A Pretty Princess Party

Like most almost 5 year olds, my little girl dreams big. She’s been talking about her birthday party since last summer. It started with what kind of cake she wanted & who she wanted to invite, but when it was time to plan the party she knew what she wanted down to the last detail. A pretty princess party. No, not a licensed Disney theme, just a party where she & all of her friends could dress up with flowers, makeup & dance. She’s a girl after my own heart. I was also relieved that another year has passed & we’ve avoided a Chuck E Cheese party.

So we developed a guest list {3 friends & 2 sisters} & started “planning”. As always, I kept it somewhat simple. In lieu of formal invitations or fill-in-the-blank invites, we wrote out invitations on my favorite Rifle Paper Co stationary. Then, I let her continue to dream until a couple days prior to the party because little girls tend to have fickle minds.

The party was executed with just a trip to the grocery store, Target & 2 hours prior to the party – lunch, flowers & all! My friend Emily, the genius behind The Bloom Academy, taught me a few years ago that grocery store flowers can be beautiful if you know how to arrange them. More on that to come!

Today I’m sharing an overview of what a pretty princess party looks like through the eyes of Adalyn & throughout the week I’ll be sharing step-by-step tutorials on how to create the cake, floral crowns, centerpieces, etc.

As Adalyn’s friends arrived, they were crowned & Adalyn guided them to her bedroom where the party took place. It’s her little sanctuary filled with toys, a table & chairs.

I did the girls makeup with an adorable little palette I purchased from Target & Q-tips {for sanitary reasons}. The girls admired themselves in the mirror before having their photos taken & having a dance party. We set the tone for it by moving our Sonos speaker to her room.

Lunch was truffle mac & cheese, a special request from Adalyn. It was followed by cake, of course! Adalyn wanted a candy covered cake & I immediately remembered my friend Ali’s conversation heart cake! It was a rare occasion to eat in her room!

I limited the decor to flowers, spending just $25 to make all of the crowns {which doubled as party favors}, centerpieces & teepee arrangements! You can create a special celebration without spending a lot.

Get the chair swag tutorial here.

I enjoyed planning this party with Adalyn, but what I loved more than anything was her gleaming smile as she celebrated with her sweet friends & even asked if her baby sister could join them!