Hamptons Party Ideas | Coastal Summer Women's Party Inspiration
Looking for Hamptons party ideas? This real life Hampton's inspired summer party is filled with the East Coast vibe of blue and white chic coastal decor. I share some of my favorite tips for outdoor entertaining and poolside seating, plus the cutest cocktail bar with free printable signs. The gorgeous coastal tablescape plus Hampton inspired outfit ideas for women to wear will have you ready to host your own seaside soiree this summer.
Coastal Summer Party Inspiration
My co-hosts and I transported our guests to the Hamptons by turning our own Seattle backyard into a coastal inspired favorite things party. We thought it would be fun to take our guests to the other coast, after last years Palm Springs themed Favorite Things party.
This party has plenty of inspiration for a women's birthday, bridal shower, bachelorette party, girls weekend, dinner party or pool party to bring your own coastal summer celebration to life, whatever your occasion may be!
Shop the Coastal Beach Invitation
How to create a Hamptons inspired Party
You don't need an address in the Hamptons to bring the coastal vibe to your own backyard party. The easiest way to get the feel of transporting your guests to the coast is starting with the classic blue and white color palette, and adding some seaside touches with coastal textures like wicker, rope and driftwood. You don't need every piece at your party to scream beach theme! If you're having a poolside party, give guests a few different places to sit and gather, instead of putting all the seating in one area and make sure to have a dedicated cocktail or drink station with a signature cocktail and mocktail so guests can grab a drink when they arrive. Lastly, everyone loves a personalized touch like this custom banner, drink tags, welcome signs or menus. These small details can bring a whole party together.
Shop the Customizable Hamptons Banner
Coastal Cocktail Menu & Drink Station
First things first, when you're hosting an adult party, or Hamptons themed dinner party on a summer evening, guests immediately want something to eat or drink. This party was a mom-only event, and the first thing I like to do on such occasion to celebrate, is to pour myself a cocktail or mocktail.
The bar set up for this Hampton's inspired Favorite Things Party was so inviting and the first thing guests gravitated to when they arrived. The beautiful wall hanging Allison made gave the perfect beach house vibe and the delicious wines were provided for us by Goose Ridge Winery and Cascadian Outfitters. They paired perfectly with our signature drink, The Beach House which was lemonade, citrus vodka, prosecco, blueberries and thyme. The drink transported our guests straight to the Hampton's when they poured their cocktail!
Each guest found their custom seashell drink tag that I DIY'd on my cricut, and later learned the custom colors were their teams for round 1 of gift picking! I loved the surprise when we told everyone to find the girls with the same color tags!
Party Tip: You don't need a full bar to recreate this look. Set up one signature drink, a fruity flavored water and ask a few guest who ask how they can help to bring a bottle of wine to share! Add a custom bar drink menu, drink tags and a textured element like hydrangeas or wood platters and you have a beautiful cocktail bar.
Hamptons inspired outdoor party seating
After everyone had gotten their drinks, and dished up from the potluck style spread of food, we did our next favorite thing that mom's don't get to do often enough, and that is RELAX!
The seating areas were one of my favorite parts of the set up, for a few reasons. We mixed friend groups at this party, between our mom tribe and some local mom-business owners so we wanted to give everyone plenty of spaces to mingle and feel comfortable. One of my new friends, Kendra from Linen and Ivory, custom designed a collection of pillows for this Hamptons party! This made the seating areas feel so special and unique and really completed each of the poolside seating arrangements. Each seating area got a beach-pun party sign because if you know me, you know I love a good pun.
Party Flow Tip: Instead of putting all your seating in one area, create a few smaller spots where guests can gather. Mix lounge chairs, outdoor sofas, dining chairs and pillows to make the areas feel relaxed and inviting.
Download the free party signs and print for your own Hampton's party 👇
My other absolute favorite part of the poolside seating area was getting to reveal a new product that I debuted at the party, my custom acrylic signs. They are new to my shop and can be personalized for any occasion or celebration, in virtually any size. If you have a wedding, bridal shower, party or even a company logo you'd like printed on acrylic, send me an email!
Our friends could also sit at this absolutely gorgeous tablescape that had coastal details like the hanging lanterns, hydrangeas, and vintage blue glass cocktail cups!
One simple detail to bring a Hampton's themed dinner party to life is personalized seating place cards. There is just something so cool about having your name personalized at your seat. We couldn't decide between the calligraphy sea glass, or beach inspired rope balls with name cards, so we kept them both!
How to create a Hamptons dinner party setting
Start with a simple blue and white foundation, then layer in a few coastal details like hydrangeas, lantern, colored glassware and personalized place settings. You don't need every detail to be beach themed, but mixing some coastal elements with the classic pieces in the blue, white and beige color scheme is what gives your table the polished feel.
