Bridgerton Ball

Part 1 of season 3 of the popular Netflix show Bridgerton was recently released with the second half set to stream this week.  I have enjoyed watching this show as I always love period dramas and over-the-top love stories, and this show has both.  I decided it might be fun to host a Bridgerton themed dinner for this month's monthly dinner, and it did not disappoint.  We had a great time dressing up, eating delicious food, and laughing at some of the party details I put together.

Invitation: The Bridgerton family is often seen in purple and lavender flowers adorn their home, so I wanted to incorporate these flowers into the invitation.  I also incorporated a Lady Whistledown image into the center of the invite. I found some of these images online and just adapted them to fit with the look I wanted.  I tried to use regency era wording like "soiree" and "finest frock" as well as some others.  I mixed fonts between a font like the Bridgerton logo for the show and a fancy script to match the time period.

The ladies and I had fun dressing up with our fancy jewelry and dresses for this dinner.  It wasn't full costume or anything as I didn't want my guests to have to purchase items.  The girls did a great job adding fun jewelry, fancy gloves, and hats to their dresses.  I borrowed my dress from a neighbor, and it was perfect for the regency era.

Decorations: Oh what fun I had finding decorations for this dinner.  Every ball or dinner party in the show is elaborate with gold, candles, and flowers everywhere, so I definitely wanted to try to recreate that for this dinner.  

I purchased fake flowers to lay out as a table runner and a gold bow decoration from Michaels.  

I borrowed the gold candle sticks, candelabra, and vases from a neighbor and used Ikea plants I already had around the house to place inside those vases.  The white pillar candles I already had from previous parties.

I borrowed my mom's fine china for the place settings, and they were perfect - pastel flowers and many with gold trimmings on the edges.

On each place setting I wrote a Lady Whistledown issue about our party and our party guests.  I tried to think of gossipy things about each guest.  It was super fun to write (with some help from ChatGPT on some of the entries), and the party guests got a kick out of reading the silly happenings or habits.  Here is a sample of part of one of the entries with the last name changed:

"Meanwhile, it has come to this humble writer’s attention that our very own Lady Smith  has been engaging in activities that would surely cause a raised eyebrow or two among the ton. Sightings have been reported of her indulging in a glass (or perhaps bottle) of boysenberry wine, savoring its rich, tangy notes well into the night. What, you may ask, has been keeping our night owl’s attention? None other than the charming escapades of Neal Caffrey in the delightful series “White Collar.”

For place cards I made Dance Cards like the unmarried ladies wear at the balls in the Bridgerton series. I designed the front and back on PhotoShop using a Bridgerton family crest with the bee and found flowers in pink and purple shades to match my table.  I used my Cricut to cut out the circles as well as the filagree frame, glued them together, and added a purple ribbon for around the wrist. I placed these on flowered napkins I purchased at Daiso.

I designed my wine labels on PhotoShop with Regency era backgrounds and designs.  Lady Whistledown is known for "spilling the tea" or writing gossip in her columns, so I used that phrase to encourage guests to "Spill the Tea, but Drink the Wine."  For the white wine, I simply called it Lady Whistledown's White Wine to play with alliteration and added that it was "the delight of the ton."  For those that aren't familiar with the show, the "ton" refers to the elite class of British society during the Regency era.

For wine charms, I made silhouettes similar to the heading of Lady Whistledown's writings for each guest.  I tried to find a silhouette that looked like the guest, added the word Lady with the guest's name below, and then Society Pages just as is written on Lady Whistledown's issues.

Menu:  I wanted to serve very elaborate foods at this dinner since Bridgerton Balls are very elaborate.  This did cause me to spend quite a bit of money on groceries, but everything was delicious and liked by all.  I named each menu item after a character in Bridgerton and added a common adjective often used on the series. I started with an appetizer I titled Queen Charlotte's Brilliant Brie and Berries that I designed to look like Queen Charlotte who is known for her high and elaborate wigs.  I used the round brie for her face placing doilies under the bottom half for a royal collar.  Then I used blackberries and edible flowers to create her wig.  I used my Cricut to cut out a gold crown to add as well. 

With it being summertime, I decided to serve a light summer salad I called Simon's Swoonworthy Salad. It was simple to make and delicious. I will definitely be making it again.  You can find the recipe here at Simple Joy.  The salad included romaine lettuce, raspberries, blueberries, goat cheese, walnuts (I candied them), and was topped with a lemon poppyseed dressing. I left out the radishes from the recipe as I am not a fan of their taste.

For the main dish, I made beef wellington which I called Lady Whistledown's Wondrous Wellington. I chose this recipe because it had fewer ingredients than many of the others I found.  It is somewhat time consuming to prepare and not much can be done in advance, but it was very tasty.  I tripled the recipe which was a good call because it really does only make 4 servings. 

