AshleyNewell.me: Summer Family BBQ

A couple weeks ago, my friend Laura and I threw a Summer Family BBQ for some of our blogger friends. Of course, summer is a great time for entertaining and who doesn't love a BBQ? Laura has a great backyard for entertaining so we put our heads together and came up with a great event. Today, I'll be recapping the event for you.

We had many amazing sponsors for this BBQ! I'm so grateful that they made this event possible for us. As always all opinions are 100% honest and my own.

KimiLove, AshleyNewell.me, Savvygreystyles, Eraeholland, Tomorrowsmom
ProbablyatTarget, FancyFixDecor, ThisMomsaDreamer, BlogAboutitAll

FOOD

Of course, what's the most important part of a BBQ? The food! We were lucky enough to have Western Grassfed Beef as a sponsor for our event. Western Grassfed is a local company based out of Woodland, California. Their cattle is raised with no antibiotics or added hormones. They are 100% grass fed and raised in an open pasture.

For this event, we decided on Western Grass Fed Brisket and hot dogs for the kiddos who don't want to eat brisket. Brisket is a great cut for a crowd since it can be cooked for a long time and is relatively low maintenance once it's on. For the BBQ, Laura's husband used a smoker to cook the meat. He did a simple rub of salt, pepper, and garlic powder to let the meat sing. Also, once sliced brisket is great for feeding a crowd and pretty versatile. It can be eaten on its own, made into a sandwich, chopped and added to a salad, etc... The brisket was a huge hit with all our guests!

Photo by Tammy Le Nguyen

Photo by Blog About it All

We also served Western Grassfed Organic Uncured Beef Hot Dogs. They are gluten free which is wonderful since we had gluten free attendees. They were a huge hit with the young and young at heart! We simply offered buns, ketchup, and mustard to go with them. The kids gobbled them up! We provided rolls, buns, chips, condiments, crackers, vegan dogs, and an assortment of water, lemonade, and juices. We asked our guests to bring a side dish or a snack to add to the table. It was a great way to ensure that the kids in each family would have something that their parents know that they would eat.

Drinks
What goes better with delicious BBQ meats than some nice cold beer and wine? We were lucky enough to get some beer from Flatland Brewing Company that paired so nicely with the smoky meat. We also had delectable wines from Rippey Family Vineyards, crisp white since it's summer and people love a nice refreshing glass on a hot day and some bold reds to pair with the beef.

Flatland Brewing Co - Photo by Tammy Le Nguyen

Rippey Family Vineyards - Photos by Tammy Le Nguyen

Our friend Nicole of Fancy Fix Decor set up the cutest lemonade stand with elements from Rod Works in Laura's backyard and we offered lemonade in a lovely dispenser. It was such a big hit with the kids and felt so nostalgic. We also had a cooler filled with bottled waters and juice pounces for the kids. It's so important to stay hydrated in the summer!

Photo by Tammy Le Nguyen

Desserts
You can't have a party without some yummy treats! We had two AMAZING dessert sponsors. Joe Boy Bakes gifted us some amazing fika buns in three different flavors. To go with those, we had delicious ice cream from Leatherby's Family Creamery and chocolate and caramel sauces to go on top. This was a HUGE hit with all the kids! What's better way to end the day?

Boy's Bakery Fika Buns - Photo by Tammy Le Nguyen

Ice Cream Scoops and Sauces from Leatherby's Family Creamery

Photography and Decor
We were lucky enough to have Tammy Le Nguyen take photos for us! We also had a gorgeous backdrop by Dani and Kayla Events with black and white gingham to match our theme and the cutest balloon arch. We also had the cutest floral arrangements done by Fancy Fix Decor.

Dani and Kayla Events photo backdrop - Photo by Tammy Le Nguyen

Entertainment
We knew that the adults would want to sit and chat so we really only needed entertainment for the kiddos. We partnered with Astro Jump of Sacramento who hooked us up with the COOLEST bounce house ever! There was a slide and a basketball hoop INSIDE the bounce house. I felt really safe knowing that the kids wouldn't tumble off the slide into the grass or accidentally hit someone walking by with a stray basketball, it was all contained. The whole process was so easy! Their friendly staff is quick and efficient and the bounce house was a favorite of all the kids.

Astro Jump Sacramento Bounce House - Photo by Tammy Le Nguyen

Raffle
We were so excited to have some great brands donate prizes to our raffle. I think all the moms got to walk away with a prize. Thank you to Rod Works, Amazing Lash Studio Elk Grove, Maverick Stacy Gallegos, and Imagine Play Elk Grove for providing raffle items!