Party Styling Tips from RV Parties

by Esther :) June 01, 2014

Our friends at RV Parties have some fantastic tips to share for planning a party, celebration or event! They always come up with creative and colorful ways to pull everything together and have incorporated some of our fun party products into their "Kate Spade Inspired" Gender Neutral Baby Shower. Along with sharing some of her great photos I asked Rachel of RV Parties if she would mind sharing some tried and true party planning tips that will surely help inspire you to plan a fun party of your own! The tips below are great for anyone looking to style a memorable event. Enjoy and happy party planning!

Q: Where does your creative process begin when you start planning a styled event?

RV Parties: We love to browse the grand ole internet for ideas and start by pinning our ideas to keep them all in one place. Etsy is a great resource too--you can organize your Favorites into boards similar to Pinterest, so I tend to collect ideas there as well.

After I have a theme in mind, I pick a few colors and patterns to carry through all the designs. I normally design printables first and then keep my eyes peeled for items that would work well when I'm out shopping. I tend to grab discounted items at Target or Michaels when I feel like they are something that would work for a future party, even if I don't have a specific party in mind for them yet.

Q: What influences your "party" style?

RV Parties: Since we are a shop that specializes in printables, we tend to use a lot of PAPER in our parties! The guy at my local FedEx knows me by name. We love to make custom signs and decorations in addition to using colored paper to add some color. My favorite thing to do is sew cut paper garlands--the chains of spades in this party were one of my favorite elements.

Q: How far ahead of time should someone start planning a party?

RV Parties: Planning a party can be as easy or involved as you want to make it--but it's a good idea to have the bare bones in place about 3-4 weeks ahead of time so you can get invites out and your guests can be prepared to celebrate with you.

Q: Are there any tips you can provide for someone just getting ready throw their first styled event?

RV Parties: It's easy to get sucked into Pinterest and party blogs and feel the need to throw the ULTIMATE party or end up completely overwhelmed. Don't be! Our motto is: Parties should be fun. So figure out what you can do to keep it fun to plan and to attend. The most important part of a party is CELEBRATING life's special moments and that can be done by spending hours poring over Pinterest and handcrafting lots of goodies--or it can be done by buying some Instant Download decorations on Etsy a few days before and with some store bought baked goods. The most important thing is that it's fun!

That being said, I love to pin general ideas in addition to ones specifically relating to the theme--for example, I might love the way a cake looks for a cowboy birthday but adapt it to work for a rocket ship party. So when you are out scouring the internet for inspiration, don't just stick to your theme! There are so many great ideas out there that you can adapt and make your own.

Q: What are you favorite "must haves" to have included in your party display?

RV Parties: White dishes are my go to for styling a display--they help in letting the treats and decorations stay center stage. It's also great to have a few boxes you can wrap in plain paper to help add some height to the table. We use tons of printables because they are so easy and make your party look very custom. And the easiest way to add some color to your treats is with SPRINKLES! Luckily, The Bakers Confections (hey, that's us!) has about everything you'd need to add some color.

Some of our great items that were used in the "Kate Spade Inspired" Baby Shower were our fun gold stripe paper straws, gold lollipop sticks used in the cake pops and cupcake toppers along with our hand decorated polka dot wooden utensils. Didn't they do a great job on the adorable cupcakes and spade shaped cookies! I love their take on the gender neutral baby shower that is stylish and fun using bright vibrant colors. I am sure all that attended enjoyed the beautiful display they created!

A BIG thanks to Rachel from RV Parties for letting me interview her so we can share some of their fun parting planning tips with you! We can't wait to see what they are working on next!

You can find RV Parties here:

etsy // www.etsy.com/shop/RVparties
blog // rvparties.blogspot.com
facebook // facebook.com/rvparties
instagram // instagram.com/rvparties
pinterest // pinterest.com/rvparties

*Photos in this post are copyright of RV Parties