Balloon Waterfalls Elevate the Atmosphere

Balloon Waterfalls Elevate the Atmosphere

Balloon Waterfalls elevate the atmosphere in marble, black, gold, silver, and mini pearl balloons. This party idea is stunning and brought a stately, modern, explosive and presidential impact to a very special event! This party inspiration started when Calli, my daughter, was studying the election process with her Civic's class. Her tutor decided to add some real muscle to the material by having a class election, followed by a an inauguration ceremony to swear in the winners, and to put the icing-on-the-cake, an inaugural dinner and ball! 

Inaugural Ball! Enter Lifted Balloons with a little, no-actually a LOT of dance in my step! I volunteered to bring some serious luxury balloon swag to this fun, family, educational event! Confession. This was my opportunity to style one for the very FIRST time! I knew that I'd be offering Balloon Bursts and Balloon Waterfalls on my menu of products for party style, BUT I needed an event to play around with technique and make clumsy mistakes without the pressure of performing for a client. This could not have lined up more perfectly. I was overjoyed to create a beautiful balloon installation with high drama!

Balloon Bursts and Balloon Waterfalls-

are the best party idea for visual impact that is unforgettable! Attendees of this event still talk about this balloon installation months after the ball!

Sometimes art is so innovative and new that the world doesn't even know what to call it. My research shows that this level of balloon art / balloon work has only been on the scene for roughly two years, which I consider very new-and most of this kind of work is being pioneered way outside of the San Francisco Bay Area. I have found that the balloon industry/party event industry hasn't really figured out the perfect name for what I am showing you. The terms "Balloon Arch" and "Balloon Garland" are what is currently being used to describe what you see at Liftedballoons.com and the subject of this post. However, as you can see, it does not look like an arch in any way, nor does it resemble a garland. My team and I have wracked our brains to create names for these balloon creations and balloon installations that strike an accurate impression of what they actually look like. I don't know if I will be able to turn the vernacular to my chosen interpretation, but at least my Lifted Balloons clients will have a clear picture in mind when I suggest a Balloon Waterfall for their wedding reception entrance or a Balloon Burst for their Graduation Party. The above balloon installation falls under the category of a Balloon Waterfall, but I prefer to call it a Balloon Burst as it doesn't cascade over itself like a waterfall. It doesn't have the same movement and is fixed in place in an architectural fashion like a balloon sculpture. The color palette came from the tutor and I was relieved that she chose such an elegant color story. 

Photo booth idea that is sensational!

The students loved posing in front of this over-the-top balloon backdrop.

Homeschool students generally don't have many social special events to get dressed to the hilt for, so they embraced the semi-formal/formal attire only dress code with enthusiasm. I am proud to say that Lifted Balloons brought a photo booth balloon backdrop that matched the formality one hundred percent! Don't they look so stately and dignified posing in front of that sensational photo backdrop?

Calli is sworn in as Class Secretary-

"I, Calli Angeline Gilmore, do solemnly swear to uphold..."

What a dramatic focal point to this community clubhouse space?! The Main Clubhouse at Sycamore, is a beautiful space, yet it's a neutral canvas just begging for serious event styling. Calli is sworn in as Class Secretary after she and her running mate won the class election, in front of a Balloon Burst visually exploding with balloons of all sizes while hovering over a massive fireplace. Her tutor is a first class lady and polished educator, and it was so grand of her to give these students and our families this elegant ceremony and ball! It is noteworthy that the tutor also taught all the students, third graders up to high school, some basic ballroom steps and required every student to participate. It was such a joy to see fathers dancing with daughters, sons dancing with mothers and the younger students bravely asking each other to dance. There were several sets of pretty little shoes on top of their daddy's feet spinning around the ballroom floor! My eyes welled up many times as families carved memories into eternity while swaying, swinging, dipping and twirling. The gentlemen made sure their daughters and wives knew how spectacular and beautiful they were and the young men felt the freedom and fun of leading a lady in a dance. 

