When my husband turned 30 I HAD to throw him an EPIC birthday party and what better way than a Cheers to 30 Years themed celebration. At the time, my husband and I enjoyed craft beers a lot. We’d go to breweries or even just bars and enjoy a couple of beers over some great food. However, things have changed since then, but looking back on that birthday party, it definitely was an EPIC celebration.
I knew I wanted a rustic theme for this craft beer tasting. I planned this birthday for months. The first thing was to decide on invitations. Every time you go to a bar, you always have your pint or cocktail placed on a coaster when served, am I right? Well, I thought what better way, than to have the invitation printed on coaster cardstock. I found an Etsy seller, Project80 who customized these special invitations. They totally set the mood for the party!
Next was to decide on the food. I really wanted it to have a Southern BBQ feel and serve a few of my husband’s favorites as well. We had about 60 people coming to this party so I ordered a few items and also cooked a few with the help of my mom and mother-in-law. We decided on chicken wings, a number 30 Italian hoagie, mac n’ cheese, grilled Caesar chicken, baked beans, corn on the cob, corn bread, pulled pork, cole slaw, potato salad and fruit salad. I know this sounds like a ton of food but we didn’t really have too much left over.
On the day of the party, we set up a big, white tent I borrowed from one of my friends and used several tables to display the food, decorations and the beer tasting. We set up a few tables for everyone to sit at as well. To keep with the beer-tasting vibe, the centerpieces were bar munchies. I used galvanized pails to hold popcorn and Chex-Mix for people to munch on while waiting for the rest of the food to be served. And I found these printables that I used throughout the party to set the tone.
Under the tent, I set up a memory table that displayed all pictures of my husband over the years. I draped a picture garland on a wood pallet to give that rustic vibe. There were framed pictures as well along with a 30 marquee light sign too.
Over the cake table, I displayed a “Hoppy Birthday” banner that I made using these letter printables.
On the posts of the party tent I hung a mix of paper lanterns and hanging fans. All of which were in neutral color tones to go along with the rustic beer tasting vibe. We draped outdoor lights all around the perimeter of the tent as the party went into the night.
For the beer tasting, one of the tables was completely dedicated to this. I really wanted people to try some of our favorite craft beers. I draped a beer garland over the table and set up a tasting station. There were four different types of beer for everyone to try – ales, stouts, porters and lagers. I set out beer tasting cards, pencils and provided plastic cups for each type. I wanted people to feel as though they were really at a beer tasting event.
And we all know that one of my parties isn’t complete without a photo booth. Right next to our backdoor was the perfect spot. I set up a rustic wood backdrop and once again printed off a banner from Pinterest that was draped across the top with the perfect slogan – Cheers to 30 Years. I printed off beer-themed photo props and displayed them on a small white plastic table.
And here are a few pics from the camera roll:
My husband’s cake really tied the whole party together. The most perfect cake for his party was a beer cap one! My mother-in-law has a friend who owns her own cake business and she was able to bake this awesome cake for us! It was amazing!
The party favors were homemade sugar cookies in the shape of a beer mug. They were pretty easy to make and simple to decorate. I bought a beer mug cookie cutter from Etsy and the cookie icing from Michaels. I individually wrapped each cookie and displayed them in a basket. Quick and easy, grab and go party favor!
And here are a few pics from the party 🙂
