The Party Dress » floral decorations

Stunning Ombre Flowers

Kelly — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 10:00:55 +0000

I have been totally swooning over this table setting for a while now…figured it was time to share it with all of you! I’ve been stashing away images that include orange flowers for inspiration for my sister’s upcoming wedding, and when I found this one….ah, amazing! So unique. I love the linear look it gives to the table, but especially the ombre (a graduated color change) effect. It’s such a sophisticated way to pull in colors ranging from orange, to pink, to deep berry. This could be a fabulous idea for a special birthday party or bridal shower!

Done as a photo shoot for Green Wedding Shoes, this floral arrangement was done by one of my favorite inspirations, La Partie Events.

Holiday Decorating: Light Up Your Entryway

Kelly — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 18:32:54 +0000

I’m always looking for unique ways to dress up the front of my house for a party. You know, a gorgeous way of signaling “the party’s here!”?! This idea from Better Homes and Gardens is just that.

Take your old cylinder vases, or hurricanes that you put away for the season to make room for holiday decor, and fill them up with black stones, leaves, berries and candles. Place along your front path, up your front steps or even lining your driveway. The glow of the candles will be the perfect warm welcome to your guests!

A Fresh Look for Moss

Kelly — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 09:00:26 +0000

Floral Art LA is one of my favorite go-to’s for modern floral inspiration. My new favorite?! These updated urns. They are fresh and airy-looking and are perfect for transitional seasons. For those of you that have been reading The Party Dress for a while now, you all know I have an obsession with white pumpkins and decorating with moss….so this is literally an “ah-ha!” moment for me! Wouldn’t these be perfect for a winter bridal shower?

Heavenly Blooms Tablesetting

Kelly — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 21:28:26 +0000

After writing this blog for over a year and a half, it is safe to say that I have seen a million beautiful table settings. Because I am surrounded by such beauty, it takes a lot to REALLY wow me. This fabulous, stunning, crazy-inventive table setting and hanging decor (which you know is my latest obsession!) literally took my breath away.

A combination of talents pulled together this stunning photo shoot – the inspiration was a modern Coco Chanel/Parisian influenced bridal shower. With a color palette was a soft, blush pink with accents of crisp white and black. Chandra of Oh Lovely Day and Jaclyne of Heavenly Blooms dreamed up this shoot with the help of Jasmine Star and Amanda with In the Now Weddings.

Head over to Jacylne’s post on Heavenly Blooms for more amazing eye candy – trust me, there are a million more details yet to be discovered. And P.S. – I would LOVE to be invited to this bridal shower – and can’t wait to try my hand at these hanging carnation garlands!

Summer Decor

Kelly — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 11:00:45 +0000

We’ve been having quite the heat wave here in Chicago this summer! The heat has me craving decor that SCREAMS summer, and now that the fourth of july and my birthday are over, my house needs a little summer update to get me thru until fall.

I’ve scoured the web for ideas, and here are a few that stood out to me that are perfect for making my home party-ready all summer long:

Use sand dollars as placecards at your next dinner party. Simply write your guest’s name on the top and place it atop their napkin.
Fill 9.85hurricanes or large cylinder 6vases with sand. You can add in some sea shells or XL White Pencil Starfish Star Fish Seashellstarfish to add more of a beach look to it. These would be great clustered together on your table, or place large vessels on the floor.
I keep fresh flowers in the house at all times. They make me happy! I love, love, love all white flowers – so this table setting just spoke to me!
I love the idea of a miniature pie as a party favor for each one of your guests. Such a darling, homespun idea….perfect for a summer bbq!
Create a hanging votive candle chandelier to hang over your patio table. This one was made out of simple, hardware store purchases – a pizza Cuisinart Chef's Classic Nonstick Bakeware 14-Inch Pizza Panpan, chain links and a hook! Simply cover it with moss, add a few candles and voila! An inexpensive yet stylish update.
It’s always good to have a couple hostess gifts on hand for those last minute invitations. These sea shell soaps from Beau-Coup are perfect! They also make a lovely party favor for a summer bridal shower or birthday party.
Lemonade. This is my summer drink of choice and I simply can’t get enough! I love the idea of bottling it in juice bottles and gifting it to my guests at my next dinner party!
Adding XL White Pencil Starfish Star Fish Seashellstarfish to your decor adds a beach-y feeling that I just love! Tie a name card onto them and they serve as a fabulous placecard.
Lanterns add a twinkle to your yard – whether they are big or small. Repeat, repeat, repeat! Trust me, they will add a festive feel to your home and yard!

Those are my finds for updating my home’s summer decor…..what are yours?

Images: sand dollar placecards, starfish placecards, mason jar lanterns (theknot.com), hurricanes (midwestliving.com), pie tablesetting (stylemepretty.com), hanging votive chandelier(goodhousekeeping.com), sea shell soaps (beau-coup.com), lemonade (eatdrinkchic.com)

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Baby Shower

Kelly — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 08:00:27 +0000

Moving on with our damask collection party inspirations today……next up a sweet and simple baby shower!

