A Peach and Citrus Surprise
Executing a good surprise party is the ultimate success! For this family's surprise 60th birthday for their mother, they really hit it out of the park with a beautiful, intimate dinner party. We are definitely taking notes for our own surprise party...who's willing to throw this for us?! Scroll through this gathering, captured and planned by Sidney Leigh Photography.
Ann’s surprise 60th birthday party was unlike any other family event we’ve ever had, and it was perfect in every single way! Surrounded by more than 60 family members and her dearest friends, she was over the moon excited to be have been elaborately fooled and surprised for such a special occasion.
My parents created the most beautiful patio to host our family and friends for my own wedding day nearly a year ago, but record-setting rains and storms ended up flooding the reception space and we had to move the entire reception to another venue on the morning of my early June wedding. It was heartbreaking to see my dad’s beautiful work be swept up in the water after he’d so carefully built the al fresco space of our dreams, where we’d imagined sitting at the beautiful reclaimed farm tables that he had built by hand beneath the summer night.
We couldn’t have imagined a more perfect setting and first event to use this beautiful space than to surprise my sweet, adorable mom for her 60th birthday. We began planning three weeks before the event, inviting all of our family and friends secretly to join us for a dinner soiree at her home. I began to tell my mom about a small styled shoot that I wanted to host on her patio, since wedding season is about to hit full force and I wouldn’t have much time for creative shoots until the end of the year. She was so excited to be asked to help with florals and styling for one small reception table, and we led her to believe that my best friends, both of whom have modeled for me in styled shoots in years past, would be donning their wedding attire once more. She was elated, but little did she know, that would not be happening on this sunny Saturday.
Her two dearest friends came into town this particular weekend for various “family reasons” and convinced her to meet with them for a girls’ afternoon over pastries to catch up, and the second she left the house, we began to unload tables, chairs, and decor for sixty guests. We set the space with just five minutes to spare, and she cried instantly when she finally realized that this was not at all a styled shoot; it was a celebration of her, just sixty years young, and the incredible, impactful, selfless woman that she is. It was truly one of the best days our family has ever spent together.
The soiree was accompanied by an acoustic musician and a catered dinner with the most delectable sundried tomato chicken, bruschetta crostinis, shrimp cocktails and all of the brie our hearts could stand. The bar offered her favorite wines, as well as a signature champagne and peach schnapps cocktail named after her adorable pup, Henry. We made strawberry lemonade jello shots to be enjoyed after dinner, and Buttercream Dreams created a stunning buttercream-spackled lemon raspberry cutting cake and cupcakes for all to enjoy.
A friend and I spent the day before the event arranging floral centerpieces, fresh from Harmony Harvest and our neighbors’ yards, and it was truly a delight to dream up this citrus-inspired dinner setting. The entire creative community pitched in when they learned what we were up to, from lending beautiful candlesticks and offering buckets of freshly harvested greenery, to expediting custom orders for the sake of my dearest mom and showing up a few hours before dinner to set the space for the perfect surprise.
I can think of no better reason to use this beautiful patio that my parents’ so selflessly and lovingly labored to create than to surprise the world’s sweetest, most deserving mother (not that I’m biased), and it went off without a single hitch. It was the most beautiful day and it was a joy and an honor to plan, host, and photograph this surprise for her!
Photographer: Sidney Leigh Photography | Event Design: Sidney Leigh Photography | Floral Design: Sidney Leigh Photography + Nicole Klingensmith | Cake: Buttercream Dreams | Catering: Walter's Bistro | Calligraphy: Rachel Lettering | Florals for Cake: Harmony Harvest Farm | Linens: Premier Linens | Musician: Matthew Mozingo | Rentals: The Granary | Table Runners: Green Earth Studio
