1st Birthday Party

In addition to enjoying all wedding details and organizing just about everything -- yes, this is why I love coordinating wedding -- I absolutely LOVE planning my children's birthday parties!  Love it!  Scouring pinterest, digging through the clearance section at Michaels, I try to match the theme closest to the likes of my children.  

This one year old's birthday theme:  Raspberries & Roses. 

I knew I wanted pink and just had to have roses, and so the planning began! 

Because I enjoy a good DIY party, I did all the decor myself.

To begin with, I found a paper rose tutorial online where I needed to swirl paper to make a flower.  When I tried this, it looked awful.  Absolutely awful.  So, I tried a little pink felt flower instead.
Much better!  

These felt flowers ended up on branches in a mason jar as a centerpiece, on a yarn wreath for the front door, and on the birthday girl's headband. 







To match those cute little roses, I splurged when I bought a pink petticoat/tutu from My Little Stinky on etsy and found a tank/sweater twin set from Target.

Our food and drink were centered around the raspberry theme -- we enjoyed raspberry bellinis and salad with raspberry dressing among many other delicious items on the brunch menu.





I designed all the printables through Microsoft Publisher.



And...I even made her happy birthday banner that hung over the fireplace along with her big R.



We made a smash cake for the birthday girl and white cupcakes with homemade buttercream frosting for the guests.



I found the cake bunting in the Michaels clearance bin for under $1!





Above the cake table hung the birthday girl's picture banner.  Each month on the date of her birthday, I took a picture of her with the appropriate corresponding number in the picture.  It was neat to see how much she has grown over the year.



The birthday girl had a blast!
To send off our guests with something thematically memorable, we made some homemade raspberry jam  in these mason jars with R & R labels for Raspberries & Roses.



We cannot believe our little girl is already one!  The brunch was a perfect way to celebrate!
And now on to planning our young man's birthday for this summer -- he wants a tractor party, so I'll be looking for ways to make it original.  Any advice?

BMI Wrap-up

Thanks again to everyone who stopped by the Baltimore Museum of Industry bridal show.  Here are a few shots from the evening...

Thanks to Kevin from Video Masterpiece -- Wedding Videography and Photography for the images.

This is me at jpb designs, an event planning company!  I talked to so many fun brides that night!

Below is Judy from Flowers by Judy

Below is a great display from Melanie at Chef's Expressions!  Yum!

And, here we have the lovely girls from Absolutely Perfect Catering...

Of course, the night wouldn't be complete without Rissa & Nathaniel (the man in the black hat), the suave husband/wife team from Balance Photography.

What a fun night!  

Lauren & Dan: a cheerleading love story

 Lauren and Dan met as Ravens cheerleaders.  Too cute.  

Dan, a Notre Dame alum, bleeds the fighting Irish while Lauren, a Maryland alum, loves her terps.

Despite their love for different colleges, they are a wonderful match...and I cannot wait to share these beautiful pictures with you.  Thank you Artful Weddings for sharing the images with us!

Before heading to the church, Dan and the guys (groomsmen and male family members) met up at the Quintessential Gentleman, a unique, upscale barbershop in Baltimore.  It is a really cool place for the guys to hang out while the girls are getting their hair and nails done either on the wedding day or the day before.  Definitely check it out.
 

Lauren, who had her hair and make-up team come to her, got dressed and ready with all of the important ladies on her wedding day.  

The DIY broach bouquet, which Lauren DIY'd, was beautifully done with small elements from Baltimore -- like a little crab -- and contained feathers to maintain the art deco theme.

Friday, November 11 ended up as a beautiful day.  

The sights at Corpus Christi Church didn't hurt, either!

Stunning church.

And, a stunning bride.

The trolley drove the bridal party around town for pictures and then to the American Visionary Art Museum for such a fun reception.  

When Lauren and I sat down to create her wedding day itinerary, she expressed the desire to show value to her grandparents' marriage.  See, they have been married for 68 years.  Yes, you read that right:  68! And, of course, they were just the cutest people I've ever seen.  We came up with this --

So, in true cheerleading style, we introduced the bridal party.  Since they were also all cheerleaders, the guys lifted the girls up on their shoulders and then formed a "tunnel".  From the opposite direction and from behind a curtain, both sets of parents, followed by the grandparents, dance through the tunnel as the band leader announced the number of years they had been married.  

Then, upon the announcement of the bride and groom, they danced their way through the tunnel, which was surrounded by all the guests, as they began their choreographed first dance.  

It was really cute!  And, such a great way to honor years of marriage!

The night was such a success!  Lauren & Dan, thank you for sharing it with jpb designs.

Vendors:
Ceremony location:  Corpus Christi Church
Reception location: American Visionary Art Museum
Caterer: The Classic Catering People
Florist:  Crimson & Clover
Photographer: Anne Sachs, Artful Weddings
Band: The Don Eaton Band
Productions: Mike Blondell, Accents on Events
Trolley:  American Limosines
Hair: Jenn Reem
Make-up: Jami Funk
Day of Event Coordinator:  jpb designs

Get your Groupon...

For those of you interested in dancing lessons for your first dance or otherwise, I saw that Groupon is offering a sale on Arthur Murray Dane Studio Lessons.  Hurry up and head over there!  

The price looks quite reasonable. 

Head over to Groupon to check it out:   

http://www.groupon.com/deals/arthur-murray-baltimore?c=all&p=9