hospitality Archives - Page 2 of 3

Woodland Baby Shower

January 19, 2016 January 19, 2016

This summer I had the pleasure of hosting a baby shower for my friend Morgan. Morgan was once a nanny for our boys and we became really good friends during that time so I was over-the-hill-excited when she told me she was pregnant! I immediately declared “I’m giving you a baby shower!”

Morgan’s favorite store is Anthropologie so that’s where the ideas started to flow from. I wanted an event that was intimate, full of color, rustic and somewhat eclectic; all of which I think of when I think of Anthro so I eventually settled on a woodland chic theme with a dose of monogram for good measure.

As fortune would have it, I had the cutest white, wood grain invitation pouches I had accidentally ordered that provided the perfect foundation for the invitations. The details make an event so I focused on making sure the mom-to-be felt loved and each guest felt they were a part of something special.

The mom-to-be and her mother-in-law entering the shower.

I didn’t necessarily want to play a traditional party game so I created a game called “Who’s that Baby” and had each guest who wanted to participate send me a baby picture of herself. Each participant’s name was put on the list on the right with a blank. The guest who guessed the most correct matches won the prize. A special shout to anybody who can figure out which baby I am!

Aren’t these vintage schoolhouse chairs lovely?

Brunch was on the menu for the day. Besides a yogurt bar and fruit, quiche, southern ham biscuits, and homemade lemon, pound cake cupcakes were also served.

Perhaps one of my most favorite elements of the day was the guest book. Instead of a traditional guestbook, I opted to go with a photo guest book based on the three words concept originated by Good Morning America. Guests were asked to give words of wisdom or thoughts for Morgan using just three words. Below is a sample of some of the photos we captured.

I’ll end with a picture of Morgan and me. To say it was a pleasure throwing this baby shower would be an understatement. I now get the pleasure of cuddling and playing with sweet, Baby B also.

Inspiration board: An Iowa friendship brunch

December 4, 2013 December 4, 2013

Today I’m sharing the inspiration board for a friendship brunch I recently had the honor of helping plan.

My client Betty came to me asking for help planning a brunch she was having to celebrate her friend Susan. Susan was a dear friend of Betty’s who passed away unexpectedly this past summer. Her birthday was in November so Betty wanted to bring together a group of Susan’s closest friends to celebrate her memory.

The inspiration for the brunch came from a picture of a beautiful yellow rose taken from Susan’s casket at her funeral. Betty’s daughter-in-law took a picture of the rose she’d been given and kept in her refrigerator for over a month after the funeral.

Betty decorated for Christmas the week before the brunch so we thought a Christmas feel for the event was more appropriate. Yellow is not a typical Christmas color but since it was such an important part of the event, it had to be included. So the requirements were:

1) Use the color yellow and incorporate yellow roses

2) Make the decor fit in with the Christmas decor already in the house

3) Add a bit of sparkle

Here is the inspiration board I created for the event:

I went with a yellow and grey color scheme and I was oh so excited! This is my favorite type of event to plan, one that has meaning and an obvious attention to detail.

Join me later this week when I share pictures of the finished event.

P.S. How fun is the idea of a friendship brunch! What a special event to share with your friends. I might just have to use this idea in the near future to get a group of my favorite ladies together.

It’s finally here!

November 11, 2013 November 11, 2013

I can’t believe today is finally here! For the past couple weeks I’ve tried to figure out what I would say when the time finally came to write this post and to be frank, as I sit here typing, I’m still not completely sure what will come out. Today is the culmination of many years of work. If you mix together lots of starting, stopping, some fear of failure, lots of ah-ha’s, dreams, ideas, support from family, friends and some great professionals, praying and a great desire to walk in a God-given calling and use my gifts, you have what you see before you today; the new Madelyn Ridgeway Events website & blog! I finally have a place I’m proud to call home for what I think of as my third baby, my business.

Here is the brand board that started it all:

I worked with Tara & Kathleen, sisters and the masterminds behind Braid Creative to take all the ideas I had floating around inside my head and heart and craft a plan for my business & brand using their braid method. The wonderfully awesome, Kate Baird, of Katelyn Brooke Designs created my new brand identity that included a beautiful, calligraphy logo, by Moya Minns of MM Ink. I can’t say enough good things about the lovely ladies I worked with to make this day come to pass. Not only were each of them professional and good at what they do, each of them was fun to work with too!

Join me the rest of the week as I share other pieces of my brand and what each part means. One thing I’ve learned throughout this process is that a brand is not just a logo but a set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships at it’s very least.

To celebrate the launch, I’ll be sending one reader a sweet little package filled with some of my favorite things! Check back tomorrow for more details. In the meantime, grab a glass of sweet tea and browse around the new website. There are a lot of fun touches I’m so proud to share with y’all!

Welcome to the new Madelyn Ridgeway Events!