A 40th Birthday-Times 2!

I wanted to share 2 different 40th birthday parties with you that I've helped with over the last two weeks.

For the first one, my client had already planned the party, and she hired me to come in and add some creative touches to the event. Her husband is very outdoorsy, and she used the outdoors for the entire theme.

In keeping with the theme, my client asked me to come up with a creative way to display pictures from her husband's life. So, I decided to use a branch-like, twine-covered wire to creative a memory wall down the entire length of her hallway. Here are some pictures of that wall:

She also asked me to add some fun to their bar, so I made a signature drink sign.

I used the same branch-covered twine wire from the picture gallery and used it to make this sign. To keep with the outdoors theme, I attached it to a piece of wood. We called his signature drink a "Southern Sour!"

I also created custom stir sticks, in the same black and gold, for the Southern Sours.

I also made the party favors for this 40th Birthday Party. Since it was a late-night party, I wanted to offer a late-night treat for guests as they left. I created boxes for each couple with 2 Krispy Kreme donuts inside-who doesn't love a Krispy Kreme, at any time of the day!

The boxes were wrapped with brown raffia (very rustic) and each box said:

Tom is 40, and life is sweet.

Thanks for coming;

Enjoy this late-night treat!

I'll be posting more pics from this party, so stay tuned!

The 2nd 40th I did was last Friday night.

My client hired me to plan the event from beginning to end. Her only requests were that it happened at a restaurant (so they could have a fun night out) and that it had to include 3 things: a very dirty martini and cheesecake and tiramisu!

After discussing many venues, we chose the fabulous 1808 Grille in the Hutton Hotel. We booked the private room for their dinner celebration.

If you're a "foodie" like I am, you'll appreciate seeing the customized menu. Here it is:

Signature Drink:

Jeff's "Very Dirty" Martini

Small Plates:

1. Quatro Formaggio Fungi Flatbread (portobello, ricotta, goat, mozzarella, parmesan)
2. Roasted Eggplant Hummus (crumbled feta, olive oil drizzle, pita)
3. Fried “Brandade” Tater Tots (cod and potato cake, old school remoulade)

Mid Course

1. Potato & Parsnip Bisque (leek sauté)
2. Arugula & Asian Pear (herbed mascarpone profiteroles, walnut vinaigrette)
3. Grilled Romaine Wedge (creamy balsamic oregano, slow roasted cherry tomato, applewood bacon, blue cheese)

Large Plates

1. NY Strip (red wine braised onion, malt vinegar shoe string potato, himalayan smoked sea salt)
2. Crispy Miso Trout (bok choy, black beans, carrot ribbons, rice noodle puff)
3. Sweet Potato Gnocchi (rosemary chicken,mustard greens, roasted fennel

For dessert, we had to make sure we had Jeff's 2 favorite desserts: cheesecake and tiramisu. I had a pastry chef develop a bite-size dessert platter based on his requests. The dessert menu had: Bite-size tiramisu in individual chocolate cups, mini cheesecakes with blackberry topping and a milk-chocolate peanut butter gianduja (it's like a chocolate mousse with a cookie crust).

Now that we've talked about food, here are pictures from that night (these pictures were taken before the event started and before the candles were lit).

Since 1808 is already so beautiful, we kept the decor at a minimum. I used a lot of candles, including several large glass vases filled with coffee beans and white pillar candles. In addition, I created two arrangements of submerged orchids with river rock.

Both of the wives that I worked with for these two parties loved the late-night treat idea with the Krispy Kremes. So I made them for both parties!

Happy 40th to both Tom and Jeff!

-Stephanie