• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • MEET CHRISTY & AMY
    • IF YOU’RE NEW HERE…
    • WORK WITH US
    • 11 MAGNOLIA LANE 101
    • DISCLOSURE + PRIVACY (the fine print)
    • BEST OF 11 MAGNOLIA LANE
  • TOUR OUR HOMES
    • TOUR OUR HOMES
    • CHRISTY’S MAGNOLIA COTTAGE
    • CHRISTY’S MCC HOUSE
    • Christy’s Stuttgart Flat
    • Amy’s Virginia Craftsman Home Tour
    • AMY’S VIRGINIA CRAFTSMAN Building Process
    • HOLIDAY HOME TOUR SERIES
  • CELEBRATIONS
    • EVENTS + ENTERTAINING
    • GIFTS
    • HOLIDAYS
    • RECIPES
  • HOME
    • CLEANING
    • DECORATING
    • ORGANIZING
    • ROOM BY ROOM
      • BATHROOMS
      • BEDROOMS
      • CLOSETS
      • CRAFT ROOMS + OFFICES
      • DINING ROOMS
      • KIDS’ ROOMS
      • KITCHENS
      • LAUNDRY ROOMS
      • LIVING + GREAT ROOMS
      • OTHER SPACES
      • PANTRIES
      • PLAYROOMS + BONUS ROOMS
      • PORCHES + OUTDOOR SPACES
    • TIPS
  • SHOP
    • SHOP OUR INSTAGRAM
    • SHOP OUR AMAZON STORE
    • FRIDAY FAVORITE FINDS
  • PROJECTS
    • CRAFTS
    • DIY PROJECTS + TUTORIALS
    • FURNITURE
    • PRINTABLES
    • WINDOWS, DOORS, + WALLS
  • LIFE
    • FRIDAY FREE FOR ALL
    • HEALTH
    • SIMPLY ON SUNDAY
  • TRAVEL
  • CONTACT
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest

11 Magnolia Lane

Sharing our easy DIYs, decorating, entertaining and more!

Black and White Bowtie Ball

February 16, 2016 By Christy 31 Comments

This Post Contains Affiliate Links

67594 shares
  • 25

Formal event decor: black and white stripes with gold

You all know that sometimes I work on events, because decorating for a party is just as much fun as decorating a house (you can imagine how crazy I went over my wedding; thank goodness it was before Pinterest!).

Formal event decor: black and white stripes with gold

Last weekend was our school’s first annual Valentine’s Day “Bowtie Ball.”  This fundraiser was intended to be both a lovely date night event for Valentine’s Day and a fundraiser for a new campus building.  If you follow us regularly, then you know that I’ve been working on this since October–seriously–along with an incredibly talented team, and I’ve been promising photos.  Today’s the day!

Gold banner Bowtie Ball

Formal event decor: black and white stripes with gold

We were pretty excited because not only did we sell out, but we OVERSOLD.  That means that we had to seat guests on each others’ laps to fit them all–just kidding, but it was cozy!  It was so much fun that I’m already working on ideas to make it even better next year!

Formal event decor: black and white stripes with gold

I’m just going to show you photos tonight and I’ll be back with a few additional posts on how we DIY’ed all of the decor items (thank you, Rust-Oleum for all of the Metallic Gold spray paint–it’s my absolute favorite and we used a TON!!).  And if you’re a Silhouette owner, then you’ll be amazed at all of the things I used it for–place cards, auction paddles, die cuts, and so much more.

I’m also going to link to all of the local sources we used for this event; if you’re planning an event in Pinehurst/Southern Pines it will come in handy.

This theme would work for a wedding as well as any type of formal event.  The black and white stripes are a great background for gold and pops of pink, red, and peach–very “Kate Spade” and classic.

Formal event decor: black and white stripes with gold

Our venue was the historic Fair Barn in Pinehurst, North Carolina.  It was built in 1917 and I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s absolutely gorgeous.

This is the “before” photo when we started decorating.  Don’t you adore the chiavari chairs and those rafters?  The huge swags of grapevine are always there (they’re not lighted in this picture) and are beautiful.  I use lighted grapevine all the time in my decor–it’s so pretty.

