My Little Brother's Rehearsal Dinner!

I had so much fun helping my mom pull 
together the rehearsal dinner for my little brother!

Everything has to be budget friendly..fast..and DIY. As we sat at chick-fil-a for a dinner break....I told her I feel like we were on some show like design star!! We only had a window of 48 hours to make everything happen. We woke up..went to the location..made a plan..shopped for items we wanted to use for decor and everything for the dessert/drink tables! Then we slept...woke up and set up! We wanted to make everything extra special for our Daniel and Shanna!

I'm really happy with how it all turned out..
it was a great celebration..I think everyone had fun. 
And Shanna and Daniel were smiling..ALOT. 
that probably had something to do with the 
fact that they were getting married the next day...

PS. This post is a glimpse into the very
 "full of life" family life..that I grew up with.. haha.

DIY Photobooth - I was so excited when my mom said yes to this idea! we had a blast shopping for all the props.(sophie loved it too. :) that sombrero...$3 or $4 bucks at Hobby Lobby!? #deal
I seriously can't even handle the cuteness of the Bride and Groom photo below though! We grabbed up the top hat from paper mart (party store) and used the veil and crown from my bachelorette party!
Everyone loved this..I am using this same idea for another party soon. It makes everyone goof off a little and have fun! 
Aren't they adorable?? And I think we need to carry around fake mustaches with us more often.
just sayin..... we look awesome.

A little trivia game time...
all things Daniel and Shanna.
Made the morning of. :) 
I'm totally a last minute "omg that would be so cute let's do it!" idea girl...

I thought they turned out cute! Ben was confused. and Father Matt won.
everyone is convinced he cheated. we will never know......
I'll share an up-close shot of the game soon!
I accidently deleted it off my computer. 
me- 0.....mommy brain- 1

Rehearsal Dinner Details
DIY place cards (from my printables collection I created)

shanna and daniel trivia cards (made the morning of in photoshop..printed at staples)

Cute packs of $1 bin pencils from Michael's

Photos of the happy couple in IKEA frames tied with ribbon

Table linens- Curtains from "As is" Section at IKea

Cake Stands and platters - Brought from my house (pottery barn/tjmaxx)

Candles down the center of the tables: 

-Glass Candle Stick holders- $0.50 IKEA

-Pack of 20 Candle Sticks - IKEA

-Circle vases/Candles/Tea Lights - Already had from my wedding

-Glass Circle Container Arrangement:

Bowl from Michaels?..Sand and Candles from Ikea

DESSERTS- 

ALLLLLL the Desserts came from our fabulous Giant Eagle Bakery.

The Cheesecake came plain..just added the Strawberries/Glaze (fav of the night! so good.)

This probably should have gone first in this post..
but that photo at the top was tooo stinkin cute.
Here they are earlier in the night at the rehearsal!! It was so exciting.

CONGRATS you two..love you both. 
SHARING WEDDING PHOTOS SOON!


Just a little awesomeness
to leave you with...

It's always fun seeing your face in a magazine!

Even if it's a tiny 

tiny tinyyyyyy photo. haha.

I was thrilled to get my copy of Occasions Magazine in my mailbox....

and see my blurb that they asked me if they could include! 

I had left a comment on their facebook page and they wanted

to put it in their twitter and facebook section. 

I think it's a great idea to mention the chit chat going on online! 

"Stemming from an @editorcallie search for a egg-free wedding cake, we shared the new dessert trend from an old favorite: a Rise Krispies Treat cake. And not only did we find a pretty tiered cake, but cake pop and cupcake versions too! As it turns out, you were just as excited as we were to hear the news.

HERE'S WHAT YOU HAD TO SAY ABOUT OUR LATEST DISCOVERY...

THE BUSY BUDGETING MAMA "I love this idea. And it's totally budget friendly! For a recent party we hit up Aldi's and had so much fun making up some of these sweets with my 3 yr old! It was a hit in our house. But next time I want to jazz them up and make them pretty like this! Adorable."

Hop over to their page to see more..

they are always sharing fabulous ideas and links.

Taste of this Past Weekend Fun

This past weekend my little brother got married!

 It was so beautiful and an amazing PARTY!

I can't wait to share photos..it was a wild and fun crowd.

Here's a taste of the rehearsal dinner....

My siblings and I with my brother's gorgeous bride 

who entered into our crazy i mean 'full of life' family. ;)

isn't she so cute! we needed a blonde in the batch. haha.

Family is gone..and trying to get back into a routine. 

I'll be back soon with photos! 

so many things I want to share I just need to find the time to do it! 

I also have some REALLY REALLYYYYYY EXCITING NEWS. 

sharing later this week!!! eek! 

bookmark my blog and check back.... you won't wanna miss it.

A glimpse into Once Upon A Time Land! - My Daughters' Storybook Princess Party

So my brother is getting married saturday!! 

Family is starting to arrive and we spent post dinner practicing dance moves. 
(i feel like i blog about our dance parties a lot...we have them a lot.

daddy started this one! The Old School Funk Channel actually has some good beats.......haha.) 

But before I sign off for the wedding weekend festivities..
I wanted to give a Sneak Peek of my girls' birthday party 
that I'll be sharing next week! 
Lots of fun DIY and budget friendly ideas that I used for my daughters' Storybook Princess Party!

I created different areas in "Once Upon a Time Land"..here's a couple shots of the fun!! Each area had different activities to go with it. I'm all about interactive play areas at parties. I have a 1 and 3 yr old...the key to success is keep..them..busy.. :) (The only way I got any dishes done today was to let sienna build towers of tupperware at my feet. they are still sitting there. but at least I can see the sink.

COST OF CASTLE - $0!!

I'll share the how-to soon..easy...free..

and will get you huge "I love you mommy you're the best mommy hugs and kisses" :)
My sweet girls loved the mermaid candy cove too...details coming soon!

I can't wait to share with you what graphics I created for party details...

Of course I had to make up some cute printables for my cupcakes.. :)

If you missed the pop-up party invites you can check them out in this post.


Have a great weekend! I can't wait to share

all about the girls' storybook princess birthday party..check back soon!
and I'll of course post photos of my brother's wedding this weekend!! so excited!!!!!!!!!!