{birthdays | jonah's first birthday | walnut}

Happy 2015 to all of our readers! We hope that everyone had a wonderful 2014 and had some time to reflect on the past year and ready to tackle what life has in store for all of us in 2015. We have so many plans and ideas in store for all of our Premier Soirees followers, supporters and clients that we cannot wait to share with all of you. In 2014, we mentioned that we really want to make it a goal to blog more often. Well, here I am again in 2015 stating that we will make it a goal to blog more often. We are even making strides and working on a blog schedule to help us in getting blogging to a more regular schedule. Our hope is not only to share the events and weddings that we have been blessed to be a part of but also to use the blog as a platform to share our ideas and inspirations for all things party related.

With that said, we are excited to share a special first birthday party that we were grateful to have planned for a family that is very close to Premier Soirees. The Valdez Family has always trusted us in planning the special birthdays for all of their boys so as soon as Mom Joyce gave birth to Jonah, their 3rd addition to the family, she told us to save the date! You may remember the race car party that we blogged quite a bit ago for Adam and Noah, Jonah's older brothers. Joyce did not have a theme or inspiration in mind except for a color palette of blue and green tones which gave us the opportunity to plan away.

Some of our favorites from Jonah's first birthday party included:

- the dessert & candy table filled to the rim with various kinds of candy and sweet treats. We made sure that Jonah's guests enjoyed his party with enough sweet treats for them to take home including some mini Krispy Kreme donuts, dulce de leche & chocolate chip cookies and brownie bites.

- a popcorn bar with 3 different flavors of popcorn. We also provided different seasonings that guests can top their popcorn with. We filled bushels that we found from Michael's with regular, cheese and caramel flavored popcorn to give the guests a wide range to choose from.

- a chalkboard sign that included Jonah's favorite things. I know we've all seen these chalkboard signs all over Pinterest but we found the perfect design on Etsy. the design we chose had a whale which then reminded us of the story of Jonah the Whale.

- an ice cream truck that visited the party as a surprise treat for everyone. Since the party was in the middle of a California summer, we wanted to offer a refreshing treat for everyone.

- giant balloons of course! You know I LOVE these giant balloons and if I could I would use them everywhere. Even my own husband (who is part of our Premier Soirees team) who is deathly terrified of these balloons drove with these lovelies inside his car. The kids loved them too!!

All the photos are courtesy of Cattura Event Photography.

Thank you to the Valdez family for always trusting us with these special events. Thank you for believing in our vision for all of your parties and the passion and love we have for this business.

{a week of features}

Last week was a week full of features for our Premier Soirees team. Two of our special events - both were first birthday celebrations were featured in Kara's Party Ideas and The Little Umbrella. I'm so excited to share with all of you the features but before I do, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of our clients who have entrusted in us to make their weddings and special events happen. It truly means the world to us that you trust our team with such special times for you and your families. We love all of our PS families and brides and grooms.

Kara's Party Ideas
Click here for the full post on Kara's Party Ideas and here for our full post on this celebration.

The Little Umbrella
Click here for the full post on The Little Umbrella and here for our full post on this celebration.

{birthdays | a summery picnic theme celebration for our little olivia | cypress}

This past year has gone by so fast and I can't believe our little Olivia is 1. Olivia is such a precious blessing to our families and truly a gift to all of us. She has filled our lives with so much joy, love and laughter with all of the different things that she entertains us with. 

We wanted to make sure we create a celebration fit for such a special girl in our family. The party was inspired by lots of different vibrant colors and a picnic. Picnic was the perfect inspiration since it was the beginning of summer. We treated all of Olivia's guests with a few of our favorite things about summer - hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, barbecue, fresh juices and a pie bar of course. Sweet & Saucy Shop created the most delicious bite size summer pies - apple and triple berry were a definite crowd favorite. Olivia's birthday cake was inspired by her birthday invitation as well as all of the vibrant tassel garlands that surrounded the celebration. Green Crush provided some  fresh juices that included watermelon, cantaloupe and strawberry lemonade to refresh all of the guests from the summer heat. Dolly's Cotton Candy also joined in the party and provided afternoon treats to all of the guests as they watch the Bubble mania artist share its talent. Lawn games like corn hole/bean bag toss was also provided for everyone to enjoy. We wanted to create a first birthday celebration that would be reminiscent of summer and all things we love about summer.

Kelly from True Bliss Photography has become an extended family to us since she's been there for many milestones especially within the last 2 years. We were blessed to have her join us and capture all of the prettiness from Olivia's picnic first birthday party.

To our love Olivia --

One year ago,  I heard your first cry for the first time and it was the sweetest sound I've ever heard. I would stare at your little face and thank God for blessing us with you. You have completed our family of 6 to now our more complete family of 7. 

It’s wonderful to see how much you have changed over this past year -- from an itty bitty baby to a walking and talking  one year old. You went from crawling around the floor to waving  bye and giving high fives and "blessing".  You are such a happy kid and have a smile that just lights up our world. From your smiles to your hugs and kisses, we just can't get enough of you. 

I know that your mama and dad have so many hopes and dreams for you in this life. I know that God has a purpose for you and is going to use you to do great things. I hope that as you grow up that you have the courage to chase after your dreams and the determination to never give up. I hope you grow with compassion for others especially your family and have a giving sharing heart. 

Always remember that Ninang and Ninong will  always be here for you no matter what. We'll be here to protect you from anything that will harm you - from "icky" bugs to even "ickier" bullies. Never forget that you are so loved by many  and continue being the sweet loving kid that you are to everyone.   

Happy first birthday to our amazing goddaughter niece. We love you to infinity and beyond Olivia! 

Vendor Credits:

Event Planning & Design: Premier Soirees Event Design& Coordination

Photography: True Bliss Photography 

Dessert bar: Sweet & Saucy 

Cotton Candy; Dolly's Cotton Candy 

Juice Bar: Green Crush  

Paper Fans: Shop Sweet Lulu 

Decor & Centerpieces: Premier Soirees Event Design& Coordination