Rubber Ducky Baby Shower

I'm planning a baby shower in March and starting to
think of ideas. This rubber ducky theme is really cute.
















I like the idea of using the rubber ducks sparingly and
focusing on the colors of yellow and blue.

Easy Halloween Ideas

This "scaretini" would be easy to do. Buy some scary teeth from the party favors section and use red gel icing to rim the glass with "blood."

I'm batty for this easy Halloween invitation. Just loop black ribbon thorugh to make a bow, then glue googly eyes to the center. Very cute and very simple!

Conversation Starters for Every Party (Real Simple)

Ever had that moment during a party where the friendly chatter seems to hit a lull? Aside from lively music, interesting friends, and plenty of cocktails, here are some tricks to keep the conversation flowing at any party.

Table Topics are decks of cards containing a variety of humorous, thoughtful, and intriguing questions for guests to ask each other at any kind of party, from a backyard bbq to a family reunion. Check out their website to see the plethora of party themes they've got covered.

Bachelorette Party Table Topics to Go (a smaller version - more portable) at the Bachelorette Bash could be a a huge hit. You can get them at Pottery Barn.

If you're a hostess, leave the Table Topics out somewhere guests will find them. It's less forced than walking into the room and announcing, "Okay girls, now we're going to play this game!" (lame), and your guests are more likely to have fun with it if they just discover them sitting on the side table while everyone is gathered for cocktails.

If you're attending a party, these make a great little hostess gift, perhaps paired with a bottle of wine. The packaging is so cute you really don't even need to wrap them.
For those who are curious, here's a little background on how they got started (from the company's website):

In December 2002, Cristy Clarke was on her way to a Christmas cocktail party, trying to think of interesting conversation starters because she couldn't face another evening of small talk that went nowhere. Her experiment was a complete success, and by morning she was writing questions to test on her three daughters at their family dinner. The successful result is TableTopics, a collection of conversation starters meant to spark fun, interesting, and meaningful discussions around the dinner table, at parties, on dates, on road trips-wherever!
Who hasn't been there? A brilliant idea, Christy. And a good reminder that at-home entertaining is about having fun with your friends. These little conversation starters are a great way to keep the joyful, lighthearted spirit alive at any gathering.

Shop online at the company's website, or - if you don't want to wait for shipping - stop by your local Pottery Barn store and pick up a deck (they carry several different party themes at most locations).

Thanks to Real Simple magazine for these great tips!

Beverage/Drink Displays

Real Wedding- Messina Hof Winery

This wedding at Messina Hof winery was so much fun to plan!

We kep the winery theme by using green grapes in our centerpieces. The cylinder candle arrangement in the window sill made a big impact and was very easy/inexpensive to create.

The green up lighting helped set the mood. Guests enjoyed a fruit buffet and chocolate fountain while waiting for the bride and groom to arrive.

Real Wedding: Jillian and Bryan: Brazos Cotton Exchange

Jillian and Bryan got married at the Brazos Cotton
Exchange. Photos by R. A. Brewer

They placed petals down the aisle and used
standing aisle candle holders.









Love this Aggie/Wedding ring photo shot. Cylinders
and floating candles were used to decorate the mantle.
Hanging votives decorate the window behind the altar.









Pearls made a great accent to these centerpieces.
Mirrors and glass cylinders reflect the candle light.

The Aggie groom's cake is awesome. Love the photo
cake topper as well.

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Wedding/Bridal Shower Themes

Pottery Barn has some great bridal shower tips that I wanted to share.











Shower Essentials
A 3-tier stand makes a sophisticated statement and is perfect for displaying finger sandwiches, hors d’oeuvres or your favorite cookies and dessert items.

Serving boards, trays and glass domes help to display foods and keep them fresh.

Large and small cake stands are perfect to display cakes and desserts. They can also serve as a pedestal for cheeses, crackers and fruit. Stacks of large and small plates, mugs and bowls will encourage your guests to help themselves to the buffet.

Stemless glasses are perfect for wine, champagne, mimosas and bellinis and are best for parties since they are more stable and easier to hold than traditional stemware.

White tablecloths are an essential at a bridal shower. Have plenty of cloth napkins on hand for guests, and for a special touch, monogram the bride’s wedding date on the linens. After the party, you can have them laundered and give them to her as a gift.

Bridal Shower Themes
• Around the Clock – Assign each guest a specific time of day and ask them to tailor their gift to this time. For example, if you are assigned 9:00 am, your gift should reflect early morning activities and could include such items as a tray, teapot, table linens and a set of mugs.
• Linen Shower – A perfect way to add luxury to the couple’s home. Have guests give sheets, towels, fluffy pillows, bathrobes, table linens and other textiles.
• Holiday Shower – Ask each guest to base their gift choice on a different holiday – ornaments or decorations for Christmas, champagne flutes for New Year’s Eve or a serving platter for Thanksgiving. These gifts are sure to become the couple’s heirlooms.
• A Room of the House Shower – Each guest is encouraged to give gifts tailored to a particular room of the house. For example, if a guest is assigned The Bathroom their gift could include guest towels, bath canisters, a soap dish and a fine hand milled soap.

