping me plan the menu and on just accommodating the entire guest list. Oh, and the food was wonderful. When the guest arrived, there was an open bar for two hours and then they were able to just sit down and eat. I think by having the menu already picked out, it kept people from was stressing about what they were going to pick to eat. People were just able to socialize and enjoy the open bar. If you decide to plan the menu, it is important to find if any of your guests have allergies.

http://www.dominicksitalian.com/

Third, was picking out the cake. This was the hardest part for me. I am a perfectionist, so just any cake would not due. I agonized over picking out a cake. I found this wonderful bakery in Lawrenceville, GA. The pastry chief is Nadia at YumYum Cake Designs. She was truly wonderful and thoughtful and did exactly what I wanted, which I’m sure by the time the party came she was ready to rip her hair out. The best part about Nadia is she allowed me to wait until after the party to pay for the cake. Garett loves to check our account frequently, so I was so scared he was going to see a charge and find out. Oh, Dominick’s also allowed me to wait until after dinner to pay.

http://www.yumyumcakedesigns.com/

Last, was picking out party favors to give to the guest. I know, party favors are usually given out to kids at kids’ birthday parties, but hey adults like to get a little gift too. Each guest received a wine bottle and a beer bottle, which displayed customized labels on the front. The labels included the date, location and time of the event, as well as, childhood pictures of Garett. I think these were a big hit. I ordered the labels from a company in Austria, but there are companies in the U.S. which do this too.

Overall, the party was so much fun and I think the guest really enjoyed themselves. As for the cost, well I gave Garett strict instructions not to ask me about the cost for a couple of weeks. Below is the cost broken down and pictures from the event.

Invitations: $0.00
Food: $920.00 (This included the menu and the open bar) Cake: $160.00
Party Favors: $150.00 (This was for the custom labels and wine and beer)
Total Cost: $1,230.00

Worth Every Penny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Introductions

2010-01-27T19:24:00.000-05:00

Hello, my name is Kathryn A. Nelson and I live in Bonaire, Georgia. Yes, I said Bonaire, GA; if you googled it you probably wouldn't find it. Barbeque and High School football are the two main concerns here.

I am twenty-nine years old, and a wife and mother to two beautiful children. I have always dreamed of starting my very own event planning business. As a little girl, people from all over the world came to buy my gourmet mud pies; I was known for them. Although my taste has become more refined, being I no longer make cupcakes and pies out of mud, I still dream about opening my very own event planning business.

I recently came across several hostess blogs, in which these exceedingly creative women were sharing some of their themes and ideas for parties. Suddenly, a thought popped into my head; I should start a party planning blog of my own. I have so many creative ideas, and I would love to share them with the world.

Wow, blogging is not as hard as I thought it was going to be.