Formal event decor: black and white stripes with gold

And THIS is what my dining room looked like before we took three carloads of stuff over to decorate…there was more in the garage!

dining-room-boxes

I’ve worked with a lot of great event coordinators, but Danaka at the Fair Barn is probably my favorite ever.  She is so good at her job, and really bent over backwards to accommodate us.

Formal event decor: black and white stripes with gold

Since there wasn’t an event the night before ours, she was kind enough to let us in a day early to decorate, and we needed every minute since the plan was a bit ambitious. Go big or go home, right?

Formal event decor: black and white stripes with gold

I had to have roses for our centerpieces, but forgot how they jack up the prices right around Valentine’s Day.  Grrr!  Grazie mille to local King & Hollyfield Design for giving us a wonderful deal on thirty dozen beautiful roses!

roses

We set up a bubbly bar with champagne mix-ins on one side of the stage, and a candy bar on the other. Here’s the bubbly bar:

Formal event decor: black and white stripes with gold

As an aside, if you’re planning a black and white event, I can’t say enough about the striped fabric we used. At 60″ wide, I was able to use it for everything, and it draped beautifully.  The exact one I used is {here}.  It even washed beautifully when we spilled some cranberry juice on it, and I just rolled it back onto the roll for next year.

Formal event decor: black and white stripes with gold

Formal event decor: black and white stripes with gold

Formal event decor: black and white stripes with gold

Formal event decor: black and white stripes with gold

I used these jars for the candy bar and assumed 1/2 pound of candy per guest (we had leftovers).  I tried to use retro candy like Pop Rocks, Fun Dips, Ring Pops, Sugar Daddies, and more since that’s what we grown ups like!

Candy bar; Formal event decor: black and white stripes with gold

Candy/ sweets bar; Formal event decor: black and white stripes with gold

We had {these} sweet black and white striped paper bags for the candy and added a gold bowtie that said, “So sweet of you to come.”  Guests took them home as favors at the end of the night and we treated our student volunteers, as well.

Formal event decor: black and white stripes with gold

We also had a professional photo booth set up; the guests loved that and it was a fun souvenir to take home.  I still can’t take a normal picture though, can I?

photo-booth-strip

We added a few bowtie and Valentine’s Day themed props for fun.

Photo booth props

Dinner was delicious; Elliott’s on Linden is one of our yummiest local restaurants and their catering is on point.  The menu was so good that we framed it:

Gold framed menu card

My husband and I both had the steak but I heard rave reviews about the salmon, too.

steak-dinner

Besides the candy bar, we had dessert platters brought to each table, with cake squares from our wonderful local grocery store, Lowe’s Foods, chocolate dipped strawberries, truffles, and chocolates.  Yum!

Dessert plates

A team of very talented parents and friends put together the chocolate dipped strawberries at a tremendous cost savings.  Aren’t they gorgeous?  They were delicious!

strawberries

We had a limited bar with wine, beer (from local AND veteran-owned Southern Pines Brewing Company), and Bowtie Bourbon.  The bourbon recipe is from Amy’s husband and the recipe is here.  I think next year we’ll consider adding a second vodka-based signature drink, but we also had the champagne bar and wine on the tables and didn’t want to overdo the alcohol.

Formal event decor: black and white stripes with gold

Aren’t the bowtie swizzle sticks cute?  We made two hundred and fifty of those; I found the idea on Pinterest  (surprise!).

Bowtie swizzle sticks; Formal event decor: black and white stripes with gold

It took me awhile to figure out how to make them because they’re so teeny, but it was worth the perseverance because they are so darned cute!

Black and white striped bowtie swizzle sticks

The bowtie folded napkins on the tables were a fun touch (and it’s a super-easy fold, too).

Bowtie folded napkins on black, white, and gold table setting

We had bowties on our registration tables, too–the diecuts on top of the gold frames and our bust of Diana, whom you may recognize from my living room.  It is a classical school, after all, so she fit our theme.

