Friday, August 24, 2012

Event Theme: Back to School

It's that time of year again: Back to School! 

In honor of the return of students and teachers alike, I thought it would be fun to highlight a few school-themed events from around the internet. Although most are from school-themed weddings, many of these ideas could be adapted for back to school dinners, a teacher's retirement party, or a child's birthday party! We have plenty of school-ish items in our inventory, all of which would look great at a school-themed event. Here they all are, posing together--vintage textbooks, a globe, alphabet signs, a small microscope, flashcards, beakers, and more!


And here are some inspirational photos to show you how you could use these items to throw together a fun school-themed event!

Paper Goods:

How cute are these Save the Date pencils and buttons?! I love how whimsical and practical they are--guests can literally pencil the date in their calendars with the Save the Date!

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This school-themed invitation suite really is to die for. I love the little composition book with all the event details inside and the Pop Quiz response cards!

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Next up, these cootie catcher programs. I remember making these with my friends in elementary school--but how fun are they as programs? And storing them in bushel baskets? How cute!

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We have two bushel baskets in our rental inventory, and I can just see the smaller one brimming with fun programs like these, and the larger with apples!


These report card menus are adorable! Each course/dish is a class period, and the grade column leaves a spot for the guest to rate the food. I would leave space at the bottom or create a pop quiz for the back of the menu so that they'd be fun keepsakes for the bride and groom!

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I was never great at folding and flying them, but paper airplanes make awesome programs!

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I designed a pop quiz sorta like this one for my own wedding, and the answers we received on some of the quizzes were hilarious! They also provided guests with something to do while we took photos after the ceremony.

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Tablescapes:

How adorable is this Back-to-School feast? Those flashcards make a great centerpiece, and I love those stacked books as accents.

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We have a number of vintage flashcards in our collection. They make great decorations, but would also be cool as non-traditional table numbers!


I love the idea of using books as a platform for centerpiece flowers. I also love the print block number 7 and that metallic number 4--they add a little industrial edge to the soft flowers.

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Or the books themselves could function as centerpieces. I love this cluster of vintage hardcover books and the simple tin can tied with twine. To really amp up the school theme, you could only use vintage textbooks.

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Another easy book centerpiece--cut paper to fit the book cover and make it a table number!

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We have a rainbow of hardback books in our inventory, all of which would look lovely as centerpieces or accents.


One cute idea--instead of numbers, give each table a course name and post it on miniature chalkboards. Escort cards can assign your students guests their seats.

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Mini chalkboards make another appearance at this lovely tablescape. Instead of classes, the tables are given grades! I love the use of scrabble tiles here as well (even though it looks like they left off the "e"--whoops!)

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Our inventory features many scrabble tiles and holders. which could be used to designate table numbers, to label foods at a buffet, to spell out special wishes, and more!


I like the palette in this simple tablescape--the aqua, red, and emerald green mix so well with the cream and dark wood tones. The apples are a great accent because they subtly wink to the school theme along with those mini chalkboards!

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This table setting is so adorable! The chalkboard tablecloth with guests' names written is genius--and the mix of white and yellow is classic.

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I think it'd be cute to use Erlenmeyer flasks or beakers as vases at a school or science-themed event. We recently acquired some for our rental inventory--wouldn't they look cute stocked with flowers?



Food & Drink:

I love this "Bake Sale" dessert bar--what a clever way to tie in a school theme! Dessert buffets are becoming more and more popular at events.

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This milk and cookies/sandwich bar also says "school" in an adorable way! Again, the mini chalkboards and apples are cute school-ish accents, and the milk glass cake stands and blue mason jars are lovely ways to display the food and flowers.


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We have a number of milk glass pieces in our inventory, including large pedestal bowls that are great for holding food, and three beautiful cake stands.



We also have blue mason jars in all sizes in our inventory!


And wouldn't milk bottles be cute accents at a milk and cookies bar? Imagine these brimming with flowers or some cute striped straws!


This party combines food craftiness--salad on a stick, how cool!--and the school theme in a fun way. I love the bus-shaped chalkboards and the grilled cheese!

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And why not turn your reception hall into a cafeteria by having guests eat off of trays with cute embellished wooden utensils?

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Guest Book:

Isn't this guest book table styled so sweetly? The billy balls really pop in those milk glass vases, and the red, yellow, and blue color scheme is poppy and fun but still classic. And those scrabble tiles are a great touch!

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We have a variety of milk glass vases, both tall and bud, if you want to execute a similar look at your event!


What school function would be complete without a yearbook page? This couple had a yearbook-style guest book--attendees took polaroids next to a chalkboard, pasted the pictures in a book, and left notes for the happy couple!

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Typewriters are also a popular and school-ish alternative to a traditional guest book. We have two typewriters in our inventory, including this Woodstock.




Escort Cards:

Help your guests find their seat (and remember the alphabet) with thematic escort cards. The clipboard and notebook paper with the cursive totally evoke the school theme. Guests are directed to labeled mason jars which contain pencils labeled with their names, and these pencils let them know what "grade" or table they're assigned to. And at the tables, the guests use their pencils to fill out a Pop Quiz about the couple!

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At this wedding, apples placed atop labeled index cards served as seating assignments and (later) tasty treats for the guests!

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And at this event, nametags served as escort cards and as an easy way to encourage guests to mingle! I'm still loving the apples-as-accents, too.

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I think that this gray caddy with file folders from our inventory would also work great with table assignments! If you wanted guests to fill out any sort of Pop Quiz, you could simply fill out their name and table number and place them in the file folders so that guests could locate theirs by their last name--then the escort cards would serve double duty! 



Favors:

I love favors that are both cute and practical, like these personalized pencils!

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Again, pencils make a great school-themed favor, and the brown bags remind me of taking sack lunches to school as a kid! 

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Books wrapped in brown craft paper and embellished with personalized library check-out cards also make a great favor! It'd be fun to shop around at thrift stores to find books for your guests.

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Photo Ops & Signage:

Return of the mini chalkboards! These make an adorable photo, and the couple can use it on their thank you cards!

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I love this giant personalized chalkboard sign, and the little green desk would make a great spot for guests to pose for pictures. Imagine this whole nook as a photo booth, in fact!


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See, don't desks make a great photo prop?


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It looks like this couple actually went into a classroom for this photo op. Of course I love the chalkboard, and those alphabet signs are cute, too!

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We have a collection of signs featuring letters and numbers in our inventory, too!


A large rolling chalkboard makes a great photobooth backdrop--guests can write their own messages to commemorate the event!

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This library makes for a great photo site--doesn't the bridal party look so nice clustered around these tables reading books?

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This couple and their bridal party look great clustered in front of a school bus. And isn't that "Wedding Class Of..." sign great?

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There are several items in our inventory that would make great school-ish props, from this cool percentage sign:


To this globe:


To this folding ruler:


To this small microscope:


So there you have it! A whole slew of Back to School event inspiration. What do you think? Would a school-themed party earn an A+ in your book? (Har har, just had to go there!)


Stay tuned for more inspiration & photos of our inventory--we held an ice cream social earlier this month that was lovely, and we can't wait to spill the (vanilla) beans!



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