Bridal Shower Bliss ( and some practical decor)

Hey Everyone!

So this past weekend the bridesmaids and I threw Jennifer her "Love is Brewing" bridal shower. We had so much fun at the Blue Willow Tea Room, and the overall cost was low, but we made it a classy and beautiful afternoon.













I was in charge of decor, favors, and the invitations for the party. You can see how I made the invitations here.




First things first- I wanted to do an easy favor that people would actually enjoy and use and not throw away. So one of the bridesmaids and I decided on doing tea lights to stay with the whole "tea party" theme. Brooke ( the bridesmaid ) purchased the tea lights and I thought it would be really cute to package them with a little tea bag that had the "Love is Brewing" personalized logo on them. I just printed the image on card-stock and stapled them to a teabag, packaged them with the candle, and put them in cute little organza bags ( find them cheap on Amazon ). and TADA! cute little favors.

Next came centerpieces.

I wanted to keep things low cost but I wanted to incorporate tea pots and fresh flowers. I looked everywhere for cheap teapots and couldn't find anything I liked for under 10 dollars. Then I was strolling through Goodwill and found three cute little teapots and decided that they would be perfect if I spray painted them gold. I bought all three for 15 dollars!








Just a coat of gold paint and they looked perfect! I loved all the different shapes.




















For the bridal party table I knew it would be larger so I wanted to make the centerpieces bigger. My mother offered me her larger pots but told me I couldn't paint them so instead I found silver trays in my garage and painted those gold to tie in the gold color with the other teapots. I lined the trays with paper that I used on the invitations to tie in the floral prints.

Next, I bought fresh flowers at Sam's Club ( cheapest place to find fresh beautiful flowers ). I bought an assortment of colors to tie in the assorted colors on the floral paper and the designs on the teapot.  I filled the teapots with fresh flowers and set them on the trays.

Then came my favorite part. I wanted to tie in pearls ( my own collection of them) somehow but I didn't know what to do, I was going to just set them on the tray but then I wondered what they would look like if they were coming out the spout of the teapot. I loved the way they looked and ended getting a lot of compliments on this. Finally I added the leftover logo cards from the favors on the tray and completed the centerpiece.

These turned out so much better than I imagined!







One more decoration I made was a bride sign for the back of Jennifer's chair. I used the leftover paper from the invitation and the trays and cut them in a pennant shape and then strung them with ribbon!










One of the bridesmaids made a really fun and cute bridal shower game where we guessed the age of the bride at different stages of her life.


















I bought the bride a wooden monogramed letter for her front door of the new house she's building! You can find them at She Chester!

I recommend the Blue Willow Tea Room for Bridal Showers and events or just for afternoon tea!

The Bridesmaids <3

Stay tuned as I stay practical and help Jennifer with a couple more fun wedding details! 

xoxo-

Practically Perfect Bachelorette Celebration!

Hello Everyone! Like I said in my earlier post it's wedding season here, and this past weekend I went to VA Beach for my best friends bachelorette party. We had so much fun and packed a lot of fun ( and affordable) activities into the weekend!

We stayed at the Marriott Springhill Suites and we had a wonderful stay. We were ocean front and the view was beautiful! What a perfect way to enjoy the last weekend of summer!!

The first thing we did when we arrived was give the Bride all her goodies. We bought her this monogramed bag from Marley Lilly with her new monogram on it.






Here's some of my goodies from the weekend.



Peep- The fun colorful Erimish Bracelets ( only 8.99!!)  and bathing suit I scored from Target!












On Saturday we spent the morning and afternoon at the beach soaking up some rays.














Next we put on our cute matching tee shirts I scored from amazon for only 7 dollars each!

Gotta love the candids.

We surprised the bride and took her to an Escape Room! I totally recommend this as a fun activity for team building or a weekend event!




















We grabbed a sweet treat at Duck Donuts. ( If you haven't been there. Run to your closest one now. I promise you will have no regrets)

Lastly we went to Watermans Surfside Grill and grabbed some grub and a couple (and a couple more) of their famous drink called a Crush! We sang Karaoke until our voices were gone and then headed over to The Shack for a fun outdoor casual bar experience (check out this place- cute outdoor bar with games outside)

The weekend was so fun, and we spent a couple more hours in the sun till we headed home Sunday afternoon.

Stay tuned as I prep for the bridal shower with affordable decorations and favors. More to come soon!!!!

Handmade Bridal Shower Invitations Under 18 Dollars!

It's been wedding central here in the Practical Prepster household.
One of my best friends is getting married in November and one of my close friends is getting married next weekend! So with all the lovely nuptials around the corner my wallet has been hit hard with wedding gifts and bachelorette party reservations.

For the wedding in November, I am a bridesmaid and  I've been so exited to get crafty and inventive as the other bridesmaids and I come up with fun ideas for the bachelorette party and bridal shower.