Giving Back | Party for a Cause
I want to share one more detail with you that made this year's Favorite Things Party so special, and that is the giving back piece we incorporated this year. I do a lot of volunteer work for my friends at The Team Lilly Foundation, a non-profit started by childhood cancer survivor, Lilly. This little lady was born with cancer, and beat it, all before her first birthday. Six years later, she started her own non-profit to be the outstretched hand to other kids fighting and I've been fighting by their sides since 2013. Aside from the daily financial assistance, they send over 600 care packages a year to cancer fighters. We asked our guests to bring socks to send in the care packages and for kids to color pictures and I was overwhelmed with gratitude watching these baskets fill to the brim as guest arrived. It was such a small and easy thing to do at the party to help our community. It is a gentle reminder as a mom, when life gets us so busy, to make sure we slow down and hug our babies, and don't take their health for granted.
Hamptons Inspired Outfits for Women
We asked our guests to channel their seaside soiree style for party attire and we had lots of questions on what to wear to a Hampton's party. We suggested a color palette with blue, white and beige, simple sandals, breezy summer dresses and classic blue and white stripes. Everyone had a lot of fun putting their coastal outfits together for the party. These outfits would be perfect for a summer birthday party, bachelorette party or Hamptons dinner party too.
What is a Favorite Things Party?
Here is how the "Favorite Things" portion of the party works: Detailed in each invitation was an instruction to bring 3 of the same item, valued at $30, unwrapped to the party. When everyone arrived, they put their items on display on a table that we set up with various risers and crates. During the party, everyone gets to check out what each person brought, and make their wish lists of items they want to grab first.
Each year, we try and mix it up as far as games and the choosing order goes. and we find it best to split it into 3 different rounds and styles of picking for added fun.
Round 1
This year, round 1 was finding your team using the colored drink tags, then a round of "Pier Pressure" an ice-breaker type game I created. Since we didn't all know each other, we wanted to play a game that we could work in small groups to get to know the other moms. This was a questionnaire game that you got various points for having the same or different answers as people on your team. Since it is a group of moms, questions were things like "how do you drink your coffee?" "how many pairs of yoga pants are in your regular rotation?" "add 1 point for each year you've been married or each number of kids you have" It was a quick and fun way to get to know everyone. After all the questions were answered we tallied our scores as individuals and groups, then flipped a coin to see if the group with the highest score or lowest score got to pick first. The round 1 picks went in order of teams who had the highest group score, so group 1 headed to the table, and chose ONE item off. This is where the fun part starts, some years, there are items that are so popular, all 3 people from the first team choose the same item and it's gone before the second team even has a chance!
This year, I brought a gift box from my friend Leah, the owner of Mother Snacker, a curated box for moms that features items from mainly women owned businesses that help make the ride of parenthood a little sweeter. Let me just say that giant rice crispy treat was heavenly. Long story short, I picked my own gift (hey, it's my favorite) and devoured that rice crispy treat.
Round 2:
For the second round of gift picking, we went Project Runway style, and put all the sea glass name place cards into a bag and pulled out the random order. I snatched a clothing steamer, because I am terrible at hanging clothes and can use it to de-wrinkle linens for parties. A dual purpose gift!
Round 3:
Even though this party was in the middle of summer, you never know what you're going to get with Seattle summer nights. It was starting to look like rain, so we turned round 3 into a speed round, and that turned out to be my favorite round! We went back to our "Pier Pressure" ice breaker game, and flipped a coin to go in order of most points to least points, per individual score this time, instead of as a group. There were only 15 items left on the table, so you had to act fast this round!
We started with the highest amount of points, and worked our way down, with about 10 seconds in between each number, girls literally had to run to the table and dive after their items, and there were a few rounds that had ties, so two people ran to the table at once. There were a ton of laughs this round, and lots of clapping and cheering as everyone rushed to grab their last items off the table! I was ready to dive after an adorable Hearth & Hand stand and it was swiped right before I could get my hands on it, so I did a quick pivot and snagged an at home spa kit, complete with 2 face masks, rose water spray and reusable make-up remover wipes.
Coastal Summer Party Dessert Table
This watercolor coastal cake was the showstopper of the dessert table. We wanted the cake to be the focal point, so we displayed it on a nautical inspired cake plate, then surrounded it with vanilla cupcakes coated with coconut flakes, powdered donut holes and beignets.
Dessert Table Tip: Your dessert table doesn't need dozens of customized desserts to make an impact. Choose one focal point dessert, then fill around it with simple store bought or easy to serve treats. A pretty cake stand, coordinated colors and a few decorative details can make the whole table feel intentional.
Luckily, the rain held out, so we were able to sit around the fire pit and finish off the Cascadian wine, and wrap up the night with a swim in the pool. It was absolute perfection and the best way to finish off the night.
Hamptons party ideas for any celebration
Whether your planning a Hampton's inspired dinner party, women's summer birthday, bridal shower or your own favorite things party, you don't need to live in the Hampton's to bring this party to life. Start with the classic coastal color palette, add a few thoughtful coastal details and make spaces people want to sit and hang out. Lean into the beach theme with coastal cocktails or a show stopping dessert and bring in a few personalized details to make the celebration feel unique.
Featured Vendors:
[Left to Right]
Allison Carter-
Aleks Lopez- beautiful party photographer)
Kendra Farmer- Linen and Ivory
Krysten Klemesrud
Nicole McKinley- Palm to Pine Design
Glasses and Silverware: Balancing Balloons
Wine: Cascadian Outfitters and Goose Ridge
