Ahoy Matey! Nautical-themed Party

Our family invested in a boat this summer. It's been the perfect remedy for what was missing from our summers. Ever since we moved here to Colorado from the East coast five years ago, we miss being near the ocean, especially during the summer weekends. Having the boat gives us a quick escape–I immediately feel like I'm on vacation when I'm on it, and it brings back great memories for my husband and I of when we used to take his boat out in Long Island, NY. Now, we're happy to have the experience with our own little family. It's a family outing we look forward to every weekend. So, it's no wonder I've been migrating to anything nautical lately! A nautical theme works for a baby shower ("Ahoy! It's a Boy!"), a great "Little Sailor" birthday party, and a classic, yet elegant, wedding theme. All examples below.

Baby Shower From "Over Cocktails"
I love the sophistication of this shower. The soft blue palette for the tablescape is perfect. They also put a lot of thought into the details: sand in a bottle as placecards, boat twine as napkin ring holders and salt water taffy for the favors! To see all the details, hop over to their site here.

Little Sailor Birthday Party from "The Celebration Shoppe"
The Celebration Shoppe offers custom invitations and creative table decor. Their "Little Sailor" collection uses bold colors and makes it easy to personalize your party. Use wrapping paper for the backdrop. You can also add a plastic life preserver (found on party supply websites) to decorate the backdrop. Use inexpensive toy boats (think old bath toys!) and shells to finish your table. For party activities: musical chairs to Caribbean-style music, fishing game, remote control boat racing, sand sculpting or remember filling those colored sand bottles? To see the rest of the collection and get more ideas, visit The Celebration Shoppe here.

Sea Inspired Wedding

You always need to be careful when incorporating a theme into a wedding. It could easily become kitschy. You really don't want the groom wearing a captain's hat! Here's one inspiration board from "The Perfect Palette" that borrows traditional nautical colors and uses subtle details to keep it elegant. Visit their website here to find additional inspiration for a nautical theme wedding.