Twilight has been a big deal in my circle of friends and seems to span ages 12-45 with ease. So when our own Tory decided this was going to be the theme of her 30th Birthday we were just full of great ideas. Then, of course, the reality of budget came into play. So here is how we threw a great party while sticking to our budget!
First of all we knew just who to go to for the elegant invites for this event.
Wedding Paper Divas had exactly what she was hoping for and they are perfect for this party!
We found feathers from an online retailer that cost almost nothing and were able to use them all throughout the decor, including on the pen for the guest book!
We had the event at Buca di Beppo which provided us with a private room and wonderful food but it didn't include the elegant linens we wanted. So off to the fabric store we headed and came up with this heavy red canvas for the tablecloths and delicate black lace for the runners. Note: Whenever you want to have your event at a restaurant inquire about a "room rental fee". Some places, like Buca, charge for the food, not for the room rental. It's a great way to save on your budget!
Tory does personalized labels for all of our events so, of course, she would come up with a gorgeous set for her own event! Instead of our usual water bottles she attached them to mini apple cider bottles instead since this is one of her favorite drinks. They made for adorable favors for her guests.
The other favor was these little Ghirardelli chocolates that are actually named Twilight Delights! We dressed the restaurant plates with red wired ribbon, their own white napkins, the chocolates, heart shaped "confetti" with words from the book series as well as these elegant place cards from Etsy.
The centerpieces are actually beer glasses (from the dollar store!) that have been painted with non-toxic black paint (this peels and washes off after the event so you can re-use the glassware!) and then, using double stick tape, in a tic-tac-toe pattern, we centered the flower and attached the feathers. Then finished off the table by placing one white and one red feather at the base of the centerpiece.
The servers said they had never seen this room look so elegant! So when you go to look at a room in an event center realize that even a simple change like your own linens can have a big impact!
Of course the Birthday Girl got her own personalized place card as well!
Since this was a family gathering with 9 children in attendance, we wanted to make sure that the buffet had something for everyone, including pizza for the kids!
The buffet began with the salad/appetizer offerings. Three different salads were offered including the Caprese Salad in the giant martini glasses to the back of the table! Cheesy garlic bread was one of the hits of the buffet table!
In fact, the deep fried cheese and cheesy pastas and breads were all a huge hit with guests going back for more!
Several different pasta's were offered so that all tastes could be accommodated, even the vegetarians, but it was the Chicken Parmesan that was the Birthday Girl's favorite! Soda, lemonade, iced tea and water were also offered to the guests with a nearby bar if they chose to purchase something a little harder.
Buca was wonderful to us! After the party began to wind up they brought us lots of ToGo containers so that the guests could take home a small dish for their lunches the following day. Tory still had a ton of food to take home but it was another nice touch to be able to send her guests home with some of the yummy food!
Finally, of course, there was cake by
Cat's Cakes! This is another way to get a big effect while saving on money. A cake this size would feed almost 150 people and we only had 32. So the bottom "Chess board" is made from food grade styrofoam and then covered with fondant. The chess pieces, ribbon and feathers are also fondant but the apple is one of those lightweight "wax" apples that looks totally real! The cake was strawberry that had been colored red for the party and was filled with vanilla buttercream and covered in vanilla fondant, the Birthday Girls' favorite!
Here is the framed work for the cake table! The perfect touch for this Birthday Girls' Perfect Twilight Themed Party!
Cat
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