Auction registration table

We advertised on the invitation that it was “Black tie optional.  Bowtie required”  so almost all of the men were wearing bowties and they all looked so handsome!  The crazy gold beads I’m wearing below are for one of the raffle games; I look like I just came from Mardi Gras, don’t I?

bowtie-ball-me-and-chis

We had a hugely talented event team, each of whom brought so much to the project.  Here are a few of them:

event-committee

My kids were both there as volunteers, along with quite a few of our older students, and they were wonderful ambassadors for their school.  Not to mention the fact that they were able to show off their ballroom dancing skills since they’ve been taking classes for cotillion.  Their tango was pretty impressive, if I do say so myself!

tango

For all of those who volunteered, attended, donated, sponsored, and prayed for the success of this event, THANK YOU.  It was a fabulous evening and we exceeded all of our goals!  And if you’re local to the Pinehurst/Southern Pines area, then we’d love to have you join us next year.  Mark your calendars!

{See an event I coordinated for our former school in Savannah here}

Thanks for stopping by~

Our posts contain some affiliate links.  If you make a purchase after clicking on these links, we will earn a small commission, which helps to keep our content free.  You don’t pay a cent more than you would otherwise, since that would be tacky!  See our full disclosure policy {here}.

Event Details:

Venue:  The Fair Barn in Pinehurst, North Carolina

Catering:  Elliot’s on Linden

Music:  The Carolina Philharmonic

Auctioneer:  Colonel Ben Farrell, Custom Benefit Auctions

Sound, lighting, photo booth:  Ward Productions

Cake squares:  Lowe’s Foods

Flowers:  King & Holyfield Design

Event Photography:  Darren McMahel

Final New Christy headshot 2015
icon-facebook-1icon-instagram-1icon-mail-1icon-pinterest-1icon-twitter-1

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE THESE POSTS... :

Kathie's Living Room Mini-Tour
Twilight Polo
The Coastal Grandmother Trend
Our Favorite Ideas + Recipes for Outdoor Ente...

Filed Under: Adults Only, Entertaining/Events, General/About Us Tagged With: black tie, Decorating, entertaining, Events, formal

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Marty@A Stroll Thru Life says

    February 16, 2016 at 9:13 am

    Everything is so beautiful. Well done. This looks like a wonderful night for everyone.

    Reply
  2. Lauren@SimplyLKJ says

    February 16, 2016 at 10:44 am

    Amazing. Everything looked perfect right down to those teeny tiny bows on the swizzle sticks!! Adore the black and white theme.

    Reply
  3. Heather says

    February 16, 2016 at 11:10 am

    What a LOVELY event! I love how chic it all turned out. Way to go!

    Reply
  4. Pam I. says

    February 16, 2016 at 2:12 pm

    Christy is amazing – there is no other word for her! Every detail was covered and it did NOT go unnoticed by our 240+ guests/attendees! A great mention to Ward Productions too – they provided the amazing Audio and Visuals, screens, lighting and AWESOME photo booth!

    Reply
  5. laura@duke manor farm says

    February 16, 2016 at 2:16 pm

    What an amazing undertaking. It looks awesone. I love all the details and the theme. Congrats to everyone involved. Well done.

    Reply
  6. Heidi says

    February 16, 2016 at 5:03 pm

    Christy you are an amazing decorator! I can’t get over how wonderful it all looks! I can tell everyone had a great time!

    Reply
  7. Rebecca says

    February 16, 2016 at 5:29 pm

    Everything looks beautiful!!!
    You did an awesome job!
    How much were the tickets?

    Reply
    • Christy says

      April 4, 2019 at 5:07 pm

      Thank you! I think they were $125 each, Rebecca.

      Reply
  8. Mara says

    February 16, 2016 at 7:55 pm

    Christy everything looked so beautiful, love the black and white stripe fabric, napkins.
    You and Chris looked beautiful and loved your dress.

    Reply
  9. Heather Mills says

    February 16, 2016 at 10:01 pm

    You did an incredible job! Everything looked so beautiful!

