Shabby Chic 1st Birthday {Guest Feature}

I never get tired of looking at the shabby chic style, and this “secret garden” 1st birthday party is full of lovely touches. Designed and created by A Charming Fete for a 1st birthday, the overall look is appealing for adults as well. I can see this for a bridal or baby shower, or even mother’s day or a milestone birthday.

The setting is enviable, with a special entrance to entice you to come inside. Check out all the details as told by Lisa of A Charming Fete…

Party Decor:  “We really wanted the entryway to The Secret Garden to be a major wow factor. We used a basic metal pipe and drape frame and created a support using green chicken wire. We then wrapped the chicken wire with garlands of ivy and added tons of flowers. We draped a grapevine swag from the top and hung a “Secret Garden” hand-painted wooden sign, found on Ebay. We also made 2 gigantic topiary trees which stood along the pathway as guests entered the party. These were also DIY- made by covering paper lanterns with Spanish moss and faux flowers. It was a messy project but the turned out great.

We placed a white vintage door in front of the iron gate and hung a set of brass skeleton keys from it to represent the keys to The Secret Garden. We styled a white iron bar cart at the entrance as well and added some moss covered rocks, bird fountain, vintage tin watering can and of course a few vintage books including a copy of The Secret Garden.

For the inside of the tent, we found a great garden print fabric in our color palette. We cut small square runners and added white birdcages filled with fresh flowers to each table. We also incorporated some mini topiary trees with butterflies, mossy branches and moss covered bunny rabbits (also a DIY project). We hung a few vintage floral paper fans (found at B.Holden) from the inside to add a little more whimsy.

Dessert Table:  We wanted to keep within the color palette of peach, pink and shades of green with a bit of glittery gold. We created a garland for the front of the table using faux ivy, peonies, roses and some gorgeous peach blooms recycled from Christmas time (with the perfect dusting of gold glitter). For the backdrop we hung some washed out peach curtains and added a shorter lace valance curtain for a little extra texture. We used a mini shabby chic chandelier with pink rose buds (instead of candles). We hung vintage brass skeleton keys (found at Anthropologie) from the backdrop. We made pink and peach cake pops and added some gold disco dust. We built a cinnamon bun tower and glazed donut tower and plated some other delicious treats on our favorite pink, white and jadeite milk glass cake stands. We selected simple yet delicious kid-friendly desserts like mint meringues, white chocolate dipped pretzels, cupcakes, swirl marshmallow lollies and a variety of brownies. We made the smash cake, which turned out adorable. We painted small wooden letters (spelling out the birthday girl’s name) and added them to the top of the cake using wooden picks.”

Design & styling; cake & cake pops; flowers – A Charming Fete / Photography – Ackey+Z Photography

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