The biggest surprise and blessing of my and my husbands life, was the news that we are expecting twins.  
Thankfully, upon hearing the news, as first time expecting parents, we were clueless as to what is going to hit us once the muppet's arrived, so we just went about our business super excited!  Which was a blessing, because if parents of twins ever had to know what they were in for when two babies arrived at the same time, ha!  Pregnancy would be very a fearful period.

O boy, I am not going to lie.  I don't think I actually remember a thing of the first 6 months of their lives. It was a blur of feeding, burping, reflux, nappies, putting to sleep, all with very very very little sleep.  It was around month three that I realised and made peace with the fact, that my life, as I knew it, would never ever be the same again.  This was also a very important step, because I think someone once that realisation has been made, it is as if somehow, you suddenly cope better and just get on with it.

But, as all mom's say, it gets better. It gets so so much better. And suddenly you just cannot imagine life without these little guys. And they just bring so much JOY! 
So I had a blast planning their first birthday. We managed to keep them alive for one whole year! Well done us, that is worth a tripple celebration!  

Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed planning it, I am already thinking about our theme for next year.  

A Unicorn theme is always fun, no matter how many times you do it - this baby shower was done at a client's private home in Johannesburg, and captured by Becca Boo Photographic Studio.

My favorite details?
- Making the edible unicorn bark, with swirling color and lots of sparkles.
- Spending hours sticking paper circles and confetti to the balloon strings - but so worth it to achieve the final result.
- The little unicorn biscuits and cupcakes.

​Enjoy the pictures x

I had such a blast planning this bridal shower; only received two instructions from Maid of Honor, Chantelle, it has to be a mermaid theme and it has to fun! 

Enjoy the pictures! 

Lately I have been a little obsessed with the color combination of Rose & Indigo, and while working on our DONUT DIY a few weeks ago, playing around to create the chocolate brushstrokes, I just though to myself that all these elements and colors will make a beautiful theme for a bridal shower.  

And this is how the idea for our very first, officially styled shoot started taking shape.  I also wanted to use the opportunity to showcase the work of all the very, talented service providers in the Plan Me Pretty Directory, and in the end, it worked out so well.  Thank you to everyone for that! 

So I really hope that you find some inspiration (or a service provider!) from our work, but most of all, just enjoy browsing through these beautiful images. 

To all our readers, please let us know if this is something you would like to see on a regular basis. And to all our listed vendors, please let me know if this is something you would like to be part of in the future. 
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This lady has been one of my most loyal clients the past three years and I absolutely love her to bits.  She is just always so happy, full of life and lots of fun to be around and I love our chats! 
So it was really special for me to plan her 30th birthday celebration in October this year.  
What is worse than an overly involved client?  A client that says  - "Ina, I do not care what you do, i trust you completely!"  And that was all she said :) 

​Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed organizing the event.

A couple of months ago I was invited to sponsor and host a table at a Ladies Morning which is held yearly in Pretoria East at the Silver Lakes Golf Club - Happily Ever After.
The morning is aimed at women and more specifically women in relationships and marriage. I am always excited about spending a morning with the girls and if I could learn something about growing a healthier relationship with my hubby at the same time, two flies!
In the end I am so happy that I agreed.  The international speakers were interesting, refreshing and fun and we all learned a lot about our how we are put together, how our hubby's are put together and small, easy ways to create the best possible relationship we can. 
We also laughed a lot! 
At the same time the organizers also went out of their way to treat every single lady, so thank you to Cecilia Raath and Yolandè Ehlers for a great morning.  We had wine, bubbles, yummy food, macarons and great gift bags.  I mean, what more could a girl ask for?
See you next year!

Here a few pictures of my Woodlands Themed Table.
If you would like me to create a woodlands theme for your next function, please send me an email to info@planmepretty.co.za for a full quotation.

SPONSERS: 
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who sponsored gifts for the goodie bags that I put together to also treat the women sitting at my table with. 
DEERLY STUDIO - Beautiful notepad, gift card and sticker.
SWEETLY DETAILED  -  Hand decorated, individual biscuit for each lady
NATUROPATHIC HEALTH CARE CENTRE - for handbag essentials, ARNICA and RESCUE Tablets
VICHY - for lovely face product samples
BENEFIT - Make-up samples
​Thank you!

Today I am sharing the prettiest party we have planned this year.  It was for a very special ladies 21st, who deserved some serious spoiling after a rough year.  
Apparently celebrations went on into the wee hours of the morning and not a morsel of food was left. That is the best compliment anyone can ask for.  

Enjoy the pictures.

Happy Monday, I hope everyone has a great week.

Supplier list:
Plan Me Pretty styled, coordinated and catered for this event.  For the menu and cost, please email  us at info@planmepretty.co.za
Styling and coordination:  Plan Me Pretty
Catering:  Plan Me Pretty
Cutlery and crockery:  Hire from Pebble and Lace
Flowers:  Kabloom
Custom airbrushed biscuits:  Sweetly Detailed

Suppliers:
Venue:  Sandton Rive Cafè
Decor & Styling:  Plan Me Pretty
Picnic Blankets & Cushions:  Wedding Warehouse
Cupcakes:  Belles Pattiserie

I love picnics.  There is something about sitting on the grass, surrounded by trees and blue skies that really soothes my soul and rejuvenates my spirit.  Therefore I am a big fan of making any occasion a picnic when I can.

