Inspired by the dreamy melody of ‘Golden’ by Harry Styles, this intimate event left all guests feeling thoroughly sparkly! Planned and styled by me – Ione Faragher of Oh Hello Petal – the cosy soiree included boho styling and warm-toned blooms. The chorus of Harry Style’s ‘Golden’ has been running around my head as a muse for an event for months, and gathering a group of friends after many months of being separated by lockdown was the perfect opportunity to bring that vision to life, and to you in this “You’re So Golden DIY Party Styling”.

Our friends were met with a sweet vignette of candles, a woven rainbow in copper tones, and floral arrangements featuring coral-orange ranunculus, chocolate Queen Anne’s lace, bright white chamomile and coral charm peonies.

A stunning rattan double peacock throne from The Table Station and gorgeous macrame backdrop from Mindfully Woven (hand made by one of our guests!) acted as the centrepiece for the event, with brass and ceramic vases to help emphasise the boho-vibe.

Hired crystal coupes and tumblers added fun to our cocktails, and custom-designed cookies with ‘You’re So Golden’ stamped across them were delicious party snacks. Golden bottles of bubble mix made for the perfect party favour, the ending to a truly divine afternoon of celebration.

When it came to planning and styling this party — and honestly, any party at all! — the key place to start is a palette and a theme, or ‘vibe’ that you want to create. Golden is a beautiful prompt, as it can lead to so many ideas and interpretations with colours, and having the guide of boho as the styling inspiration helped us start with a neutral palette, which was then made fun with the inclusion of metallic features. The thing to be careful of when designing a “Golden” event is not going overboard with yellow tones, as they can become busy and a little garish if you’re not careful.

We paired the neutral yellow colours with the matte textures of the macrame hanging piece and rattan throne, which created the perfect balance of sophistication and relaxation, which was exactly the vibe we were going for.

I had a lovely time creating the florals — obviously, it’s just me doing my day job for our friends, and it would be really easy to go to a local market, pick up blooms that work within the colour palette and do it yourself, but if you have room in the budget for professional styling, then that means one less thing to think about on the day of the party! We also catered the event ourselves as a friendship group, which included making sure most of the food was safe for everyone with dietary restrictions.

I honestly believe that wedding showers are the perfect time to DIY your event styling, as much as I love styling private events. There’s less pressure on everything being ‘Instagram perfect’, as the day is more about having fun creating together (and then being glad you’ve left the wedding day to the professionals!) A wedding shower or baby shower is also about bringing a community of family and friends together to celebrate that specific moment of your life, so being more selective with when to engage professionals in these events makes total sense.

That being said, I’m so glad I reached out to The Table Station for the rattan double peacock throne, the brass vases, champagne coupes, and tumblers, as they just added that extra bit of chic that the space was crying out for, and the macrame hanging piece from Mindfully Woven was just out of this world stunning. Sometimes, even the pros need to admit their limitations, and invite other pros to do their thing!

The party was created with ten adults and three kiddos in mind, but could very easily be adapted for larger groups. We had so many reasons to celebrate as a group since we’d last been together — babies, new jobs, new relationships, health and happiness — and so the theme of ‘You’re so Golden’ felt perfect. Persisting through some really hard years has seen us come into this golden time of being reunited once more. I truly think we’ll look back in ten or twenty years and think: those really were the days.

About Oh Hello Petal: Ione Faragher from Oh Hello Petal loves to bring beauty and meaning to celebrations that honour all seasons of life and love. With a strong creative sense guided by intuition and an emphasis on local and ethically sourced florals, Ione will guide and cheer you on, celebrating you in such a way that helps you feel seen, worthy and loved.