{Holiday Entertaining} Non-traditional Xmas Colors

The holiday season is my absolute favorite time of the year!  I look forward to spending time with my family and spreading my decorating wings (oh, and shopping!!!).

I'll be heading out to purchase a Christmas tree this evening, so I've been thinking a lot about the color combo I'd like to use this go-around.  I mean, who says you have to stick with red and green?  I'm an out of the box type of gal, so this year, I think I'll go with bold, non-traditional Christmas colors and decor.

This was my inspiration...

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PTE Wants to Know: Have you finished your holiday decorating? Did you/are you going with traditional or non-traditional colors?

Drop by our Facebook page and post pics of your best holiday decorating photos on our wall.  I'd love to see your creative decor!

XOXO,
Nikola

Nikola Ahaiwe is a Los Angeles wedding /event planner and owner of Platinum Touch Events, a boutique event planning firm servicing southern CA. To  learn more about Platinum Touch Events, please visit our website and become a fan on Facebook to stay connected.

4th of July Drink Inspiration

Need a little drink inspiration for your 4th of July celebration?

How about this fun and festive cocktail idea...

Roman Candle

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Ingredients:

3 oz. Three-O Berry Vodka

½ oz. Cranberry Juice

Dash of Grenadine

½ oz. Blue Curacao

Directions:

Shake vodka, cranberry juice and grenadine in a shaker with ice. Strain into martini glass. Pour Blue Curaçao gently down the side of the glass so it comes to settle on the bottom.

Or how about Sangria, (because you can never go wrong with wine!)

Red, White, and Blue Sangria

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Ingredients:

Strawberries, sliced

Blueberries

Pineapple, cut into star shapes

2 bottles dry white wine

1 cup Triple Sec

1/2 Cup berry-flavored vodka

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup simple syrup

 Directions:

Combine the ingredients in a large pitcher and stir. Chill in the refridgerator for at least four hours.

Whatever you choose, the most important thing is to be safe and have fun!

XOXO,

Nikola

Nikola Ahaiwe is a Los Angeles wedding /event planner and owner of Platinum Touch Events, a boutique event planning firm servicing southern CA. To  learn more about Platinum Touch Events, please visit our website and become a fan on Facebook to stay connected

{Styled Shoot} Modern St. Patrick's Day

This past week, I have been working feverishly on this Modern St. Patrick's Day mini photo shoot.

Although I've set up dessert  tables before, this was the first time I made all of the desserts (with the exception of one), and let me tell you, I was one tired mama lol.  It's a pretty hard task to accomplish after working a full day, and coming home to two toddlers that need your attention (and can't get enough of saying your name)! 

But I did it...and I was pretty pleased with how things came together.  Of course, in hindsight, there were a few things I would have done differently, but maybe that's just the perfectionist in me.

But enough about that...let's get on to the good stuff: Pictures!

I wanted to do something a little different from what I've been seeing when it comes to St. Patrick's Day parties.  Instead of the typical rainbow or all-green backdrop, I opted to give it a modern flair by going with zebra print!  I then added my green elements (desserts) and kept with the theme by adding a touch of rainbow.

I hope you enjoy what I came up with:

 I hand-made this ribbon banner and added a few shamrocks to make it a little more festive!

 The entire dessert table

Chocolate cupcakes with two shades of green frosting.  I finished the look with printable cupcake toppers by Anders Ruff.

 Cake pops covered with sprinkles.  I added these cute little printable flags by Anders Ruff Custom Designs.

 I made several mini cupcakes and colored them to match the colors of the rainbow and placed them inside of  these cute little push pop containers I got from CupKate's Event Design.  I covered the bottom of the holder with gold coins to represent the "pot of gold at the end of the rainbow".

 I wrapped water bottles with labels by Anders Ruff Custom Designs.

 This is the one thing I did not bake.  I prettied up these Oreo Cakesters by rolling them in green edible sugar pearls!

 I have been wanting to attempt an "Ombre" cake for a while, and figured this was the perfect opportunity! Although I wish I had made the cake just a little taller so that I could have added one more shade of green, I was pretty pleased with how it came out.  Not bad at all for a first try!

Photoshoot fail of the week: As I was wrapping up the shoot, I bumped into the table and the cake stand went tumbling over...luckily I was able to save this one slice to show you the inside of the cake!

I'd love to hear your feedback in the comments section below.

Stay tuned for an Easter themed shoot!

St. Patrick's Day Party Inspiration

Wow, can you believe it's already March???  It seems like just yesterday we were counting down for the New Year!

With St. Patrick's Day just around the corner, I've decided to do an inspiration photoshoot and cannot wait to share the photos with you next week!  In the meantime, I've rounded up some great St. Paddy's Day party ideas to hold you over :)

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Do you have any special traditions for celebrating St. Patrick's Day?  I'd love to hear about it! Please leave a comment below and share this post on your social networks :)

Nikola Ahaiwe is a Los Angeles wedding /event planner and owner of Platinum Touch Events, a boutique event planning firm servicing southern CA. To  learn more about Platinum Touch Events, please visit our website at http://www.platinumtoucheventsla.com/ and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/platinumtouchevents to stay connected!

Thanksgiving: Preston Bailey Style!

I've spent the entire day trying to recover from the 4-day weekend. I had a wonderful Thanksgiving, shared with the people that matter to me most: my family! This was my first year cooking the Thanksgiving meal, and I have to say, I am very proud of myself because it came out great!

So, this morning, I was scoping out the blogosphere (one of my daily routines), and I came across a post on Preston Bailey's blog showcasing how he celebrated Thanksgiving with his family. I was impressed to say the least.  This man truly does everything BIG! If you don't know who Preston Bailey is, I suggest you Google him ASAP. His work is absolutely phenomenal. 

Check out a few photos of a Thanksgiving celebration done Preston Bailey style:

The flower arrangements are STUNNING!

Simply gorgeous!

So much attention to detail.

What better way to say "Thanks" than with cash?

Photos credit

The dinner was held at his NYC studio for 50 of his closest friends and family members. Now, that is a Thanksgiving celebration I would have loved to crash! For more photos, check out Preston's blog.

Nikola Ahaiwe

Owner/Lead Coordinator

Platinum Touch Events
(310) 722-2873

email: info@platinumtoucheventsla.com

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