Special Touches
• Match your food selection, decorations and prizes to the chosen theme of the shower.
• Have a selection of chilled beverages like sparkling water, soda, champagne and wine available for your guests.
• Create a music playlist ahead of time that will help set the mood of the party – or, borrow from ours!
• Party favors are always a great way to thank guests for coming. Some great ideas include monogrammed frames, champagne splits in mini ice buckets or miniature potted herbs. Refer to our guide to create great party favors

To learn more, visit http://www.potterybarn.com/pbimgs/rk/images/bld-20090717-011/shop/pp_pdfs/Bridal/bridalhowto.pdf.

Quick and Easy Pretzel Turtles

Ingredients
Bag of Rolo chocolate candies
Bag of pretzels (I used regular size (not mini))
Whole walnuts or pecans

Recipe
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees farenheit.
2. Upwrap your Rolos. Place pretzels on baking sheet. Top with a Rolo.
3. Bake in oven for 3-5 minutes, until the chocolate just begins to melt. The Rolo should not be completely melted.
4. Remove from oven, place on cooling rack and immediately put the nut on top of the Rolo. The caramel will oooze out.

Big Impact on a Budget

On a budget? Make candles your best friend. Candles are inexpensive and make a big impact, especially reflected from water, glass and gems. For a big impact centerpiece, hang votives from curly willow stems placed inside a large glass vase. Tie flowers to the stems to add color. Place candles around guest tables or inside cylinders or lanterns lining the entry. For more DIY centerpieces, visit our Gallery at detailseventrental.com.

Highlight one or two elements at the reception. If you love your cake, make it the center of attention by using a fancier table cloth or a canopy. Use elaborate centerpieces on half of the tables and smaller centerpieces on the others. By drawing attention to a few elements, you can save elsewhere.


Instead of a full bar, serve a signature cocktail . Display strawberries, olives, limes, and
other drink garnishes around the bar to add color. Have the drinks already poured into glasses when the guests arrive and displayed for a big color impact.

Even if you aren’t serving filet mignon, you can make the serving table look like you are. Don’t just set food out in chafing dishes, display it with style. For serving display ideas, visit our Gallery at http://www.detailseventrental.com/Gallery/Gallery%20-%20Buffet%20Tables%20Index.htm.

Palm Springs Deco Ideas, Black, White and Yellow

Love these Do-it-yourself wedding ideas from Lollipop Event & Design!Black, white and yellow is a great color scheme for spring, summer or fall and instantly adds a modern touch to any event. Here are some tips from Lollipop Event & Design on how they created these Palm Springs details (the table runner was made with wrapping paper!):

Table:
Start by simply throwing a standard white table cloth onto your table. Then, to add the bold stripes of this contemporary look, find a table runner that is brilliant with colors! To add the bright sunny Palm Springs feel to our décor, we made a table runner out of wrapping paper to give a pop and layering affect to this modern look. To line the paper, we glued on black velvet ribbon to finish off the look, giving it the appearance of a fabric table runner. Use any color of ribbon or size to create a different effect on the table.















Centerpieces:
Simply get three mirror candlesticks, one higher than the other two for a main centerpiece. To play with the illusions of the mirrors, top off the candlesticks with a ball of dainty daisies, incorporating the colors of yellow and white!
Next, add four square small black vases, two on each side of the ceramic shape, to integrate the contemporary look, while tying together the black stripes of the table runner. Simply add white roses into the vases, arranging the roses so that the buds are perfectly above the rim of the square vase, giving it a full bodied affect.

Table Settings:
Sophistication, elegance and glamour were the inspiration for this table setting! The mirror placemats are the epitome of elegance! You can rent simple circle or square mirrors. We then placed classic patterned platinum-lined china onto the mirror to transform this table setting from ordinary to extraordinary!
For the napkins, simply find a pattern that offsets the bold strips of the black and white table runner to mix & match the patterns. We then used the same wrapping paper and velvet ribbon of the small table runner to make stylish bellybands, linking together the sunny bold yellow color of the deco look with the glitzy facade of the mirrors. You can place the napkins in any position you’d like! Play with them to see what fits your table! We positioned ours hanging down, springing color onto the white table cloth. To finish this table off, put your baking apron on! We had cupcakes made with yellow and black dots to add a sweet taste to our modern look!

Paper Candy:
For this super stylish table featuring bold colors, patterns and centerpieces we wanted to remind the guests the goal of the night… to have fun! We played with them a bit by making them find their own dinner! Menu items were hid in the word jumble for the hungry guests to find. Little yellow golf pencils could not have matched more perfectly!

Blue and Yellow Brunch

A brunch is a great idea for a bridal shower, graduation breakfast or a get together with friends to celebrate something special. I love this blue and yellow theme.

