As a mom of two boys, I always look forward to celebrating Mother’s Day with my family. Depending on the weather, we usually head out for a picnic, a bike ride, or maybe a Cleveland Indians game (so much fun to spend Mother’s Day in an MLB ballpark). However, I also like to set aside a day to celebrate with the strong, beautiful moms in my life too.
This year I partnered with Heinen’s Grocery Store to host a spring brunch, complete with a gourmet waffle bar, signature rosé spritz cocktail, and plenty of seasonal flowers! As a lover of entertaining, I am excited to not only share the party with you all, but to also provide all of my tips, tricks and recipes, so you can feel confident hosting your own unforgettable Mother’s Day brunch this year too.
When I decided to host a Mother’s Day brunch, my first priority was developing a unique menu that guests would love. After tossing around a few ideas, I landed on a DIY gourmet waffle bar that I knew would be perfect for the occasion. From sweet to savory options, I love that a waffle bar allows guests to create their waffles exactly to their liking, using pre-planned recipe suggestions, or completely DIY using any of the toppings on the waffle bar.
Another benefit to a waffle bar is that it allows you to prep and set everything up before guests arrive, which frees up more time to spend with your guests. On the morning of the party, I used a square waffle iron to cook up a large batch of waffles using several pancake and waffle mixes from Birch Benders, including their Organic Classic mix, Organic Chocolate Chip mix, as well as their Protein mix. To add some more variety to the waffle bar, I also toasted some frozen Birch Benders waffles that I found in the Heinen’s freezer section.
I utilized my kitchen island to style the waffle bar, and filled it with platters of fresh waffles and groups of toppings for guests to use to make a variety of gourmet waffle recipes.
The Mother’s Day waffle bar featured the following recipes:
- Berries and Cream. Featuring fresh berries, Heinen’s honey, cream fraiche, and granola for garnish.
- Peanut Butter and Jelly. Featuring freshly ground Heinen’s Honey Roasted Peanut Butter, Heinen’s Sour Cherry Spread, fresh berries, and crushed peanuts as garnish.
- S’mores. Featuring Nutella, mini marshmallows, Heinen’s Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips, and graham cracker garnish.
- Banana Bourbon. Featuring sliced banana, chopped pecans, Heinen’s Bourbon Barrel Maple Syrup, and powdered sugar garnish.
- Caprese. Featuring fresh burrata, grape tomatoes, Heinen’s Balsamic Glaze, and fresh basil as garnish.
- Chicken and Waffles. Featuring frozen popcorn chicken bites, hot habanero honey, and fresh green onion garnish.
To elevate the look of the waffle bar, I worked with local Cleveland calligrapher, Brenna Claire Calligraphy, to develop hand drawn recipe cards could be displayed as beautiful artwork and party decor that guests could refer to while making their gourmet waffles. In fact, I loved the recipe cards so much, I asked Brenna to create a printable version for any readers who would like to recreate this waffle brunch bar at home.
Here is the link to download and print the hand drawn recipe cards.
- Berries and Cream and S’mores recipe cards.
- Banana Bourbon and Peanut Buttery and Jelly recipe cards.
- Caprese and Chicken and Waffles recipe cards.
Next, what is a Mother’s Day brunch without some bubbly? In keeping with the feminine, spring theme of the party, I decided to serve a rosé spritz as the signature cocktail of the party. The cocktail station featured all of the ingredients to mix up the spritz, including elderflower liquor, prosecco rosé and grapefruit garnish. I also stocked the bar cart with club soda and sparkling strawberry lemonade for guests who prefer a mocktail option.
The bar cart was styled adjacent to the dining table so guests could mingle and help themselves to a cocktail at their leisure. I also used this area to carry through the Mother’s Day theme by decorating the cocktail station with an oversized pink mesh bow, fresh florals, mismatched accent plates, and a cocktail recipe sign for guests to refer to when mixing up their cocktail.
Click here to download and print the Rosé Spritz cocktail sign.
Now to dive into the details of the tablescape! The design of the table was all about layers, upon layers, soft feminine details, and of course plenty of fresh florals. A pale pink rose tablecloth served as the base of the table, and each place setting featured an antique white and gold charger, blush pink dinner plate, white salad plate, a mismatched floral accent plate, and a lilac linen napkin delicately tied with an oversized floral ribbon. The tablescape also featured gold rimmed cocktail glasses, pink floral cans of sparkling rosé found in the Heinen’s wine department, ceramic flower tea lights and several cake pedestals filled with stacks of fresh waffles. When styling this tablescape, I definitely took a “more is more” approach, and continued to layer on details until it felt complete.
Last but not least, the fresh floral centerpieces provided a focal point to the tablesape design, and truly brought the spring Mother’s Day theme to life. All of the florals from the centerpiece arrangements were sourced from the Heinen’s You Pick section, and featured roses, ranunculus, tulips, snap dragons and wax flowers in an array of ivory, blush, lilac, and pink tones. The key to creating a lush, organic floral centerpiece is to use floral foam at the bottom of the vase, which allows you to individually place each stem. I also recommend using soft greenery, such as eucalyptus or ruscus, as a filler to add volume to your floral arrangement.
I hope enjoyed this article, and that you feel inspired and confident to host your own spring floral brunch in honor of Mother’s Day this year! And for all of my local friends, you can click here to easily shop essentials to host a waffle brunch from Heinen’s!
Photography: Brittany Gidley Photography, Styling: One Stylish Party, Food and Florals: Heinen’s Grocery Store, Calligraphy: Brenna Claire Calligraphy, Floral Styling: Ashley’s Florals.
Parti Malzemeleri says
The table decoration looks very good. And the waffles are marvellous.