real parties: a garden of butterflies

5.03.2011
This lovely butterfly garden first birthday is the very essence of springtime. It was sent to me by Emily K Paperie, designed for her daughter and inspired by a butterfly mobile that hangs above her crib.  Since Emily is a graphic designer, she was able to put her skills to work in creating all the printables and unique ideas herself.  She choose a soft color scheme of pink and mint with accents of lavender and yellow.  And get this... she designed all of the incredible flower arrangements too!  Read on below for more tips and design ideas from Emily.














 {images via emily k paperie}

Emily's Favorite Details:
1. The centerpieces - these truly were a labor of love. I went with a friend of mine to the flower mart in downtown LA to purchase all the flowers, wet foam, and vases, and assembled each centerpiece myself. My car was completely full of hydrangeas, carnations, and roses, I could barely see to drive home! I saved so much money by doing them myself - each table's centerpiece cost me about $40! I received a ton of compliments on them, with guests asking who made our centerpieces. "Me!" I replied!
2. The pastel paper lanterns with butterflies - I bought these on a whim at Party City a few months before, not quite sure if or how I would even incorporate them. It was a last minute decision to hang them from the ceiling around the buffet table, and I attached a bunch of butterflies to them. I really liked the ethereal quality they added to the room.

Advice for Planning a Butterfly Garden Party of Your Own:
Planning a butterfly garden party in the spring time (near the Easter holiday) was oh-so fun, but also a little dangerous! Everywhere I went, I saw butterflies! I really had to resist the temptation to buy EVERYTHING I saw at Michaels, Party City, JoAnn's, etc. My best tip is to start early - plan ahead! I slowly purchased the items for my party for about 4 months. If I saw something I thought could work, I would buy it and add it to my stash. Be patient - you will find good stuff! I also looked to Etsy for inspiration, and then ended up creating many of the things myself and tweaking them so they were perfect for my event!

Favorite places to shop:
- JoAnn's, Michael's: (all the butterflies, moss, papers)
- Party City: (paper lanterns, plates/napkins/silverware)
- HomeGoods: (serving trays/platters)
- Target: (cupcake stands, tiered silver platters)
- Etsy: (Lori's Place - custom butterfly and #1 cookies)

DiY Projects: the invitations, pennant banners, high chair banner, table tents with food names, floral centerpieces, front door wreath

14 comments:

Sweet Tea with Cindy said...

Very beautiful and on a budget. Excellent :)

Elaine Welte said...

Gorgeous!!!

Ana Degenaar said...

This is so pretty, so girly and so absolutely adorable.

Unknown said...

very pretty! i love all the colors.

Jennifer said...

SUCH a pretty party! All the flowers are so gorgeous. Love the bunting/pennants/whatever they're called!

Velvet Cakes said...

Precioso todo... Y la niƱa es una belleza.

Katie said...

What a beautiful party. And those centerpieces were amazing! I want throw a butterfly garden party for myself...and I'm 30!

Ms. Dio said...

Everything about this party is so beautiful! I love the butterflies on the lanterns, the colors, and of course, the invitations.

bushel & a peck said...

Very cute...making me rethink my daughters fairy party! What did you hang all the paper lanterns with? Or how did you attach to your ceiling? That seems to be my dilemma

Kristina said...

What a lovely party!

Unknown said...

This is just beautiful! It would go perfectly with the garden fairies theme my daughter has picked for her party.

susan jakovina said...

OMG. Beautiful from start to finish.

xo
babymama

Nicole said...

I love the little shoes! Where did you get them?

magic and drudgery said...

oh my lord!!! I cannot believe this is a real party. It is just so utterly perfect. I have roses, hydrangeas and carnations growing in my garden around my daughter's birthday so I am going to give it a try. Wow, if I get something even close I'll be happy.

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