Celebrating your birthday can often be one of the things that you look forward to in the year. It is the one day that you can demand that it is all about you, how great is that? However, not many people throw parties these days unless it is a milestone birthday, and there is something wrong with that. Who says you can’t have a party and celebrate in style? With that in mind, here are some of the ways that you can throw the ultimate birthday party, either for yourself, a friend or a loved one.

Think about the theme

Birthday parties can be as flamboyant or as low key as you want them to be, and whatever way you want to go, having a theme can help create the perfect set up. Your theme could be color focused, or it could be something a little unique or different. Perhaps sourcing films as inspiration, songs or decades, for example. There are so many ways that you can enhance a birthday party, that you will can go all out, even if you are celebrating at home or in a specific location.

Add a touch of fun

Some people assume that a party is just a party with food, drink and a lovely mix of people, but you can also add different elements to it as well. People nowadays consider entertainment as a big party of party planning. One popular choice is a photo booth, and you can be a little more creative by choose a specific backdrop from companies like The Backdrop Lab. This could help you choose something that goes with your theme. Other things to consider might be a DJ or even a band or singer, a magician, or if children are attending someone to help keep them occupied so they adults can let their hair down a little.

Parties are about food and drink

There is no denying that a big focus surrounding parties is the food and drink element, and you can be a simple or as over the top as you want to be for a Birthday. Maybe you want a signature drink that is associated with the birthday celebrator, so that everyone receives a drink upon arrival. Maybe the food can work alongside the theme. The last thing you want is to not have enough food or drink for your guests, so make sure you plan ahead.

Consider the guest list

Who attends the party is a very important aspect, after all, you want the right mix of people, the right amount of people, and you also want people to enjoy themselves and have fun. This is why it is important to consider who you invite and who you don’t.

Plan early

Finally, make sure you plan early for parties. Getting the invitations out sooner rather than later so you can work out numbers, and then also enable you to plan and book certain aspects of it before missing out. Parties can also have a financial aspect so you need to give yourself enough time to budget and save for it.

Let’s hope doing these things helps you to celebrate a birthday in style in the future.

For last years Christmas tablescape I really tried to challenge myself not to use pink.  Pink is my absolute all time favorite color and I naturally just reach for it no matter what i'm doing. 
That said, I also really like to change things up and make things look completely different. After all life is too short to do the same tablescape twice!  

So in the spirit of change I went with white, mint green with gold accents. For the floral display, I created a large arrangement with white and cream Ecuador roses, amaryllis and white snapdragons. I used lots of fresh eucalyptus (which just smells incredible) boxwood and white waxflower. To add in extra drama I used vases or chrysanthemums packed tightly together. 

I built the arrangement with an afternoon tea party we were also hosting in mind and I wanted it to be able to work between the two but have 2 sightly different looks. Its amazing what a different shade of tablecloth can achieve. 

I added foliage to the chandelier to add in some drama (and if i'm being honest its something iv wanted to do since we moved) 

I hung gold snowflakes from the bottom of the chandelier, along with hanging glass balls with a combination of tea lights and fresh roses inside. 

I found these gorgeous glasses by LSA which were the perfect color. These are the melon balloon glasses and the I also used the tumblers in the same shade. I actually love these glasses so much I purchased them in rose also ​

Now lets see if I give in to the pinkness this year....

Belle 
​Xx

If you have recently become engaged, congratulations. You might already be jumping for joy at the thought of planning your wedding, but before you do this, there is the exciting  engagement party to plan. There are a whole range of things that you need to consider ahead of your party,  ranging from the guest list, the date, and who's (if not yourself) hosting it. But, there are other things that you also need to have the best engagement party possible, and we are going to discuss these below.
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A Venue

The first thing you should do after you have made a guest list is to decide on a venue. The venue that you choose is where you and all your guests are going to have an amazing night of fun, so you need to make sure that it is big enough for everyone, and this is why you should make your guest list first.

Its a good idea to choose a venue where there is enough to room to sit down and perhaps share a meal with your nearest and dearest , but also space for everyone to get up and dance. Having some people sitting while everyone else is busting a move is not going to be a cohesive vibe for your celebrations. It need to fit all of your criteria, so make sure you go and view the venue before you make a final decision.It will also help you to form the creative direction you want your party to go down
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Photographer

​You are going to want to remember these moments, so this is why I recommend that  you think about hiring a photographer. Your friend with their iPhone isn’t quite going to capture the entire vibe of your party. So, look into hiring an engagement photographer to attend your party and capture the precious moments for you. 

This is going to be invaluable to you because you aren’t going to be able to see everything that is going on. By hiring a photographer, they are going to be able to make you feel like you didn’t miss a thing when you look at your photos and you will have the photos to trigger the  memories to treasure forever

​An Awesome Playlist

Its a great idea to have an awesome soundtrack ready to go for your party. There needs to be a variety of music styles on here so that there is something for everyone. You want music that people can dance to, slow dance, organized dance (cha cha slide if your so inclined) so that everyone can join in at some point.

Without a cool playlist, your guests could be left be sitting on the sidelines with no music to carry the party.

A Menu

It really helps to have a menu available so your guests can see what the options are. There should be a vegetarian/vegan option, as well as a meat option so that everybody can have something.

Its a great idea to  sample the meal before the date of the party to make sure that it is what you wanted, and this is the best way to avoid disappointment when it comes to what is served. Perhaps take some close friends or family who's opinion you value for a second opinion. 

We hope that after reading this post, it helps some of the essential things that are going to help you create a fun and well planned engagement party. Wishing you the very best for the many years of marriage that lie ahead of you.

Belle 
​Xx

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