Kmart flowers + Hen's Party Ideas

Forever New dress sz 6 (similar style here), Kmart flowers $5

Are you a fan of artificial flowers for home decor or do you only ever decorate with fresh flowers?

This weekend, I had to get more creative with my photos because the large Ikea mirror which I usually use for outfit selfies had an unfortunate accident with our robot vacuum cleaner earlier this week and shattered into pieces. I haven't got around to getting a replacement yet so I resorted to using a selfie tripod and timer this weekend for my photos (which involved a lot of outtakes by the way!).  

Since my hands were no longer holding my phone to take photos, they felt very naked and awkward so I grabbed this old bunch of artificial roses lying around our place to occupy my hands. I'm sure many of you have also searched "How to to pose better in photos" and have probably come across the frequent suggestion of holding something in your hands, like a bag, flowers, hat, food/drink and etc. 

Forever New dress sz 6, Hello Sunshine straw hat

The dress that I'm wearing here is from Forever New a couple of years ago. They usually have the biggest selection of pastel-y and floral dresses but at the moment I can't seem to see too many on their website but it might be worth checking back again in a few weeks. This dress here looks similar to mine, but I would recommend to wait for it go on sale as I've noticed The Iconic often do 20 to 40% discounts on selected brands. In terms of Forever New sizing, I find it true to size and may even run small, which is why I've been shopping there for years as the smaller fit means it's great for petites. 

Forever New dress, Kmart roses

I am actually not a big fan of having artificial flowers for home decor by the way. I think this stemmed from my childhood when my mum, an avid flower lover, had many artificial flower arrangements around the house. They would always get so dusty and cobwebby that I vowed that I would only ever have fresh flowers in my house when I grown up. 

So how is it that I have had this bunch of artificial roses in my apartment for over three years now?

I actually bought these to use as a prop for a friend's hen's party! The bride-to-be wanted to keep to a budget so my co-bridesmaid and I pretty much DIY'ed as much as possible. We also wanted to keep the party family friend and full of fun memories, so after searching on Pinterest for inspiration we came up with a few party games:

1. "Catch the bride" jumping sack race

Hen's party 'Catch the Bride' sack race 

This was so much fun to play and any more fun watching! My co-bridesmaid came across a website called Yard Games which sell as well as rent a variety of good old fashioned fun games like potato sack race, giant jenga, backyard cricket. We thought about asking a local grocer for actual potato sacks but it ended up easier renting from the website although much more costly. 

Potato sacks from Yard Games 

We made up the rules of the sack race ourselves. Essentially, when the race begins the 'brides' had to get into their sacks and start jumping towards the finish line. There are two stops along the way, the first was to put on a bride's veil (I used some old lace curtain material left over from a project years ago and sewed a plastic hairclip bought from the dollar store on) and the second stop was to pick up a bouquet of flowers (Kmart artificial flowers) before jumping towards the finish line. The 'groom' starts several metres behind the brides, and has to put on a top hat and bow tie (also bought from a dollar store and I'm planning to repurpose for future Halloween costume parties) before starting to jump and has to try catch the brides. It was absolutely hilarious watching everyone get into the game with veils and flowers flying everywhere!

2. Pin the groom on the bride's lips:

This was the hen's party version of 'Pin the tail on the Donkey'. We made the board ourselves beforehand. Each guest gets a turn, is blindfolded, spun around a few times and has to try pin a small photo of the groom with tic tac on the back onto the board as close as possible to the bride's lips.

How to make:

1. Corkboard or cupboard from a stationery supply store, such as Officeworks, Kmart, dollar store or thrift store. 
2. Cover with large piece of drawing paper or fabric, whatever you have handy around the house.
3. Print or draw the instructions and cartoon of the bride. We also printed out a photo and cut out the head/face of the bride to stick onto the top of the cartoon figure to make it personalised. 
4. Lips were cut out of felt material, but only because my co-bridesmaid had some left over arts and craft material. You can improvise with whatever you have at home. Love heart shapes are fine too. 
5. Pin the groom's head: we printed out photos of the groom's face and cut to shape, and used tic tac on the back for guests to try pin onto the board. Could also use tacking pins but we wanted to avoid sharp objects on the day. 

3. Wedding Advent Calendar:

This was a nice way to give something sentimental along with a small present for the bride-to-be. Each guest brings a small envelope with a message and gift for the bride inside. The bride then gets to take the advent calendar home and countdown one to two weeks before the big day by opening one surprise present each day. This is great for friends who love surprise presents!

How to make:

1. Corkboard from office supply store, e.g. Officeworks, Kmart, newsagency. Or thrifted.
2. Draw or print out your decorations like above. There are many inspirations on Pinterest or let your imagination and creativity run wild. 
3. Make the tags for counting down days before the wedding. We used whatever left over paper supplies we had at home (felt great to finally use up the stashes of old wrapping paper and 'nice' paper that you've hoarded over the years for projects like these!).
4. Pins - can use simple or find some cute pins from office supply stores, Kmart, Target or Kikki-K. 
5. Give the advent calendar to the bride-to-be to take home. 
6. Note: the emoji stickers were added to photos to blank out the bride and groom's faces. 

4. Other tips from our Hen's Party

• We organised a chocolate making class for the group before the lunch and games. There are many other great suggestions for hen's party activities, such as a spa day, sip and paint classes, dance class and so on. Or for those who are more adventurous - some axe throwing maybe?
• Afterwards we had a picnic lunch in the park next to the chocolate making venue. It's always good to make sure there is shelter available if you're having an outdoor picnic in case of rain (as it did towards the end of our party). 
• Each guest brought a dish to share, with co-ordination by bridesmaids to get a spread of entrees, mains, sweets and drinks. 
• For the DIY games, we used whatever material we had available at home and shopped at budget stores like Kmart, Target, dollar stores or even thrift stores. You can ask around the guests if they have any materials that you require. This can even include cupboard paper from old boxes etc and cover it with some left over wrapping paper. I was glad I could finally find a use for the lace curtain material, which had been taking up storage room in my garage for years!
• To bring everything to the picnic, we used large plastic storage containers for convenient transport (again if you're on a budget, you can use what storage boxes you have at home instead of buying new ones. Just temporarily empty out what were in your storage boxes, and after the party you can put your items back in). 
• It helps to stay organised particularly if preparing all of the above. 
• We split the cost of food, materials and chocolate making class amongst the guests. I'm sure everyone has heard a friend whinge about how costly hen's and buck's nights can become so it helps to be able to keep the budget low. 
• You can always check out Pinterest for heaps of ideas and inspirations.

We had so much fun and probably one of the most unique Hen's Parties I've ever been to! Do you have any fun stories of hen's parties that you've been to? What activities did you get up to? Would love to hear from your experiences and put together more ideas for the future. Share down in comments below!

For more posts and stories, follow along with me on Instagram @choco_petitestyle.

xx

Choco

Variety of artificial flowers from Kmart

Similar dress from The Iconic