Elia's Rainbow Paradise 2nd Birthday Party

I cannot believe it, but my little girl, Elia, is two years old! It’s insane how quickly the time has gone. I remember planning her first birthday party last year and couldn’t believe how big she was then. Looking at her now, it honestly feels like a lifetime ago.

Elia’s first birthday was tough because I had NO idea what she liked. I took an educated guess (aka I picked what I loved) and had a magical unicorn theme. This year though, my little toddler has thoughts, ideas, dreams and friends…so it was up to her to lead the charge!

One of Elia’s favorite things in the entire world is colors and she has this infatuation with rainbows ever since we saw one a few months back. I had been planning to host her birthday party at Bubbles Academy (more on that decision later) and knew that their rainbow colored rooms would offer the perfect backdrop for this theme.

So, it was off to planning! I know organizing an event like this can be overwhelming, so I wanted to share all of my vendors and rational behind who and what I chose!

The Venue

If you know anything about Elia, you know her favorite place in the entire world is Bubbles Academy. Since she was 3-months old, we’ve been taking classes there and she’s currently enrolled in their Gentle Separation program as we plan to start pre-school there in January.

I knew Bubbles was going to be the perfect place for her 2nd birthday party. Not only is it a place Elia is comfortable in (which is really helpful for keeping her alert and happy in photos), but the space is absolutely beautiful and full of color.

While I opted for a more custom package and brought in my own decorations, they do have complete all-inclusive birthday themes and take care of pretty much everything outside of the food/drink.

The space is stunning. Not only do you get to use the mural-adorned, giant playroom for the kids to hang out and play-in, but you get access to a private dining room which can be customized to fit your birthday party theme.

To be honest, the best part about choosing Bubbles for our party was the incredible staff. When you decide to host a party there, you work directly with a dedicated Events Manager who makes the entire process stress-free. You also get access to the incredible teachers during the party who can help with activities (like art) or even host music class with all your kids favorite songs!

The Decor

If you don’t know about Gromeza Floral Studio Designs, I’m about to change your life! Ozzie, the owner and visionary, is one of the most talented and creative humans you’ll ever meet.

I first met Ozzie last year when a friend suggested I use him for the decor at my daughter’s first birthday party. What I thought would be a few balloons and some flowers turned into a complete Unicorn Utopia and I was hooked from that moment on. I knew he was hired for Elia’s 2nd birthday party before that party was even over.

Working with Ozzie is like working with Picasso. He has a vision and the way he meticulously executes is a symphony to watch. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, you look a little closer and notice another detail.

All I did for this party was give him the rainbow theme and this is what he created…

The pièce de résistance was the incredible dessert table. It was adorned in rainbow floral, hand-painted leaves and crowned with incredible balloon art with hundreds of tiny little details. Can you spot them all?!

He also created the most adorable kids tables…

…and adult tables!

No detail was left behind. Just look at this drink station!

One other thing I love about Ozzie is his support for other local entrepreneurs. He worked with the talented Delaina Doshi (@delaina_j on Instagram) to create this amazing welcome chalk board and the Elia name detail for the dessert table.

Working with Ozzie the single best decisions I made for this party and I highly encourage everyone planning any sort of party to reach out to him. Oh, and if you can’t get enough of his work. you can stalk more of Ozzie’s balloon art here.

The Food

Since Elia’s favorite foods are french fries and hot dogs, it was an easy decision to use Portillo’s catering for the birthday party. Not only is it one of my families favorite restaurants (I basically live on their chopped salad), it’s also a really great catering option and one I’ve used a few times this year.

I first tried out the catering over Memorial Day and it was such a hit, I knew our guests would be obsessed with it at Elia’s party. You can order online and they deliver everything piping hot (which is amazing) and they have so many awesome catering options to choose from.

Since I didn’t want to worry about cooking anything, I opted for the Fast Pack catering menu. They are perfect for your parties and include their most popular sandwiches, salads, sides, and desserts, ready to eat. We decided on both the hot dog and Italian beef fast packs! We also got chopped salad, vodka pasta, chicken tenders, French fries and onion rings!

The kids loved it and the adults thought it was the coolest food ever.

We had nearly 80 people and managed to feed everyone (with some leftovers) without needing to order too much. Their food trays are HUGE.

The Cake & Desserts

When it came to my sweets table this year, I had a very specific vision. Beyond the aesthetics, I knew most importantly, I needed everything to taste good.

Choosing a bakery for my cake was a no-brainer. I went with my friend Isabel from By The Park. Isabel actually hosted my daughter’s birthday last year in her beautiful bakery in Lincoln Park, but has since closed down to focus on being a new Mommy. She still takes private orders (you can e-mail her at [email protected]) and her work is exquisite. Just look at this cake! Rainbow inside and out…

For the cookies and other sweets, I opted for Chicago favorite, Sweet Mandy B’s. My friend Sherrie leads the kitchen over there and the work they do is world-class. I can’t get over how well they were able to match the theme with no creative direction at all from me!

The Activities

Although all the toys, songs and games at Bubbles is enough to sustain a party, I wanted to make things a little extra special since I had so many friends and family coming in from out of town. I brought in an amazing face painter and ballon artist who stayed true to the rainbow theme!

I also created a pop-up Dylan’s Candy Bar and asked Lola & The Boys to create custom patched t-shirts for all the kids.

The Dylan’s Candy Bar set-up was absolutely incredible and fit seamlessly with our rainbow theme.

They offer this really cool, “party on the go” option and give you everything you need to create your own candy store at the party. With over 5,000 different types of candy and an endless variety of candy containers, it was SO much fun working with the team to design this set-up.

They even customized their signature lollipops for Elia which added such a fun detail!

When I was thinking about goodie bags, I really wanted to create something unique. I called my friend Irina from Lola & The Boys. She has the most incredible kids clothing line and is known for her patch work shirts, jackets and dresses. I asked her if she’d be able to take the patch press on the go and let the kids create their own custom shirts and she said yes without hesitation!

The result was one of the most unique “goodie bag” gifts I’ve ever seen!

Oh…and for those of you wondering. Elia’s outfit was Lola and the Boys as well.

The shirt is custom, but you can buy the skirt here.

The Photographer

You can’t create a rainbow paradise and not take pictures!!! Without question, I hired my friend Tek, from Tekstiles to photograph this party. He’s my go-to whenever I have a party or event and his work is stunning. Every photo you see in this blog post are his incredible work.

Will Elia remember this party? Most likely not, but at the end of the day, this party was to create a memory for all the people who love her most. Some day, she will be able to look back on this, see all her family and friends at this incredible moment in time and it will remind her how loved she is.