11 June 2010

alice in wonderland party, part II

party favors are wrapped up pansies planted in vintage teacups. a sweet tag ties the alice in wonderland theme together. the girls are seated around the table for a tea party, the fancy event about to begin.


of course, sophie planned a few party activities for the girls. i loved her invention of this cute teacup memory game. she divided pairs of candy and hid the pieces underneath the scattered teacups. whoever found the matching candies enjoyed it as their prize.


after the guests had enjoyed their luncheon of tea, scones, berries and cupcakes, sophie led them into the parlor to pick out vintage dress ups. accessories were tucked into antique suitcases and hat boxes. the girls changed into their fancy gowns and accessorized with feathers and lacy gloves for their on-site photo shoot.


portraits by sophie's sister, lucy, were taken on the front porch. they used a few props for styling and even invited their cousin's bunny as a special alice in wonderland party guest. sophie plans to include the individual portraits in the thank you notes to her friends.


when i asked sophie what her favorite part of the party was and what her friends seemed to love about it, she answered, "The best part of the party was running up and down the sunny streets pretending to be in wonderland while wearing beautiful dresses. I think my friends were most delighted with the immature charm that parties often have missing."


the most lovely alice in wonderland tea party i've ever seen. thank you for sharing your event with us, sophie! now onto what you've been waiting for, sophie's seven tips for a successful party. i think you'll agree, she really knows her stuff.


Perfect Party Planning 101 by Sophie

First of all, the planning should begin really early. This way your ideas can fly and all ideas can be possibilities because you have time. Time is key.

1 Party Theme

No one is too old for a theme. No one. But it's harder to find a theme for an adult party. Here's how...
• Relate the Theme to what you like. For example, I love Alice in Wonderland.
• Then, think of what you want the setting to look like and feel like. My Party could have been a darker, Tim Burton feel or a lighter classy vintage feel, which is what I went with.The feel should appeal to the age of the party-goers. The theme can be as immature as wanted, but the feel can balance it out.

2 Go Blogging

Magazines, blogs, and websites are perfect for ideas about your party. I searched "Alice In Wonderland Vintage Tea Party" on Google Images. Then I would find cute pictures and click on the link. This more than often led me to cute blogs and websites. Write down ALL the ideas that pop into your head. Later on down the road you will organize them, but for now go crazy with all the ideas that you want.

3 Organize ideas, find resources

Now limit your ideas down to how long the party is, and how long the planning period is. Once you have your initial events of the party, find resources. Yes, paying 300 dollars for a set of games, plates and the whole package would be easy, but NOT fun. My sister has a good friend who is extremely cute and has a ton of vintage stuff. So, I asked her to lend me her things and help decorate, and she said yes. I couldn't have done it with out her. So, find a good friend who is willing to help out. If this doesn't work out, skip to the next paragraph.

Find out about all the cutest places around town. I went anywhere vintage and thrifty. I even went to the D.I., where I found amazing deals and super cute teacups. Going places just for fun might give you new or better ideas.

4 Be open to change

This was hardest for me. If something doesn't work out, or better ideas arise, it is ok to change a little bit. More often than not, you won't regret it.

5 Be Creative

Show your party-goers that the party will be more special than others. Accomplish this by making handmade invites and playing new and fun games. You don't want this to be just any other party, so get creative and fun.

6 Get Help

Having help from my mom and sister and more was the best. And it is so less stressful. Like me, some people are the do-it-yourself kinda girls. A real party is not one of these things. With people come new ideas. Even if you don't Like these new ideas, be gracious and listen--Just a little manners lesson. :)

7 Hosting

When the day of the party comes ... Just forget everything. If things go differently, Let it happen. A whole section we'd planned for my party was canceled, but it was for the best and turned out so much better. My natural instinct is always to have everything go exactly the way I planned, But that doesn't always happen.