    Reply
  10. Pat says

    February 18, 2016 at 12:16 am

    Is there anything that you can’t do? 🙂 This is a truly amazing undertaking and your attention to detail is always right on & I love it! The swizzle sticks blew me away ~ 🙂 Of course, I adore the black & white theme along with the gold. Just stunning! Wonderful photos of you, your husband and the kids. Seems everyone had a lovely evening! That steak looks delish and IMHO, champagne works for everything ~ 🙂

    Thanks so much for sharing!
    xo
    Pat

    Reply
  11. Brenna@Domestic Charm says

    February 28, 2016 at 9:40 am

    Absolutely adorable! I love all of the decor – black white and gold are so perfect for a black tie event!

    Reply
  12. Rose H. says

    June 3, 2017 at 3:10 pm

    What an Awesome job!
    will you please share what font you used in your signage? i just purchased the silhouette cameo and would love to use that font in an event (black/white/gold) that i am planning.
    thank you,
    rose

    Reply
    • Christy says

      April 4, 2019 at 5:08 pm

      Sure, Rose. The script is Steelheart (you have to buy it) and then we also used Bariol and Bauer Bodoni. Hope that helps!

      Reply
  13. HARRIET says

    June 13, 2017 at 7:46 am

    Just absolutely beautiful!

    Reply
  14. Isabella says

    July 25, 2017 at 3:33 pm

    What type or size of bottles did you use?

    Reply
    • Christy says

      July 25, 2017 at 4:29 pm

      Which bottles are you referring to, Isabella? If they’re the gold ones on the Bubbly and Candy bars, then they’re just wine bottles that we spray painted. Hope that helps!

      Reply
  15. Ellie Logue says

    November 20, 2017 at 7:14 pm

    Hi! WHAT A GORGEOUS EVENT.! i AM LOOKING TO CREATE SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THE “SWEETS” STICKS. can you please let me know where you bought them or how you made them? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Christy says

      November 26, 2017 at 9:24 am

      Sure, no problem! I just glued wooden letters onto wooden dowels and spray painted them gold. Easy!
      Hope that helps–
      Christy

      Reply
      • Kelly says

        January 28, 2019 at 8:06 pm

        How did you get the wooden letters/dowels to stay in straight and not topple over?

        Reply
        • Christy says

          February 1, 2019 at 11:28 am

          I used a little bit of floral oasis in the neck of the bottles to stabilize them. I hope that helps!

          Reply
  16. destiny says

    June 19, 2018 at 6:47 pm

    OMG ! What a beautiful event …am so in love .. i would love to know where i could find the black and white table runners.

    Reply
    • Christy says

      June 20, 2018 at 5:58 pm

      Thank you so much, Destiny! The table runners are just black and white striped wrapping paper, cut to fit. I ordered this exact pattern: https://www.nashvillewraps.com/gift-wrap/gift-wrap-paper/p-386/a7001285
      Hope that helps!

      Reply
      • Naomi Dauphine says

        October 15, 2018 at 9:48 pm

        How many rolls of wrapping paper did you purchase

        Reply
        • Christy says

          April 4, 2019 at 5:09 pm

          I ordered two, but of course it would depend on how many tables you have and how long you want your runners to be. It required a little bit of math before I placed my order!

          Reply
  17. Leshawn Elam says

    April 4, 2019 at 4:00 pm

    How did you make the signs in the gold frames on the sweets table?

    Reply
    • Christy says

      April 4, 2019 at 5:04 pm

      Leshawn-
      Those are just gold frames from the dollar store. I used my Silhouette to cut black bowties out of black cardstock and then I used photo editing software (I recommend PicMonkey for beginners or Photoshop for pros) to create the graphic using several different fonts and the school crest. I hope that helps!
      Christy

      Reply
  18. christina Decrescenzo says

    April 9, 2019 at 10:48 am

    What kind of bottles are the gold bottles with SWEET letters? Did you spray paint them or buy them like that? Please let me know.
    Christina
    Caper017@yahoo

    Reply
    • Christy says

      April 11, 2019 at 4:59 pm

      Hey, Christina–they’re just recycled wine bottles that I sprayed with gold spray paint. We definitely had to decorate on a shoestring budget for this event so I used all the cost-saving ideas I could!

