Bachelorette Party in San Antonio: Stocking the Hotel Rooms

 Hey there princess! 

When planning the perfect bachelorette weekend, I chose to follow the old adage "luck favors the prepared." We were going to be in San Antonio for 3 days with 9 girls and I wanted to make sure that when planning I could anticipate people's needs and make everyone as comfortable as possible during the "fiesta." 

In doing this, I wanted to fully stock the hotel rooms with some essentials so that the girls would be comfortable.

The first project I worked on was making sure that the mini fridges in the rooms had tons of water bottles! For pretty much every single party I throw I purchase custom water bottle labels online to give things a unique touch. I wanted to make the bride feel special and loved, and I thought these were just so fun! You can purchase the labels that I used (they matched the hand sanitizer that I shared yesterday) by clicking here. 

Next, I stocked the fridge with Martinelli's Sparkling Cider. This is a favorite beverage of the bride's and I thought it would be fun to have on-hand. You can find the labels I used here.

I set up baskets in all of the girls' hotel rooms so that they would have snacks and coffee for the weekend. Our activities involved walking outside in the Texas heat in the middle of the summer so hydration, caffeination, and keeping fed were all priorities. One of the cutest things I found were these plastic, reusable Otomi cups off of Etsy (click here for the ones I used). I plan on pulling these out for future fiestas! The wicker basket was a Target find, and I filled this with power bars, sugar, and a variety of different Starbucks drink mixes (things like this, this, and this). I also included some Starbucks Raspberry Refreshers packets for the non-coffee drinkers. I put creamers in little salsa bowls to keep things on theme and looking festive. 

Look how cute everything turned out! The flowers are from a local florist who has a booth at our farmer's market, and there are plastic ice buckets filled with snacks like popcorn and cookies for the girls to munch on. I also got these incredibly cute personalized napkins off of Etsy and my mom found cactus drink stirrers to tie everything together. 

Here is a close-up of the napkins - they were so cute! This little set-up was so helpful during the bachelorette weekend. The snacks were devoured, the coffee consumed, and everyone went home perfectly exhausted and content.

So what about you? Are you planning an upcoming bachelorette party or girl's weekend? I would love to hear about it! Let's chat in the comments below!

Sparkle on!

Bachelorette Party in San Antonio: Pre-Planning and Bridesmaid Bags

 Hey there princess!

If you have been named Maid or Matron of Honor for an upcoming wedding, one of the first things that you might be thinking about is how to plan the perfect bachelorette party. After being responsible for planning one myself, the number one piece of advice I would give is - have fun and keep it as unique as possible! The theme I chose was "Final Fiesta" and we all travelled to San Antonio to spend a long weekend eating Mexican food and roaming up and down the Riverwalk. 

Remember, this party is for the bride, and should be something that is both fun for her and manageable for you. For me, pre-planning was essential because we were leaving Houston and traveling to San Antonio, and we were bringing along with us a group of girls from all over the United States. I wanted to make sure that everyone knew what the plan was so that they could pack appropriately, set their expectations, and just relax and have tons of fun on the trip!

The first place I start when planning any event is with the invitation. After selecting the date and location, I wanted to give my guests as much advanced notice as possible since they would need to purchase flights and ask for time off of work. I always love going to Sweet Caroline Designs for invites. Her work is absolutely beautiful, and the paper quality is terrific! I addressed the envelopes myself using a style that is currently available in my Etsy shop here. 

Next, it was important to come up with an itinerary. I wanted to make sure that what I sent out to the girls was cute, easy to read, and something that they could keep saved to their phones for easy reference. I have used Canva for years, and always find it really user-friendly. For the actual schedule, I tried to create a balance between structured activities that I knew the bride would like, and downtime where the girls who still had energy could keep going, and the people who wanted to be more low-key could go back to the hotel and relax by the pool.

Next in my preparation activities, I wanted to create a bag for the bride and bridesmaids with all the essentials for the weekend. This included things like our matching shirts for when we visited the Alamo together, matching pajamas for photos the first morning, and a bunch of other things that just helped to make the girls feel special and cared for. 

My mom found these fun burlap bags for me to use, and I hand lettered each girl's name on them to set on their beds in the hotel. You can purchase the ribbon I used here.

Inside the bag were several goodies, and I really tried to shop small! I love supporting small businesses, and I find the best, most unique stuff on Etsy!

My mom found some multi-colored mirrors, and then I got decals from Etsy (click here to purchase) that I used to customize each mirror. 

