This past weekend, we celebrated E’s 5th birthday with a grand Disney princess themed bash in our backyard.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love throwing a good party. I love all the research and planning that goes into it & love executing all the little details … But without fail, for every party I’ve ever hosted, the last week leading up to the event makes me want to poke my eyeballs out. It’s not even because I have so much to do or what not. It’s simply the anticipation of a big day and the hope that everyone has a great time. This party was no different and the day before THE DAY, I told Hubby that I am never throwing another birthday party like this again. He laughed at me because we both know that’s not really true. Hahah.

The day before the party the weather was miserable. Raining, cloudy, freezing cold .. And I don’t just mean a little spring sprinkle. It was STORMING. I’d planned the whole party around the idea that guests would stay in our backyard and the bad weather was freaking – me – out. We have a pretty large yard but a tiny house and the party would not work if people had to come inside. I’d spent too much money and time planning this event to cancel so I did the only thing I could do – I prayed. I genuinely prayed and asked the Lord to just let it be dry for two hours during the party and He abundantly answered. Not only was it dry, it was HOT. The sun was shining so brightly, the desserts and appetizers started melting and the day after, I had a few people tell me they got sunburned. Crazy!

Another party planning snafoo I had was with the desserts. I’d ordered a huge main cake, cupcakes, and cake pops all from one local baker who just works out of her home. She’d gotten good reviews on Yelp and Facebook so I contacted her almost two months in advance to place all the orders. I had a bad feeling about her almost immediately because her communication was HORRIBLE. I’ve worked with my fair share of small business owners and bakers and while I understand sometimes there’s a bit of delay in hearing back, once communication is made it’s usually very thorough and detailed. This lady was terrible … I should have trusted my instincts and gone with someone else but my usual vendors that I’ve employed in the past are all located slightly out of the way for us since we moved to our current town two years ago. Well, less than a week before the party date, the baker emailed me and said she was ill and would be cancelling my entire order. What?? EXCUSE ME?? Who does that??!!? I was panicking, you guys. Luckily I made a few frantic phone calls and was able to get an actual storefront bakery to accommodate my order. The desserts turned out beautifully in the end and tasted amazing to boot.

I only have two regrets now that the party is done and over: 1) I didn’t get enough pictures of the little things, like the favor table or the desserts I’d ordered; and 2) I don’t feel like I got to really sit and enjoy the party. I kept reminding myself to sit sit sit, and soak up the moment but when you’re the host, it’s hard to be sitting and chatting. I wanted to greet people as they trickled in, make sure E was having a fun time, ensure drinks were refilled, etc. I barely ate any of the food we’d catered but I hear it was delicious 🙂 We hired a “taco truck guy” to come and make on-the-spot custom burritos, quesadillas, and tacos. YUM! I didn’t get any pictures of that either, boo.

I think my favorite element of the entire party were the florals. I hired a local florist to do the garland and floral arrangements, including the giant floral E, and I am OBSESSED with them!! They’re still all hanging in my backyard as I write this on Monday morning hahaha.

I ordered these custom Disney princess cookies from a separate vendor than the main dessert baker and this lady was amazing to work with. She was worth every penny! Look at E enjoying her Snow White cookie 😉

And of course no princess party wold be complete without actual princesses in attendance. I found a great local company that hires out your favorite Disney characters. E’s favorites are Snow White & Elsa and it was priceless to see her hugging and interacting with them. They were legit in-character the ENTIRE time, too, even all the way back to their car. Love!

Our girl was so spoiled this day. I’m so happy that I was able to celebrate our special princess in this way; she’s been such a blessing to our family. I hope we made memories that we can all cherish for a lifetime.

Poor Spartie was confined to the house for the duration of the party. But he was allowed out afterwards and had a ball finding random desserts on the ground and eating them -_-