Summer Fiesta

There was PLENTY to celebrate this May and that calls for a major Fiesta! 

I am certainly the “you don’t need a reason to throw a party” person but graduation gave me a real bug to go all out and celebrate! My three best friends from California and a ton of my family flew in to Colorado to watch me move that tassel from the right to the left, so naturally I through them a soiree. Believe it or not this was set up in my apartment complex’s patio. I love transforming a shabby space into something gorgeous. I’m all about that Cinderella effect.

Setting a table up is kind of my favorite thing ever. I love getting to turn my kitchen into a green house the morning before a dinner and mix and match all of my fav tablescape decor items. Before I bore you too much with the nitty gritty details let’s get started on the fun stuff that you can bring to your own party to keep your guests entertained and having fun!

I was lucky enough to have one killer sponsor for my table design! W&P Design creates these gorgeous pineapple tumblers! You can find em in gold, silver and copper. Who wouldn’t want to drink their margarita out of a gold pineapple?! I was lucky enough to have my parents attend this dinner and my Dad thoroughly enjoyed drinking from his gold pineapple, ha!

The napkins were DIY’ed to have a water color ombre effect and will be up in post very very soon! 

Gold Pineapples | Plates | Glassware | Flatware | Glass Bottles | Candles | 

So you want to be the hostess with the mostess? Well the key is not focusing your entire energy on keeping guests busy but providing fun activities to keep themselves busy! This is key for the times you have to run in the kitchen and put that last final touch on your dish or grab someone Advil because they have a headache, because let me tell you stupid stuff like this always pops up!

The last thing I want is people standing around looking more awkward then when Kanye bashed T-Swift at the MTV music awards. Sooooo have some small bites and pre made cocktail batches to quench their thirst and keep their hunger levels controlled. Chips and salsa, cheeseboards or pre made small bite appetizers (if you’re feeling ambitious!) are all great options! Below you will find a simple margarita batch that you can put together before your party starts! Last but not least, have some tunes planned. Whether it’s your favorite pandora station or a custom playlist. I love giving this task to a music-is-their-forte kind of friend. 

When I am making dessert for a party I almost always make it ahead of time. Desserts featured in this post were Mexican chocolate cake and key lime cupcakes. Sourcing out your dessert from a local bakery is a great idea to save you time and hassle! Just remember to keep it in the same family. Having an Italian dinner? Bring out a great tiramisu recipe. For your fourth of July bash try my peach blueberry pie, it’s a summer crowd pleaser!

Ah, the Photo Booth wall. In our day in age people LOVE this at parties. It keeps them entertained and kind of keeps them off their phones.. It may be selfie central but it is a MEGA fun way to get guests interacting and having fun. My friends loved it! If you are interested shoot me a message and I can get a DIY post up for this!

Make sure to have some fun props like hats, paper mustaches or feather boas to take photos with. Want to get really creative?! Make a personal hashtag for your party and encourage people to use it when they post to social media, instant photo album!

*Tip!* This works great for a housewarming party! Got a pesky wall that you haven’t quite finished decorating yet?! Cover it up with a photo backdrop!

My best pal Katie (who wears way too many hats in my life) and her man, Ryan were my right hand couple for this get together. Ryan is kind of a cocktail junky so I handed him off margarita duties. His recipe was killer and everyone was feeling the right kind of happy. Serve these half gallon margs with PLENTY of ice, citrus slices, edible flowers and salted glasses for the ultimate DIY marg bar!

750 ML of silver tequila
1 Cup of orange juice
2 Cups of freshly squeezed lime juice
3/4 Cup of agave nectar
+Ice

In a half gallon container or large pitcher add in juices, tequila, agave nectar and stir well. Keep cold in the refrigerator up to a few hours before your party. Mix well and add ice before serving! Cheers! 

Last but not least, presentation. I wanted this party to be BRIGHT! All of my decorations were super colorful but remained in the same color family. My main sources of decor were the table, paper fan wall, and Photo Booth backdrop. 

I never have a party without a few gorgeous vases of flowers! Mostly because I absolutely love to arrange flowers but I also feel like it gives any dinner or party that extra punch of sparkle! Keep it simple with three main flowers and colors and two ‘garnish’ flowers like chamomile and greenery bunches.