I still cannot get over how much FUN my 40th pickleball birthday party was!!! I’ve been dreaming about this night for so long, and I knew exactly what I wanted. A pickleball party under the lights, a gorgeous green and white color palette, fun tequila cocktails, lots of personalized details, and all my favorite people together.
And when I say I had a vision, I HAD A VISION. I wanted everything to feel a little elevated and country club chic, but also playful and not too serious. Basically, I wanted a really pretty party where everyone could play pickleball, sip margaritas, snack on delicious food, and have the absolute best time.
And y’all. It was even better than I imagined.
Pickleball Birthday Party Planning
If you know me, you know I LOVE throwing a party. I host SO many parties every year, and I’m usually the one dreaming up the theme, ordering all the little details, and making sure everything comes together.
But for my 40th? I wanted to actually ENJOY my own party.
So I handed my very specific vision over to Ali with Tiny Sprinkles Events and y’all…BEST. DECISION. EVER.
Ali took everything I had dreamed up and somehow made it even better. She tracked down the most incredible vendors, sourced SO many cute little details, handled all the moving pieces, and brought the entire thing to life. Every time she sent me an update or showed me something she’d found, I got even more excited.
For once, I got to skip all the behind-the-scenes work and just show up to enjoy it all. Seeing everything come together on party day was the BEST feeling.
Pickleball Party Decorations
One thing I knew I wanted from the very beginning was custom branding for my pickleball birthday party. I wanted everything to feel cohesive, from the big statement pieces down to the tiniest little details. And the theme? SERVING FORTY! I mean, how perfect?!
I created the logo in Canva with a vintage country club vibe in mind, using hunter green and white, crossed pickleball paddles, and “EST. 1986.” I was OBSESSED with how the branding turned out, and we carried it throughout the entire party.
I gasped when I walked into my party and laid eyes on the statement wall. It was absolute perfection! All Your Signs created the custom vinyl that brought the branding to life.
House Party Lake Norman brought just as much magic with the most gorgeous balloon installation framing the wall. Think different shades of green, white, oversized metallic balloons, and the cutest little balloon flowers tucked throughout.
And of course, Ali with Tiny Sprinkles Events created all the beautiful florals for the party, tying our green-and-white color palette together perfectly.
The finished wall was the perfect backdrop for photos all night long!
Pickleball Party Cocktails & Custom Bar
I’m a huge tequila girly, so obviously margaritas were a MUST for my 40th birthday party! LALO is my absolute favorite tequila, and I knew I wanted some really fun signature cocktails for the night.
The Wandering Social absolutely knocked it out of the park with our signature cocktails and created the most delicious custom mixers for our Match Point Margarita and Paddle Paloma. Paired with LALO tequila, they were everything I wanted and more.
And can we talk about the BAR?! We rented the prettiest white bar from Party Reflections, and All Your Signs added our custom pickleball paddle vinyl to the front.
And the little bar details!!! We had custom frosted cups, drink charms, cocktail napkins, and matchboxes from Etsy, plus the cutest signature cocktail signage from Minted. I loved seeing our party branding carried throughout.
Pickleball Party Food
I wanted the food to be easy to grab between pickleball games, so we went with a bunch of fun, bite-sized appetizers which was perfect for the party.
The Country Club handled all the catering, and we served mini crab cakes, chicken and waffle skewers, caprese skewers, prosciutto-wrapped melon, and mini cheeseburger sliders.
But let’s be clear. The most important food item on the menu was the FRENCH FRIES. If you know me, you know fries are my absolute favorite food, so there was no way I was throwing my 40th birthday party without them!
And obviously, they needed their own cute little moment. We served the fries in custom Serving Forty fry boxes from Etsy, alongside mini cheeseburgers topped with personalized pickleball flags. I mean, HOW CUTE did these turn out?!
Pickleball Birthday Cake
CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS CAKE?!?!?!? I mean, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
Cakes Infinity created an absolute MASTERPIECE for my 40th birthday party. And the best part?! The cake was a complete surprise! I had NO idea what it was going to look like, and I was absolutely blown away when I saw it.
This cake was truly its own moment. I cannot even tell you how many people stopped to admire it. Every little detail was perfection, and it tasted just as incredible as it looked. An absolute SHOWSTOPPER.
Pickleball Party Games
And obviously, we had to PLAY PICKLEBALL!!
We set up a pickleball tournament, and everyone was SO into it! We had four courts of games going all night long, and it was seriously the most fun watching everyone play, cheer each other on, and have the best time.
A HUGE shoutout to my pro, Weston, who absolutely crushed it keeping the tournament organized and the games running smoothly all night. He handled everything on the courts so I could just enjoy playing with my friends, and I cannot thank him enough!
House Party Lake Norman created custom pickleball paddles for my party, which were a huge hit and such a fun way to carry our Serving Forty theme onto the courts! And they doubled as party favors. You have to watch them in action HERE!
And we obviously needed an incredible playlist to keep the energy up! I spent months putting together my Serving Forty party playlist packed with all my favorite songs, and it kept the vibes HIGH all night long. Between the music, cocktails, and four courts of pickleball going nonstop, the energy was unreal.
If you’re planning your own pickleball birthday party, having someone run the games is my biggest recommendation. It kept everything moving and let everyone focus on having fun.
Capturing the Night
As someone who is ALWAYS behind the camera capturing content, one of the BEST gifts I gave myself for this party was hiring someone else to do it! I cannot tell you how amazing it felt to put my phone away, be fully present, and just ENJOY the night without worrying about getting all the photos and videos.
The Golden Times photographed the party, and Social Graces Creative captured all the video content. The girls did such an incredible job documenting every little detail, all the fun candid moments, and the energy of the night. I am SO grateful to have these memories to look back on!
And the recap reels Social Graces created?! SO GOOD. Every time I watch them, I’m right back on those courts celebrating with my favorite people.
Watching my Serving Forty birthday party recap reels HERE & HERE!
Pickleball Birthday Party Vendors & Magic Makers
- Event Design + Planning & Florals: Ali with Tiny Sprinkles Events (@tinysprinklesevents)
- Photography: @_the.golden.times_
- Content creation: @socialgraces.creative
- Vinyl: @allyoursigns_nc
- Balloons + Paddles: @housepartylakenorman
- Signature Cocktails: @thewanderingsocial
- Rentals: @partyreflections
- Custom Etsy Items: Frosted Cups + Drink Charms + Cocktail Napkins + Matchboxes + French Fry Boxes + Burger Flags
- Signage: @minted
- Cake: @cakes.infinity
- Party Playlist
