PARTY MAGIC NEW ZEALAND?
A few weeks ago, my best friend in the world, Nikki (who also happens to be my sister), uttered vows that changed her life forever. Yes, she got married! If any of you were wondering why I haven’t been blogging lately, this was the reason: apparently part of the maid of honor’s duties involved styling the reception!
Never one to back down from a challenge, the Party Magic team (or in this case, just me and my husband, with help from my wonderful two older brothers) took on styling Nikki’s wedding.
What do you think? Is it time to set up shop abroad?
One of the sad things that came out of Nikki’s emigration to New Zealand was that it spelled the end for Simply Paris Philippines. In a sense, Simply Paris was my baby too as I was there with Nikki from the very start. However, for every door that closes, another one opens, and this time, the door that opened seems to be a lot bigger! Nikki has now started her own Auckland-based baking shop, Sugarpuff Pastry.
Congratulations to Nikki and my new brother-in-law Kenny!
HUNTER’S LUMBERJACK PARTY
Today I am excited to talk about a party that I’ve been planning to showcase for some time now. Welcome to Hunter’s Preppy Lumberjack Party!
Having a kid named Hunter definitely narrows down the choice of themes for a party. But I decided that the “preppy” element was very much suited as a 2nd “layer” to the overall theme. And the reason for this was simple. You see, I’ve known and have been friends with my client, mommy Kim, for quite some time, and I’m telling you, she is the epitome of style and proper:
Mommy Kim, Daddy Bon, and Hunter, the King of the Jungle
See what I mean? These three make a picture perfect family!
By the way, this was our setup for the photo-op area. As a principle, photo op areas should be a.) near / semi-near the entrance to the venue, such that it should be one of the first scenes that guests see, and b.) should create a strong impact to establish the general mood:
Before the photo-op, we see the entrance set-up:
I always love it whenever I see the love and preparation that moms put into their child’s special day. Here, Mommy Kim lovingly prepared animal bowler hats and bows for the boys and eared-hairbands for the girls!
As we progress towards more styled parties (as opposed to balloon-decorated ones), we will see more and more sophistication and nuance within each specific theme.
I think that the Preppy Lumberjack theme is a really great evolution or twist to the standard Jungle / Safari theme.
And what I like about this particular theme is the introduction of animism, or the practice of adding character and personality to animal species:
These forest animals live in Hunter’s Forest, but they are their own characters too. Take, for example, Fox there in the middle. English-born and bred, Fox loves sipping afternoon tea and is daily-apprised of world events and politics. Oh, and look at funny Bear off to the far right, taking a selfie!
The animism continues on to the cake, done by none other than the Masters of Miniature themselves, Cottontail Cake Studio!
As I have detailed in my various other posts, Cottontail Cake Studio is a center for pure craftsmanship. What I love about them is that they upend conventions, such as this one:
Typical Belief: Bigger is Better
(the cousin of “the more decor, the better”)
New Belief: Small is Beautiful
This notion that Cottontail puts forward is, at first blush, totally unfamiliar and unexpected. And that’s the beauty of it. It’s a hidden truth only put forward and made obvious once you see through all the smoke and regard Cottontail’s craftsmanship.
My best wishes to this wonderful family, and to our dearest Hunter!
Love,
Michelle
Very good post! We will be linking to this great post on our website.
Keep up the great writing.