Today I am sharing a few pictures of a baby shower picnic we did earlier this year.  They are not the best quality, sun/shadow going on there, but hopefully it will still give you a few ideas for your next special event.

This baby shower was so much fun to put together.  Victoria asked for a star theme in colors of white & gold, and I went merrily on my way.  

Besides decor, she wanted some games for the guest to play as well as a thank you gift for each person. I decided on 'baby shower bingo' and 'steal-the-chocolate' as both are fun and quick!

Enjoy the pictures.

​
Would you like to order some of theses stationery items?  (Min of 20 per order)
1.  Glitter name cards:  R5 each
2.  Bingo Games Cards plus glitter pencil:  R12.50 each
3.  Thank you Tags with ribbon:  R4 each
5.  Wish tags for mom and baby:  R3.50 each
*** Postage not included

Wow - 2015 is here!  I cannot believe how 2014 has flown by, but at the same time I am so excited for the coming year, lots of plans and projects.  Best wishes to everyone for the year ahead, there is something special about starting a brand new year, an excitement and determination that we should try to hold onto for as long as possible. 

This week I am sharing with you our last Bridal Shower Plan Me Pretty did for 2014.  The focus color was mint green, which is not the easiest color to source, so I worked with a lot of custom stationary to incorporate the color into the decor.  Paired with mint colored meringues (mint flavored meringues from Spar which were so tasty), endearments and white flower arrangements the look came together nicely.

Enjoy!

How can I say no to that?  With my modest instructions in hand, I started planning this lovely Bridal Shower for Karen.  I loved it, not only because it turned out beautifully on the day, but because I could put so much attention into little details.  Once again I have to thank my very good friend Barbara, for making the stunning rosette under plates - 45 of them!  And another friend, Jorrie, for spending a good couple of hours cutting and sticking things the day before.  You guys are awesome.  And I love my job ;)

I was so delighted when tasked to put together this very pretty in pink baby shower for a client last week.
Even if it was for the 3rd grandchild,  Aimée (what a pretty name!), it still had to be a grand and pink affair.  I love doing events where no detail is spared because they are just so much fun!
Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

Enjoy the pictures from this pretty pink & green Bridal Shower held at Good Stuff Cafe late last year.   It was fun and bright and the ladies enjoyed a relaxing afternoon eating, chatting and drinking wine.

Last week Monday I recieved an urgent email from a lady, requesting me to find and book a venue and arrange the decor for a babyshower for the Saturday.  A boy, 20 ladies, 13h30, platters for lunch.  That was it.   Be off and start planning.
It was fun,  it was madness and loads of credit to the venue that was willing to help out at such short notice.  
Please excuse the poor photo quality ......they were taken with my Samsung S4mini that for some or other reason does not want to zoom. But it did the job.

My little (and only) sister is getting married in one month!  She is getting married to a lovely man named Zane and I wish them all the happiness in the world for their future together.
I really wanted something special for her Bridal shower;  pretty and relaxed so that everyone could enjoy the day with her.  
I decided to go for a airy, always-chasing-dreams kind of feel as the theme. A mouth full, I know, but in my head I knew what I what that picture looked liked.  
The highlight of the day? Monique, one of the bridesmaids came up with the panty line game.  Each guest had to bring a panty, in the bride-to-be's size, but it had to reflect the guests' personality!  This was hilarious, because Chantell had to match up a pair of underwear with a guest. if she was right...she opened a gift and If she was wrong ....well! A game you might consider for the next Bridal Shower you have to plan.  
Here are some pictures.

Hallo Everybody :)

I am so excited to finally share todays blog post with you.  Last year I was asked to come up with interesting edible gift and tasting tables for a corporate clients year end function.
All the gifts had to be edible, but nicely packed so that the guests could take them home.  The gifts also had to be paired with 5 individual tasting tables.  The idea was that when the geusts arrived, the will go to each tasting table and while there, fill up their goodie bags with the edible gifts.  
How much fun did I have?  Yes, you know it, I had a blast.

So here are the 5 liquor and dessert pairings we did:
Table 1:  Variety of dessert wines, port, sherry & muscadel paired with chocolates and biscuits
Table 2:  White wine selection paired with home made cheese & biscuit platters
Table 3:  Red Wine with jars with fresh coffee beans, hot chocolate pops and liquer chocolates
Table 4:  Sparkling wine with cheesecake topped with berry compote
Table 5:  Premium whisky and brandy selection paired with a variety of biltong treats.

Enjoy some pictures :)

Sometimes budget or your cupboard stock does not allow you to use crockery that fits into the color scheme of your party, albeit a baby shower, bridal shower or tea party.  I played around with some washi tape, ribbon and white crockery to create a pink table setting.  With the endless colors and patterns now available in the washi tape range, you can really let your creative spirit go at a reasonable cost.