Next, I got these incredible koozies - they were to die for, and made the perfect practical thing to use for drinks all weekend. I made sure to get an extra for the bride so that she had one that said "It's My Final Fiesta" and one with her name on it. I got them on Etsy here. 

All of the girls are major coffee drinkers and I thought it would be fun to create a snack and coffee bar for them in the hotel room (check back later for a post detailing what all that included). So that the cups wouldn't get mixed up, I got each girl a reusable Starbucks coffee cup (you can purchase these here) and put decals on them myself at home (these are the ones I bought). This was way cheaper than purchasing something completely custom online, and I really enjoyed the project!

I also got the girls these cute hair bands! This is a super practical accessory, and it was cute! You can find the ones I bought here. 

I am a super practical person at heart, and I had to include a hand sanitizer in each pack. However, we needed to cute it up and make it more on-theme so I found custom stickers on Etsy (you can find the ones I used here) and stuck them to some Bath and Body Works hand sanitizer. The scent I used was Watermelon Lemonade, which smells just like summertime!

One of my favorite things that I had made for the trip was custom cosmetic pouches. These came out so cute, and I always have use for little bags like this! I like being able to use something like this for my daily makeup, and for this weekend I filled the pouch up with some essentials. I was able to get travel-sized items on Amazon that were super useful over the weekend. In the pouches I included individually packaged Tylenol, Emergen-C, Neutrogena Face Wipes, Ring Pops, and Antacid.

Next, I got these super cute shirts for all of us to wear to the Alamo for pictures. You can find the same ones I got on Etsy. I chose these colors because they matched the bride's wedding colors, and I wanted them to be something we could reuse the weekend of the wedding. 

The real showstopper of the bags were these ginger jar pajamas from 8 Oak Lane. They aren't available on their website anymore, but I found them in another online store here.  The theme of the bride's wedding was ginger jars, so I thought these were great! Not only could the girls wear them during the bachelorette weekend, but they could be used for the wedding weekend as well. The quality on these was great, and I would love to buy other pjs from this company in the future. 

Check back later for more information on creating an incredible bachelorette weekend! If you have questions, or would like any help planning your own bachelorette weekend, or just a girl's trip - let me know! I love party planning!

Sparkle on!

Choosing our Wedding Cake

Hey there princess!

My husband and I are coming up on our 1 year wedding anniversary, and I thought it would be fun to go back through all of the fun of planning our wedding. I remember the time I spent planning my own wedding as being full of different choices to make, and lots and lots of boxes to check off, but mostly I remember it as being lots of fun!

One of the most fun times I had was picking out my wedding cake! I went with my mom and her best friend to a bakery in Waco called Simply Delicious. The name was a perfect representation of everything they provided. 

Below are a bunch of cakes that they had on display in their shop. I used these as inspiration for my own wedding cake.

When selecting your wedding cake, the three most important things to consider are: flavor, design, and quantity as related to your number of guests. It is better to have some leftover than to not have enough for all of your guests! Plus, don't forget that the top layer of your cake needs to be saved for your first anniversary! Your guests won't be enjoying it. 

After all of my tasting, I went with a champagne flavored cake for the bride's cake, and classic chocolate for the groom. There was a brief moment where I almost went with strawberry, but in the end I thought the champagne was a more universally appealing choice. Plus, no matter what - cake is just plain yummy! In the end, I couldn't be happier with my choice!

Here are some shots from our cake table so that you can see both the bride and groom cake. I also threw in a shot of our napkins, because they were so cute! The groom's cake is on a vintage Dr Pepper crate, since our reception was located at the Dr Pepper museum. 

So what elements of the wedding cake really made it perfect for me? Well first of all, the classic rounded layers were something that I have imagined since I was little. When you think wedding cake, you think of those beautiful smooth tiers. Second, the pearls made of icing that banded each tier tied in other classic elements from our wedding, like my pearl earrings and necklace. Third, the big beautiful bow on front of the cake made it the ultimate in girly! I love everything with bows, and frequently tie one in my hair. Fourth, and my most favorite element of all was the monogram on the front of the cake. I have always loved monograms, and having a couple's monogram to share with our guests in the first hour of marriage was such a fun and special way to start off our lives as man and wife!

Your wedding day is special, and memorable, and completely unforgettable. When making all of these decisions remember - just have fun! This is your day!

Sparkle on!

A Palm Beach Bridal Shower

Hey there princess!