      Reply
  19. Kathy says

    September 20, 2021 at 5:10 pm

    Can you tell me how what you used in the center of the bowtie napkins? Is it ribbon and if so, how did you attach them securely.
    Thank you,
    Kathy

    Reply
    • Christy says

      October 10, 2021 at 8:16 am

      Hey, Kathy–Yes, it’s just ribbon that we attached with a dot of hot glue from a glue gun. Hope that helps!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Lowest prices. Straight Teeth,

•Don’t Miss A Thing!!•

•Do You Know Jesus?•

•Featured In•

Holiday Gift Ideas

Footer

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Copyright © 2023 · 11 Magnolia Lane· Blog Design by Little Blue Deer
Privacy Policy

11 MAGNOLIA LANE IS A PARTICIPANT IN THE AMAZON SERVICES LLC ASSOCIATES PROGRAM, AN AFFILIATE ADVERTISING PROGRAM DESIGNED TO PROVIDE A MEANS FOR US TO EARN ADVERTISING FEES BY ADVERTISING AND LINKING TO AMAZON.COM AND AFFILIATED SITES. AS AN AMAZON ASSOCIATE, WE EARN FROM QUALIFYING PURCHASES. WE ALSO PARTICIPATE IN SEVERAL OTHER AFFILIATE PROGRAMS; THIS INCOME ALLOWS US TO MAINTAIN THE QUALITY OF YOUR USER EXPERIENCE AND KEEPS OUR CONTENT FREE. WHEN YOU PURCHASE THROUGH ANY OF OUR AFFILIATE LINKS, WE EARN A SMALL COMMISSION AND YOU DON’T PAY A CENT MORE THAN YOU WOULD OTHERWISE; THAT WOULD BE TACKY!   READ OUR FULL PRIVACY AND DISCLOSURE POLICY {HERE}.
  ©11 Magnolia Lane 2019. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s authors and/or owners is strictly prohibited. Please email us at admin@11magnolialane.com for more information.

  • MEET CHRISTY & AMY
    • IF YOU’RE NEW HERE…
    • WORK WITH US
    • 11 MAGNOLIA LANE 101
    • DISCLOSURE + PRIVACY (the fine print)
    • BEST OF 11 MAGNOLIA LANE
    • Back
  • TOUR OUR HOMES
    • TOUR OUR HOMES
    • CHRISTY’S MAGNOLIA COTTAGE
    • CHRISTY’S MCC HOUSE
    • AMY’S NEW HOME BUILD
    • HOLIDAY HOME TOUR SERIES
    • SPRING HOME TOUR SERIES
    • Back
  • CELEBRATIONS
    • EVENTS + ENTERTAINING
    • GIFTS
    • HOLIDAYS
    • RECIPES
    • Back
  • HOME
    • CLEANING
    • DECORATING
    • ORGANIZING
    • ROOM BY ROOM
      • BATHROOMS
      • BEDROOMS
      • CLOSETS
      • CRAFT ROOMS + OFFICES
      • DINING ROOMS
      • KIDS’ ROOMS
      • KITCHENS
      • LAUNDRY ROOMS
      • LIVING + GREAT ROOMS
      • OTHER SPACES
      • PANTRIES
      • PLAYROOMS + BONUS ROOMS
      • PORCHES + OUTDOOR SPACES
      • Back
    • TIPS
    • Back
  • SHOP
    • SHOP OUR INSTAGRAM
    • SHOP OUR AMAZON STORE
    • FRIDAY FAVORITE FINDS
    • 11 ML ETSY SHOP
    • 11ML ORGANIZING SHOP
    • Back
  • PROJECTS
    • CRAFTS
    • DIY PROJECTS + TUTORIALS
    • FURNITURE
    • PRINTABLES
    • WINDOWS, DOORS, + WALLS
    • Back
  • LIFE
    • FRIDAY FREE FOR ALL
    • HEALTH
    • SIMPLY ON SUNDAY
    • TRAVEL
    • Back
  • CONTACT
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
67594 shares
  • 25