When you have something as stunning as a pink ombre flowerwall at your disposal, you are creatively obligated to do something pretty with it (or so we told ourselves). Kristin and her sister Jennifer (not to be confused with me, another Jennifer, another partner of Kristin's) have a flower wall rental company and two of the most beautiful backdrops I've ever seen. We really wanted to do something with their latest creation - the pink ombre Flowerwall. And, who doesn't love dessert? We teamed up with some of our favourite local (Fraser Valley) bakers for a little FlowerwallxThePartySociety collab and all we can say is - we can't wait to use this set up for our next real soiree - and, we are currently recovering from sugar overload.

It's here, it's here! Today marks the first day of summer, and although it was off to a dreary start, the sun and blue skies are finally out and giving us a taste of what's to come. And while we are talking about tasty, let's talk about this cake! Kristin and I are big fans of this simple white buttercream cake from the grocery store that costs a whopping $8. With some leftover macarons from our friend Janet at Pete's Sister Creative Gifts, and a stunning flower crown from Flower Factory, we made this $8 cake look like a show stopper. We used the two tiered cake stands to add height and a layer for flowers - so while this cake looks impressive, it's really quite small and the perfect dessert for a summer garden party.



Succulents and bright orange ranunculus definitely have us feeling ready for some summer heat.

A Welcome Home wine and cheese isn't complete without a cheese board (a "welcome back" to BC from Winnipeg that Kristin hosted for me - see previous post here). We continued on with our WpgxVan theme by including a piece - the sink cutout - of my dream marble island (from our Winnipeg house we built) that served as our board. And the cheese? Well, I don't actually eat dairy so we were very lucky to be introduced to Chef Karen McAthy of Blue Heron Cheese and Zend Conscious Lounge by local foodie Erin Ireland. Karen's cheeses are entirely plant-based using a variety of nut milks and are aged to perfection - even dairy-lovers are sure to go back for more.






We featured an herbed coconut kefir, a caraway seed cashew gouda, a smoked cashew cheddar, and an almond caper garlic camembert. Dried fruit, toasted crostinis, grilled red peppers, candied nuts and roast chickpeas added colour and flavour to this beautiful faux-charcuterie board that proves you don't need meat and cheese to host a fab party.

PHOTOS: Taya Photography
CHEESE: Blue Heron Cheese
WOOD CHEESE BOARDS: Pier 1 and Homesense
CHEESE KNIVES: Crate and Barrel

When Kristin told me she wanted to host a welcome home party for me, I naturally declined. Despite my love for throwing parties, I'm not all that into being the guest of honour. But, she twisted my arm a bit (all she had to say was wine) and we decided to make the event a really special way to say goodbye to Manitoba (where I lived for almost three years) and hello again to BC (where I spent my entire life prior to Manitoba, and came back to for good).


While in Winnipeg I had the pleasure of getting to know one fabulous soul and artist - Kal Barteski. You've likely seen her work without even knowing it if you don't already know her - and if you do, you know how lucky it was for me to become acquainted with her! She truly is a special spirit with a massive heart - one of the nicest people you will ever meet with a wild passion for art and animals (in particular, polar bears). Kal has loaned her script to Vancouver Urban Winery for some pretty fantastic label art - so featuring VUWxkbscript seemed like the perfect way to bridge my Winnipeg experience and my coastal home. (Vancouver peeps - she's coming for a custom #kbscript pop-up at VUW next Monday June 6th! See you there?)











The name cards were fun to do and oh so easy. We used our Silhouette Cameo to cut out the names on black decal material, and used these ceramic Pottery Barn cheese markers as name cards.



The gorgeous eucalyptus garland from Celsia, and natural tablewares from Pier 1 helped bring together that breezy, natural West Coast vibe. And, to make it truly a "catered to Jen" affair, we tracked down a delicious collection of Vancouver-made dairy-free nut cheeses by Blue Heron (thanks to a shout out from local foodie Erin Ireland). I've been plant-based for the last few years and despite Kristin being far from it, she was happy to take on the challenge of creating a vegan cheese board. We will be posting the cheeseboard and more details on the nut cheese later this week for those interested!





To tie it all together, my personal and custom #kbscript (more of Kal's beautiful handwork) was a focal point as it really does just the perfect job at summing me up (and this wine and cheese party)!

WINE: Vancouver Urban Winery
TABLE: Restoration Hardware
CHAIR RENTALS: The Little Wedding Shoppe
GARLAND: Celsia Florist
PLACEMATS, NAPKINS, AND NAPKIN RINGS: Pier 1
ART: Kal Barteski
MENU: The Paper Society
NUT CHEESE: Blue Heron
PLATES: Sophie Conran

It took us far far too long to collaborate on something creative and fun, but here we are, two friends and ex-wedding planners joining forces to share our crazy lives and parties. Here you will find posts from both of us (me, I'm Jen! and Kristin) featuring our favourite ideas for hostessing, party styling and more.

Kristin and I share pretty much the same brain which is a rarity if you happen to know us in real life. We tend to take things a little over the top when it comes to parties/crafts/anything creative, so we are clearly a very good pair. Kristin and I met back in 2009 when she enlisted my help in coordinating her wedding day. Kristin also happened to be a wedding planner at the time, so needless to say it was one pretty fantastic NYE wedding!

In addition to wedding planning, Kristin used to decorate hotels/malls and the like for Christmas, so whenever you see a giant Christmas tree in a hotel lobby, you can think of her. She and her sister (another Jennifer) have also put about 7000 hours into creating the most amazing flower wall backdrops that they rent out for weddings and events in the Vancouver, B.C. area. It is very likely we will be doing an event featuring Flower Wall Vancouver at some point! When she's not crafting, dreaming up parties or hiding Michael's receipts from her husband Tyler, Kristin is being an amazing mommy to two of the sweetest kiddos, Sammy (almost 4!) and Bianca (1.5 years old). Her attention to detail is just as advanced as her attention to family, and often has me wondering how she pulls it all off all while sporting amazing hair and perfect bangs.

After wedding planning, I started working in real estate (new condo development) and moved across the country, to literally the centre of the continent (Winnipeg, Man.), for nearly three years with my husband's career. We built our dream home, had a baby girl Quinn (7 months), and now are back settled into our new/old neighbourhood of South Surrey/White Rock in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. I used to blog about home decor and organization at The Social Home, and still dabble in home/pantry labels at The Paper Society.

We have lots of exciting things coming up, so make sure you're following us on Instagram/Facebook/everywhere :)




Jen's Kimono: Muse Social Fashion House
Photo: Taya Photography