Disclosure: This post was sponsored by HANDy Paint Products. All opinions and content are our own, and we stand behind and use all brands and products we endorse on our site.
Last Sunday, we hosted a brunch for all the bloggers and influencers that we love and adore. We’ve formed friendships with so many creatives online, but have never actually met in person. I knew once our kitchen remodel wrapped up I wanted to invite some of those ladies over to give them a little first sneak peek of our new space and talk all things home design, get their feedback…and of course pamper, wine and dine them.
Event planning can be stressful and a ton of work, but I love every moment of the process. Today, I wanted to share some ideas on how to plan a brunch in style, while not getting too overwhelmed.
Tip #1: Have a purpose
The first step behind your gathering is always to have a purpose. Why are you wanting to get this group together and who are you wanting to invite? Is it to get to know one another more? Show off your home? Spoil some of your friends? Figure out your intention, and the rest of the decisions will bounce off of the purpose.
For us, the purpose behind the brunch was to meet these Instagrammers who I’d been following for years and give them the first sneak peek of our kitchen remodel, pamper them, and chat about all things home design and the shift of finishings we are starting to see in the industry. We also knew they were all very creative and we needed some help on a couple of last minute decisions.
When you have so many talented women like these ladies, there is no shortage of good energy and conversation in the room. We were a little nervous when we woke up to sleeting hail, snow, and rain. I wasn’t sure if anyone would even show up. But a little bit of snow didn’t stop these Minnesota ladies from having a good time! To our delight, they all made the trek over.
Custom Backsplash Tile: Mercury Mosaics
We got so much great feedback about our kitchen and dining room space from these women.
One of the things we haven’t quite made our minds up on yet is the color of the hood. Jamie custom built the hood and placed a Zephyr insert inside. I like the natural look because it matches perfectly with the floating shelves on the sides and our flooring, but I also don’t like how it distracts from the backsplash design. Part of Jamie and I were thinking of painting it black, so we asked the bloggers to decide, and all of them were 50/50, which didn’t help us at all. Haha!
What do you guys think? Should we keep it natural or paint it black?
Another thing that was up in the air was the large pendant lights. I love them, but Jamie thinks they are a little bit too big. All the girls decided they should definitely stay.
Knowing our intention and purpose for the brunch made for such a perfect morning and afternoon. I don’t take asking someone for their time lightly and always want to make it worth it. You are, after all, asking them to say no to their family and their own personal lives but from the feedback I heard, they all got value from showing up.
Tip #2: Chose a theme
Once you know your purpose, it’s always good to have a theme for your event. Since we are homeowners and were showing off our kitchen, I wanted the theme to be all things construction and design.
We cannot thank HANDy Paint Products enough for sponsoring the brunch and making it all happen. The whole day surpassed my expectations, and I’m still beaming with happiness.
The two things we knew we wanted to use were the HANDy Paint Cups for drinks and the HANDy Paint Pails to use as the goodie bags.
After all, I’ve been figuring out that the HANDy Paint products aren’t just for holding paint. I’ve used them for cleaning, staining, collecting change, hauling dirt and flowers, and now, drinking out of.
Their team is so adorable that they even put our logo on them. Talk about the perfect touch for our brunch. The cups and pails are one of our favorite products of theirs because they are so lightweight and perfect for doing little touchups around the house or running up and down the ladder. When we are actually using them for painting, my favorite thing is that the pail has a magnetic strip so that the brush attaches right to it. That way you never have to worry about your brush falling into the paint and getting completely saturated and dripping paint everywhere.
Since we also wanted to pamper these girls we had SM Makeup come over to do anyone’s hair and makeup on us. We also hired our floral girl to come over and make floral crowns for everyone, because who doesn’t feel fabulous in a floral crown?!
Tip #3: Create simple food stations
Since our theme was home improvement and design, of course, we had a DIY waffle bar and yogurt station for the food. Our tip for food is to keep it simple. Don’t overcomplicate things, but have as many stations as you can without having to do a lot of work. You are going to be busy enough as it is chatting with people, so you aren’t going to be wanting to be in the kitchen cooking or refilling the food.
On top of the waffle and yogurt stations, we had muffins, donuts, chips and dips, and desserts.
And a coffee bar, which was amazing. A huge thank you to Misfit coffee for keeping us all energized! That was a total hit!
Finally, no brunch is complete without some tasty treats! Cookie Creative and Amy’s cupcakes totally blew it out of the park with their adorable cookies they made to perfectly compliment our backsplash with our logo on top and cake treats. And they tasted delicious!
Tip #4: Ask for help
I used to be really bad at asking for help, but now when people offer, I find something for them to do. I had a few of these girls come over a couple of days before the event to help style the space and that was everything. We spent the day getting the rooms cleaned, organized and set up little vignettes so that the girls could have spaces for photo ops. Even after they left, I was up working until well past midnight. I can’t imagine if I wouldn’t have had their help.
The day of the party, these girls were texting me to see if there was anything they could grab on the way up and I found something for almost everyone. There are always going to be those last minute things you forget no matter how perfectly you planned. When the girls started showing up early and asked to help, I took them all up on their offers and put them to work. I’m so grateful this tribe were all eager to help out because it made the event so much less stressful. Instead of running around like a mad woman I was able to enjoy meeting and getting to know these beauties.
Tip #5: Give gifts
Most importantly, give gifts. Everyone loves free stuff! It makes them feel loved, and we definitely didn’t let the girls leave empty-handed.
All of the brands involved in our kitchen remodel sent a little something for the girls. We knew the HANDy Paint Pails would make the perfect gift bag for the goodies, but as you can tell, they were overflowing! Elkay even gave one of the girls a free sink and faucet. Giveaways on top of goody bags are always a good idea.
Tip #6: Take lots of photos
Don’t forget to take lots of photos! Since I knew I wanted to share photos with all of you, I, of course, asked Lissadee and Chelsie Lopez to capture all of the moments. I can’t thank them enough for the pictures and video they produced from the event.
I’m still beaming thinking about this brunch. I already have ideas brewing in my mind for the next one!
And of course, here are all the babes that made it to the party. They all are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Their joy and creativity were oozing out of them. I can’t wait to get to know them more and more. They are all ones to follow.
Paisley & Sparrow, The Divine Living Space, Alma Homes, Simply Beaming, Laura Rae, Creek Wood Hill, My Tiny Tribe, Turquoise Lifestyle, On a Sugar Diet, Tchotchkes Design Studio, Francois Et Moi, Halena Ernst, greensnchocolate, Beautiful Chaos Decor, My Styled Press, Kate Becker, My Domestic Den, Lissadee, Chelsie Lopez, SM Hair + Makeup, Misfit Coffee, Relia by Jen.