About a year ago, my younger sister, Coco (who was my Maid of Honor) and my mother threw me a 1960's Palm Beach themed bridal shower at my family's home in Houston, Texas. It was honestly one of the best times ever, and such a beautiful party. 

I painted a centerpiece for the party based on my engagement photos (featuring my favorite Lilly Pulitzer maxi skirt), and bought a fun frame for it at Hobby Lobby. 

My mom found these adorable invitations on Etsy and they are my absolute favorite. To me, invitations are super important to any party because they set the tone for the event. Guest know from the invitation what they should expect in terms of the level of formality, and who is hosting the event, and it is also a great keepsake from the party! I love holding on to invitations from past-parties that I loved attending!

Regarding decor, my hosts fancied-up my family's dining table with a Lilly table runner from Etsy (can you tell we are all huge Etsy addicts??). One of my favorite touches was using the depression glass that Coco and I have collected since we were young to serve the sandwiches and food. We both have the cameo ballerina dishes, mine in yellow and hers in green.

Look at how beautiful that table is (and in the background you can see me sneaking a bite)! We had tiers of sandwiches from Chicken Salad Chick and tons of snacks, beautiful flowers, and an unbelievable macaroon tower. 

I mean look at how stunning it is! I could die! This tower came from a shop in Houston called Sweet, located in City Centre and the flavors Shailee chose were lavender, rose, and lemon (they were all divine). I felt just like Marie Antoinette!

One of my bridesmaids also put together some amazing charcuterie boards, and my mother and sister put together plates of Lilly shift cookies, candied pecans, and tons of bundtinis from Nothing Bundt Cake. 

Just for fun, Coco and I made some white chocolate-covered popcorn and then absolutely drenched it in pink sprinkles. It tasted pretty good, but mostly it was just super festive! 

I am so thankful to my sweet friends and family for making my bridal shower such a special day. I know that I am going to remember this party for a long time! 

If you want to see more of my little parties and celebrations, please follow along at @heythrprincess on Instagram!

I would love to hear about the special parties in your life - whether it's a bridal shower like mine, a birthday party, or just a party for the sake of a party. How are you celebrating?

Sparkle on!

A Surprise Engagement - Our Last Party Before Social Distancing

Hey there princess!

Since March, all of our lives have been turned completely upside down. We are all getting used to our "new normal" and I have to say that the thing I miss most is having parties with my family. Don't get me wrong, wearing leggings and a t shirt every day has its charms, but there is nothing quite like getting all dressed up and tossing some confetti. 

Before we all went into hiding, I got to celebrate the engagement of my younger sister, Coco with a surprise party in Waco, Texas! My mom and her (now) fiancé's mom got together in February and helped her betrothed plan a dinner with all of their family and friends (from Houston to Georgia to Minnesota) at Vitek's, the best barbecue you'll find in Waco. 

One of our favorite trends right now are boxwoods, and my mom had the perfect idea to pot up a few to place on each table. She handmade table cards with the couple's monogram, and finished the look with green gingham ribbon around each pot. 

Coco and her fiancé met freshman year at Baylor back in the fall of 2014, and are now planning for a wedding in August of 2021. For this party, we chose a theme of pink and green, and were sure to provide lots of snacks and sweet treats to go along with the barbecue. We kept everything individually packaged so that whatever wasn't eaten could be packed up and sent back to the hotel with all of the bridesmaids-to-be for a slumber party. 

I loved these "We're getting married y'all" cups and napkins from Natalie Chang, and thought they were the perfect pop of color agains our more rustic backdrop (hello, Texas)! I don't know if you know this about me - but I absolutely love popcorn. I serve some kind of popcorn at practically every party I throw. It is always a crowd pleaser for picky eaters (a.k.a. me) and it's just cute!

It is so crazy to look back at these pictures and think that it was the last time we would all be gathering together as a group. It was such an incredibly happy, and silly time - and I am so thankful that we were able to have all of Coco's friends come together and celebrate her and her fiancé's next steps in life together. Also, look how cute my mom's monogrammed button down is?! I want one! If she is reading this - don't be shocked if it goes missing. 

The next morning, we all went out for pancakes and walked around the Baylor campus to do a mini engagement photo session. If the engagement party was this much fun, I can't wait for the wedding!

What are you celebrating in your life? I know that celebrations are becoming more and more complicated with each passing week. A close friend of mine has had to postpone their wedding twice now, and I can't imagine how difficult it has been for them. What are you doing to keep positive in an ever-changing landscape?