A Silver & White Engagement Party

My sister and her fiance recently got engaged.  They decided not to have a big engagement party, rather they opted to have 3 smaller gatherings, with just close family and/or friends on their new deck.  They really wanted to have the party at home to show everyone their renovations, but they knew that having 100 people would be a BIG effort, and then they would have to worry about where to fit everyone and trying to get around to chat with all of the guests.  So, they decided to split the large group into smaller groups, so that they would be able to spend quality time with their closest friends and family AND enjoy their new deck three times as much!  Great idea, I thought!  Their wedding is going to be in March, so they will celebrate with the extended group before we know it anyway :)

So, the first of their parties was 'The Family'.  Even though it was just immediate family, I wanted to make sure that it still had an engagement party feel, despite Nicky's attempts to keep things simple and easy... Good try!  She decided on a Silver and White theme, to match in nicely with their new grey and white exterior walls of the deck.  So, I took it upon myself to decorate - what fun!

First, I made these silver and white fan-shaped decorations:

They were so easy to make.  For each one I used 2 sheets of silver/white cardstock (from Spotlight).  I joined the sheets together using clear tape, and then concertina folded it all, tied the centre with a piece of matching ribbon, then fanned it out and again joined with clear tape.  For detailed instructions, refer to Steps 2, 3 and 5 of my How to Make Tissue Paper Flowers post here.  The cardstock was nice and firm, so it held the shape nicely, and being printed on both sides meant that there was a different pattern as it twirled in the breeze.

Next I made white tissue paper pom poms: 

To create these beauties, I used the same steps as the Tissue Paper flower ones here, just made the paper larger, and doubled the number of sheets I used so that I could 'puff' both sides to create a ball shape.

Then I arranged a selection of silver candle-holders down the centre of the table:

Nicky bought these tablecloths at a party shop - clear with silver love hearts - just adorable!  We just put white linen tablecloths underneath and they looked a million dollars!

And the finished product...

It was a stunning sunset over the city, and we were so excited to catch some glimpses of the fireworks from Riverfire too!  Just perfect :)

As an extra special treat for later on, I decided that we needed to have a Candy Bar.  They are such a great idea, so after lots of inspiration from Pinterest, I put together this one (in the silver and white theme of course!):

I folded a large doily in half, then rolled it into a cone, and sealed it with these cute love heart stickers (from Dollars and Sense).  I also provided the appropriate-sized clear snap lock bags, to ensure that the guests could take their goodies home safely.

It was a bit tricky finding a range of lollies for this theme... Thanks to my Facebook fans for all of your suggestions!  I ended up with Kool Mints, Mentos, Milk Bottles, Raspberry Bullets, Yoghurt Coated Sultanas, Marshmallows, Mints, and I wrapped Belgian chocolates in silver foil.  The kids were a bit excited when they saw it, but the adults were the ones that had an absolute ball scooping in for their favourites and filling their take-home bag!  It was a huge hit, I will definitely do it again!

It was a wonderful afternoon and evening, celebrating two very special in my life.

They are amazing people with a wonderful home and it was an honour to be part of their special day.  Congratulations guys!  I wish you both a lifetime of love, luck and laughter.  xxxxx

And for those of you wondering - No I didn't make the cake :(  That is a story I will save for another day...