My favorite events are the ones where I have to think outside of the box. The ones where you can NOT just Pinterest and find ideas. The ones that really make me use my creativity. The events that are so fun to create that when the event is over I feel proud but sad that it is over.
Here’s a list of my favorite events and details from 2023.
Huge thanks to all my clients for helping to make 2023 the best year yet!
BEST OF BACKDROPS
There are many backdrop I have loved from last year. But I didn’t want to bore you so I only chose my top 3.
PINTEREST MUSH-ROOM
Ok so this backdrop isn’t just a backdrop it’s also a lounge area. This was a dream as I got to create this for PINTEREST. Yes…. PINTEREST!!! I couldn’t find a coffee table that I liked in budget so WE built this white wavy one. I’m not a huge 70s person but I loved everything about this project.
Side note – this was my first project the Pinterest hired me for. After this project I got hired back for 2 more! Yippee!
TRASH TRUCK: IT’S CAMS DAY
Of all the kids themes I was asked to do in 2023, this one was my favorite. I had never heard of the Netflik’s TV series, Trash Truck before the client brought it to me. During my “research” phase I may or may not have watched 10 episodes 😉 Seriously this is the cutest show! What made this backdrop and theme so special is that there is literally nothing out there to buy for this theme. Everything had to be custom and made from scratch. The whole party is themed off of one episode called It’s balloon day.
GUYS GIRL BOOK SIGNING
I’m a huge book dork. I love reading so anytime I get to work with an author is a yes for me! WE created a giant copy of Emmas book cover as a photo opp and had the rest of the area be a loungy set up for her fireside chat.
Guy’s Girl has an incredible story as it’s about a Chicago authors personal journey with her eating disorder.
BEST OF ENTRY WAYS
PINTEREST HOLIDAY PARTY
This was a HUGE project! It was a 3 part install and so much went into this project. Visit the Pinterest holiday party blog to see all the details from this event. These 3 arches were one of my favorite elements from this event. The employees were in the office before the party so we wanted them to feel like they were leaving the office behind and entering a new fun enviroment.
BEST OF DESSERTS
CEREAL COOKIES
These were for a teen sleepover party with a cereal bar. The cookies were used as favors and each kid got a “almond milk” and “cereal” cookie. Ashley of FolkMade really nailed these!
WILD-FLOURS CAKE
Wild-flours was a Pinterest predicts trend from 2023 so for my WE EVENTS 5 year anniversary Becca of A Little Frosting Bake Shop created this stunning cake for me to celebrate. I love love love the jagged edges and use of real edible flowers.
BEST OF FAVOR WALLS
ROSE ROCKS MERCH WALL
This goes down as one of my favorite events ever to plan. The mech wall was one of my favorite elements from the event. Each guest received a custom tote bag with the party logo as well as an adorable beanie, “guitar pick” cookie, tattoos, stickers and rockstar sunglasses.
SAKE BABY FAVOR WALL
This is just so pretty it had to make it to the best of. This is our curved favor wall but styled by my friend Lauren from Stunning and Brilliant events.
BEST OF EVENT DETAILS
CUSTOM 3D FABRICATED CHARACTERS
These characters were just the cutest ever. They were 3 feet tall and the star of the event for the Pinterest Holiday Party. While they were quite adorable they gave me a lot of anxiety because they had to be kept at a certain temperature and were kind of fragile. Anyone who knows me knows I’m not exactly good with delicate items, so every time I had to move these guys I was terrified I would drop them. But they made it and are one of the coolest things we have ever had made.
MINI 3D PRINTED CRATES
Of all the things I created last year this is one of my top two favs. I had these mini crates custom 3d printed for the Rose Rocks party. We filled them with bite size 7 layer dips as the party was 80’s themed. I have no clue what I am going to do with these crates but I kept them all as they make me so happy!
SUPER HERO CENTERPIECES
For the party SUPER ALI, a lot of budget went towards venue, food and activities so I needed a more frugal but still SUPER cute centerpiece idea. I cut these out of scrap wood I had on hand and painted them in the event color palate and hand painted windows on them. I used these on the highboys, adult tables and kids tables and very quickly got in over my head with how many of these I needed to paint. My friend came over to keep me company and to “help”. I paid her in wine and therefore all of hers had to be repainted 😉
Fun fact: after the event the client didn’t want to keep them(they lived in Vegas and couldn’t take them home) so WE donated to a local kids charity. (We try to donate as many kids party elements to local charitable orgs to be more sustainable)
ADAMS FAMILY HALLOWEEN DETAILS
First off can we talk about how annoying it was that Mother Nature chose to snow in Chicago on my favorite day the year? Ug! I love love love my Wednesday Adams and Thing wooden cut outs that were for trick or treating house decor(so much that I still have them) and my cousin IT that I had a blast making. If you haven’t seen the show Wednesday you have to start watching it- it’s sooo GOOD!
BEST OF BALLOON INSTALLS
WELCOME TO DEANS CARNIVAL
This party was a blast and the clients kids were just the sweetest. The client wanted old school fun so I dedicated a lot of my time to creating the games that when it came time to create the backdrop I was out of creative juice. (see the old school carnival fun blog for more details on this party). This was a totally last minute idea and I kind of winged it day off and it turned out to be one of my favorite balloon installs. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow and trust the process.
BEETLE JUICE BEETLE JUICE BEETLE JUICE
Does anyone else love this movie as much as me? I could listen to the Day-O song all day long. Balloon walls are my fav balloon-y things to make and adding fun extra elements like this sign and “snake” make it even more awesome.
BEST OF CHARITABLE EVENTS
D4D KITCHEN WALK
While I did not plan this event D4D hired me to provide on site coordination for it. This was my first year helping out on this event and IT IS AMAZING and such a new twist on a fundraiser. Yes, it’s in Michigan but it only took me 1.5 hours to get there (which is nothing). Your ticket gets you a map of a self guided tour of unique and just plain drool worthy houses. Each house has an ambassador talking about the history and design as well as something fun, like wine tasting, a cookbook author, food demos and more…
Keep this event on your radar – it only happens every 2 years and the next one is October 2025. Hats off to the boss lady Jenn of D4D and her right hand man, Ed for planning this event and allowing me to work the day of logistics.
BEST OF ENTERTAINMENT
JORDANS 40th DANCE PARTY
This will go down as one of my favorite parties to plan ever (see surprise 40th dance blog). What made this whole event was keeping the guests guessing what would be next. Each set of dancers came on for 2 hours and changed every hour. We had ballet dancers, hip hop, breakdancing, disco ball girls and more… The bday girl had a blast as you can see, and the dancers made the whole party!
