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Vintage-Glam Winter Woodland Dinner Party

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Note from Jenn: 

I am so excited to share this ridiculously gorgeous holiday party from Jessica Wilcox and her close friends – twin sisters Laura & Lindsey – with you today! Jessica is one of our regular contributors, and sooo very, very talented… it’s pretty amazing what happens when this trio gets together! Get ready to explore a truly dreamy holiday party filled with sparkly, vintage-inspired eye candy. And now I’ll let Jessica take it away with all the festive details…

{by Jessica Wilcox}
This summer, I was asked to do a magazine shoot for the Party Dress Magazine. I eagerly agreed because I knew it was several months down the road and I would have plenty of time to prepare. Fast forward a few months, a few weddings, back to school festivities, and several parties later and we were one week before the magazine deadline. Ooops! Clearly time management is not one of my strong points…

Needless to say, I really wanted to submit something for the magazine, but couldn’t pull it all together by myself. I called my girlfriend Laura, whom you may remember from her Stunning Vintage-Modern Bridal Shower we threw this summer that was featured on HWTM. Her and her twin sister, Lindsey have been talking about starting a business for years. They have way to much creative talent not to share it with the world and get paid for their efforts. This magazine became a great motivation for them to get their website up and running. Thus, Double Take Event Styling was born.

They gave me a proposition I couldn’t refuse…plus, I didn’t really have a choice at this point *wink* I was in charge of all the party printables and graphic design work and they would style the shoot. I happily agreed, and we had about three days to get everything done. Nothing like pressure, right?

We selected a Vintage Winter Woodland theme because we didn’t want to do your traditional cookie-cutter Christmas dinner party. By using champagne, gold, and silver tones we were able to achieve a softer look, yet still very festive.
The invitation set the tone for our party. Since our style is eclectic, we always try to incorporate vintage pieces throughout – many of which we have been collecting for years at local antique stores and are a part of our everyday home decor.

We decided to style a “traditional” dinner table featuring beautifully hand crafted trees. We continued by adding multiple layers with varying heights and textures and incorporated a variety of candle sticks, snow covered branches, and feathers.

Bundles of books were used as a foundation for our design. Glittered deers, birds, and vintage ornament clips were added as finishing touches!

It’s important to add personalization to your party. I came across these adorable ball ornament place card holders at Michael’s (which were really inexpensive too) and knew they would be perfect for the personalized place cards! I wanted to glam up my party printables. Adding glitter around the edge of my designs created a shimmery finish that matched the party perfectly.

I also thought wine charms would be fun and used some round earring loops and beads, (also purchased at Michael’s) to create my own custom wine charms. It was super quick and easy, but was a great addition to the already-stunning table!

We opted to do a Hot Cocoa bar for our other focal point. Companies like Starbucks have enabled each of us to create our own perfect drink. Why not include that same concept into our holiday dinner party too? Plus – a hot cocoa bar can also double as an amazing dessert display too, complete with an assortment of beautifully styled toppings!

We included the traditional marshmallow, caramel, and chocolate toppings, but added our own unique flare to them… Marshmallows dipped in chocolate become both beautiful and functional. By simply unwrapping store bought caramel squares and placing them in a beautiful bowl, we had a gourmet look for a low cost. And by melting chocolate into a decorative mold, we created a beautiful garnish. We even created to-go cups to help keep them warm and toasty on their way home from the party!

We hand-crafted many of the key elements used throughout our dinner party and cocoa bar display, including the Christmas trees, glittered deer, book bundles, sheet music wreaths, and vintage ornament clips. You really CAN create a lot of the decor yourself without spending a ton of money.

All and all, I think our dinner party turned out fabulously for the amount of time we had to pull it all together!

Vendor Credit

19 Comments

  1. antique engagement rings December 1, 2011 at 4:07 am

    I love your vintage look… fantastic!

  2. aurea @ pricewise events December 1, 2011 at 4:35 am

    The use of the old newspapers/papers as very pretty decorations is just amazing!

  3. Melissa DiStefano December 1, 2011 at 7:14 am

    These photos are gorgeous! Love the hot cocoa and marshmallows! Such a perfect Christmas touch!

  4. Michelle - I DO invitations by michelle December 1, 2011 at 9:26 am

    STUNNING, Jessica! Love ALL of the details! You’re amazingly talented!

  5. Kris {kCreative Cake Pops} December 1, 2011 at 9:43 am

    This is absolutely stunning! Beautiful job ladies, bravo. The hot chocolate bar is brilliant!

  6. Kilee December 1, 2011 at 10:01 am

    This is the most beautiful holiday party that I have seen. You girls did such a great job with this project! You should be very proud of all your hard work. Can’t wait to see what else you have up your sleeve :)

  7. Cindy Lietz, Polymer Clay Tutor December 1, 2011 at 11:29 am

    Stunning! I love the music paper wreath. It has a modern styling with a vintage feel. Perfect for today’s holiday decor!

  8. Diana December 1, 2011 at 12:09 pm

    This is SUCH a beautiful table! Seeing things like this with a less traditional take on the holidays is inspiring. Now I want to go home and decorate! :)

  9. Kailey Michelle Events December 1, 2011 at 5:09 pm

    I am loving this! Every little detail fabulous.

  10. Yum Yum Tables December 2, 2011 at 8:24 am

    So much GLAM! Love it (finger snap) =)

  11. Jennifer Schulting December 2, 2011 at 11:00 am

    Beautiful post. I shared the Vintage inspiration on my facebook page for Vintage Lovers. https://www.facebook.com/groups/vintagefanatics/

    Have a great day!

  12. Aisha December 2, 2011 at 2:03 pm

    Love all the details of this party. I’m lovin’ the striped pillow.

  13. shiori December 2, 2011 at 2:34 pm

    It’s all so beautiful.

  14. Nina Klein December 4, 2011 at 9:52 am

    Absolutely love your unique approach to a holiday party! Love the vintage, love the hot cocoa! All the details were perfect!

  15. Lana Manis December 13, 2011 at 3:20 pm

    Beautiful decorations!

  16. Norma December 13, 2011 at 3:42 pm

    LOve tHis SiTe!!!

  17. Linda Clark December 13, 2011 at 6:28 pm

    I want to know how you have the time to do all that. Absolutely gorgeous. You should be proud!

  18. Fotini Roman December 30, 2011 at 7:03 pm

    I love this idea! I would love to re-create something like this. Please check out my blog!!

    http://glamorousbride.blogspot.com/

  19. Katie February 21, 2012 at 10:30 am

    This is absolutely stunning!

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