Alongside the beef wellington, I made duchess potatoes.  These are easy to make and can be prepared sightly ahead of time, so that was helpful.  I love that they look regal which fit the theme.  I called these Penelope's Picturesque Potatoes.

I also served asparagus which I called Anthony's Alluring Asparagus.

For dessert, I made individual Chocolate Lava Cakes.  I was able to make these ahead of time and had them sitting in the refrigerator until it was time to put them in the oven.  They took longer to bake than the recipe said, but were very good.  I served them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and called them Daphne's Dazzling and Decadent Dessert.

Favor: Bath and Body Works currently is selling a line of Bridgerton candles, soaps, and sprays.  They happened to be running a sale on the soaps, so this became my party favor.  Guests could choose between the Diamond of the Season, Wisteria Garden, Bridgerton Study, or Queen Charlotte's Tea scents.  

I added a tag to each bottle in Lady Whistledown language which read, "Your attendance enhanced the evening's allure and added a touch of refinement and delight to the festivities.  Yours Truly, Lady Whistledown."

This was a super fun theme with Bridgerton music in the background, an elegant table, and friends laughing at our dresses and accessories.  Not all of the guests had watched the show (although a few binged watch a bit before the party), but it was totally not necessary for the evening and we all had a great time.  Guests loved the Lady Whistledown issue, so if you don't have a huge guest list, I would definitely spend the time crafting that as it was a big hit.  I love you enjoyed this poist, and if you are a Bridgerton fan...this might be a fun theme to host for your next gathering!

Yours Truly,

Lady Casto

Election Themed Wedding Fun

One of my best friends and monthly dinner girls is getting married on Saturday.  She and her fiancé had their first date on Election Day years ago, and she follows politics closely, so I decided to have a bit of fun combining an election theme and a bridal celebration/wedding!  It was so much fun to plan!

Invite:  I designed a fun invitation to look like a formal political candidate dinner.  I started with a bit of fun using the word BIDEN and the word TRUMP in my opening lines.  No divisions politically in this dinner party....all of us were supporting Nazly/Ed!  I tried to stick with political wording by calling our dinner a "rally" even though we were again on Zoom. My guests were "campaign supporters."

Party Details:  To hold a red napkin, I folded a piece of typing paper to look like an envelope.  I put in the napkin and designed an "Election Ballot" to put inside.  I added my friend and her fiancé to the ballot along with Biden/Harris and Trump/Pence.  I used the same wording as my official absentee ballot for the signature box to make it look a little more official.

I designed Nazly/Ed 2020 buttons for each guest to wear for our dinner.  I found the buttons at Michaels Craft Store and just popped in the design I created.

I also made small Nazly/Ed signs for each guest to hold during our dinner rally. I taped tongue depressors to the back, and we had fun showing our support for our candidates throughout our dinner!

For the wine, I designed a label to be like the gillions of political pamphlets we have all been receiving these past few months.  It let everyone know that Nazly/Ed support the Red, WINE, and Blue!

As a little gift to our bride-to-be (or candidate), I collected money from the girls and put together a nice wine and a wedding themed Home Depot gift card for our friend to use on their new home.  The tag read, Happy to celebrate your Red, White, & I DO!

Menu: Since we are still on Zoom with COVID-19, the girls are picking up their food and we aren't able to eat together.  Finding a meal that will travel well has been a priority these past months.  As usual, I tried to come up with a menu that relates to elections.  

We started with a green salad with cranberries.  To have it match politics, I called it "Lettuce Wrap Up the CRAN-paign."  Along with the cranberries, I cut cheese into small stars and added sunflower seeds.  I served it in a baggie for easy transport and put in a ramekin of raspberry vinaigrette. 

For the main dish, I served pulled pork sandwiches I made in the crock pot.  I called these "Polled" Pork Sandwiches.  I followed this recipe which was super easy and very tasty.  I used Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce and added a bit of coleslaw to the top of the meat before serving.  For buns, I used ranch rolls.

I also served Right and Left Wings - chicken wings in two flavors!  I made a batch with buffalo sauce and a batch with parmesan garlic sauce.  Each guest got one of each to represent both "wings" of government.

The final side dish was a potato medley of red, white, and blue potatoes.  I followed my mom's recipe that I normally use for baked potato bites which is just adding butter and seasonings before baking them in the oven for 35 minutes.  These are delicious!

For dessert, I made a chocolate chip and M&M cookie pie.  I used red, white, and blue M&Ms and sprinkles, so the cookie looked festive.  A bit of whipped cream on top with a few more sprinkles just made it festive.

