My Golden Birthday Party!
27 has always been my favorite number, so when I turned 27 on February 27th, I knew I had to go all out. I had set big goals for my 27th year, and I wanted to start my golden age off right! Here are the fabulous photos from Brittany Gilbert, as well as some insider scoop on the little details of the night!
First of all, obvi I’m a designer/calligrapher, so snail mail invites were a MUST. I decided on an overall color scheme of black+gold (w/ some white of course). In a perfect world, I wanted to get gold foil pressed invites done. However, I’m budget-conscious AF, so I decided to go simple, and bring in the metallic gold with the calligraphy.
That meant: black & white invitation & details card (which combined calligraphy w/ modern type), paired with a gold twine wrap, a little black “27” circular tag, inside a black envelope w/ gold calligraphy. OH, and confetti. Yes, every recipient — about 60 total — got confetti-bombed because of me. Sorry not sorry, y’all.
Now, if you know me at all, you know that champagne/prosecco is my #1 drink of choice. I will choose it over anything, and despite the amount of mornings I’ve woken up with a horrid headache from post-champagne nights, I’ve never grown tired of it. SO, obvi, bubbly was a priority for this soirée.
Since the party took place at my house, I decided to utilize my bar/kitchen as my actual “bar”. Guests were told to BYOB, but I also provided prosecco. (I bought a case of 12 bottles, which seemed like so much…yet so little. Needless to say, we drank up every drop.)
SIDE NOTE: I had just gone on a vacation to NYC+DC the previous weekend, and I came home w/ a nasty cold. I was SO sick for the few days leading up to the party, that I genuinely debated whether or not I was going to have to cancel. The thought was heartbreaking. But I chugged water, drank emergenC, took all sorts of Dayquil & Nyquil, rested up, and somehow managed to feel decent by the time Saturday night rolled around!
I put out little packets of emergenC on the bar, with a cheeky sign that read, “So you won’t catch Jen’s cold!” Ya know, just in case.
Oh — and PS — yes, I made my cousin Billy take off his shirt & rock a gold bowtie for a little bit while he sugar-rimmed the champagne flutes. (He was totally cool with it, and we were all giggling like crazy.)
He’s the best!
OK, so, onward we go. Let’s talk about food! Now, I’m notoriously bad at remembering to eat at parties that I host. I typically get so anxious/stressed/antsy/busy that I straight-up forget to eat. Sure enough, that definitely happened. (Thank goodness for pre-party P. Terry’s!) But since I knew there would be lots of drinking, I wanted to make sure to provide my guests with some snacks. Again, I didn’t want to splurge here, because I just don’t really care, SO I went with easy, homemade little goodies that could hang out at room temperature.
My proudest accomplishment was my little guacamole + salsa shooters. I had this idea, and wasn’t sure if it would pan out. Basically, I didn’t know if I’d find chips the right size/shape, or little plastic cups to hold them, or if they’d get ultra-soggy and be terrible like five minutes in. But it all came together, and it was ADORBS. (Oh and full disclosure, I didn’t make the guacamole, even though I LOVE making homemade guac. Because I was battling a cold the entire week leading up to the party, I let HEB handle the guac.) But still, divine.
I also had: caprese bites, bruschetta bites, cookies, donut holes, and my “better than sex” board, which was just a board of crackers, cheese & pickles. Literally my favorite things in this world. (Hehe.)
Mel w/ Melody’s Joy provided all the rentals for the amazing food display. I simply asked for black and gold, and boy did she deliver! Every piece was perfect, and she helped me set it all up to make sure it was all visually appealing. It ended up more amazing than I even anticipated!
(I also threw in some Biggie lyrics on a gold mirror above the food table, naturally. “Believe me sweetie, I’ve got enough to feed the needy.”)
Now, obviously the main focal point of the food table was the CAKE. Oh my stars, you guys. The cake was amazing. It was made with so much love from my friend Danaë w/ Feathers & Frosting. The flavor was Mocha Chocolate, and it was all black w/ a gold splatter. (We had originally wanted to do gold calligraphy painted onto the cake, but again, my cold completely knocked me out the week prior, so I had to nix some of the “extra” ideas.) But still, it was amazing. And soooooooooo yummy.
