We had our first celebration of many for our wedding journey and there’s so much to share. Victor and I decided to throw a party and the goal was to celebrate our love and to have the most fun ever! By the pictures and videos, that’s exactly what we did. If you’re trying to decide whether to have an engagement party or not, I encourage you to do it. And for outfit details, click here.
Decor
The first thing I’ll say is how bad I was at taking photos of the decor and details! There were so many cute things we included that were not pictured, but I’m sharing the details regardless.
The theme I went for was a romantic spring party where I combined my Mexican and Middle Eastern roots. There were lots of flowers, greenery, and candles by the fireplace. The preparation and planning was the hardest part, as always. I was lucky to have my family’s support with bringing our vision to life. The celebration was hosted at my aunt’s beautiful desert ranch, which was the most perfect place for the party!
If you’re doing a whole event like we did, here are some things I highly recommend spending money on:
- A good DJ.
- Amazing food.
- A photographer (we didn’t have one, but I wish we would’ve! And thanks to Liz for taking over the camera!).
- Beautiful photo spots, possibly a flower wall or Photo Booth!
- Signature drinks.
- Champagne glasses for a champagne tower.
- Himalayan salt shot glasses!! These were such a hit as a gift & for shots of course.
- Lastly, an outfit that makes you feel amazing.
We found all the candles and vases at Michael’s and Ikea. They were very expensive, totaling about $350+, but it completely elevated the look. My mom also spent about $550 on real roses and greenery at a local flower shop in Phoenix called Arizona Flower Market. We also had balloon arches that were the least expensive and super easy to make with a balloon pump & arch rod from Amazon.
Our cantaritos (found at El Super) and Himalayan salt shot glasses (from Amazon) were our party favors. These were one of my favorite details because people absolutely loved them. We also rented a lot of our stuff from Party People including tables & glasses from our champagne tower. They have everything you’d need at great prices and are so helpful.
For our entrance signs, I created everything on Canva and printed them out at Staples for about $26 each (menu was $1). If you go early enough, you can pick up the same day. One print was our Welcome sign, the other was a picture of Victor and I. To save money, since we’ll never use the welcome sign again, we got it on cheaper paper and I glued it onto a poster board from Walmart.
Food & Drinks
My dad was in charge of food catering, so we went with our favorite option, Persian Room Scottsdale. We had chicken and beef koobideh, chicken kebab, hummus, greek salad, rice, and pita bread. The food was an absolute hit, everyone was raving about it and taking plates home! I highly recommend visiting or catering for yourself.
For dessert, we got the prettiest chocolate covered strawberries from @strawberriesbymel. I have zero photos unfortunately, but we went for pink and white strawberries with pearls, since pearls are one of my major themes for my wedding journey.
My sister in law also made Mexican candy (dulces enchilados) that were delicious. For other snacks, we had chips & salsa, muffin bites, and macarons from Costco that were good.
Victor & I had our signature drinks planned with travel in mind because we’re doing a destination wedding and just love to travel. My drink was the Malibu Mami and Victor’s was the Paloma Papi haha!
My father in law decided to be the bartender and made the best drinks! He made the Palomas in cantaritos with tequila, squirt, grapefruit, orange, lime, and salt. The Cantaritos were also a gift for people to take home along with Himalayan salt shot glasses that were a hit. Everyone loved them!
The Party
After everyone was fed and settled in, the real party began. We had the best DJ @officially_dj.ellum thanks to my aunt for finding him. The bartender got us very drunk (thanks suegro) and we danced all night long. Before the party, I swore by us having no speeches but that quickly changed and everyone’s speeches were so cute!
The party lasted until like 4am, but I fell asleep at like 2 haha. We all jumped in the freezing pool and took the celebration indoors where the DJ continued the party along with us. Words can’t explain how much fun we had! The party details were great, but the company was even better! We have the best family and friends and I am endlessly grateful for everyone!
Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate our love with lots of fun & dancing. A special thank you to our families for coming together to help us bring this vision to life. I can’t wait for our next celebration. ♥ And if you’re thinking of throwing an engagement party, do it!
