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A Well Crafted Life

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My husband and I got married right after I graduated college in 2006. We didn’t have much of a budget or really any clue what we would really want in a wedding or large party. It was pre-Pinterest after all. We had a beautiful low-budget wedding with our friends and family that sparked my interest in throwing events. This party was ten years in the making and I am so excited to share the photos by Mary Boyden of our 10th Anniversary Party Decor! 

 

10th Anniversary Party Decor

 

 

10th Anniversary Party Decor

Why we decided to throw a 10th Anniversary Party…

Over the course of the years we grew our family and became close with new friends who didn’t know us back when we got married. We knew that when our ten year anniversary came along that we’d like to take a moment to not only celebrate us, but to celebrate our friends and family a bit. We wanted to say thank you to those who had helped us make it the past few years as we have experienced the ins and outs of life. We believe in love and romance. But, we also believe in working on a relationship and the importance of a great support system. This 10th anniversary party was really our way of getting to say thank you. 

The look of the party has changed in my head over time, and didn’t really get solidified until I chose our venue, but I couldn’t be more thrilled with the way that it turned out. It was everything I had dreamed it would be and so much more. I still sit and dream about this day at times! 

 

10th Anniversary Party Decor at Andina Restaurant in Portland, Oregon from A Well Crafted Party

Chosen venue for our 10th Anniversary Party in Portland, Oregon

 

We picked Andina for our party venue for a variety of reasons, one of which was that we LOVE the food and the other being that the Tupai room is a gorgeous space that fit our party perfectly. Once we chose Andina, with their clean modern venue space and bright dishes, I knew that we wanted to have a bold, clean and whimsical design.

 

Bright and Cheerful 10th Anniversary Party Decor from A Well Crafted Party, photo by Mary Boyden

Bright and Cheerful 10th Anniversary Party Decor from A Well Crafted Party, photo by Mary Boyden

 

Favorite 10th Anniversary Party Decor Details

Paper goods.

 I LOVE paper goods. Designing digital goods for events has been a huge passion of mine. It honestly was the most exciting part of the event for me as well as the most difficult. Once I finally nailed down the invitation designs that got me excited everything else fell into place seamlessly. I designed all the paper items and printed and trimmed them through a local print shop. I then put together the details by hand. It helps that this was a party for 35 rather than 300!

Colorful Wedding or Anniversary Party from A Well Crafted Party, photos by Mary Boyden

 

Flowers. 

My second favorite detail were the flowers. I knew I wanted to order some bright, slightly whimsical arrangements, but hadn’t landed on a style until I found these fun geometric terrariums at Target. I then found the perfect mix of blooms through FiftyFlowers.com and built my arrangements using floral foam to help keep them sturdy. The larger arrangements featured blooms inside and outside of the terrarium. (Post coming soon!)

Colorful Wedding or Anniversary Party from A Well Crafted Party, photos by Mary Boyden

Colorful Wedding or Anniversary Party from A Well Crafted Party, photos by Mary Boyden

 

Programs.

 At our wedding I had created newspaper programs about the two of us since I had gone to school for journalism. For this party I created small magazines featuring our story, photos, order of events and our vows. We featured the newspaper on one of the tables so that guests could look through the past a bit. (Post coming soon!)

 

Colorful Wedding or Anniversary Party from A Well Crafted Party, photos by Mary Boyden

 

 

Escort Table.

 We wanted the party to be fun for our guests so we chose a “party animal” theme to help guide guests to their tables. We spray painted toy animals and gave the centerpiece animals a bit of a party upgrade with hats and bows. Each table had a different animal and the escort cards had the corresponding animal on them to let guests know where to go as they entered. We also had a fun photo backdrop created by using black and white 4X6 photos. Guests used an Instax camera to take pictures of themselves in front of the wall of photos from the past ten years. (Post coming soon!)

 

Colorful Wedding or Anniversary Party from A Well Crafted Party, photos by Mary Boyden

 

Favors. 

Our favors were bright yellow tote bags that read, “By the way, I’m wearing the smile that you gave me.” They had a tag that read, “Enjoy a midnight snack. Salty and sweet, just like your friendship, an absolute treat!” We included a LaCroix flavored water along with a bag of chips and homemade sugar cookies. (Post coming soon!)

 

Memory Photobooth Backdrop

 

Photo Booth. 

