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!
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!
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.
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!
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!)
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!)
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!)
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!)
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!
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