Fourth of July Party Ideas

Have your friends and family over for a Fourth of July celebration. Use these easy, DIY decorations to add some red, white and blue to your festivities.

Sesame Street Party Ideas

Themed Rehearsal Dinner

Get creative with your rehearsal dinner by picking a meaningful theme. Rehearsal dinners should be fun and give your wedding party a chance to meet each other. Here are some of our favorite ideas:

Mexican Fiesta: Get engaged in Mexico? Have a fiesta-themed dinner with fajitas, bright colors and pictures from your trip. Host the dinner at the restaurant where you had your first date. This could also work if you’re going to Mexico for your honeymoon or you have a
Hispanic background.

Texas BBQ: The casual atmosphere of a BBQ cookout is a nice break from tomorrow’s formal wedding. Get relatives to make their favorite cookout treats such as coleslaw and
baked beans. You can come up with neat ways to decorate the serving table and display condiments. Think gingham, galvanized buckets, wildflowers and mason jars. A themed rehearsal dinner that showcases the city where you’re getting married is a nice treat for out-of-town guests. Don’t forget citronella candles and bug spray to keep the mosquitoes away.

Tropical Theme: Headed to the beach for your honeymoon? Transform your dinner into your destination by hanging hammocks from trees in your backyard, serving dinner buffet-style on long surfboards and blending pina coladas and margaritas. Play Jimmy Buffet and the Beach Boys in the background. For fun favor ideas, try personalized messages in glass bottles, flip-flops, or wet bikini bags.

Chinese Theme- If you love Chinese food, host an oriental-themed dinner. Hang lanterns from the ceiling, teach guests how to fold origami and wrap favors in Chinese food take-out boxes. Serve egg rolls, rice and fortune cookies and give guests chopsticks to eat with.

For more themes, visit www.detailseventrental.com/gallery.

Personalize Your Wedding

Memorable weddings showcase your personality and involve your guests. Personal touches make guests feel like they witnessed two people in love at a wedding “that was so you”. Honor special guests, such as parents and the wedding party, and make sure that everyone feels like an important part of your celebration.Consider a theme that is meaningful to you. Incorporate this theme with the invitation, reception décor, favors, music, cuisine, or attire. For example, two writers used stacked hard-cover books for centerpieces, read their favorite poems at the ceremony, designed the invitation like a book, and gave bookmarks as favors.

Most guests know one of you really well, but not the other. In the program, tell guests how you met; your something borrowed something blue; how you know the wedding party; or why you chose this ceremony location. Write a letter to each other if the thought of saying your own vows is overwhelming. Guests will also enjoy having something to read while waiting for the ceremony to start.
Create a web site that not only lists important wedding details, but also tells your love story. Enclose cards with your web address in your invitations.

Tie your grandmother’s wedding ring or fabric from your mother’s wedding dress to your bouquet.
Create a slideshow of pictures to play in the background, show a video at your rehearsal dinner, or display your parent’s wedding pictures on your cake table. Include the guests in your pictures to make them feel included.
Instead of numbering your tables, name them for your favorite spots in the city, places you both enjoy, or great movies you have seen together — something meaningful to you. Decorate the groom’s cake table to reflect his interests.

Crossword puzzles are so fun. Create crossword puzzles using clues about each other for free at http://edhelper.com/crossword_free.htm. Place a puzzle in each chair and give a prize to the first guest to finish. This will also get your guests talking to each other!

If you love cherry cokes, set up a table and let guests pour their own colas. If you can’t resist popcorn, have a popcorn buffet. Your guests will love these unique treats!

Have the DJ play a good oldie’s song and invite all of the married couples to the dance floor. Then, the DJ asks couples to leave until the couple who’s been married the longest is left. Ask them for their best marriage advice.
Incorporating personal touches and involving your guests will make your wedding stand out from the rest!

Got a sweet tooth? Candy buffets are great party favors!

Candy buffets are a hit at any wedding or party! They are so much fun and sure to get your guests mingling. Try old-fashioned candy, match the candy to your party’s color scheme, or pick your all-time favorite candies!

Many people underestimate the amount of candy needed to fill up the containers. One way to make a big impact without spending too much on candy is to sit the containers on boxes draped with fabric. This gives the illusion that the containers are bigger, while saving you money on candy!

The bags that you put out determine how much candy each guest will get. Use small bags if you don’t have tons of candy. If there are going to be a lot of children at the reception, be cautious when using glass apothecary jars with lids.

You are going to spend more money on a color-coordinated candy buffet than if you use multiple colors. To save money, go with a color palate such as bright colors, neutrals or pastels.

Add ribbons and labels to match your wedding colors. This is the fun part and there are endless ways to dress up the jars!

A new twist on the candy buffet is to use popcorn, trail mix, baked potato or ice cream sundae toppings to fill the containers. To get more candy buffet ideas, visit http://www.detailseventrental.com/Gallery/.