Dressed to the Nines | Ray turns 9

I’ve had this theme in my head for Ray for a LONG time. It was just so fitting for my girlie girl and I thought a dress up party would be so much fun. With just the theme in my head I was listening to the song The Life of a Showgirl and some key words were popping out to me that felt right with Ray and the theme. “Pearls of Wisdom”, “Pretty and Witty” and “sweeter than a Peach”- so I knew I had to work this song in as well. I started with the mood board and ran from there!

Let’s get into the party, but first a peek back at her past eight.

The Invitation

I worked with the talented Glow Paper Co. on the most incredible invite suite. They had created a Taylor and Travis invitation last year when they were newly engaged, so I knew a little Taylor inspired theme would be perfect for them. A nod to “thank you for the lovely bouquet” was the main inspiration and they created the perfect pieces. From a mirror to a ticket and all featured inside a gorgeous velvet envelope with feathers and a glittered key. It captured the essence of the party so beautifully!

The Venue

If you know me, you know I LOVE throwing parties at home, but this theme would have needed a lot to come to life at home. I reached out to a local restaurant that we LOVE, The Kersey House. It’s one of Ray’s favorite restaurants and it happens to be a beautiful old house with an all pink bridal sweet and dressing room up stairs- perfect.

We rented the two pink rooms upstairs, one for a table and the other to turn into their dress up room. The Dressing room was already fully equipped with vanities, mirrors, a rack for dresses and more. This made it so easy for me to bring in my details and bring it to life.

I also fear I have been spoiled. Holding a party at a restaurant meant, the food and drinks was done, I didn’t have to clean up and someone was constantly refilling my champagne, how will I go back? All to say, the Kersey House was absolute perfection and we will get into all the was served later.

The Table

The vibes are shades of pink, over the top, luxe and an undertone of showgirl. We did a round table in the center of the room with a wine colored velvet linen. I rented the coolest napkins from Something Vintage, they added the perfect bright pop on the table. I used Danny’s grandmother’s gold ware and plates from the Kersey House. Each plate was topped with a custom painted menu from Paperie Off Park. She created the coolest Do Not Disturb door hangers with the menu printed on the back. I attached tassels and they turned out so beautifully.

I used a pink goblet from the restaurant and did a mix of funky straws and peach stir sticks from Acrylic Sticks. The center of table was filled with florals and treats. A tray of Caviar cookies designed by Royally Iced – a bellini with crème fraîche and caviar but in cookie form. I also had a giant bowl of peaches, some candies and a butter cake.

The butter cake was perfect because we started the girls with bread service. They had Oysters and shrimp as appetizers and the girls each chose a mocktail and main course.

Their place setting was finished with their favors, which had to be one of my favorite details. I worked with Paperie Off Park to create custom Caviar table – we added hidden gems like, “kismet” and other Showgirl details. She painted the most gorgeous artwork and I turned it into a sticker. I grabbed gold tins on Amazon and topped each with the caviar tin sticker. Inside the tins you’ll find a black velvet scrunchie, a strand of pearls and a lip gloss. I paired each tin with a caviar spoon hair clip that I hand made. Literally, the cutest thing EVER.

The table was finished with custom confetti by Lauren Glass Designs that really was the cherry on top of the entire party. This theme begged for sparkles, because you know sequins are forever.

The Cake Table

Behind the dining table there was a beautiful vintage bar- I used this to hold the cake. The cake was made by @_michicakes it was filled with fresh peaches and topped with raspberries and peach slices. Not only was it gorgeous to look at, it tasted absolutely incredible! I added in more custom cookies by Royally Iced, stacks of fashion books, ”headshots” of Ray and florals.

Of course, I added in the cutest custom cocktail napkins I created with Suburban Soiree that reads Pretty & Witty in gold. One of those phrases I expected to be on all the TLOAS merch but sadly wasn’t, so we made it happen here.

One of my favorite things about holding this at The Kersey House is that they cut the cake for me. Each slice was perfectly cut and was garnished with the topping- it was such a nice touch.

The Dressing Room

The perfect room to play dress up. I left the room intact and used what was already inside. The back wall had a large rack, so I brought some of my own dresses to hang and act as a part of the backdrop. Above I added my glittery boots, the hairdryer from Ray’s Spa 5th Birthday and flowers.

One vanity I used for accessories. It was filled with heart sunglasses, tiaras and a drawer of pearls for the girls to wear. I also used one of Ray’s gifts (her new Petit Keep Trunk) to hold hot pink feather boas.

The main vanity had two little chairs and I used this as the glam bar. Each girl got to pick a set of Pressies by Olive and June for their nails. We had gold and silver glitter Freckles. And their favorite, Hally Hair hair gems, hair peals and Glitterati sticks for their hair!

The girls did their glam, played dress up and sat for lunch. It was non stop girlie fun and they couldn’t get enough.

The photography

As always my girl Dani SHOWED UP for us, but not only did she shoot the party beautifully she helped me schlep everything to the venue and set up the entire thing! She got a first hand experience of my neurotic party set up process. Like usual she also captured photos I will cherish forever. Having these images of the girls and our family is priceless.