Dylan's candy bar bridal shower

I hope your week is starting off lovely...We are a week away from the holiday of hearts so this week I thought it would be fun to share some great Valentines inspired decor and gifts.

I love design magazines and blogs, but I also love browsing through wedding magazines and party sites. I think great parties are often influenced from home decor trends and some home decor ideas can be inspired from a fabulous party! I have had Dylan's party saved in my files for many months and can't think of a better time than Valentine's day to revisit it.

When Dylan Lauren, owner of Dylans Candy Bar AND daughter to the Ralph Lauren, was given a bridal shower, there was no question that a candy themed party was the only way to go.

The candy shower invites gave a glimpse of the sweets to come.

As guests entered the party, they were offered a jelly bean lined tray full of lemon-drop cocktails with decorative lemon slice swizzle sticks.

My favorite element of this party was the beautiful heart mosaic made out of gum {over 5000 pieces!} I think this would not only be perfect on the wall of a little girls bedroom, but, it would be an easy DIY craft that even the kids could participate in. {I would spray it fairly liberally with a clear sealer to dissuade any critters from enjoying it, too.}

Pink gumball garland draped the staircase. Oh, and thats Darcy, of Martha Stewarts Weddings, and her girls. Did I mention that she was responsible for this shindig and this is her house? Of course she was!

Can you imagine offering this smorgasbord of sweets at your own party? This was created with a perimeter of clear boxes filled with monochromatic candies. The initial forms were custom made, but you could use little clear bowls to form your own initial. {Darcy recommends 1/4 of a pound of candy per guest}

There was obviously lots of goodies to snack on, but behold some of the beautiful eye candy centerpieces.

An exquisite bib created out of dragees and a crown inspired by Glinda from the Wizard of Oz, was created from glittering hard candies.

Sugar blooms!

With so much going on with the playful party decor and the colorful food, I love the beautiful simplicity of this cake. With rolled fondant and a heart cookie cutter, this seems like a fun cake to replicate.