Celebrating The Engagement

Less than one year to go before the special day.  We gathered family and friends for a backyard engagement party just a few weeks ago.  Engagement parties are new to me, but seem to be popular now.  I think I'm dating myself.

Rachel (the bride-to-be) and I had a great time dreaming of all the little details and working together to make them a reality.  The invitation template was a free download and she likes the motif so much she's decided to use it for her wedding theme.   

And since it's never a party without cupcakes, we made a few batches.  Some were chocolate with white buttercream as you see here, and some were vanilla with lavender buttercream.  We used this recipe for the cake and this one for the frosting.  They're both from Recipe Girl and oh so yummy!  (Just substitute a devil's food mix for the chocolate cupcakes).

To make the tables a bit festive, we made some basic runners, placed them on top of white cloths, and accessorized with fresh potted fall asters.

We borrowed some ideas from Martha too.  Just print the letters you need, cut them (I used a circle cutter borrowed from a friend) and string them on ribbon. I'm in love with this idea and plan to make a birthday banner to hang for all the birthdays to come.

Somewhat time consuming but also lots of fun, these tissue balls really added pizazz to the party.  Here they are being hung from the chandelier as each one was completed.  It was just a holding place :: the party was held downstairs and these festive decorations were hung from the ceiling.  The party's over now. Hubby and I had the pleasure of meeting and visiting with over fifty special friends and family members who will share the upcoming wedding day.  The pom-poms???  They're still hanging.  I can't bear to take them down.  Something about them just makes me smile.