Prima Ballerina Party - Part 1

It's been a while since we posted here on our blog... not because we don't love you guys - but simply because we have been so busy creating Inspired Occasions! Even though this party was held back at the start of the month, I am still super excited to share it with you all.

This party is a bit extra special, as it was for my own ballerina's 6th birthday. We have had a big year; this last 5th year of her little life, dealing with all sorts of challenges, including finding out my precious girl has Aspergers Syndrome.

We were pretty determined to make this party everything she could have possibly wanted... and to be an opportunity for us to CELEBRATE just how special she is, how she is so much more than a child with 'special needs', with all those who love her dearly.

So when she asked for a prima ballerina party, complete with a 'real' ballerina and a stage (with curtains and lights) for her and her friends to dance on - how could we say no?!

There are so many photo's from the party that I will share them across two posts - otherwise I know you will all loose interest before we get to the end! Today's one will be about the set-up and tomorrow, I will post about the dessert station.

Firstly, the outfit had to be right. She is a fashionista at heart and knows her ballet through and through. It did take a visit to the dance store before she believed me that they won't sell pointe shoes to a 6 year old - no matter how much she wants them! So, we compromised... a big full tutu, lots of sparkles, some divine shoes and then the perfect finishing touch - a custom made ballerina headpiece.

The headpiece was designed by Leigh at Pocket Full of Posies. She really did a fabulous job - working from the invite, she chose fabric and flowers to match the colour theme and then added a gorgeous big feather. The ballerina loved it and even kept it on all day - which is unusual for her! If you are looking for anything similar, make sure you check out Leigh's facebook and etsy shop.

I wanted to include as much tulle as possible into the party, so there were touches of it throughout out the party. We also incorporated lots of polka dots in pinks and red, which when combined with the custom printables we designed (you will see more of these tomorrow night), kept it all tied together.

The tulle pom poms on sticks were inspired by the wonderful Ah Tissue. They were a wonderful addition to the children's table as centrepieces. I made the wreath on the door out of the tulle scraps - it was a lovely way to greet our guests!

The table itself was set with divine spotty plates by Sambellina from Sweet Little Birdy, vintage glass bottles and spotty straws - which matched perfectly!

 Without a doubt, the highlight was this wonderful stage that was created by my fabulous step father, Fred, from Sage Building Services. When I asked him to see if he could put together a stage for the party, I never expected such an elaborate design!! It was a full days work to put it up and even came with a roof.

We will have a similar design available to hire out to clients parties soon... can't wait!!

We were able to track down a 'real' ballerina in Andrea from Toepaz Dance Studio's. She really did a fabulous job with the kids and I would highly recommend her! As you can see - the birthday girl thought she was pretty amazing!!

Finally, we wanted to give each of the little guests a special gift to take home with them. The children that we invited to the party - 9 girls and 1 little boy - are all very special to us. They, and their families, have provided us with so much support and importantly, friendship that we wanted them all to feel special. So, for each of the girls, I made a pink and red tutu. And for the 1 little boy, I made a red cape featuring his initial on the back.

They were displayed on these cute little clothing racks and each had their own name tag. The birthday girl loved taking the guests up to the racks as they arrived and helping them find their special tutu/cape.

I know it's a long post, so thanks for making to the end!

Tomorrow night I will share the desert table with you, along with a complete list of my suppliers. Over the coming weeks, I am also hoping to share the 'how to' on the tutus and/or cape should anyone be interested.

I will leave you with one final photo.... this one is one of my very favourites from the day... the birthday girl and her bestie (Alex's daughter!!).