How to Throw an Epic 30th Birthday Boat Party

We teamed up with Boatbound — basically the Airbnb of boats — to bring this beautiful birthday brunch to life. Boatbound is great if you can’t commandeer a vessel of your own and is just what you need to take any birthday party, bachelorette party or casual get-together to the next level. They offer a skipper who can sail you around to lots of hidden spots. Skipper Dan and his wife Carol sailed the Caprice to the Golden Gate Bridge (to say hey to Karl the Fog, of course), and then around sunny Angel Island, where we dropped anchor for a delish brunch with plenty of good eats and, of course, rosé — more on that later. Scroll on for all the gorgeous views and learn how you can create your very own birthday boat brunch with a few simple tips and easy DIYs.

A Hand Lettered Sign + a Theme

Hand lettering and the #roséallday mantra are probably two of our favorite things here at Brit + Co. When planning a birthday party, make sure the theme is playful and that it lends itself to a memorable hashtag and signage. Case in point: this rosé all birthday sign made by our in-house chalk lettering expert Lee Schellenberger. Just look at how stoked these ladies are!

To make one of your own, take our Intro to Chalk Lettering Class ($29 for the class and $49 for the class/kit combo). Before you know it, you’ll be making one of these for every occasion or just about every day of the week — daily quotes or mantras, anyone?

Once you get the chalk lettering down, cute illustrations like these will become easy peasy. Add in a little scene and some decor-inspired accents like a garland or balloons.

Colorful Pillows, Blankets + Napkins

A little lounge area for wining and dining is a definite must. We brought some Pantone-inspired pillows and blankets to go with our rosé birthday brunch. Not only did these pillows look great and add a comfy-cozy vibe, but they also held the blanket down in the wind. Talk about a win-win!

Easy Brunch Bites

Since brunch is by far the best meal of the day (and our birthday girl’s fave), we chose to spoil Cortney with an epic meal of mini quiches, fruit salad, breakfast focaccia and a gorg meat and cheese spread with figs and crackers.

These bite-sized eats, paired with a few fun plastic platters and colorful napkins, were *almost* too pretty to eat. But clearly, that didn’t stop us. We chowed down happily with wine in hand.

Followed with cheesecake, bubbly and a HBD song, this brunch was a SUPER success.

Poppin’ bottles, poppin’ bottles.

DIY Copper Geometric Drink Tray

Every party needs a drink tray or three. Instead of buying a new one, pull out that trusty ‘fella that’s been with you through thick and thin and simply amp it up with some contact paper. Follow the steps below to spiff yours up.

Materials:

— drink tray

— 1 roll of copper metallic contact paper cut into varying triangle sizes

— scissors

Instructions:

Cut contact paper into different sized triangles. For a corner pattern (as pictured above), cut about 40 triangles. If you’re looking to cover the entire tray — depending on size — you will need closer to 100+ triangles. Happy cutting!

Peel the back side of the contact paper and start sticking. Once you get a few down, the pattern will start coming naturally to you. Feel free to do a tiny bit or the whole tray. Either way, this beauty will make all your beverages Insta-worthy.

DIY No-Sew Pennant Flag Banner

For easy decorating, a no-sew banner is just the thing to take your party up a notch. I took fabric scraps and some pom pom ribbon to make this Pantone-inspired garland. This can be reused for more birthday parties, picnics, bridal or baby showers, or even as festive bedroom or living room decor. Scroll on to find out how to make your very own.

Materials: (The amount of fabric and pom pom ribbon will vary depending on how long your want it, but this is the amount of materials we used to hang it on the bow of the sailboat.)

— 2 types of fabric (about a 1/2 yard of each)

— 1 yard of white pom pom string

— scissors

— fabric glue

— ruler

— pencil

Instructions:

Trace your first flag using a pencil and a ruler. Size is up to you, but make sure you are tracing it large enough so that it isn’t overshadowed by the pom pom ribbon (our flags were six inches in length and six inches across). Next, trace an inch-long flap that you will use to fold over the ribbon when gluing. Then cut out the flag and use this master flag to trace your remaining flags. Note: The number of flags will depend on the length of the garland, but ours was 15 flags each at one foot apart.

Once your flags are cut, you can start crafting your pretty pennant garland. Start by measuring six inches from the edge of the ribbon (this will allow you to tie the garland off). Then place your flag under the ribbon and cut off the pom poms for the length of the flag.

To start attaching the flags, put fabric glue on the de-pom pommed string, place the bottom of the flap on the glue and press down. Next, turn the flag and string over, add glue to the other side of the string and fold and press down the remaining edge of the flap. Measure out one-foot distance and repeat this process for the remaining flags.

Let those pretty flags fly!

DIY Wine Tote

To tote around all that wine in style, I sewed up a removable wine bag insert for the straw bag that *everyone* seems to have. Not only will this be a winner for all your summer parties, but you can take the insert out when you need to haul all your farmers’ market fruits and veggies around town. This one might take a bit of time, but it is well worth it!

Materials:

— straw tote

— 2 types of fabric (about a 1/2 yard of each)

— 1/2 yard of double-sided quilting fabric

— 1 foot of velcro adhesive strips

— sewing machine

— scissors

— pin cushion

— measuring tape

— needle and thread

Instructions:

Measure the inside of your tote bag for both length, height and width. Mark those measurements down and then cut the soft side of the velcro strip panels for the desired height of your center panel — I recommend at least one inch below the top of the bag. Adhere two non-sticky velcro sides to opposite edges of the inside of the bag.

Once your height and width have been measured, you can begin cutting the fabric and filler for your panels. Cut two strips of fabric for your center panel and be sure to add an extra 3/4 of an inch on the corner edges for easy attaching of the sticky side of the velcro panel. Then cut your quilting fabric to the original length of the center panel.

Begin sewing your center panel by placing the two pieces of fabric top (pretty) side facing each other. Sew along the lengthwise edges and one height edge. Then turn the half-sewn panel inside out to reveal the top side of the fabric. Insert your quilting fabric into the panel and sew up the last edge.

Complete this panel process for the six side panels. These should measure in height to be about 1/2 of an inch lower than the height of the center panel. Note: There is no need to add extra length to these side panels because they will not be velcroed to the bag.

After the panels are sewn, hand stitch the side panels to the center panel. A top, center and bottom stitch will be plenty to hold those together.

Then attach the sticky velcro side to the edges of the center panel. Place the insert inside the bag and let the velcro do its magic. Add wine, admire and get to toting a party along with you.

Rosé, Mini Bubbly and *All* the Wines

Keeping in line with our theme, we brought plenty of rosé, Champs and even jumped on the new canned wine trend with the Barefoot Refresh Spritzers. Having a variety of wines will keep everyone happy and allow for a full day of festivities.

Whatever you do, don’t forget to bring some fun party straws for easy sipping and added cuteness.

Kick back and enjoy your beverages and good company. Happy boat brunching!

This post is a collaboration with Boatbound.

DIY Production: Katie Bond

Styling: Anita Yung, Katie Bond

Photography: Brittany Griffin, Chris Andre

Models: Cortney Clift, Beth Wischnia, Angela Velez, Katie Bond, Lisa Raphael, Sarah James