I don’t know when or how but Valentine’s Day has become my favorite holiday that’s not a holiday. I think it’s because I started embracing how beautiful of a thing love is beyond just romantic contexts. So to celebrate the holiday of love, I hosted an intimate Galentine’s brunch.

The Decor

I wanted the aesthetic to be very romantic, dainty, and Bridgerton-esque. I know that most associate red with Valentine’s Day but I felt like red was a little too harsh of a color scheme for a daytime brunch. So naturally, I went with my favorite color: blush pink. I am a huge fan of fresh flowers for my apartment so this ended up being a great excuse to go overboard on the flowers. I pulled some inspiration from some Tik Tok videos and blog posts and put a little something together! Here’s a glimpse into how the decor turned out.

The Food

As tempting as it was to make my own brunch at home (looking at that heart-shaped waffle maker at Target in particular), I am trying to be more cognizant of having superwoman syndrome and holding myself back from trying to do it. I decided to cater the food from Sweet Chick—we had the Chicken & Waffles package with the biscuits and fruit salad as sides.  I also made a specially catered order of shrimp and grits which are not on the public catering menu but I contacted the catering department and they informed me they’d be able to add that to my order. The beautiful vintage heart-shaped cake was from Saint Street Cakes and it tasted as good (if not better) than it looked. The remaining treats were courtesy of Trader Joe’s and Mia’s bakery in the Boerum Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn.

The Gifts 

The inspiration for these gift boxes was the very bridesmaid proposal gift boxes that I’ve seen, but I was particularly fond of this one. I wanted to stick with a clear box so that everything could be seen, which meant that the aesthetics of the products mattered as well. I went with a rose/blush-colored aesthetic and products that fell into the theme of self-care. Basically, the box was the perfect starter kit for a lovely night in by yourself. On top of that, I wanted every product in the box to be from a Black-owned company. Admittedly, this made my search a little harder and I ran into some challenges along the way but thankfully it all came together. The final box, from the container store, included:

• a blush wine glass from Estelle Colored Glass
• a Forvr Mood silk pillowcase
• a rose-scented candle from Joe & Monroe
• a travel size coco-rose body butter from Skin Buttr
• a tube of hand cream from Pear Nova
• a pack of Topicals “faded” under eye masks
• a blush-colored towel wrap from LA Beautyologist

I packed all of these things in (wait for it) an acrylic shoe box from the Container store and tied a ribbon on it. I’m so glad I was able to give a little something to my friends in honor of the holiday.

The Galentine’s Brunch Overall

Overall the day could not have been any better. There was a decent amount of planning that had to go into this but everything went off without a hitch. The food and flower deliveries arrived on time. The balloons and cake were ready for pick up on time. Even though I bought so many items from different places all the colors were the same and matched perfectly. Most importantly, the vibes were immaculate my friends had a great time. Cheers to friendship and all the ways love shows up in our lives.

“Do everything in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:14

#EniGivenSunday