Two weeks ago we threw a Flower Shop Birthday Party for Penelope!
WE DID IT! Penelope is ONE. How did it happen? I don’t even know.
I look back 365 days ago and so much has changed.
Life is simply delightful with her here! Sean and I love her so much we are ecstatic every morning she wakes up. It never gets old!
To celebrate Penelope’s birthday, we threw a party with family and close friends.
In case you ever want to throw a one year old birthday party, or interested in how we put everything together, I wrote our checklist below. It includes the exact resources and details too!
But before I jump in I have to give a special thank you to my mom, mother in law, aunt, Abby and Jen who helped so much. Love you guys and thank you for making the day run smoothly so I could enjoy the party as if I were a guest myself!
Party Dresses
So of course us girls outfits had to be in theme! Penelope wore this pretty floral frock (I so wish it came in my size!). I followed suit in a Veronica Beard flower dress I scored from Shopbop‘s sale section! Her stuff fits SO WELL. I wore it with some Joie booties that I can’t stop wearing either!
The Venue
We decided to throw a brunch from 10 AM – 12 PM at DOC Wine Bar in a western suburb of Chicago. The mimosas and bloodies were flowing and we served a breakfast buffet of pancakes, eggs, bacon, potatoes, yogurt parfaits and toast. If you’re local and need an event space, I highly recommend them. They have two private rooms (we booked the loft) and it’s just so cozy and nice. There’s a bar, tables, lounge furniture and plenty of space for kids to run around. In the winter this is a tough find!
Penelope’s Flower Shop
Penelope loves flowers and after seeing Born on Fifth’s flower shop birthday party I knew I had to pull it off. The idea was to have a mini flower market that tripled as decor, an activity and a party favor. It made the prettiest backdrop for photos and the entire room smelled of fresh blooms as soon as you walked in!
FTD gifted us fifteen stunning bouquets of pink and white flowers – to match the color scheme of the party. They were just GORGEOUS!
The perk of ordering flowers through FTD, is that you can order fresh flowers online with same or next day delivery! And they LAST.
We have several flowers still going strong from the party and it’s been over two weeks! So if you have any upcoming special occasions or celebrations, I highly recommend them. Especially if you’re a last minute person.
If this isn’t a testament to how genuine our guests are, I don’t know what is. Most of them made bouquets for others instead of themselves. It was so sweet and the gift that kept on giving!
Entertainment For The Kids
Another highlight was the faceprinting and balloon art by Elite Face & Body Art – THE BEST in Chicago! Since kids were part of the party we wanted something fun for them. She is out of control talented and a hit the ENTIRE time. If you’re local, BOOK her for your next party. Oh and she also has an unbelievable floral studio too – which I didn’t know about until after!
Scroll below for more details, exact resources and my mini birthday checklist!
P’s Birthday Party Checklist, Resources & Details
- Flowers: We ordered 15 various pink and white bouquets c/o FTD! For extra color and variety, we sprinkled in a few more florals we bought from Heinen’s (a local grocer) morning of.
- Flower Market Buckets: Amazon in this size and this size. Tip: some of them leaked water, so we had to use vases inside.
- Bouquet Essentials: Scissors and kraft paper (I cut the paper in squares ahead of time) but these would have saved so much time!
- Thank You Ribbon: From my favorite ribbon company! (I cut this into individual strands in advance).
- Flower Stand: Heinen’s Grocery Store let us borrow theirs! Proof it never hurts to ask.
- Chalkboard Sign: The board is from Hobby Lobby. Then I hired Paper Source in Oakbrook to professionally write out “Penelope’s Flower Shop” and “make your own bouquet” in chalk paint. It turned out SO cute. A huge thanks to Jen who gave me this idea!
- Giant 24″ Balloons: We ordered seven latex in light pink from Party City. Tip: Order online and have them delivered directly to your venue. They’re so big it would have taken multiple trips to transport. There’s FREE delivery if your order is $50+. Also, don’t forget to order the weights and be sure to select “inflated” to ensure they use helium.
- Balloon Tassels: I made these myself using crepe paper streamers! I got three colors and tied them to the base of the balloons with twine.
- Tissue Paper Flowers: Paper City.
- High Chair Garland: Faux flower garland from Hobby Lobby and just taped it onto Penelope’s highchair.
- Smash Cake: Mariano’s (only $12!)
- Sparkler Candle: One (we didn’t light it)
- Cupcakes: Heinen’s Grocery Store (sooooo delicious and we got them for .50 each!)
- Face Painting and Balloon Art: Elite Facepainting and Body Art
- Custom Cookies: A high school friend made them for us!
- Photographer: The lovely Wonder & Awe! She is just THE BEST. I know it may seem over the top to have a photographer for a birthday party but it was so great. Surprisingly we rarely take family photos (Sean prefers to enjoy the moment and does not think to take photos nor wants to be in them). So it was special to have this milestone documented without me having to do it for once!
If you have any further questions, you can always ask me here!
Photos by Chicago Andrea Creative