I knew from the beginning that I wanted to have a photo booth. I also knew that I wanted to commemorate the many memories and people in our lives somehow. I decided to pull the two together and create a photo-wall photo booth. It is perhaps my favorite backdrop I’ve done yet. I can’t wait to share more… post coming soon!

 

 

More Posts from this party:

 

  • My Favorite Cocktails from Andina
    My Favorite Cocktails from Andina
  • 10 year anniversary party
    10 year anniversary party
  • Special Occasion Makeup Ideas from A Well Crafted Party
    Special Occasion Makeup Ideas from A Well Crafted Party
  • 10th Anniversary Party Invitations
    10th Anniversary Party Invitations
  • Party Animal Escort Table from A Well Crafted Party, photo by Mary Boyden
    Party Animal Escort Table

 

Seriously Awesome Vendors and Resources

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A long time ago I had a series on the blog where I shared more personal items with no real intent behind them other than sharing myself with readers and recording history. I’m getting back into that habit as I feel that it is a great way for you to get to know me! I’d love to hear about what YOU did this past week as well. Share a link or comment in the comment section below!
This weekend was a whirlwind weekend and it looks like the rest of the month is going to be the same.

Saturday we went to a wedding for a friend of my husband. It was set on a campground in Oregon. The weather was perfect, the beer was delicious, and the crowd was laid back and friendly. We enjoyed the sweet ceremony and delicious BBQ dinner afterwards. The couple even made a custom flag that they put up the flag pole after they wed. Sweet touches like that make me happy.

Mainly, we loved getting to spend time together as a family while celebrating someone else coming together as family. There is just something really special about that!


Today was the busiest day our little family has had in a long while. We started the day working the Walk to End Alzheimer‘s in Portland.

I work in the senior living field and this walk is always a big event for us. My personal experiences combined with my work really make the cause of fighting Alzheimer’s a bit of a passion project for me. I love that my family and friends support the cause as well.

I painted around a ton of faces today and I’m pooped! But, it was so worth it!

 

After we ran home to get cleaned up from the walk we hopped back in the car to head to one of our favorite play cafes in Portland, Pied Piper!

Catherine, of Ten Thousand Hour Mama, hosted a little blogger and kiddos meet-up at the cafe. I met many local bloggers (and mommas) that I had only met online in the past. They were all so lovely. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it after such a long morning, but I’m glad I made the trip!

 

What did you do this weekend? 

In putting together our event guest welcome gift we were excited to be able to include a few wonderful, complimentary items from Dr. Teal’s and Nature’s Gate. All opinions are my own.For more information about my sponsored content please visit my policies page. This post contains affiliate links which are marked with an *. 

Our anniversary party was very similar to a wedding with guests coming in from other states to help celebrate. We didn’t have the opportunity to make wedding welcome baskets. (A tradition that really became popular sometime in the past 10 years after our wedding.) I love the thoughtfulness of the idea to welcome those who took the time and money to fly or drive a long distance with a small gift. So, when we invited family out to join us in celebrating I knew I wanted to have some gifts for them.

Guest Welcome Gifts

We rented a local AirBnB for my family to stay in during their stay. I didn’t want them worrying about food or toiletries when they first arrived so my guest welcome gift was put together with that in mind.

Event Guest Welcome Gift from A Well Crafted Party

I’m giving you a bit of sneak peek into the bags that were created for our anniversary party favors, but I had extras so I used it for the welcome gift as well.

What is in our welcome gift?

In the bag we put some basic groceries to help them have necessities for the first day at the AirBnB. We included some local items as well including Franz Bagels. We had cereal, milk, bagels, cream cheese, coffee, and half and half.

Event Guest Welcome Gift from A Well Crafted Party

We added in some toiletries into a box that would both help them feel more at home and also help them destress a little. Come on… family is always a little stressful wether for a wedding or a 10 year anniversary party. 😉

We included shampoo, conditioner, body wash, kids body wash, some Dr. Teal’s Body Oil* & Dr. Teal’s Body Lotion* and Nature’s Gate Sport Sunscreen*. I figured that the oil and body lotion would go a long way in de-stressing them after a long day of family fun. The sunscreen is something I’ve started to give to EVERYONE because I believe healthy skin protectants are one of the best gifts to give after going through skin cancer surgery twice now.