Balloon Burst is Center Stage

An unforgettable night of ballroom dancing!

Everyone had a fabulous time and didn't want the enjoyment of the evening to end. Months after the ball families continue to discuss what a magnificent experience it was from start to finish! Also, I still receive praise about the Balloon Burst that I styled for the event and how they had never seen anything like it. Personally, I love how it turned out and how it really transformed a community space into a sensational event styled in a presidential fashion! 

Every Order Custom

"Every Order Custom" means that I will thoughtfully create any kind balloon styling, garland, balloon waterfall or event styling service you can dream up. My custom balloon tassels are hand painted with gold metallic (or metallics of your choice), and embellished with anything to support your special event vision or party theme.

Oh the enchantment of the design process! My clients are so inspiring. I love every one of them. Often my clients will text me photos of a color palette, a Pinterest clip, a movie clip, a seed packet, or even an outfit and I customize a look for their event. However, sometimes a client might say, I want to have a Par Kour event and there isn't any point of reference, because it hasn't been done yet. The image above was me playing around with textiles and falling in love with possibilities. In this case, I used some hardware, chains in varying weights, to create a young, edgy and urban vibe to the custom tails. Although the client opted for a softer look, omitting the chains, the pics I posted on Instagram were a big hit! In fact, those chains did make it on a custom birthday balloon but in a completely elegant way! It's kind of like life sometimes, it's not always about the destination, but the beauty is in the process. Also, hang on to those ideas that excite you, because there is opportunity for them in the right timing! 

I fell in love with balloon styling idea.

In this next photo, I whipped up some balloon styling with silver metallics, light grey and charcoal tissue tassels. In addition to the chains, silver metallic fringe, and hand painted silver metallic tail/garland-is the experimental balloon light! Balloon lights are a great way to embellish a giant, luxury balloon! Another party tip is to do what I did below when event styling, and create a mock up. We discovered that the red balloon light was too small and cast a pink glow which was no the look we wanted for a bar mitzvah palette of red and grey. Eventually, we evolved into using white fairy lights on the custom tail/garland, which was just right. 

Below, you can see a close up of our balloon styling mock up. You know, when you see an event styled to perfection, or glorious, addicting Pinterest ideas, you are not seeing hours of vision casting, choosing materials, mock ups, bloopers or failures. I'm enjoying showing you a little window into what balloon styling and event styling is like. The red glow of the balloon light and the chain draping down from the balloon is gorgeous! It may not have suited our client but the ideas are locked down and as I've mentioned before, they will reemerge when the timing is right!

luxury balloons for water

Lifted Balloons bring luxury balloons with custom tail/garland to a Wine4Water Benefit hosted by World Vision at the Behring Auto Museum in Blackhawk, California. It was an "elevate the atmosphere" kind of event styling that I was so honored to collaborate with giant balloons.  

My client chose white balloons to stand apart from the gorgeous blue linens and exquisite orange tones of the florals. The Wine4Water colors are "Sunkist Orange" and "California Blue". They remind me of sunshine reflecting off of fresh, clean water, so I packed a punch of sparkle -- all I could get into the custom tails with these vibrant colors. There was plenty of dazzle to compliment the exquisite car collection and memorabilia on display in the museum. This event was stunning in every way! A standing ovation is due in praise of the phenomenal work performed by World Vision all over the world to bring the gift of clean water access, and so much more, to our brothers and sisters in the greatest of need.

