Turning 30 can be bittersweet but in this case it was “sweet and sour”. The colors were rose gold, white, black, with some blush pink. I had a lot of fun planning this party and I hope that you feel inspired for your next event!
The Venue
The party was held at a venue called The Girl Cave in Huntington Beach, CA. This unique space is like a “blank canvas” that is modern and chic. There are bulletin boards to pin decorations and anything can be taped onto the picture frames along the wall. They provide the tables, chairs and a tv for music or slide shows as well as a few add-on items such as the white tablecloths. They will arrange the tables however you would like and can fit up to 50 people according to their website. I had 40 people seated and that felt like the perfect amount.
Decorations
I bought the flowers from Micheal’s arts and craft store. The favor boxes were from party city. The black wine glasses are from oriental trading company as well as the rose gold trimmed plates. The table runners, the silverware , and the photo holders are from Amazon. I used two different sizes here is the link to the short holders. I have added the links so that you can go straight to them. I went to the thrift store and bought clear vases that spray painted them shimmer black. And the chargers were originally gold and I spray painted them Metallic rose gold.
Food Table
Happy birthday sign from Amazon. I DIYed the giant paper flowers and if I am honest, I may never do them myself again but hey they looked great. For food I ordered a couple of meat and cheese trays from Pavilions and created a sandwich bar. I tried to stay with the theme as best I could by offering a sweet option and a sour option. A sweet bread with sourdough bread, honey mustard and deli mustard, pasta salad and potato salad, BBQ chips and salt and vinegar chips, you get the idea.
Dessert Table
The cake (which was amazing I should add) as well as the lemon tarts, fruit tarts, and strawberry choux were all done my Happysweets bakery. The donuts were from AlisoViejo Donuts and bakery. I DIYed the donut stands with items from Hobby Lobby. I set up the dessert table the same way as the food table by providing sweet and sour options. I had a glitter rose gold sweet and sour sign to go above it but alas, the “t” was missing. Oh! And the place cards are from oriental trading company.
Drink Table
To go along with the sweet and sour theme, pink lemonade, water, rosè , red wine, beer, and hard lemonade. (Last two not pictured) The cups, along with napkins to match, are from Target.
Entertainment
For entertainment I had a few games. A simple Jeopardy game, which my sister dominated, chubby bunny, find the sour gummy in the pie (with your face) and my favorite game that every party should include is the tissue box game. Basically, you get a bunch of tissue boxes, hand them out, everybody grabs one tissue at a time and whoever empties their box first wins. Trust me when I say it is amazing. All my pictures are blurry because my friend who was taking the pictures could not stop laughing.
Photo Booth
I also set up a DIY photo booth in the back. I used the “Mini photobooth” app on my iPad and bought a used ring light for only $60. I bought a black sequin backdrop and added a few more paper flowers for decoration. I bought a small back of props as well as spray painted a couple of frames rose gold. Here is a picture of my dad and I using one of the frames.
Tips
Final Thoughts
So at every event something is bound to go wrong. That’s why at weddings it’s recommended to have an emergency kit, etc. Knowing this will help roll with the punches. It is also a great learning experience so that you don’t make the same mistakes. For example, I had people helping set up the food table and it was definitely not how I wanted it set up but, oh well! Next time I will make a chart, or discuss it before hand, or use post it notes. Either way it worked out. If I can go back and give myself advice it would be to reserve more time at the venue. I had a lot of late comers because of really bad traffic as well as people traveling from away. If I had more time my guests could have lingered and there would have been no rush to set up or take down. Another piece of advice would be not to forget the plug to the ring light….
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