hosting my first dinner party

technically, it was a brunch.

the process

this past weekend, i hosted my bridesmaid proposal brunch, where I asked some of my dearest friends to be my bridesmaids. this was months in the making - truthfully. and it was something that I was really looking forward to. I confirmed that date months in advance, and spent weeks upon weeks research what gifts and thinking about the theme. ultimately, I decided to call the brunch "mimosas con mis chismosas" & I decided to keep the purpose of the brunch a secret! for the gift, I would get my friends, what the gift bags would look like, and what would actually be useful but still affordable. thankfully, I was doing all of this around the holidays, so I was able to take advantage of holiday sales and gift sets.

I was so excited to give my friends these gifts. I ended up getting them each: a perfume they like (or I thought they would like), a satin scrunchie, a travel jewelry box, a font gloss bomb, and fuzzy black slippers. and I put everything in a small LL bean boat & tote. I spent forever deciding what to get the tote embroidered with. in the end, I decided on "chismosas," which is the spanish word for "a gossip." I think in american culture, being a gossip has a bad connotation, but a chismosa, to me, has always had such a playful connotation. not only that, but chisme (aka gossip) is a way to so many people connect. and it is a way that my friends and I have connected over the years. it also feels like such an endearing term. to me, there's a lot of love and fun behind it, and I absolutely loved the idea that we are all chismosas together.

I also wanted the gift to match the theme of the wedding (which is very classic, timeless, and vintage inspired), so I tried to stick to neutral and creamy ivory tones for the bag and the gift. once the gift bag was done, I started thinking about the actual brunch itself.

the prep

I spent the months and weeks before curating the vibe (via pinterest board), making place cards, invites, and other paper goods via canva, and searching stores for just the right pieces to fit the aesthetic that I had built up in my head.

in the final days, it was many moments of throwing things together, panic packing the bags,

making my list and checking it five million times, ordering online, and picking up groceries. the week of, my city actually suffered from a winter storm, and many places and homes lost power. I spent a couple days worrying the weather would cancel my plans, and I spent many days trapped in the home with nothing to do but obsess over the brunch. I set up a mock table scape (since the actual entertainment space was in my apartment common room), and I even did a practice run of the food. I had decided to make baked ziti, so I bought enough to make it twice and my husband and I ended up eating baked ziti five days this past week.

the day before, I was ran around town and hit up almost every store - collecting all the things I couldn't buy in advance (flowers, bread, orange juice, cake, salad, the list goes on). that night, I checked the bin that had been holding all my supplies (candles, table runners, speaker, cake stand, cloth napkins - you get the picture), and I packed all the finishing touches & I made butter, an accomplishment I will never stop marveling over. in the morning, I got ready and then made the baked ziti, loaded up my car, and brought it downstairs.

I set up the table scape, which was probably one of the best things I had done in a long time. I loved putting everything together, and fitting the different components like puzzle pieces to make the most beautiful thing that I could. once everything was set up, my sweet husband took some beautiful photos. and then - the girls arrived!

the result

the feelings

the process itself was not as stressful as I originally thought it would be. in fact, it was fun. it was peak romanticizing my life. I felt like everything flowed into place, and the morning of went rather smoothly. and even if it had been stressful, seeing my friends reactions and spending that time with them would have been beyond worth it. all the effort that I did put in, it was worth it when I saw that my friends understood the effort and time that went into creating this event and understood that it was a way to show and express my appreciation for them.

I was able to show them so much love through setting up this brunch, and I learned so much about myself and the things I enjoy. I love curating beauty, and I love being able to funnel creative energy into creating this kind of event. there were so many details to consider and set up and I felt like hosting this event was both an expression of love and an outlet for my own passions. and I can't wait to host more events and keep exploring this passion.

I also realized that there is so much behind the scenes work that goes into hosting people and there is so much love and care poured into that. for me, 2023 is a year of nourishing my relationship, my friendships, and my passions & romanticizing every aspect of my life. hosting a dinner party accomplishes so many of these goals by creating beautiful moments & memories, bringing people together, and allowing me to be creative.

so, this is your sign, throw the dinner party, have a girls night, celebrate everything - big and small. because why shouldn’t you? there’s no reason not to bring people together, not to bring joy into your life, to show people you care about them, to express your love through food and drinks and opening your home to them.

long live the dinner party