Color Palette

Just for fun, I thought I'd flank the bar with these 2 giant white balloons, just for a quick, fun photo. The event coordinator happened to see it and said, "Perfect! Leave them there! The bar need them!." In an event space like a museum that is spacious, almost cavernous, It's easy for a a piece of floating furniture like the bar to disappear, or worse, be difficult for guests to find. Giant balloons are perfect for giving the bar presence and ensuring that it is not missed.

twin balloons flank the bar

A luxury balloon is a beautiful, welcoming first impression in a dramatic lobby entryway. I love this photo even though I snapped it during set up. You can even see a bit of the reflective sparkle in the custom ribbon tail/garland. It plays well naturally next to that spectacular arrangement by Pairs and Pieces

registration table during install

A giant balloon is an great compliment to a photo booth and often times, is the only photo booth idea needed. This giant balloon draws guests to the photo area, which is decorated with such thoughtfulness and meaning for the event's purpose. I love it!

A giant, luxury balloon next to a super car! Who could resist? Certainly, I could not. I think they look stunning together! I love how the luxury balloons harmonized with all of the fantastic memorabilia in the auto museum. The classics and the luxury balloons are exciting, fun and memorable! Perfect match!

This balloon wanted a picture with a supercar! 

Lifted Balloons, event styling in Klamath Falls

 I offer my services of event styling for my Lifted Balloons' clients, just as I always have for friends like Jeanine, who summoned me for a large dinner party event. Luxury balloons elevate the atmosphere, but some venues have plenty of atmosphere, like the spectacular view of Klamath Lake from this spacious jewel box of a great room. Contact me for a consultation if you'd like me to "sprinkle magic" at your next dinner party, celebration or special event. I was thrilled to lend a hand at this private dinner party for 31 guests from all over the world, in a gorgeous lake view home. "Now, do what you do and make it look pretty," Jeanine said which is music to my ears and much similar to what most of my clients say during a project. I love it!

Event Styling

Lifted Balloons will travel.

This event was super special because I had the joy of working with two long-time close friends and my husband!

My friend Jeanine is an extraordinary hostess, bash thrower and gracious, accommodating, exceptional cook. She is meticulously organized and well seasoned at party planning and hosting, but what makes her so successful is knowing when and who to call for help. She and I brainstormed a menu for a "glamorous summer grill out," which would include gluten free, grain free, vegan, vegetarian, dairy free- basically something for everyone! We showcased fresh, locally sourced food - even the flowers and wine were local!

Food Styling

fresh . local. beautiful.

I had a blast arranging gorgeous flowers from Floranthropy in Redding, California.  This charming floral studio gave me a great "cheat", meaning Jeanine ordered a gorgeous studio designed centerpiece for the hors d'ouvres table. They also provided me with a giant bucket stuffed with blooms to create smaller, complimentary arrangements for dining tables and food stations. They lent a " wild, just-picked " vibe to the space and looked cheerful and happy in a collection of Jeanine's vintage milk bottles and colored glass. My event styling is the same as my party styling, food styling, and interior decorating: less-is-more! If you follow this blog, you know that my style is informed by hospitality. Guests aren't impressed if the decorations block their view, their walking path, or overwhelm a space. I like to choose a few things to tell the story. In this space, for this event, styling was all about the view, the flowers and the fresh, local, home cooked food! Oh and a great mucic playlist! I am a big believer is using what you have. Jeanine's glass ware was gorgeous and we used it ALL thoughtfully and beautifully. The beautiful Farmers Market apples and cheeses were showcased and became party styling decor. I love using food as the style elements. They need little finessing when they are full of color, texture, variation and beauty!

Floral Styling

Blooms can elevate the atmosphere too!

A small bundle of blooms in the powder room. 

The three of us performed like expert caterers, but unlike most caterers, we had the luxury of sitting at the table and enjoying the food with the guests. Each one of them graciously thanked us over and over again for our exceptional food and lovely hospitality. 

Tip! Hearty make ahead salads and baked potato bar make simple and satisfying dishes for large parties. 

This dinner party was a professional event marking an exciting transition in their company's development. Jeanine had a clear vision to open her home, cook for the colleagues and treat them like family. She did not want a catered, formal ,fussy feeling evening. Her plan was  to glam up and dazzle in a relaxed inviting way.  I got it!

appetizer table