......Obviously I volunteered to decorate and do all the fun crafty things. So first things first were the invitations!!!!!!


We are having a cute little bridal tea shower in a tea room here in southern VA, so I decided to theme the event "Love is Brewing"



I wanted  to hand-make the invitations for a personal touch. and to make things low-cost!






I printed the logistical information on the back of some beautiful card-stock I picked up at Michaels.

I chose card-stock with a little sheen so it would stand out and look more expensive.

I traced an outline of a teapot on floral scrapbook paper,
which I also purchased at Michaels.

Next, I cut little bows out of lacey ribbon and hot glued them on the floral teapot cutouts.















Next came the fun part!  I used two different sized sharpies to put a curly "Love is Brewing" text on the front of the teapot. I used craft glue to glue the teapot to the cardstock and then added little hearts to the spout! .......( side note I spent about a day figuring out how I wanted to write this)

Finally it was time to lick some envelopes and address them in a fun way! I searched on Pinterest for creative ways to address envelopes.

Lastly, I used old stickers from my manny years of Lilly Pulitzer agendas to seal the envelopes!


And TADA, handmade invitations that cost me next to nothing! Just time and crafty cutting.



Stay tuned for more wedding updates!

Family Reunion. Two Parties & A Decor Budget of 80!

Hello my favorite readers! Hope all is well. I'm sorry I've been absent.. but post-grad life has been kinda crazy. I've gone from GMU to NY to VA to PA to IL to IN to VA ..back to PA and finally to VA again. Its been a whirlwind of a summer but I'm glad to finally be settled in for the next couple of months and be back to blogging!
So.... we had our annual Stover Family Reunion two weekends ago, and because my aunt hosted this year, she asked me to help out with the decor. 

I set a color scheme of blue, yellow, and white and then added some personal touches. I wanted a simple picnic feel and went with a lot of DIY decor options that were based on my color scheme and the letter S! Check out my decorations below!

Night 1 &2 @ Margret's House.


A pretty entry way, with a personalized banner and tissue ball flowers.















A little welcome banner at the front door!

I love this light up "S" I found at Michaels on sale for 2 dollars!

These tissue pom-poms were great for adding a pop of color, I used them in the entry way, on the buffet table, and on the picnic tables. The best part.... they were .50 cents. 

I  hand painted this banner and then used it at both locations. By changing the way it was hung I kept it fresh and new!

I cut out foam "S's" to put around the gates of the house and also at the mailbox to direct people to the correct house!
















More of the "S's".  I added little paper lanterns to the outdoor umbrellas to bring in the color scheme.

Day 2 @ Pavilion- It was HOT, HOT,HOT!


Here is the banner rehung at the pavilion.

The picnic tables- simple blue runner.  tissue balls, some decorative napkins, and a glass jar with a floating daisy.

 
















 Close up of the table decor.


















I added yellow and white paper lanterns to the corners of the pavilion to add a bright and colorful touch!

















Look at all the food.. and how cute are those cake pops?























When I was finally done, I sat back and enjoyed a cake pop...or two..

















I had such a fun time making the decorations. DIY is my favorite, and I love being able to add a personal touch to such a fun event.  Staying under 100 dollars for two separate locations was a fun challenge and I enjoyed bargain hunting ribbon at Michaels, exploring the dollar store,  and digging through my shed to find decorations I could alter and use!

How do you decorate and stay on a tight budget?

New Summer, New Dance Organization!

Hello Everyone!

I'm so excited to announce that I will be working with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago this summer as a Dorm Chaperone for their Summer Teen Intensive! I head to Chicago on Thursday and I couldn't be more ready to explore,live, and eat..in a brand new city!

* All photos were taken courtesy of Grant Halverson at American Dance Festival 

(Also when I was blonde and tan..)

Last year I worked as a Festival Services Intern at American Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina, and it was the most amazing summer of my life. I can't talk about this organization enough and looking back I learned so much about non-profit organizations and dance companies through working at this festival.

Also I learned what it really means to be an intern and how to delegate, communicate, and appreciate!

So as I head to Chicago this summer, I am looking forward to exploring the city.... when I can.... and dancing with the students at Hubbard Street and the staff. I've never been west of West Virginia so it's gonna be a fun new adventure.

My mom bought me luggage for graduation and I am all packed up for a month and ten days....it was a challenge packing.. but thanks to Ziplock Space Bags (they are miracle workers) and a lot of sitting on my suitcase to zip it..... IT ALL FITS!

Side Note-Im a classic overpacker...






So I will keep you updated on my practical adventures in this new city. I'll be a busy bee, but will try to keep y'all updated on hidden treasures and exciting experiences!

Well Ta Ta for now friends.. Im off to Chitown!!!

Do you have any favorite places to go in the Windy City?