💫 work wife trivia

🥳 Secrets to planning a Pinterest-worthy Party

I have a love/hate relationship with planning parties. On the one hand, I work for myself and my husband goes into an office every day - so the idea of getting my friends and family together for an occasion sounds really good to me. On the other hand… so. much. work.

Somehow, the week before the party always creeps up on me and I start stressing. That is, until I have a conversation with my best friend, let’s call her P.

P and I are college friends. She was my roommate, at my graduation, proposal, and we were bridesmaids for each other. She gets me. I don’t have to finish sentences with her, because we’re just on the same wavelength. When I have a party to plan, I call P.

She has a excellent eye for design, so when I’m obsessing over a cake - she gets it in a way my husband or other friends never could. Once, I talk to P and fill out my google sheet - the stress melts away.

Because now I have a plan. Getting the ideas out of my head and onto paper clear the way for a seamless experience. I’ve now planned 3 bridal showers, 2 baby showers, countless holiday parties, 2 birthday parties, and of course fun events like Galentine’s Day.

Here’s the secret sauce in 3 easy steps.

🛹 MAKE A MOODBOARD

Even if you aren’t a super visual person, this will give you an idea of what you want. Save anything to your mood board that catches your eye. It could be a picture of decor, food, an invitation, a quote, venue - truly anything goes. The aesthetic of the party is important, even if you are keeping it minimal.

Here’s an example of a moodboard that I made for Mila’s birthday

Where do you get the images from?

Pinterest. It’s a magical land of beautiful images. I always start on Pinterest and add from Google Images or Instagram.

What do you build the moodboard in?

You can use whatever software you like. I use Canva. I have the pro edition, but it’s not necessary.

What do you put in the moodboard?

Images of food, decor, tablescapes, invitaitons, activities, games, and anything else that catches your eye!

Do you have a template?

Yes! Paid subscribers can download the template below. If you aren’t a paid subscriber, you can upgrade here. (It’s only $6 a month, which is the cost of a latte. Imagine we are on a coffee date, your treat?)

🎂 DECIDE WHERE TO SPEND + WHERE TO SAVE

Not every party requires a big budget. You can make things meaningful without being over the top. The big spends are usually for space and food, but we can get a little crafty. I was adamant that for Mila’s 2nd birthday I didn’t want to spend a lot on the cake. Her birthday is in the winter so I already had to spend for a space (park birthdays just aren’t a thing in the dead cold), but a fancy cake wasn’t the move here.

No disrespect to cake artists - they are craftsmen and what they make is art. I just wasnt in the space to spend that kind of money. I did a LOT of research and asked you guys what you thought and got a lot of suggestions.

Let me preface this by saying that I’m neurotic. When I’m doing something design related that I haven’t done before - I like to make sure it passes the “White Grout Test”

What’s the “White Grout Test?”

Have you ever noticed that the detailing of a white tile and dark grout rarely looks good? Grout is hard. It takes a lot of time + perfection to get it right. Inevitably, the lines end up uneven and it’s something you can’t unsee.

The solution? White grout. It’s forgiving. Less room for error means happier clients.

Not let’s apply that to wallpaper, art, cake design, nail art or literally anything else. The less room you allow for error, the happier you will be with the final result.

This situation was unique because I needed 2 cakes in a short period. I used the first opportunity as a test cake for Mila’s birthday. I originally went super simple with a pink cake with small flowers all over (you can see it here).

Since that turned out so well, I asked the cake artist to tweak the shade of pink, add carrots, and more flowers. Here is my inspiration vs the final cake — I was SO HAPPY with it. I was literally BEAMING. No one (except P) was as excited about this as I was. I told you, she gets me.

My total came out to a whopping $38. I ordered my cake from Whole Foods with the Chantilly Berry filling and everyone said it was the best cake they had ever tasted. I definitely shouldn’t have spent as long as I did on this whole process, but I was so proud of the results of my effort. I hope this helps you because it makes my time more worth it.

✍️ A PLAN IS YOUR BEST FRIEND

I mentioned before that once I thought through everything with P it was time for my list. This is my GO to for every single party that I plan. This allows me to see exactly what needs to be done at what time, assign tasks to other people, and keep my sanity.

What do you include in your planning document?

• General information: venue, set up time, party time

• Party schedule

• Tasks

  • Month Before

  • Week Before

  • Night Before

  • Day Of

What’s it look like?

Do you have a template?

I wouldn’t leave you hanging like that. Paid subscribers will see a link to the template below and free subscribers can upgrade if you’d like to see it.

I hope this helps! I’m convinced that getting organized is the key to keeping your sanity. Whether you’re planning a birthday party or a bridal shower, I hope these templates and tips give you some peace of mind.

This week's giveaway will be a bundle hundreds of dollars of makeup and beauty products. In order to enter, you need to BOTH of the two things. 

 As a reminder, be sure to like AND comment on my last 6 posts to be entered to win.

1) Go to my Instagram profile here & like/comment on my last 6 posts. This tells the IG algorithm that you like my content and want to see more of it. #besties

2) Go to my stories and enter the secret password "Pinterest" into the box in my Instagram stories now. The box will remain up till 8:00 AM EST on Thursday 02/22

Can’t wait to see you for the next edition of The Work Wife!