A very dear friend of mine, a “galentine,” even, has a horrible opinion that I just cannot support. She hates red and pink together. Now, on a normal day, maybe, but even Valentine’s Day?? Fellow Abbys, this just won’t do. You might come to me for a Valentine’s Day event and say “It’s fine! We can do just red.” I’m underwhelmed. “Just pink?” Now you’re every wedding (especially my all pink wedding). No, a Valentine’s Day brunch, party, engagement, or wedding must be pink and red. Normally I say the equivalent of “your day your way,” but this is not the time for that. I have strict guidelines for how an event like this ought to look.
Décor
The decorations for a Valentine’s Day event are really very simple and could be relatively cheap! Though I love flowers (and will make suggestions for them in the next section), you could easily opt out and fill your space with hearts. Heart balloons, heart cut outs, heart chargers, heart shaped food, glitter hearts, doilies, and paper valentines. Take anything you’d normally see in an event space or on a table scape, make it pink or red, and it’s instantly Valentine-y. Pink tinted drinking glasses, red seating cards or signage, pink and red taper candles, linens, draping and appropriately colored foods. Speaking of candles, these add romantic lighting and atmosphere to your event. The more the love-ier: votives, pillar candles, taper candles, lanterns. I will admit, lighting hundreds of candles is one of the most painful parts of setting up for events (my poor, sore thumbs) but the end result is unmatched.
Another non-negotiable (I know, I know, is this your event or mine?) is a heart balloon backdrop. Helium is expensive but you don’t need helium to adhere balloons to a backdrop or wall. Just stick them up and let your friends take loads of pictures in front of them.
Florals
Back to the aforementioned flowers. Luckily, lots of flowers come in pink and red. Here are some of my favorites:
Pink:
Anemone
Bleeding hearts (a perfect fit but may be hard to get in February)
Calla lilies
Camellias
Carnations
Cherry blossoms
Cosmos
Dahlias
Dianthus
Hydrangeas
Lupine
Orchids
Peonies
Poppies
Roses, garden roses, spray roses
Stock
Sweet peas
Tulips
Veronica
Zinnias
Red
Anemone
Bleeding hearts (see note in pink section)
Calla lilies
Carnations
Cosmos
Dahlias
Dianthus
Peonies
Poppies
Ranunculus
Roses
Tulips
Zinnias
Accent with white florals and greenery. Sprinkle around single roses in bud vases or have lush centerpieces and floral installations.
Food
There’s no real reason to have Valentine’s Day themed food at a Valentine event (you should have food you and your guests like) except for the fact that it’s really fun. For a wedding, you could serve the type of food that you and your spouse had at your first date. For a meet and greet type corporate event, you could serve easy-to-eat heart shaped hors d'oeuvres and desserts. Or, you could serve everything on heart shaped plates and call it a day. Below are some of my favorite ideas.
The Main Course
Heart shaped pizza bar. My husband and I made heart shaped pizzas one year for Valentine’s Day and it was so much fun! It’s super cute and pizza is always a crowd pleaser.
Spaghetti. Lady and the Tramp, anyone?
Heart shaped filet. This one kind of gives me the ick but… it’s an option.
Heart shaped waffles or pancakes. I’m always down for breakfast food.
Something glazed with cherry, strawberries, or raspberries like pork chops, chicken, or fish, or topped with a fruit salsa.
Dessert
Heart shaped cakes, macarons, churros, cheesecake, or cookies.
Chocolate covered strawberries.
Anything strawberry, cherry, red velvet, or chocolate.
Classic valentine candy like sweethearts, heart shaped chocolates, Lindor truffles, and Hsersey kisses.
Extras
Add heart-cut strawberries to a side or fruit salad
Serve cocktails, mocktails, or drinks with cherries or valentine themed gummy candy.
Make pink punch with cranberry juice
What to Wear
It would be my guess that, even if you don’t add a dress code to your invitation, if your event is on or around Valentine’s Day, people will likely dress in pinks and reds. Don’t be bothered if guests accidentally match your bridal party. In fact, I would let your bridal party pick a variety of reds and pinks. Though it could be a bit trickier for complementing flowers or not matching your bridal party or guests, how fun would it be to wear a blush, pink, or red suit or dress? If that’s not quite your style, add pops of color with shoes, lipstick, ties, pocket squares, or hair accessories.
Conclusion
So, after all my convincing, will you boycott mixing pink and red or embrace it? Should a Valentine’s Day event focus on just one color? Or different still, would pastel conversation hearts be a better color palette? Let me know if you intend to use any of these ideas for a party!
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