Oh — and is there video footage of me trying to grab the entire cake as people sang "Happy Birthday” to me, and me *almost* dropping it everywhere because #tipsy? Yes, yes there is. Face palm city.
Alright, let’s switch gears and talk about something non-decor-related. ATTIRE!
I had the idea to tell my guests to wear all-black, then I would find some sort of gold/sparkly dress. I figured black would be an easy “theme” for people, but apparently I was wrong. I got several texts the week-of from friends telling me they didn’t own anything black. (WHAT?!!) So, yeah, I felt pretty bad that people were out buying outfits for my party. And I definitely got called extra for enforcing a dress code. It’s fine. Whatever. You only turn 27 once! Moving on.
I looked for several months for a fun party dress, and nothing was quite right. Again, I did NOT want to break the bank on a flashy gold dress that I would wear once. Ideally, I was looking for something under $50. I finally ordered this gold/black dress on Amazon Prime for 20 bucks. (Yes, seriously, 20 whole dollars.) Well, actually, I ordered three — in three different sizes — because I had no idea what would work. I mean, it’s Amazon Prime. Luckily, one of them worked!
Here I am, living my best life, rocking a twenty dollar dress & popping a bottle of Freixenet, one of my faves.
Oh! And for makeup — my amazingly talented friend/makeup artist, Reagan, did it! (She doesn’t have a website yet, or else I’d link her. But trust me y’all, she’s the next big thing.) I felt amazing! And my roomie did some light curls in my hair. I didn’t want anything too crazy, because I know I’d be dancing and having a good time. And my hair is notorious for falling flat instantly, so it’s better to just not even try anything fancy.
Just a few more selfies, because #vain.
Anywho. The biggest hit of the party — by far — was the photo booth! OMG, the photo booth you guys! My friends Mayra & Fer of The Photo Bus hooked me UP with their Social Booth, and it was soooooo much fun. I don’t think there was a minute in the whole night where it went untouched.
SOOO many selfies, gifs, and boomerangs for everyone.
I meannnnn, look how adorable my friends are!
And here I am doing what I do best: eating a P. Terry’s cheeseburger, drinking bubbly, and taking selfies:
Now, if you know me, you know that I don’t take things too seriously, especially not when I’m in party-mode. So, I wanted to incorporate some silliness into my party that would make people chuckle. (Or even just smile.) Here are a few of these random details that were sprinkled throughout:
Perhaps my favorite detail: silly black cocktail napkins w/ gold foiled Asher Roth lyrics. Y’all…..I may have graduated from college five years ago….but “I Love College” will always be a classic. Am I right or am I right?
“Hydrate before you die-drate” water bottles. Because I mean…..that’s just solid advice, right?
And my “Golden Birthday Bitch” champagne flute, of course!
Funny story: after the party, when I was cleaning up ~60 champagne flutes, I had NO idea where this glass was. I got scared that I may have accidentally rinsed it & sent it back with the glassware rentals. It wasn’t until like a week later when I randomly found it in our spare empty bedroom on a shelf. (Because #tipsy.)
Last details: the playlist!!
I won’t share my entire Spotify playlist, but because I’m old and not up-to-date with the “cool kid music”, it included a LOT of 90’s & early 00’s pop/hip-hop. Oh, and some of the cheesy songs you hear at every wedding, because I just can’t help it. (Sweet Caroline just gets me goin’ you guys, I’m sorry!)
I also rented some speakers, uplighting & disco lighting from Rock n Roll Rentals, which made the dance party 1000x better.
Our group photo with everyone!
My heart was so dang full the whole entire night. Or maybe the whole month. Or maybe it’s STILL so full reliving all these memories. I mean, look at all these beautiful people who came out just to celebrate my golden birthday! I can’t even believe.
So, there you have it! All the behind-the-scenes tidbits of a Klassic Krause party! :)
Stay tuned for all my future adventures…y’all know I love a good party!
