Party Time

For the first time ever, Toronto decided to make their pride celebration last not only a week, but the entire month of June. That’s right: more rainbows, more sparkle, and a full month filled with love and support for one another.

We’re always looking for new ways to bring more colour to our lives, so the updated schedule gave us that much more reason to make pride-related magic. To welcome the final week of festivities (which includes most of the parties and the famous parade), we decided to throw our own little Pride kickoff party with all of our friends in a borrowed yard. We called it the #RAOPrainnbowparty!

A lot of different factors went into making this particular styled event a success. First off, we needed colour- lots of it! To brighten up the space we decided to build a balloon wall. Consider yourself warned- balloon wall building is not a relaxing weekend activity. The end result (shown in these photos) took two days of planning, about 15 packs of balloons (10x what we has estimated), and 7 volunteers blowing up balloons nonstop for hours in the sun to create!

After the amount of work we put into the balloon wall, we wanted to make sure that our drink selection matched the theme. We had a chance to try out Raspberry Starfruit Iced Tea and Frozen Strawberry Pineapple Pouches (YUM!) from Palm Bay. We also had a super cute cooler, pastel Turkish blankets, a record player for tunes, cookie dough ice cream, “Palm Bae” sweatshirts by Shop Nopal, and so many different kinds of sprinkles!!!
Palm Bay was an amazing complement to our pre-pride party. It was a total success, and the ultimate way to kick off the fun coming this week!

Hope to see you at Pride this year!

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Photos by Josh Mitchinson and Johanna Martin
Styling and Direction by Alyssa Garrison
Assistance from Mikayla Kuehn
Cotton Candy via Fancy Pufs
Party Plates and extra decor via Confetti and Bows
XOXO Balloons via Northstar Balloons

Jewels via Cherry Pick
Hottiewood

A special thanks to all our magical rainbow models (aka our friends) too!

This post was sponsored by Palm Bay, but all opinions are my own. To inquire about sponsored posts, please email jess@shineinfluencers.com

Dress UpParty Time

I am the most wedding-crazy of all wedding-crazy humans, and I’ve been patiently waiting for my friends to start tying the knot so I can get immersed in all the fun! When my good friend Paige announced her engagement awhile back I knew my time had finally come. I immediately started dreaming up fun ways to celebrate, and a couple months ago I landed on the idea of throwing her a mini styled party/photoshoot with my favourite beauty bar, Her Majesty’s Pleasure.

I’d seen beautiful private events being hosted at HMP time and time again, and it always looks like such a fun and elegant way to get together, get pampered and celebrate. Complete with delicious catering from Colette Grand Café, buckets of bubbly, and the best nail art in the city, it was only a matter of time before I slotted myself in for one of their events packages.

Shot by the oh-so-talented Scarlet O’Neill (also a bride to be!), this project was such a fun way to stretch my bridal styling muscles, and to treat Paige to a bit of pampering to celebrate her upcoming special day. In my mind those moments spent giggling with your girls are a crucial part of the wedding buildup, and why not have that over manicures and flower-topped cocktails right?

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Photos by Scarlet O’Neill
Styling, florals, and direction by Alyssa Garrison
Treats provided by Colette Grand Café
Jam Favours by Kitten and the Bear
Location provided by Her Majesty’s Pleasure
A special thanks to our models, and the bride-to-be of course!
Paige Boersma, Alex Perlin, Amanda Lynn Hatch, and Emily Coutts.

Dear DiaryParty Time

There’s a special place in my heart for wedding shows and markets, regardless of the fact that I have no plans to get married anytime soon (*tear*). I always say yes when I’m invited to bridal events, and this year’s Rebash Market was no exception.

Even better? I got to bring Paige of Studio Bicyclette along, who unlike me, is actually planning her wedding for next summer! It was extra lovely to get to shop flowers, tiny cacti and swan favours with her while daydreaming about my own distant plans. We tasted the freshest macarons, took notes on floral arrangements, and though Paige didn’t buy a ton of items or book anything final, she felt super inspired by everything we saw, and it was pretty magical to see the little styling wheels start turning in her head.

One day my day will come, but for now it was extra special to help in some small way with hers.

Some of our favourite Vendors included:

Bash Boutique
Mai Lin
Love Lettering
Quelle Cuisine
Paper Decorum
Present Day Gifts
Make my Day Count
Snowdrop and Co.
Field Day Design

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