Event Design: Nicole's Backyard Bumble Bee Party

My neighbor and good friend Christine hired me to do the event design for her daughter Nicole's 2nd birthday party. She was open to any theme, so I put together an inspiration board with potential ideas for a backyard bumble bee themed party. She gave me the thumbs up and said "Taleen I trust you, go for it!".  

The party took place in Christine's beautiful backyard, which was a perfect setting to execute the bumble bee theme. The color scheme was a mixture of soft yellow, grey, and white. I brought in a few elements to play off of the backyard theme such as steel pails and watering cans. I also wanted to decorate the space with home made paper goods and detailed signs. Even though this was a 2nd birthday celebration, most of the people in attendance were adults, so I wanted the environment to be kid friendly as well as pleasing to the adult eye.

Thank you Christine and Alex for letting me create something special for Nicole! I had so much fun creating all the fun details for the party. A big thanks to Becca Martin from LoveLifeStudios for capturing the photos.

For more details on the design read below!

Photography: Becca Martin of LoveLifeStudios / Desserts: Sweet Tooth Confections / Rentals: Michael Hensley Party Rentals / Design.Florals.PaperGoods: Simple Little Details

Bee's Corner: I created the Bee's Corner canopy to act as an exclusive space where the kids could hang out and have fun. I purchased a mosquito net and made a ribbon chandelier to hang from the top. We laid out a blanket, pillows, and fun toys such as bubbles, books, and coloring items for the kids to play with. Although Bee's Corner was supposed to be a special space for the kids, it ended up being the highlight of the party for the adults as well!

Drink Table: I hand made a paper circle garland to act as a backdrop for the drink table. I used a variety of yellow and grey papers and thread grey and white twine through them to make the garland. We had fresh lemonade for the kids that we served in mason jars that reminded me of beehives. I wrapped a "Sip" tag around the mason jars with grey and white twine to add a fun detail. We also had yellow and white striped paper straws for the kids to "sip" the lemonade. Since there were a lot of adults at the party, Christine also wanted to serve wine. I made custom "Nicole" wine labels with Nicole's birth date to wrap around the wine bottles.

Lunch Tables: The lunch tables were covered in a simple white linen and had a white and yellow checkered runner. The first centerpiece was a steel watering can filled with white and yellow mums, and the second was mason jars wrapped with burlap and twine and filled with white mums. Each person had their individual place setting, which was a steel pail that held the fabric napkin, utensils, and lemonade. The white folding chairs always go perfectly in a backyard setting. I made a special "Queen Bee" sign for the birthday girl's chair since she was after all the queen of the party!

Dessert Table: The dessert spread consisted of kettle corn, cake pops, cupcakes, and cookies, YUM! A big thanks to Sweet Tooth Confection for making the delicious desserts. I made the paper wheel backdrop for the dessert table using a variety of yellow and grey papers. The kettle corn was displayed in paper cones and placed upright in a wooden container. The cupcakes were topped with bumble bee and "yum" paper wheel cupcake toppers. I also attached "Buzzzzzzz" tags to the sticks of the cake pops.

Favors: For the favors I made circular scalloped tags that said "Thanks for Bee-ing sweet". I then made two slits on the top and bottom of the tag and slipped the honey sticks through them.

Tamar & Hovig: Purple and Green Kaleidoscope Wedding Invitations

Tamar is a very dear friend of mine that I have known for years. We were inseparable when we both attended DeAnza College in Cupertino for 2 years. Although we now live in two different cities, I still love her to death. She asked me to design purple and green invitations for her wedding a few months back. She was such an easy bride to work with - she wasn't picky and she trusted me with the design (I loved that!). I also made the table numbers, seating chart, and signs for the bride and groom chairs.

Tamar just got married this past weekend in Los Angeles to a great guy named Hovig. The wedding was fantastic and we had a blast! They both looked amazing and so happy together. Tamar and Hovig, I wish you a lifetime of happiness. I love you guys. In Armenian we would say "Mek partsee vran zeranak"..."May you grow old on one pillow".

