Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Luau Party!


Stephanie is my oldest and dearest friend. We met on the first day of fourth grade and have been best friends ever since. She and Eddie got married in Cocoa Beach, Florida, last month. Before they tied the knot, my friends Brandon and Sara and I wanted to give them an engagement party/wedding shower for all our local friends who couldn't make the trek down to Florida. To bring some of that fun beach vibe to Nashville, we chose a luau theme and had the party at Brandon and Frank's fantastic bungalow.


I know the tissue paper poms/flowers have been done to death, but I really think they can't be beat for adding cheap, colorful drama to any party. In this case, they kind of served as giant tropical flowers. We hung them across the porch with a strand of tiki lanterns and over the food and favor tables.

The menu was (loosely) tropical. We had pulled pork, sweet potato salad, black bean salad, key lime cheesecake, tropical slaw, fruit served in a hollowed out melon, and my personal favorite, bacon-wrapped pineapple (that would be the almost-empty platter in the foreground. Must make more of that soon). And margaritas. Lots and lots of margaritas.



I also made some beachy cupcakes but failed to get a good picture of them.

For favors, each guest got a margarita glass (with his or her name on a ribbon around the stem). Inside each glass was a lei to wear for the evening. We also had some Hawaiian shirt beer cozies for the non-cocktail-drinkers among us.


This doorway picture provided entertainment for everyone (especially after margaritas were consumed). Best ten dollars we ever spent!

We had a great time, and this is a fun, easy party theme to work with. We loved doing something special and memorable for Stephanie and Eddie. Congratulations to the happy couple!
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4 comments:

Marianne said...

SUCH a freaking cute party!

Amblus said...

Seriously, you have the party planning Gift. So cute!

Delightful Dahlia said...

I must have been under a rock because I have never seen tissue flowers before. Do you know of any online tutorials for them? I think they are so cute!

Emily said...

Hi, Dahlia! You can't go wrong with Martha Stewart's tutorial:

http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/article/pom-poms-and-luminarias

However, I recommend using more than 8 sheets of tissue (more like 10, or even 12) for a fuller pom pom or flower.