I am so excited about today's post! Two years ago, I had the honor of planing my sister's bachelorette party. We did it over the long weekend in January, which meant is was a cozy winter getaway. We picked Gatlinburg, Tennessee, as the location, where we stayed at the cutest cabin, surrounded by the Smoky Mountains. To fit the cabin-vibe, I chose a Flannel Fling theme, which ended up being so cute! For all the details, including decor, food, and activities, read below.

I'm suspending my blogging hiatus for a very important reason: Halloween! Next week, I'm hosting a costume party with friends and I cannot wait. While trying to decide what I wanted to dress up as, I started pulling together different options. I ended up with a list of thirteen and couldn't miss the opportunity to share. Below are my top DIY costumes for you to create this year, from Snow White to Wednesday Addams, and everything in between.

To cap off Women's History Month, I'm sharing all about one of my favorite ways to celebrate women: Galentine's Day! This past February was my third annual Galentine's party. Each year, I try out something new: the first year was a slumber party, last year was a Favorite Things Party, and this year was all about flannel and brunch. We continued on the tradition of our favorite things, but switched up the other elements. All the details of our Galentine's Brunch are below.

This past weekend, my roommates and I hosted a 1920's Murder Mystery Party to celebrate Betty's birthday. She worked with The Murder Mystery Co., a company that specializes in Murder Mystery dinner parties. The premise was a Mobster Speakeasy gone wrong. We had rival mob bosses, a singing superstar, and an undercover Bureau of Prohibition agent. We transformed our apartment into our very own speakeasy as the backdrop to the party. It was seriously an amazing night!

I first read about a Favorite Things Party on Michaela Noelle Designs. She's hosted a couple for different holidays and I knew I had to try it. Last year, I hosted my first Galentine's Day Party with a Sleepover Theme; this year, it was time for a My Favorite Things Party.

Last weekend, I traveled to Portland to celebrate one of my best friend's bachelorette parties. I met Kristina in our global studies class our freshmen year of high school. I remember my birthday sophomore year - Kristina wrote me a card and called me her best friend. I was so relieved she said it first. ;) Since high school, we continued to stay close and build our friendship. She went to university in Oregon, where she met her now fiancé. I remember her telling me about him over Christmas break and the incredible date they had. Right then, I knew he was a keeper.

Last month for Mother's Day, I shared my top nine activities to do with your mom. This month, I'm sharing the Father's Day edition. My plan for Father's Day - take my dad high speed go-kart racing! Not only do we get to spend time together, but we also get to experience something new. Spending time with my dad is always one of my favorite things to do. We love adventuring, as well as just relaxing and talking. I can't wait to race him around the track during the day, and somehow I just know, end our evening with a bonfire. Below are other ideas to celebrate the amazing dad in your life.

This past weekend, my friends and I celebrated Galentine's Day a little early. We decided to have an adult sleepover, coupled with a Galentine's Day theme. I hosted the slumber party here, taking advantage of my parents' basement. It was the perfect setting for our night. Comfy couches, big tv, and a bar. Interested in hosting your own Galentine's Slumber Party? Check out everything we did below!

Styled shoots are a specialty of Southern Magnolias. We absolutely love taking a simple idea and turning it into a showcase for vendors' work. This shoot, in particular, is a favorite of mine. It was full of firsts: our first time being hired to style a shoot; our first time putting together this many vignettes; and our first time being published. Successfully coordinating thirteen vendors and getting published were our two goals for the shoot, and we accomplished both (and after our first wedding coordination the night before)! I'm so excited to show you everything we put together for this shoot.

As a wedding professional, I'm often asked what every bride needs but rarely has. My answer?

Hire a day-of wedding coordinator.

WHAT IS A DAY-OF COORDINATOR?

A day-of coordinator starts working with the couple four to six weeks prior to the wedding day to help with logistics. His/her role is to ease the stress of the bride and groom during their last month of planning.

During my Friday Introduction on Instagram last week, I shared that my passion lies in my business, Southern Magnolias. I love to plan, create, and design event spaces! Today, I thought it might be fun to show you little of what I do. Our company launched in September 2016, so to celebrate, we designed a small-scale shoot for our portfolio. We decided to create a space that mimicked our brand, so we chose a blush, cream, and gold color palette. We wanted both romance and glamor, while also keeping the rustic vibe of the venue.

This past weekend, I travelled to San Diego to celebrate one of my oldest friend's bachelorette party. I met Caitlin when I was eight years old in our grade 3 class. I had just moved from Toronto to Southern California and she quickly became my closest friend. We had sleepovers, our own fake family with intense storylines (we had a wild imagination), and danced in the same jazz class. Fast forward seventeen years and she's getting ready to marry the love of her life.