Armenuhi's Butterfly Baby Shower Invitations

I met Armenuhi a few years back when she married my husband's uncle, Vicken. They live in Orange County and are honestly the coolest people ever and a blast to hang out with. They have always treated us with such kindness, so I wanted to do something special for them and custom design her baby shower invitations. Armenuhi and Vicken, we are so happy for the two of you! We wish you good health, happiness, and a smooth delivery.

The design: I used a butterfly punch to make the butterfly cut out and then added pearl adhesives to the wings. I glued the butterfly to the main card to hold it in place. I then wove the twine through the button holes and wrapped it around the white textured card stock and tied it in place so it was sitting on top of the butterfly. I used a corner punch to get the rounded edges on the card stock. And last but not least, I attached the main card on to a metallic card stock.

Nicole's "Lady Bug" and "Bumble Bee" Birthday Invitations

My friend Christine asked me to design her daughter Nicole's 2nd birthday party invitations. She said she wanted something adorable and fabulous. Christine's family is originally from Los Angeles, so Nicole will be having a lady bug themed party in LA and a bumble bee themed party in the bay area. Nicole is one lucky kid, double the presents! Thanks Christine for asking me to make Nicole’s birthday invitations. They came out so darn cute!

The design consisted of the main invitation inserted into a pocket card so that Nicole’s photo was peeking out the side. To create the tag on the outside of the pocket card I used a circle scalloped punch. I then applied eyelets to both the bottom and top and ran twine/ribbon through the holes and around the pocket card to keep the tag in place. I used a bumble bee and lady bug punch to create embellishments to attach on the side of the tag. For the inside invitation portion, I used 2 layers of cardstock and then the invitation on top. I used a punch to create the scalloped edges around the second layer of cardstock. Lastly, I again used a bumble bee and lady bug punch to create the embellishment on the invitation. And voilà!

My Blush Pink Bridal Shower

StyleMePretty is a bridal inspirations blog that I followed religiously when I began the wedding planning process, so I was ecstatic when my bridal shower pictures were featured on the site Wednesday morning. To see the feature on Style Me Pretty click here. Many thanks to my maid of honor Kohar for understanding my love for design and details and for putting together my dream shower. Also, many thanks to Pictilio for capturing such beautiful photos and submitting them to get published! Below is a blurb that I had written with our submission as well as a few detailed photos of the shower.

The bridal shower is just that: a day when the bride can sit back, relax, and enjoy being showered with love by all of her closest family and friends. My bridal shower was no exception. I put faith in my maid of honor, who has a penchant for planning (and who understands my obsession over details and event design!). In the end, I was glad I did, because the day was perfect and made me feel so loved. Together with my moms and sister-in-law, she created a bridal shower that was beyond anything I could have imagined. The décor—blush pink hues that shone from the flower arrangements to the macaroon favors and place settings—was perfectly planned and executed down to the last detail. The menu—which featured a crostini bar and panini bar—was unbelievably delicious and unique. The dessert table—filled with an assortment of delectable goodies—was displayed so beautifully on white footed platters. Even the games were fabulous—especially the bridal runway game, which involved splitting everyone into teams; providing them with a box full of fabrics, ribbons, and pins; and giving them a short amount of time to create a bridal gown and dress one member of their team. When the time was up, each bride had to strut down the runway with her team while the judges cheered for their favorites. It was definitely a highlight; the girls really got into it and it made for some good laughs!

But aside from the food and décor, what really made the shower special was the fact that I was surrounded by such incredible family and friends. In my eyes, that is the most important part. Getting married is such a special time and it was amazing to have so much love and support from all these inspiring women in my life. They really know how to make a girl feel special! I can’t thank my family enough for putting together such a beautiful shower. My advice to all the brides out there is to enjoy every second of the engagement and wedding process—because it truly does fly by with a blink of an eye.

Photography: Pictilio / Venue: The Bride’s Parents’ Home in Saratoga, California / Floral Design: Avenue Florist / Catering: Elegant Event Catering / Cake + Desserts: Nothing Bundt Cakes + DIY / Linens + Bride’s Chair Covering: Wildflower Linen / Dress: BCBG / Shoes: She She Shoes / Makeup: MAC