Weddingbee Blog

This weekend my bridesmaids and I helped throw an extra special birthday bash for our girlfriend. It was a smashing success! We had a pal that generously let us host the party in his loft/office space in SF, a perfect location with exposed brick walls and wooden rafters. All the guests were instructed to dress in classy black and white attire, while the birthday girl made her appearance a hot little red dress. The birthday girl, an at-home gourmet, created a menu of 5 different canapes and various other finger foods including: grilled asparagus with horseradish dresing wrapped in roast beef, smoked salmon over baguette slices topped with lemon and chives, white and dark chocolate dipped strawberries, and many more! YUM.

There was one take away that I learned from this weekend’s event: I’m so glad I invested in a day-of wedding coordinator. Before the party, we had an hour and a half to set everything up (the same amount of time that my vendors will have at my wedding) and even though the birthday girl had already instructed us with what to do, we were all still bombarding her with question after question: “Where do you want the tissue paper pom poms? Do they look ok? Which wine do you want opened first? Do you want the desserts before the canapes on the food tables? Do you want us to make more pom poms? Did we get ice? (No, we didn’t so we had to make a grocery store run.) Where do you want the guestbook table set up?”

Thankfully, everything went without a hitch at the party. But afterwards I realized that I really don’t want everyone bombarding me with questions on my wedding day. If I did not have a day-of coordinator or banquet captain that would be taking care of the event set-up, I would definitely assign a willing participant to be the point person for ALL questions, so that he/she can filter the inquiries. Only the most important ones should ever reach the bride or groom. The main reason why we were asking the birthday girl so many questions was because we wanted to ensure that she was happy with the way everything turned out on her special day, however I now see how it could’ve stressed her out even more. Anyway, here are some pics of the day!

Making lots of tissue paper pom poms (from Martha Stewart)

J & I signing the polaroid birthday guestbook. We used a blank guestbook, polaroid camera, and double sided tape. Simple, but everyone loved it!

Another shot of the sign-in table. Since it was an intimate gathering, the birthday girl also made stickers as conversation starters with a few questions like: How long have you known the birthday girl?

Very simple wine markers: a box of tags with a hole punched and a slit cut through the hole . Saved us from washing dishes during the party.

Just some of the yummies.

Self-serve beverage table.

Birthday gal looks gorgeous in red!

We surprised her with a cupcake tree with the same number of cupcakes as her birthday year. Kara’s Cupcakes in the Marina made them and they were FABULOUS. They also make cupcakes for weddings!

One last pic!