Favor: I went easy with my party favor and bought trail mix already made to wish our couple well on the Campaign Trail (Mix).  I swapped out the M&Ms included in the trail mix with patriotic M&Ms to make it match the theme.   

It was fun to celebrate this amazing woman (and her future hubby) as our candidates for 2020. 

Wearing buttons and holding our signs made for a fun Zoom evening!  I wish only the best for these soon-to-be Newlyweds.  They definitely got an unanimous vote!

Something Blue - A Dinner for the Bride

I am so excited that one of my closest friends is getting ready to marry a wonderful man this month.  To honor this beautiful lady and to celebrate her upcoming marriage, I decided to theme are monthly dinner in her honor.

Invite: I designed a simple invitation on Photo Shop.  While our dinners are often silly and fun themed, I wanted this one to be special, so I went with a very classic and simple design. I asked all the girls to wear some sort of blue shirt/dress, and I asked Kelli to wear white.

Entry Decor: I used Sharpie and foam board to create a sign for the entry door counting down the days until Kelli's wedding.  Hanging on the door, I pulled out my own wedding veil to drape.  My veil was super long, so I had to fold it a ton at the top so it wouldn't drag on the ground.  To hide the bulge, I bought some flowers to fashion into a bouquet to cover it.

Interior Decor: I wanted all the decorations to be very elegant, but also have a little rustic flare as that is Kelli's personality.  I set the table with a blue tablecloth for Something Blue, a little white rustic looking box I bought at Michaels, and a vase with white roses in the center. I also bought these cute iron-like letters from Michaels to spell out the couples initials.

I also decorated the table with upside down wine glasses with roses inside and candles on top. The roses inside I just bought at the Dollar Tree and pulled off the stems.  I used my wedding china (don't you just love it!) for our plates.

For napkin rings, I tied a blue ribbon around a white napkin and added a diamond ring sticker to the center.

I made simple place cards out of card stock and the same diamond ring stickers I used for the napkins. To make them stand up, I cut off a little bit of the bottom of a cork and then sliced a slit in the top. My friend and her fiance love wine, and they are getting married in Temecula, so I wanted to incorporate wine a little bit in the decor -- this is how I did it.

I designed two wine bottle labels that went with the theme.  Here Comes the Bride All Dressed in WHITE for the the white wine, and for the red blend, I found a romantic silhouette on Google and added The Perfect Blend with the couples names.

For wine charms I tied a simple blue bow around the stem of each wine glass, and put various wedding themed scrapbook stickers on the base.

Menu: Again, I wanted the food I served to be elegant, but I also wanted to stick with the Something Blue theme.  I served steak with a blue cheese mixture on top (super yummy), vegetables, and mashed potatoes.  I died butter blue and used a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out a heart.

I also served a Blue Pear Salad jello that I cut into hearts, and a spinach salad with blue berries and a light dressing I made mixing raspberry lemon concentrate with dijon, vinegar, and sugar.

For dessert, I served cheesecake pudding and blueberries in little shot glasses. I made a crumb mixture with vanilla wafers for the bottom, and then alternated between the pudding and the blueberries before topping it off with whipped cream. I forgot to take a photo of this, but this image is similar to what I made.

I also made these bridal dress sugar cookies for dessert.

Favors: I bought little champagne bottles as both a favor and to do a toast to the bride. I created the label on Photoshop.

I also designed these mini white boxes on Photoshop to give to each guest. The top of the box read: Thanks for celebrating Kelli's future "I Do" Here's a little Something Blue for you!  Inside I put a bottle of light blue nail polish for each guest. Isn't the chalkboard sign a TOE-tally cool addition to this favor?

A Gift for the Bride: To cap off the evening, I put together a little gift basket of wine for my friend and her future husband to drink at special moments during their first year of marriage.  The girls all pitched in, so it was from all of us.  I designed the tags stealing some sayings from the Internet and creating some of my own.

I went to the grocery store with these "firsts" in mind, so I tried to pick out wines that matched.  For the Honeymoon, I chose a bottle of Flip Flop Cabernet Sauvignon.  They are traveling to Hawaii on their honeymoon, so this was a perfect match.  For First Home, I chose a bottle of Chateau (which means home in French) St. Jean.  For First Date Night as Mr. and Mrs., I chose a Little Black Dress Pinot Noir.  For First Fight, I chose a Mad Housewife Cabernet Sauvignon.  For First Dinner Party, I chose a bottle of Cabernet called Spin the Bottle!  Last, but not least, for their First Anniversary, I chose a Layered Cake wine since it is tradition to "save" part of your wedding cake to eat on your first anniversary.

I am so grateful for my friendships with these ladies, and I cannot wait to celebrate my good friend Kelli's wedding. I wish her all the happiness in the world!

Congratulations Kelli!