British Book Club

Per my last post, I hosted Book Club on Friday evening. We only host once a year and I picked the month of May for 2012. I did a British themed event and had so much fun coming up with the decor and ideas. This is a bit of a photo overload (I wanted to share a handful with my family and friends who could not attend) so I apologize in advance. Also, I am not sure what happened with the photo upload, but all the pictures are showing up cloudy/blurry. 

I made a fun little sign for my door. I actually put the wrong one up though...the one shown has spelling error...whoops!

 

My friend Katie brought two Duchess Kate masks and one Queen mask which we had the most fun time playing around with. We staged a handful of photos including that shown above. 

God save the Queen!

 

 Upon arrival guests could enjoy tea sandwiches (chicken salad and egg salad) or a petite quiche as well as a Pimm's Cup (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic).

The coffee table was also home to all my commemorative copies of Royal Wedding magazines and goods.

 

The above photo was taken a few weeks back, but is a good shot of the bunting that I made. It was the perfect extra touch and really dressed up my little condo.

*To make this bunting I simply printed out Union Jacks on a high quality printer. I then cut my ribbon to the appropriate length and spaced the flags accordingly before taping them to the ribbon. I made my bunting double sided so I used two flags at each spot.*

 

I added more bunting around the rooms as I had so many flags left over.

Since we also celebrated the one year anniversary of the Royal Wedding we enjoyed the "top of the wedding cake." I made a white cake with vanilla butter cream frosting. I then placed some British themed cookies my dear blog friend Jennifer sent me around the cake. Finally, I added a miniature Royal Wedding bunting to the cake for the ultimate touch.

 

Above is a photo of the almost ready table. You can get a full feel for the room here (this is one of the only shots that shows the set table AND the bunting).

   

I used a blue and white fabric I had as a tablecloth. I then dressed the table up with my white crowns, which were home to red carnations for the evening, sparkly red garland, doilies, which doubled as place mats, and polka dot napkins. Guests brought their own glass from the living area to the table.

 I was thrilled with the end result!!

Red tulips were FINALLY secured and the dining area was ready for guests!

I did not get any photos of the food, but I served Bubba's chicken tenders and biscuits, The Pioneer Woman's Rosemary Potatoes and a garden salad.

 

A shot of the bar cart all set up for the evening. 

I made little Pimm's Cup recipe cards as well as menu cards which I placed out and about.

I used a Pimm's Cup recipe I found online and then slightly adjusted it for this printable. I sent guests home with a smaller printout of this recipe too.

 I think little things like this are such a fun and festive way to carry a theme throughout your home.

I also made a "God Save the Queen" sign which I shared Friday. The lighting makes it rather hard to read in the photo, but it was a fun touch.

 There was NO shortage of red, white, blue and Unions Jacks....or an Royal Wedding memorabilia!

  

Of course no Book Club is complete without a group shot.

We did one funny....

 

and one serious.

I forgot to mention that fascinators were required for entry. It was such fun to see what everyone found and wore. I do have to admit, we were quite the stylish crowd.

 

No party is complete with out a parting treat. Holly of The Doughmestic Housewife made the most DARLING cookies for me. They were just as delicious as they looked and a perfect favor for this British themed evening!

I had such a lovely evening and so much fun preparing. I love a good themed party so Friday was no exception.