TBT - Pink Champagne Bachelorette Bash

This week has been a dreary one here in Georgia and I have found myself longing for a sunnier disposition.  I knew that the one thing that might help brighten my mood would be party details.  And, while I have some ideas in my back pocket, I decided to post a TBT to one of my favorites from the past.  A dear friend asked me to be her Matron of Honor, a role which I happily embraced and put my all into.  Since the bride’s family was out of town and were throwing her shower, I knew her bachelorette party had to be above and beyond to show her how much she meant to her Georgian girls.  As I’ve said before, I tend to get carried away, so once we had settled on a theme, I was on a roll!  I was throwing Ashley a Pink Champagne Bachelorette Bash. 

As I always do, I went straight to Pinterest and started brainstorming.  It truly is one of the best resources for planning anything from parties, to meals, to having a baby.  That said, I created my secret board with tons of ideas and got started on the invites.  I loved the idea of chalkboard prints with the pink touches.  I also think that with a night full of action, as most bachelorette parties are, an itinerary is important.  With that in mind, I created my invites to include all pertinent information, including a mini-lingerie shower, song suggestion and dress code.

As indicated, Ashley’s celebration started early at a chic little nail salon in Buckhead called Sugarcoat.  In order to start our spa time right, I brought teeny bottles of Ashley's favorite pink champagne for each of the girls with personalized labels and cutesy straws.  (PS: if you intend to drink champagne, do NOT use paper straws!  They are adorable and coordinate, but do not work well with the bubbles!) 

The girls were invited to choose a manicure, pedicure or both (at their cost).  Since we had several people in our party, I was able to get us a discounted rate for the combo and most of the girls went with that.  And so we spent our afternoon with bubbly and bubbles!

With lots of help from a fellow bridesmaid, I had set up our suite for the rest of the evening at The W Atlanta Buckhead.  I knew I wanted to the theme to be carried out throughout the suite, so I was sure to infuse the food, beverages and décor with chalkboards and pink champagne.  The suite door welcomed them in style and as they entered, they heard songs from their suggestion playlist and were invited to complete two tasks.  Ok, “tasks” sounds daunting, I promise they were fun!

First, I set up a sweet little photo booth with lots of pink and girly props.  I created a backdrop from a great tutorial on Oh Happy Day and found my props cheaply at Party City and Dollar Tree.  The girls were asked to take a “before” picture and I’m sure all looked forward to the “after” the next morning!  (For the sake of all the girls, I’m including mine as examples and for that I ask your forgiveness.  I was nursing my son at the time and forgot to pack my pump!)

Second, I bought a large pink picture frame (courtesy of Michaels) with a white mat.  I made a little printable for instructions and asked each of the girls to help “kiss” Ashley’s bachelorette-hood goodbye, then sign the mat for a sweet keepsake for the bride.

(Please forgive the poor picture quality here!)

                                           

The food was laid out on a chalkboard table runner, which the girls were invited to decorate with messages for the bride-to-be.  I also added vases of bright pink tulips and personalized napkins to make the color pop.  And of course, what party would be complete without the requisite Bath and Body Works fragrance on the edge of the table?

I put out some basic hors d'oeuvres, but made sure to include lots of sweets infused with champagne (including pink champagne cupcakes, corset sugar cookies, Jelly Belly Champagne Bubbles and Champagne Gummy Bears).

While Ashley opened her mini-shower gifts, we started getting ready for our night out and indulged in treats, as well as the piece de resistance, Ashely’s Pink Champagne Bar.  I picked up some super-cheap basic champagne flutes from Ikea for each of the girls to take home and made little “chalkboard” labels for their names.  Each glass was decorated with a tiny chalkboard “Cheers” flag (made from simple wooden stir sticks, cardstock and chalk marker).  Armed with their glasses, the girls could mix one of the champagne cocktails suggested on the signs. 

The bar consisted of all of the mixings for the suggested cocktails, including fresh fruits and juices, flavored liquers, pink sugar garnish and of course, two types of champagnes.  With backup in the fridge, we all enjoyed tasting each one!  While we sipped, I passed out the girls’ favors, which included lots of goodies for the evening.  Come back next week for a closer look at these on TBT!!  So much fun!

(TBT next week!)

By the time we made our way downstairs to Cook Hall for our late dinner reservations, we were all ready for a great ladies night!  We enjoyed some fantastic tapas and more drinks, while toasting the bride several octaves louder than was probably necessary.  Following dinner, we continued on with our evening, and while we tweaked the plans from the invitation a bit, in the moment, we definitely had an amazing night.  We ended our evening dancing at the rooftop bar of the hotel, Whiskey Blue, overlooking Buckhead and Midtown.

Needless to say, it was a late night, but the girls had a blast and each let me know how much they loved all of the details.  I’m telling you, the details are what MAKE the event.  Don’t overlook them.  They are appreciated!  And we, at Golden Hand would be happy to help you brainstorm and create them!  That said, I am going to approach the rest of my day as if I have a glass of champagne to toast with, rain or no!  Cheers, Y’all!