A Suessical Shower

A baby shower for twins is exciting in and of itself, but add a Thing One and Thing Two theme to the mix and you’ve got one heckuva party. We recently hosted a shower for an expectant mother of twins and decided to expand upon the typical red & blue color scheme with a whimsical Dr. Suess theme throughout the whole party.

From a rhyming invitation to goldfish centerpieces we made sure this was a shower fit for our energetic mommy and what are sure to be adorable little twinsie boys. It’s amazing what you can do with the right colors, polka dots & some marabou feathers. And the bonus was, our little fishies, “Fish One & Fish Two” got to go home with the mother and big-sis to be!

CD Release Party

One of the best things about planning events is that there’s always something different. At the end of May we had the great pleasure to coordinate the CD release party for one of our favorite jazz musicians, Max Wellman. We took the Des Moines Social Club’s black box theatre and transformed it into a swanky lounge club fit for any member of the Rat Pack. Our black satin table linens, accents of red and rich candlelight made for the perfect environment to enjoy Max’s tunes. And now that the CD is out, I can’t stop listening to it! (Check out maxwellmanmusic.com to purchase one for yourself!)

Carnival Night

Okay so we admit it, we’ve been terrible at blogging! So now we’re trying to make up for lost time and catch you up on the busy spring and fun events we had at Down to Details! One event that definitely stands out is the Employee Fun Night we planned in April for Bankers Trust. As a reward for meeting their United Way fundraising goal, the employees of Bankers Trust were treated to a “fun night.” Deemed as their night to “party like a kid” the event was full of carnival fun to take employees back to their childhoods. Hy-Vee catered an authentic array of fair food favorites such as walking tacos, hamburgers and everyone’s go-to food on a stick, corn dogs. In addition to food we had games galore, karaoke and a photo booth full of fun props full of entertainment. There were even guest appearances by Dolly Parton, Elvis, Lucille Ball and Bankers Trust’s own Blues Brothers & Village People!

Something Blue

Not every bride wants the stereotypical bachelorette party. There are some that just want a fun and classy night with her gals. So how does Down to Details add flirtation to a sophisticated soiree? With feathers of course! This bride had a beautiful blue as one of her wedding colors, so we chose to change the hue a bit and add some fun! To get the party started all drinks carried out the blue theme for the night – something bold, something brew, something jello-ed and something blue! (Warning: those Hypnotic martinis are not for the faint of heart!) The spread included some of the bride’s favorite dishes including champagne fondue, authentic Mexican cheese dip, chocolate fondue and homemade ice cream. And those feathers just weren’t for décor! The flirty feathers and the bride’s fun boa made for lots of fun as they headed out on the town!

Anchors Away!

I am sorry to say that I am a few weeks late posting these event
photos... but what can I say, with the Jayhawks, March Madness, and
so many new clients, time has been limited!

We recently designed these beautiful table scapes for an annual
sorority luncheon. Held at the Wakonda Club in Des Moines, the
"Anchors Away" theme was carried through in every aspect. In true
Down to Details fashion, not one element was over-looked. Varying
centerpieces were created using fish nets, sea shells, sand, coral
and star fish. These authentic "sea" pieces were showcased on water toned satin linens. We even emulated wood posts found on boat docks by distressing white washed cedar posts and wrapping them with rope. Everything from the invitations and printed signage to the mini "baby
cakes" desserts delighted the guests. BabyCAKES! of Des Moines created the tasty minis and decorated them to fit right in.

Take a look and let us know what you think! We always welcome
comments and thoughts!

Fun with Bubble Gum!

We just finished up some events in conjunction with the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra and Academy’s annual Residency Week. Quite possibly the most fun of the events was the kick-off for the week held at the Temple for Performing Arts. About 100 people were present to hear the Youth Symphony perform and see how young composer-in-residence Andrew Norman worked with the group. At the end of the event, all were treated with cake and cupcakes from Carefree Patisserie. The ladies over at Carefree helped us carry out our bubble gum theme to perfection. We learned how fun it is to work with the little gumballs in our décor and more importantly, how happy it makes little kids to be able to sneak a few with their cake!

A Beautiful Bridal Shower

Take a look at these photos from a recent bridal shower we designed for my bestie, Lauren. It turned out beautiful and with over 55 women in attendance, we had a full house. Lauren's sister Jessica was the chef of the day (week) creating such a delicious spread of goodies for our bellies!

Do you have any bridal shower ideas to share? We'd love to hear from you!!!

Fabulous first show!

The 2009 Bridal Forum was a raving success! We had a great interest in our custom designed invitations, programs and welcome baskets. Almost 300 brides chose to sign up for our $75.00 gift certificate toward a custom invitation design! It was a bit exhausting, but we were able to chat with hundreds of glowing brides-to-be and their families. We left feeling very inspired by all of their ideas and excitement. Below, check out some photos of our booth!



Our atrium table seemed to be a hit too! A fresh approach to traditional centerpieces! We were inspired by the bold combination of navy blue and fresh apple/grass green. We love the texture and variance in shade natural fruit provides. We chose limes as our fruit to incorporate into our centerpiece. Pairing the limes with smaller wheat grass-filled vases created a really striking design. Our table also showcased custom designed printed materials with each setting including a menu and place card. The table number and custom wine label carried the design through to create a look perfect for the modern bride!