The dilemma: combining the birthday girl's fancy style (a la Fancy Nancy) with the party-thrower's preference for minimalism and simplicity.
It somehow came together. Here are the simply fancy details.
THE INSPIRATION
A good party always starts with inspiration. And when it comes to fancy little girl parties, there is lots of inspiration! Here are my favorites:
{1} fabulous and fancy birthday party - love the use of book pages, twine and brown paper amongst all the pink
{2} perfect pink sparkle party - great pink details, including tutu cake stand
{3} pamper me princess party - they really went all out
{4} pink and purple princess party - simple and cute
Then, of course, because I wanted a Fancy Nancy-inspired party, there's lots of great Fancy Nancy parties. Man, there's some people out there that are amazing at going all out for their kids birthdays!!
The thing with inspiration is it's often overwhelming. It takes me to some dreamland where I pretend to have time and creativity to create amazing decorations that will be used for only a couple hours max. I get distracted from my real desire for simplicity and practicality. And it wasn't until the day of the party, when I had yet to make a birthday banner or any other party details, that I decided on a theme: Fancy Simplicity.
THE DECORATIONS
I found peace letting go of my own lofty expectations, putting effort to a couple fancy details and letting simplicity take over from there.
Crate paper twisted and taped to the wall behind the table. A tissue paper pom pom from my sister's baby shower that still has not made its way down. A twine and paper birthday banner I threw together an hour before the party.
Framed picture of Brylee jumping on the bed with a pink princess skirt on when she was two with a couple crate paper flowers. (I wanted to make a bunch of these flowers to string together for the photobooth backdrop--prime example of the inspirational dreamland where I think I have time for details like that!) Yummy scented, pink tea light candles. I probably could have done more with the living room but left it with twisted streamers strung across the ceiling from the 4 corners of the room to the ceiling fan, then random balloons floating about.
THE CUPCAKES
Inspiration for the cupcakes (in addition to those from the parties mentioned above) included these adorable butterfly cupcakes, these ballerina tutu cupcakes, and this cotton candy strung cake.
My sister made some adorable chocolate butterflies to top our cupcakes, but they fell apart when we tried adding them. So we ended up with strawberry cupcakes and strawberry frosting--plain and simple. Brylee's was on the top and set inside a fancy tiara.
We also had pop rocks to sprinkle over the cupcakes to add sparkle and the added pizazz when you take a bite. I intended to cover them all, but followed the suggestion of letting everyone add their own.
THE PHOTO BOOTH
I love the photo booth trend popping up for weddings and birthdays and showers. Pictures are probably my favorite part of any event, and this is a fun way to get entertaining shots of the guests.
I used the doors that cover our washer and dryer in our kitchen/dining room, and hung twine with balloons and streamers. Then placed two dining chairs for a place to sit.
I had a couple signs ("Brylee's 4!" and "Fancy That!"), as well as a large picture frame with the phrase "Ooh La La." Then we had some of Brylee's dress up things (feather boa and necklaces), party blowers and markers and cardboard for people to write their own messages.
We got caught up in cupcakes and presents and didn't have anyone use it. So we did a family photoshoot the next day :) It was equally as fun and we now have some fun documented memories of Brylee's 4th birthday.
It's confirmed: I love the photobooth idea! I'll probably do some sort of photobooth at our birthdays from here on out, even if it's just for our family use. It's a fun way to get non-traditional photos.
And, I saved the sentimental part for last...
I can't believe our baby is FOUR! Our little girl is growing up!
