Galentine's Day Party Recap + Ideas

Yesterday we honored Valentine's Day by celebrating Galentine's Day for the first time. "What’s Galentine’s Day? Oh, it’s only the best day of the year. Every February 13th, Leslie Knope and her lady friends leave their husbands and their boyfriends at home and just kick it breakfast style. Ladies celebrating ladies. It’s like Lilith Fair, minus the angst. Plus, frittatas"! -Parks and Recreation

Designed by myself and photographed by my bestie Vanessa Mota of Smart Little Cookie. This fun, feminine, themed gathering is perfect for celebrating love and friendship with your girls, single or not.

My friends and I had agreed to meet up every couple of months or so, during our last gathering we considered the month of February. Coincidentally when we finally decided on a date it happened to be Valentine's Day, since none of us had any plans it was a date! Nothing special just us girls, sparkling wine, good eats and chit chat.  

That is until...  I read Beyond Her Curls post on Galentine's Day, I had no idea this was a thing or that getting together with the girls on Valentine's weekend had a special name. So in that moment I knew that our little gathering had to be much more than just meeting up. Here is what came up with and with the help of my friends was able to bring into fruition. 

The Menu

I had been craving cheese fondue since before Christmas so I crafted the menu around dishes that could accompany and would pair well with it.

• Cheese Fondue (using a combination of these two recipes 1, 2)
• Sides: baby carrots, celery, green apples, French bread, broccoli, cauliflower
• Sauteed Mushrooms (Recipe using Barefoot Riesling)
• Seared Chicken Chunks
• Caprese Salad with Balsamic vinegar 

The Desserts

• Strawberry Creme filled wafer rolls (from my local dollar store)
  
• Assorted Chocolates (from my local dollar store)
  
• Assorted Cupcakes (Vanessa picked these up from her local bakery)
  
• Tres leche cake (Vanessa picked these up from her local bakery)
• Dollar Tree Hershey's Bliss Dark chocolate

The Drinks

• Barefoot Bubbly Red Moscato c/o BareFoot Wine
  
• Barefoot Bubbly Riesling (Bought by Vanessa for cooking and drinking)
  
• Chateau La Grange Bordeaux (That we never opened lol)
  
• Iced Tea
• Water

The Decorations

My sister's DIY Z Gallery inspired farm table dining set was the center piece and really set the tone for the decor. My sister has a beautiful home so just about any decor added to the room was going to look beautiful. Here is what I picked up to decorate....

• a  Valentine's plastic table cover folded in 3 to create the illusion of a table runner. Dollar store decorations are great but can come off a little cheesy if over done. By keeping the table cloth folded it gave a more luxurious feel and allowed the beauty of the table to shine through.
• Dollar Tree Fabric rose petals scattered on the table
• Deals pink glittered heart picks used as drink stirrers 
• Dollar Tree red glittered heart picks used to decorate food
• Dollar Tree heart shaped paper doilies 
• My sister's dishes, platters and glasses
• Dollar Tree red gift wrapping table for backdrop 
• Dollar Tree heart shaped foil balloons to anchor backdrop(2 pink, 2 red)
• Dollar Tree Valentine's garland used to string around chandelier and frame backdrop

The Tablescape

• Use different platters and dishes to add texture and an extra layer of details.
  

Recap

• Set a budget
  
• Try a new dish
  
• Laugh a lot
  
• Keep it fun