Summer Garden Party

To say the past few weeks have been hectic would be a massive understatement! Between work, events, parties and keeping fit, it’s been all systems go and there’s no sign of things slowing down either!

In less than two weeks, I’ll be flying to the UK to watch my only brother say his vows to the beautiful Nancy! They’ve put so much thought into their wedding that I will definitely do a post afterwards, so watch this space! But for today, I wanted to share some photos of what I’ve been up to the past fortnight!

Last Saturday night, I was helping my boss with his 25th Anniversary party at his house in Co. Kildare. The theme we came up with was a simple Summer Garden Party (see Pinterest mood board here). My role was to recreate a ‘S’mores Station’ similar to one we previously used for a clients’ corporate summer party. S’mores (they call them s’mores because you always want some more) are basically a campfire treat comprised of roasted marshmallows, chocolate and digestives (traditionally Graham Crackers but they don’t sell those in Ireland, so digestives are the next best thing!)

S'mores station with chalkboard, wooden crates, jars and ivy — Photo Credit: Allen Keily

To create the s’mores station, I used a square table with red gingham table cloth, two wooden crates, an ivy garland and old Kilner jars with chalkboard labels to store the marshmallows, chocolate and digestives. Using an old chalkboard, I wrote some easy instructions for guests so they understood how the s’mores worked! (Confession time: I had never tasted a s’more before last Saturday night, they are AMAZING!)

To transform the rest of the garden, we used galvanised buckets and wheelbarrows to create ‘beer baths’ filled with bottled beer and ice! We placed hay bales around the garden for seating and hung colourful Chinese-style lanterns and festoons around the garden to create an ambient atmosphere for when it got dark.

It was really fun to get involved and big congrats to my boss Paul and his lovely wife Carol on 25 years together! Here’s some more photos of the set-up!