Styling Ideas for a Paris-themed Sweet 16 Soiree!

Treat your daughter to the delights of Paris for her Sweet 16 party! Bring the charms of the City of Lights to the occasion with French-inspired table decorations, sweet florals, and themed keepsakes. You’ll be surprised at how doable this is. All you need a clear vision of the colors, patterns, and accents to use—sparked, we hope, by this styled set we’ve created. Welcome to Paris!

Choose a Classic Pink and Black Palette

The birthday girl will be tickled pink (literally!) with this classic Parisian palette. Quite a perfect motif, in fact, for this turning point in her life: sweet pink for the little girl she once was and stylish black for the young lady she’s becoming!

Apply these colors throughout the venue decorations and table settings for a neat, pulled-together look. Plus, you’ll create an instant French chic ambiance for the occasion.

Use Key Elements That Say Oo-la-la!

Say “Paris” and most people immediately think Eiffel Tower, French cuisine, fluffy poodles, and macarons. Well, we chose the two simplest of these to grace our party tables: a lighted Eiffel Tower centerpiece and delicate white and pink macarons. As easy as that, and guests are transported to the most romantic city in the world!

You may, of course, choose your own iconic decorations to channel this same ambiance:

• – a grouping of purses and pumps to simulate designer label accessories from France
• – little stuffed poodles wearing oversized pink bows
• – Madeline-style straw hats perched on each chair.

Pay Homage to Paris Fashion

With Paris being a leading fashion center worldwide, we just had to bring in some references to this in our table display. How did we do it? As subtly as laying out a black and white polka dot table cloth and covering little flower boxes in houndstooth-patterned paper!

We actually had a third pattern, black and white stripes, gracing the guest’s table napkins and menu cards (you can see a bit of this in the last photo below). And you could go further with black and white damask, antique lace, floral prints, maybe even a hint of chevron!

Add Sweet Romance with Flowers

Of course, there must be flowers! But with the Eiffel Tower taking center stage, we opted to create varied petite bunches of blooms to be laid out throughout the table. To keep within the palette, we used flowers in shades of pink—mainly carnations and Alstroemeria (also called Peruvian lily). But depending on your budget, you could also use pink roses, dahlias, carnations, peonies, gerberas, or mums.

Part of the fun, too, is finding different vases and containers for your florals. Don’t hesitate to mix and match ceramic urns, cube vases, and little votive holders, like we did. Or consider using goblets, tea cups, tea pots, champagne flutes, pitchers, even fish bowls!

Create a “Sidewalk Café” Welcome Display

Who doesn’t love those sidewalk cafés on Paris’ street corners? We tried to capture even a nod to those icons by bringing in an actual wrought iron lamp post! Then, we used that to display our customized welcome sign, greeting everyone “Bon Jour! Welcome to Paris.”

If a lamp post isn’t available, you can still simulate that café look with a lawn umbrella or a pretty striped canopy (that maybe Dad can DIY?). Either of these would look fabulous gracing your dessert buffet or the Sweet 16 gift table!

Parisian Favors to Bid “Au Revoir!”

As favors with a distinctly Parisian flair, consider dainty sweets like macarons, Madeleines, or creme puffs. Present them in pretty pink or fuchsia packaging accented with a mini replica of the Eiffel Tower. Simply rest them atop each place setting for an inviting look!