wine & shopping night

I hosted my 2nd annual ladies "Wine + Shopping Night" at my house this past Tuesday night. (See last years event here) It all started last year when I knew that I'd likely be coming home from the gift show with stock - and so I thought I'd offer up the items that were left over from the show at a discount to neighbourhood friends, as well as their guests. It was so much fun, that it was something I started planning some time ago to do again. Above is a little video I snapped before the guests arrived and below are some photos I took before, and during the night.

I purchased a boxwood wreath for my front door at my neighbourhood floral shop and added on some ribbon from my shop.



The wood slices left over from my brother + sister in laws wedding were pulled out for the night. They added a little added detail to the decor. Throughout the house I had white hydrangeas and everygreen cuts from outside in little vases and mason jars.




I expanded the guest list a little more this year to include a few friends outside of the area, but 99% of the attendees were from the neighbourhood. (I think I forgot to invite some people so I'm having a major forehead slap moment now, so I think I have to be more on the ball next time) The house seemed to hold up to the amount of people we had - so I think I can grow the list a wee bit more next year.

Tip: We hired a server for the evening, Kevin, who was an AMAZING help. He gave me permission to recommend him, so shoot me an e-mail if you want his phone number. (I'll find out if he has an e-mail address that I can post) He was very reasonable in cost, and such an asset to have at the event - it meant my guests were being taken care of - served wine, and offered food, and I had an opportunity to visit with friends. My Lindsay (my sister in law) and her sister Adrienne (who I'm also super close with) came down to help me with ringing up the orders - so that way I wasn't making my guests feel like they had to buy from me. Again, an amazing thing because it kept me totally free to mingle.

I love when things start to become traditions. :)