30th anniversary party // the details

The 30th wedding anniversary party that we threw for my parents (three weeks ago) was a success! It was the perfect blend of DIY crafts (made by my sisters and me), loving family + friends, and that homey warm atmosphere we achieved by having it in my parents' backyard. While it rained for a little while, it was a good thing my parents have hanging branches that we were all sitting under -- we didn't get rained out which was quite a relief (for the nail-biting, worried, party planner in me).

This party was such an event I have to break it down into different posts. This one is all about the details. The little, DIY touches that made the party cute + special from their children. We wanted it to feel as homemade as possible. Every detail, down to the grapes on the fruit skewers were handled with care by the kids.

Here's what we did:
//The fabric bunting was made by my sister, Hannah without the use of a sewing machine. Talk about dedication! This girl stayed up late during the days leading up to the party and hand-sewed each flag onto the fabric. We wanted the theme + colors to reflect their wedding as much as possible, which is why we went with light blues, pinks, and yellows. We must have been pretty close because one of my aunts commented that she thought the fabric was from my mother's bridesmaids dresses!

//I made the embroidery hoop K + S (Kevin and Sandy) by finding patterned fabric and hot gluing it to the hoop. Then I used Word to print off a 'K' and 'S' and traced the letters onto black felt. It's one of the most simple handmade gifts I have ever made. A perfect wedding (or anniversary) present.

//The most rushed craft was easily the paper lanterns. I knew I wanted to have them, but we didn't actually buy all the supplies until Thursday night (the party was on Saturday). On Friday I made all three lanterns (based on this tutorial) while Chad mixed together the chicken salad. They turned out so pretty and I got several compliments on them, which I was a little embarrassed about since they were so simple.

//One of the most fun craft projects we did was the photo wall. Most of the responsibility fell to Hannah since she had the most access to their old thick photo albums in their basement. The photos ranged from the early days (wedding, honeymoon) of my mom and dad right up to this past year. We love looking at our parents when they were our age (!) so this was definitely a treasured part of the day. (And a big hit! People seemed to like seeing Kevin with a mustache and Sandy carrying my brother as a baby -- 29 years ago).

Next up is all about the attendees! Stay tuned! :)