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Last spring our son married an incredible woman from Seoul, South Korea. Their wedding was beautiful but a lot of James' friends and ours were unable to make the trip to Asia so when they were finally able to come back here in late June we decided to throw a little soiree so everyone could meet Sumi and congratulate James.
They met while going to school in Tokyo, a true melding of East and West, so a theme along those lines was the obvious choice here.
I had fun pulling together ideas that fit my conception of what I hoped the party would be like and this became my inspiration board.
I started by booking a caterer and because of a tight schedule I went with an evite for the invitation. I really like Greenvelope. They had a design that I could personalize and that worked well with my theme. Besides that, I love the animation of the envelope opening and the follow up logistics that this company offers.
After the evites went out I moved on to the decor.
I wanted the theme to be obvious right from the start and adding South Korean flags that I ordered online to the American ones I already had to the flower pots out front was an inexpensive and easy touch.
I didn't have a lot of time so I had to do a lot of my shopping locally or whatever I could score on Amazon Prime. I found these fun paper parasols and the black and white lanterns at Hobby Lobby for about $6.00. The black and white touches on the parasols are actually coordinating cupcake wrappers that I cut a hole in and taped onto the umbrellas. I liked the idea of having some of them upside down so I hung them from the ceiling, crown moldings and curtain rods.
I purchased some of the additional solar and battery powered lanterns from Gordman's and a local garden store.
It was easy bringing in the Asian elements but I really needed to drive home the East Meets West concept. I didn't want just the typical 4th of July decor. Red white and blue seemed a bit too expected and then there is the real reason -those colors just don't flow in my home.
:D
The solution was to incorporate the soft blue greens and imagery of Lady Liberty as my nod to the USA.
I created this themed piece by using an old Ikea tray that I had. I painted the wooden edges black then printed and cut out some images I found on the internet. Next I adhered the images to the tray and added a few scrapbook letters that I had. Voila! East Meets West decor without spending a dime.
The food was an exciting way to repeat the East Meets West theme. We went with traditional Korean dishes such as Kimchi, and spicy Korean beef on skewers and Pad Thai noodles served in take out boxes ( that I later learned were Chinese) Oh well.
:D
We added Mac and Cheese and Midwest Meatloaf for some western flair.
Little umbrellas for the drinks was a festive no-brainer.
I always like adding signage to the buffet and drink tables as a decorative, informative and fun touch.
The desserts, though, were the highlight of the evening.
Do you prefer White Chocolate and Raspberry Cakes?
Or Dark Chocolate, Sea Salt and Caramel?
They were amazing! Thank you and a big shout out to Hayley Marie
And how fun are THESE? Hayley you outdid yourself!
Sushi Sweets!
Adorbs and delish.
But in the end what really makes a party are our friends and family. James and his dad and I are lucky enough to have accrued an amazing collection of both over the years and across the miles.
So much fun. Hmmm, what should the next theme be?
:D
I guess I'll give Rosie some time to recover before I suggest another party.
xoxo,
p
PS. Thank you to Sumi and ClickSmith Photography for taking pictures for me. I always forget to leave time for that. :D