I just love this combination – blue and green, it looks so fresh for summer and it’s perfect for a boy or girl! I love the idea of pulling out some green, natural elements into the decorations. This wreath and hanging votive chandelier was the inspiration for the table setting at the anniversary party I styled recently….and it would be lovely for a baby shower or bridal shower! It’s definitely a “wow” addition to any party!

Images: hanging votive chandelier and floating hydreagnea centerpiece (brides.com), blue and green damask invitation (whhostess.com), blue candy and cupcakes (inspiredbride.com), drinks (stylemepretty.com)

Real Parties: Southern BBQ Anniversary Party

Kelly — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 09:00:54 +0000

Party planning is one of my favorite things to do….obviously! It’s gets my creative juices flowing and I get the joys of working with all different types of personalities. Well, I recently had the pleasure of planning a party with one of my favorite personalities….my best friend!

With their 10th anniversary looming, my best friend and her husband (who also happens to be my husband’s cousin!) decided to renew their vows and throw an anniversary party, and they asked me to help them do it! We decided upon a southern bbq theme, with a fresh color palette of yellow, blue and green.

A large, white canopy was erected in the backyard, and we created one long table for dinner. The tables were covered in a beautiful, summer paisley (tablecloths that we found at Home Goods!), glass candlesticks, and white pots full of yellow flowers. Crisp, white napkins were folded in a pocket fold at each place, holding the silverware and a seersucker stripe placecard (all of the paper goods were custom designed by WH Hostess). Chandeliers made of green ivy wreaths and hanging votive candles hung above the table, casting a soft glow at dusk.

Guests were welcomed with delicious appetizers: mini crab cakes, shrimp shooters and paper cones full of popcorn for the kiddies. A southern bbq buffet was served for dinner, and included fried chicken, italian beef, baked beans, potato salad, tomato and corn salad, spinach salad, slices of watermelon and cornbread.

The kids table held junebug jars (mini mason jars complete with a sticker with each kid’s name, and holes punched in the top for the bugs to breathe!), which not only looked cute but also provided a great source of entertainment for the evening!

Speaking of entertainment…..the dessert table! It took 5 of us to hold the crowds back for me to be able to snap just a few pictures of it! Guests young and old couldn’t wait to dive into all of these delicious treats!

Using our signature paisley tablecloth as the backdrop, we used all white serving pieces (most of which were inexpensive finds at Home Goods!), and glass apothecary jars full of green candy (margarita jelly beans, apple sours, rock candy, gumballs and gummie circles). The desserts included cupcakes (with custom cupcake toppers by WH Hostess), key lime and lemon tart shooters, brownie pops, meringue sandwiches, sugar cookies, and sour apple popcorn. Guests were given a white take-out box (embellished with a sticker stating “celebrating 10 SWEET years of marriage”) to fill up with candy, to bring home as their party favor.

As the sun went down in the backyard, my favorite part of our decorations lit up and created the perfect party glow…..framework around the patio, adorned with white twinkle lights, and gauzy white drapes ($4 a pack at IKEA) created an “outdoor room”, perfect for after dinner cocktails and dessert.

A fabulous night was had by all! I hope you enjoyed a peek into this beautiful party, and can take away inspiration for your next birthday party, bridal shower or summer bbq. Happy 10th Anniversary, Teresa & Will! Here’s to 50 more…..

Trend Alert: Wheat Grass

Kelly — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 09:00:44 +0000

The smell of freshly cut grass is one of the first signs of summer….so why not bring grass into your summer centerpieces?! As you saw yesterday in our lady bug soiree, pots of grass is a simple centerpiece and perfect for kids parties! Here are a few more ideas on how to incorporate wheat grass into your summer decorating…

Images: daisy placecards (brides.com), buffet table and lollipop centerpiece (elizabethannedesigns.com), yellow pots (inmagine.com), wheat grass with daisies (nancyluichin.com), grass pot placecards (theknot.com), gerber daisy centerpiece (realsimple.com)

Hanging Flowers

Kelly — Thu, 13 May 2010 14:42:32 +0000

I fell in love with this image from The Knot – it’s the perfect solution to the “I want large floral centerpieces, but don’t want to block my guests view” problem! Not to mention it looks so new and fresh! I think you could take this concept and scale it down a little bit for an outdoor party this summer, too. If you have a covered patio or want to pitch a party tent in your backyard, you could totally re-create this look. A few hanging plants (make sure to get the “pretty” pots), a few hanging candles – it’s sure to leave your guests saying “wow!”

Real Party: A Baby Shower for Zoe

Kelly — Wed, 12 May 2010 09:00:14 +0000

This beautiful baby shower was sent to me by photographer, Wendy Updegraff. Thrown for her sister, no detail was left undone!

The color palette for the party was inspired by the Tiny Prints invitation. A tent covered the beautiful table setting, and was decorated with paper lanters and a special “baby Mama” banner. They made sugar scrub jars for the party favors and it doubled as the placecard. My favorite decorative element is definitely the huge Z they covered in artificial flowers…the baby-to-be’s name is Zoe. Baby Zoe’s room is to be decorated with bla-bla dolls so they made tags on the back of all of the chairs with cut outs of different bla-bla dolls. And here is a darling activity: while the guest of honor, opened gifts, they had baskets of ribbons, glue and buttons for the guests to make baby Zoe hair clips! Too cute, right?!