summer garden party: easy centrepieces & diy heart garlands

A few weeks ago we threw a little surprise shindig for my parents anniversary - they rarely celebrate in a big way so I really wanted to make it special. But after spending weeks getting our backyard party-ready (laying sod and a new deck - more on that soon!), I didn't have a lot of time (or money!) left for other details. So when it came to decorating, easy and inexpensive ideas were key.  

I picked up some fresh flowers from the grocery the day of the party and threw together these pretty floral arrangements in my fave Dollarama vases. They didn't have a lot of stock that morning so I chose an assortment of whatever was on hand, but I was happy with how they turned out :)

The frayed-edge burlap runners were another quick and easy diy, cut from some jute fabric I found on sale at Fabricland. I thought it was befitting for a garden party :) No sewing necessary (I used this tutorial as a guide) - it took literally less than an hour to make 5.

To top it off, I added a little shimmer to the tables with some candle holders saved from my engagement (which were super cheap from Jordan).

We set up the buffet inside so I wanted to dress up the huge blank wall behind the table. These super sweet heart garlands (inspired via pinterest of course :) did the trick, and they were so simple to make. 

I already had a little heart puncher (bought years ago from walmart for $5), so I just used some red paper and punched out tons of hearts, then strung them together with a needle and thread. It was so mindlessly easy - just watch out for tangles!

I missed out on pics of my 40+ tissue poms, but I did get plenty of the pièce de résistance (which admittedly doesn't look simple or easy) - the amazing cake, handmade by our fabulous and super talented friend Farheen :)

Complete with a recipe for halal fondant - and trust me, it tastes as good as it looks!

We also diy-ed our own canopy to shade our guests rain or shine, at a fraction of the cost of renting a tent.

That tutorial will have to be saved for another post though - partly because I didn't have time to take pics of the process, but mostly because I almost ruined the entire thing by cutting the tarp way too short (so much for remembering the pythagorean theorem!). We'll be redoing this for another party in August so hopefully I can share the deets next time around :)