Heather & Chris: Fun & Fabulous Pinwheel Wedding

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of working with Heather on her upcoming May wedding.  I could tell via our email chats that her wedding was going to be a fun and fablous affair filled with lots of clever handcreated touches.

Chris and Heather were married on May 27, 2012 in Bristow, Virginia at The Bristow Manor Golf Club. This was a "redo" wedding for them as they were married the first time on April 6, 2010, before her husband was deployed to Iraq. They didn't have a chance to have all our family there for that wedding, so this one was very special for them. The weather was beautiful, the day was perfect and the memories will be forever!


Loved her color combinations of turquoise and coral.



She even went the diy pinwheel route on some of her items - such as the above pinwheel cupcake toppers. How cute are they paired with our coordinating cupcake wrappers?



More photos can be viewed here!

Thanks, Chris and Heather for allowing us to share photos of your big day on our blog.  Also, a big thanks to their photographer for allowing us to share her beautiful work:http://catwilborne.com/blog/.

Top 12 Pinwhirl Posts of 2011

As we wrap up 2011, we're excited about what the New Year will bring. We're also proud of what we've accomplished in the last 12 months, and we're so thankful for all of our Pinwhirls customers and supporters out there.

Cupcake Toppers

So much happened this year, and October was a particularly great month for us. Pinwhirls was featured on Martha Stewart's Dreamers Into Doers and we hosted a fun giveaway at Catch My Party. Plus, we've grown to more than 200 fans on our Facebook page. It's been a fantastic year!

Wedding Pinwhirls

Before we take the plunge into 2012, here's a look back at some of our top posts on the Pinwhirl Parties Blog from 2011.

The Party Is Right Here!

• January Abby and Asher's Wedding: Pinwheels an Pennants


• February Invitation Etiquette: Frequently Asked Questions


• March How to Throw the Perfect First Birthday Party


• April 5 Steps to Being a Great Party Hostess


• May Fun in the Sun: Backyard Party Tips


• June 6 DIY Tips for Planning Weddings on a Budget


• July Classic Games for Children's Birthday Parties


• August Pinwhirl Party Recipes


• September Drink Recipes to Warm Your Body and Soul


• October Fun Halloween Games for Kids


• November Creative Thanksgiving Recipes for Special Diets


• December New Year's Eve Activities for Kids

Party Invitations

From our house to yours, we wish you a safe and happy 2012!

Retirement Party 101: Tips and Ideas

A retirement party should be fun for the guests and the person being honored. After all, that person deserves to be rewarded for years and years of hard work. These retirement party ideas and tips can help you plan everything from the guest list to the party theme.

As always, if you've hosted a party and have comments, recommendations, or ideas to share with other readers, don't forget to tell us about them in the comments!

Retirement Party Theme Ideas

• Decade Theme: Choose a decade and make the party totally 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s or 90s. Pick the decade that the guest of honor started working or pick the retiree's favorite decade. Then plan your decor accordingly and invite guests to dress in costume for the event.
  
• Location Theme: Turn the event hall, park shelter, or backyard into a fun retirement destination. Some happy sunny locales could include Florida, Aruba, Mexico, Arizona or the Mediterranean. Just ask the special guest this one question: "If you could retire to any destination in the world, where would it be?"
  
• Lasting Memories Theme: The idea here is to get everyone to contribute a fond memory or humorous story the past. You can collect them in a scrapbook with snapshots or compile them digitally to make a memorable video montage.

Creating a Guest List

Depending on the size of the party you may want to include the following guests: family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors. If you're inviting people from out of town, be sure to mail invitations or save the date cards so that your guests can plan ahead.

Retirement Party Decorations

Retirement party decorations have a tendency to be dark but humorous. That's okay if your guest of honor has a sense of humor, but we recommend lightening things up a bit. After all, retirement should be fun—a well-deserved treat for a lifetime of work.

You can lighten the mood with decorations and foods that inspire fun and play. Pinwhirls pinwheels, games, toys, and bright colorful balloons, and table settings can be a nice alternative to decorations that pick on the reitree's age.

Abby and Asher's Wedding: Pinwheels and Pennants

Abby and Asher's (pictured above) Australian wedding was just beautiful, and they were kind enough to share photos of their special day with me.

Abby opted for the do-it-yourself pinwheel kits and assembled the custom wedding favors herself. A huge task since she literally ordered hundreds. We started working together in early summer, getting the details in place for her November wedding.

Small Handheld Pinwhirls

Cupcakes with Custom Cupcake Topper Pinwheels

Handheld Pinwheels

Pinwhirl Path

Pennants Adorn the Gazebo

For more about this wedding you can visit Abby's blog, Something About Dinosaurs.
Also, many thanks to the photographers, Christine Lim and Ruby Yeo for allowing us to highlight their photos on our blog.

Browse our online shop at Pinwhirls.com for custom pinwhirls, pennants, invitations, kits, and more.