Midsummer Night Soiree

How to Host a Magical Midsummer Night Soiree Birthday Party!

 This year my daughter was turning 14 years old and insisted her party be sophisticated and mature with only a subtle theme.  I definitely had my work cut out for me!  I am so used to designing parties for younger children where the more fun details, the better. 

After much thought and consideration, we ultimately decided on a evening soiree with a theme based on Shakespeare's,  A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was mature yet quite magical and would include serving the guests a lovely 3 course dinner, an enchanting dessert table, a fun flower crown activity and a viewing of the movie Strange Magic which is an animated movie based on the same Shakespearean play!


I couldn't wait to get started!  I first started with the invitation design. I wanted it to be over the top magical!  Like I have done in the past, I decided to use a black jewelry box, filled it with green moss and added some large glitter for extra sparkle.  I then place the invitation on top of the moss along with a darling butterfly pendant necklace tucked neatly inside a gold organza bag and topped it with a life like dragonfly.  Each box was completed with a beautiful plum satin ribbon tied into a lovely bow and a beautiful tag that coordinated perfectly with the invitation with each girls name on it.  For an extra special touch, we hand delivered each invitation.  I can't tell you how special each girl felt to receive such a magical invitation! They all couldn't wait to attend the party!

 Our back yard is filled with lovely rockery, greenery and loads of beautiful flowers which posed as the perfect backdrop for this event.  I chose to set the table up under the pergola so it would allow me to hang loads of sparkly lights above as well as a beautiful wooden white faux chandelier and attach flowy white drapes at each corner to create an outdoor oasis.  I wanted a bit of a boho chic look as well so setting up the table just 18" high and placing off-white cotton pillows as the seating achieved just that.   To create the faux wood tabletop, I simply attached a realistic wood paper to the top of the tabletops.  A lot of the girls thought it was real wood at first!  I then used a chocolate brown damask table runner down the center along with some moss green crinkle satin fabric strategically twisted and spread  along the center and topped with some faux greenery.  The centerpiece was a rectangular rustic white wooden box filled with the most gorgeous plum, purple, fuchsia and cream flowers. The centerpiece was flanked by mason jars filled with the same beautiful flowers as well as moss and twinkle lights.

 Each place setting started with a large square apple green plate, layered with a plum cloth napkin folded into a beautiful lotus flower and finished with a leaf place card with each girl's name written in gold and a darling little favor box placed on top. The favor boxes contained the sweetest little butterfly keepsake with an inspirational saying etched onto each one.  A plum stemless wine glass was placed at the right hand corner with a fun green and white striped straw and my favorite matte gold silverware added an elegant touch to each setting.

 The dessert table was definitely a magical site with so many bright colors, flower and butterfly accents and a beautiful display of delicate glass globes hovering above. Each one was filled with moss, fuchsia flowers and the most darling little glowing orbs for added mystique. The dessert table was filled with gorgeously decorated sugar cookies, mini chocolate cupcakes, a decadent chocolate brownie tower and a simple naked cake adorned with flowers and butterfly accents.  

 We served the girls a delicious  dinner of  Caesar salad, mozzarella and tomato salad, a little fruit cup and mini slider burgers with all the fixings.  The girls had a wonderful time eating, laughing and just enjoying each other's company!  

After dinner, the girls sang "Happy Birthday" to the birthday girl and enjoyed all the scrumptious desserts.

 No Party is complete without a super fun activity or craft no matter what age!  For this party, it seemed fitting to have the girls create their own flower crowns.  It turned out to be the perfect choice.  They all had so much fun designing and creating.  And the photo shoot ops afterwards were a blast!

 Finally, to wind down the evening, the girls got cozy and watched A Mid Summer Night's Dream inspired movie, Strange Magic. It was the perfect ending to the most magical of parties!

 I hope you were able to find tons of wonderful inspiration to use for your next party or event!

Thanks for visiting!

PIN FOR LATER

Supplies and Vendors:

Party Styling, Invitation and Printables, Desserts, Photography: Misha/A Lovely Design

Black invitation box, cut to size moss sheeting, plum satin ribbon, floating lily flowers, hanging glass globes, mini glowing orbs, plum stemless plastic glasses, small white favor boxes, realistic wood paper roll: Oriental Trading 

Matte gold silverware: Target

This review is based strictly on my opinion.  I was provided samples free of charge by Oriental Trading to provide my honest review.  No other type of compensation was received.  All other ideas and opinions are my own.