AND ... You have done all you have to make this party yours. You worked hard to see this day come together. So just have FUN !!!! There is nothing more you can do to make this party a party other than being pleasant.

thank you, miss sophie. you are one talented hostess!
all images by lucy, the decoration ideas by sophie & co.


23 comments:

Sandra said...

Lovely party, Sophie! I am so impressed with your hard work, creativity and great tips. Hope you have a wonderful 13th year! Thank you for sharing Sophie and Marta!

Destri said...

Oh my. Miss Sophie, I am beyond impressed. Not only with the party but the advice! I loved the "let them know this party is special by sending handmade invites"

Great sound advice!

Happy 13th! It looks like you're off to a great start!

Marta, I hope you are sending this off to Ohdeedoh! They would love it!
Also I received a lovely in the mail, oh you, you just wait :)

diane @ a spot of whimsy said...

oh my goodness, she is so mature! her advice was spot on. i'm twice her age and i could use each one of her tips!

the party looked incredible, well done. beautiful decorations, such creative ideas!

Travelin'Oma said...

I love teenagers! Sophie has definitely ARRIVED!

Rachel said...

Marta, I don't know if you already said it, but where did you get that wishbone necklace that you wore to your conference a couple posts back? It is sooo cute! I love your writing and your blog, you are so creative!

Johanna said...

All the girls, especially Sophie seem like perfectly sweet teenagers!

Sarah said...

"immature charm"?!? What kind of sophisticated 13 year old is this? What a cute girl!

tulin said...

I usually don't comment but I had to just say - wow! So cute and so thoughtful - wonderful party planning...

Anonymous said...

I'm quite proud of our decor skills for Sophie's party! I loved being part of Sophie & Co.

I'm Sara and i'm Lucy's friend who helped decorated Sophie's party.

Check it out here: http://matthewandsara.blogspot.com/2010/03/sophie-in-wonderland.html

Sophie is going to be thrilled to see your post!

-sara

Cat said...

I'm so happy to see these young ladies interested in a vintage party. Very sweet!
Well done Sophie!

Mandy said...

I wish someone would throw me a party this great. I love the dress up and photo shoot. she did a great job capturing the theme

Sasha Holloway said...

okay WOW those pictures are beautiful lucky to have a mom like you.

[eeny] said...

Really great job done, Sophie.
Now I wanna have a cute party like that right away =)

Thanks for sharing, Marta.

Dee said...

All of the girls are so beautiful. How fun.

*Dream Weaver* said...

I love everything about this party especially the pics. Good job all. and Happy belated birthday Sophie. God bless!

summer said...

my oh my.
this party is amazing!
pure brilliance, miss sophie.

Anna said...

Thank you, thank you for sharing this lovely party. I love how sweet, charming and appropriate it is for 13 years olds!

Sophie clearly has the best sort of style!

Blue said...

What lucky (and lovely) girls! The party looks like so much fun and Sophie did a great job planning.
Marta--You're my new favorite blogger, I just bookmarked you...thanks for being inspiring!

Cassi said...

Geez, I wanna be Sophie's friend, and I'm almost 26! ;) What a fantastic party--I especially love the dress-up photo session. Thank you for sharing!

Lindsey said...

Wow! Just catching up on some of my blog reading, so Happy (belated) 13th, Sophie! This is super.

Nicola said...

Thanks for sharing this great party! I am in the throws of organising an Alice in Wonderland Party for my soon to be 8 year old daughter and this post has given me even more inspiration! Thanks

Looks like Sophie had a 13th that she will always remember!

mandi said...

Wow! I'm over from ohdeedoh and just floored by this lovely little party. Sophie and crew did a wonderful job. Everything is thoughtful. My husband and I work with teenagers and I must say, this kind of innocence is hard to come by. I just loved the picture of all of the girls together- that age...just on the cusp of it all, right?

Katie said...

hi, this looks absolutely beautiful and i will be using this as inspiration for my party in september, thankyou!

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