A couple of weeks ago I teamed up with my besties husband, Jack, to throw Kristin a surprise 30th birthday. Technically her 30th isn’t until July 17th but they will be out of town on her actual birthday and I will probably still be recovering due to Ralph’s arrival, so we thought to really throw her off we would do a surprise birthday brunch 5 weeks early.
Jack knew Kristin had been wanting to do brunch at Le Bilboquet (one of our favorite dinner spots) for quite some time, so he suggested that we do the brunch there. I could not have agreed more as Le Bilboquet has one of my favorite brunches in Dallas and the atmosphere is just lovely. Jack made the reservation and hosted from afar (it was girls only), so he let me handle the rest! See below for a few tips on how to make a surprise birthday brunch just a little more memorable!
- Bring your own florals for the table: Although restaurants normally have a simple arrangement on the table, I have found that by providing your own flowers not only makes the table THAT much more special but the centerpiece makes the perfect gift for the guest of honor to take home to remember their special party! I ordered the arrangement for Kristin’s birthday brunch from Lane Florist in Dallas (they are my favorite florist).
- Tell the guest of honor a realistic reason for get together: In order to get Kristin to her own birthday brunch, I told her that my grandmother wanted to take the four of us (Wade, Kristin, Jack and myself) for a fun Sunday brunch. I even made suggestions on places Annie suggested we go knowing that Kristin would pick Le Bilboquet!
- Place Cards: I cannot tell you how many brunches/lunches/dinners/events I have been to and there are no place cards. No matter how big or small the event by adding place cards to the table it makes guests feel more comfortable. Everyone has a place and you can strategically place the guests to keep the conversation going. I ordered these place cards on Etsy and LOVED the way they turned out!
- Request a Round Table: If the restaurant has round tables and your guests can all fit around it, always ask for the round table! A round table is such a perfect way where no guest feels left out, the conversation always flows and the guest of honor can see everyone!
- Personalized Linens: Personalized napkins are some of my favorite gifts to give friends. As odd as this sounds, I hate buying personalized/monogrammed napkins for myself but it is one of my favorite gifts to receive. For Kristin’s birthday brunch, I had these linens made to place on the table for the guests to use. Everyone loved the personal touch to the table, plus I ordered a few extra so Kristin would have a full set to take home after her party!
- Party Favors: I get this from my grandmother. Every meal we have ever had at her house, she always has a little ‘something’ in front of everyones place. Sometimes it’s something as simple as candy others is a beautiful piece of glass or even a card! I ordered these ‘Thirty’ cookies from Highland Park Pie Lady. I love how she matched the cookies to the place cards! These cookies were not only delicious but also made a perfect little ‘something’ for all the girls to take home!
- The Cake: Although I did not really take a photo of the cake..I am really regretting it now because it was the most wonderful cake EVER. Recently, my friends have been ordering cakes from Susie Cakes and we all have yet to be disappointed (they did my cake for my baby shower). Since red velvet cake is Kristin’s ALL TIME favorite, I ordered a birthday cake from Susie Cakes. The cake was such a hit and I cannot wait for another excuse to order a cake from them!
By adding just a few personal touches to any special get together it can make all the difference and make it that much more fun!
images by sukilynn
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