Mary Kay Nevius-Maurer had always dreamed of throwing her daughter Amber a fancy tea party bridal shower. The time had finally arrived but Amber wasn't into the idea of something so fancy, so the party theme took a bit of a twist, a Mad Hatter Tea Party.

As the party grew near Mary Kay realized that she had so much going on that she wasn't going to have a hat! The invitation specifically said to wear a crazy hat, how could the mother of the bride not have one?!? I volunteered to make one for her and before I knew it the other guests were asking for hats too!

Who knew printed duck tape, some flowers and jewels could come together to make all these hats! It was a lot of work but so much fun! And I love the way they came out!!

Hope you had a great shower Amber, we sure did have fun!

xoxo
Erin

My first wedding related post! Today I bring you my sisters peacock themed bridal shower from February 2014. 

My youngest sister Bailey was getting married and who better to throw her shower than our other sister, Tanya, and our mom? The three of us love all the details that go into planning out parties, and constantly joke (or is it a joke?) that we want to start our own party planning business together.

First up, the invitations! I wanted everything to be one-of-a-kind for her, so I pulled out the pencils and paper and got to work. After some sketching I was ready to move to the computer to add the color and rest of the text. I also decided that such a special girl couldn't have plain envelopes so I got to work on my own version of calligraphy for the names and addresses. (I did not realize how hard on my hand that would be, not sure that I'll ever do that again. Or probably will, after all, my wedding is coming.)

Invitations were in the mail so it was time to get to work on all the details of the party. We wanted to choose a place that would have meaning to her and settled on the studio at D&J's Dynamite Dance Company where Bailey spent many years learning to dance, especially tap which she could rock (she makes a great Charlie Chaplin.) They are an amazing set of teachers and if you're in the Manchester/Hampstead/Westminster area of Maryland, I highly suggest checking them out.

Food was super simple, after a few minutes on the phone we had that all worked out. We just needed the decor/ favors.

First I concentrated on what I could accomplish on my own. I had designed and sent a recipe card in each invitation with the request that each invitee fill it out and bring it to the party. Recipes are great but they need a place to go! First I made the matching dividers and then pulled out my wood burner. I've owned the tool for probably 7 years and had never used it. Truth be told, I was kind of afraid of it, something that doesn't allow for mistakes is pretty unnerving to me. But it came out so great, and I'm so happy I took the plunge and did it!

Now favors! My very talented sister and mom were in charge of them. They made a trip to Dollar Tree and bought up all the wine glasses they had. Then Mod Podge and extra fine glitter to make the glasses shine. Tanya even made up a little thank you tag to place inside. So simple and perfect!

Before we knew it party day had arrived. The three of us spent the morning cooking, we considered it practice since the three of us were going to "cater" Bailey's actual wedding the next month. We finished setting up just as the guests started arriving. It was a wonderful shower, and it was so nice to see Bailey so unbelievably happy. 

Here's a peek into her shower.

All in all is was a great day for everyone. I hope Bailey enjoyed it as much as we think she did. 

And if you think that's the last of peacocks you are sorely mistaken, they were also her wedding theme, look for that blog post coming soon!

xoxo
Erin