{recent events} retirement party

i'm back and i'm come bearing a gift in the form of eye candy!!!  this summer i had the pleasure of working on a retirement party thrown for a school principal + the special ed teacher, both of which were retiring. 

 since the school's colors are blue and yellow, i thought it would be nice to center the color palette around those along with adding some white, khaki, and red accents.  another fun aspect of this event was that i was going to be working for my mom {who has worked with both of the women for a number of years} as she was helping host the party. because of that i immediately thought of my parents' antique collection of tins for decor... i know i've mentioned before that they used to deal antiques, and when it comes to tins they have A TON! 

 it was so fun going through the tins and pairing them up for the centerpieces!

here are some of my favorite collections i put together for the event....

i kept the florals pretty simple, i used puffs of white hydrangea, sprigs of baby's breath to "spill" out of the terra cotta flower pots, scabiosa pods and queen anne's lace for texture, and of course billy balls for extra yellow!

i've always been a fan of vintage tins as vases, and looking at these two do you see why?

isn't is great how each centerpiece...
and really each side of the centerpieces has a personality all its own?

... i totally dig the femininity of the antique glass perfume jars wrapped in the crocheted trim ...

in case you don't know me, it's ALL ABOUT THE DETAILS for me... the blue dairy creamer pail in the photos below has total sentimental value for me.  it's a family heirloom, yes i think of it as an heirloom, it belonged to my great grandma who lived and worked on an Ohio farm {which still belongs to my great-uncle}.  i just love the stories that antiques have to share and can be enjoyed generations later.

next up, the beverage station... we served iced tea, lemonade, and citrus water in my glass beverage dispensers {which can be rented}, guests could pour their drink in a mason jar and write their name on the little tag so their drinks wouldn't get mixed up!

above is yet another rental piece, the antique tub makes a great ice bath for beer, wine, or even water bottles... it certainly added a touch of "backyard charm"... also doesn't that tea look so refreshing?

here's a close up of the mason jars in use with the cute color coordinated paper straws!

the custom chalkboard menu

a big shout out goes out to Chris of Rancho Rocke BBQ for the amazing barbeque... in case you haven't tried his BBQ, you really should!  Chris is the chef behind the Rancho a go go food truck, you can find him, his truck and food here.  also, a big thanks to my hubby for playing grill master and cooking that amazing corn, it looked and tasted sooo good!

and yes i did hand tie all the silverware in that adorable gingham ribbon... 

i can't resist, the details are so fun! 

and of course there was dessert!  we had bite sized brownies, lemon blossoms, blueberry/coconut cheesecake bars, and Nothing Bundt Cake mini-bundts.... i kept the table pretty simple but i did hang some awesome mason jar luminaries from the tree behind the table

 i couldn't pass up the opportunity to use that gingham ribbon again... so i created some dessert flags =)

the piece de resistance was bringing in two antique school desks to flank the dessert table... 

and yes there's a story to these babies too....

 my grandma {mom's mom} was a school teacher back in the day... and i guess when her school went to ditch these desks she wrote her last name "Anderson" on them in Sharpie.  which if you're like me you're thinking "dumb move using a sharpie!" well because she did that she save these two desks, which my family now has and it has her signature, a little piece of my grandma permanently affixed on the wood.... thanks for the killer event pieces Grandma! {and yes these can be rented as well}

here's a shot above the dessert table... 

i hung some fringed + ruffled crepe swags with the mason jar luminaries.

here's a final shot of some of the coordinated paper details my paper company 

{Joie de Vie paperie} whipped up for the event... it's so fun to make every little detail count... down to the salt and pepper shakers, i adore cohesive details!

... and speaking of those, i think i'm going to have to start making/offering custom salt + pepper shakers =)

i hope you enjoyed this very personal and personalized event, i know i loved planning it, and being hired to work for my mom for the first time!

:: ::  vendor shout outs  :: ::

{event + floral design +  rentals} Blair Britt Events

{party + paper goods + crepe swags} Joie de Vie paperie

{food} Rancho Rocke

{dessert} Nothing Bundt Cake