This past August, Allan and I threw an engagement party for our friends and family at my parents’ house here in Vancouver. It was a blast to see all our family and friends together in one place! Here is a photo of Allan and I with my parents who were hosting the party.

It was so nice to share this special day with close friends.

My parents completely transformed their backyard… it tooks months of cleaning and clearing to get all the junk and vegetable/fruit plots out of the garden and make it suitable for a garden party. We also put up a tent and put a bunch of patio furniture out for the party.

I love this photo of all my girl friends from high school (and Allan)

We were blessed to have a few of them fly in from out of town! We’re still friends after all these years, and some of them I am even friends with from elementary school!

I created a drink list for the party. My favourite was the strawberry rhubarb gin fizz which I made with a fresh fruit puree.

Mmmm mojitos…

I also served my signature drink, which is an iced watermelon mojito.

We had a champagne toast!

It was so hot that day there was almost no ice!

My dad and Allan BBQed up some delicious ribs with my dad’s secret recipe.

My mom and dad and cousin made all the food for the party from scratch! I really couldn’t believe what an amazing spread they put out.

From calzones and other appies…

… to chicken satays and hamburgers…

… to all sorts of other dishes!

It was a hot day but we tried to keep cool with a keg, some shade and iced drinks!

Yay for awesome friends!

Enjoying the food…

Hanging out…

A planter on the patio…

My dad was making cappuchinos, espresso and coffee!

My mom served homemade gelato with homemade waffle cones!

Not to mention a lot of other dessert like her tiramisu…

… chocolate macarons…

… and a fruit parfait!

It was a wonderful day to spend with our friends. Thanks to my parents for hosting and all our amazing friends for coming! We had a blast!