I work about 140 events a year, which means I meet a lot of vendors. Most are fine. A handful are genuinely excellent. And then there's a very short list of people who make my job easier every single time I show up.
Blooms and Paper has been at the top of that list for years, and this post is long overdue for a proper rewrite.
For the record: this isn't a paid post, and it never was. No affiliate deal, no trade. These are just the people I'd hire myself.
The party that made me a believer
Milen's first birthday was a full carnival. Not carnival-ish. A carnival.
A striped big-top backdrop with a marquee sign reading MILEN'S 1ST CARNIVAL. A red, blue and gold balloon garland that ran the length of the room and climbed the walls. A ferris wheel. Hot air balloons. Life-sized carnival animals. Custom-built crates as props — including one hand-lettered MAGIC KEL for my performing area, which nobody asked them to do.
I've walked into a lot of rooms. That one stopped me at the door.
And here's the part I want you to notice: this was a one-year-old's birthday party. Not a gala. Not a product launch. Somebody's kid turning one.
Who they are
Blooms and Paper is run by Ayame Villarroel out of Surrey, BC. She started the business in 2016, and the origin story is the part I like most.
She was planning her own daughter's first birthday, went looking for a Vancouver company that could build what she had in her head, and couldn't find one. So she made it herself. People at the party started asking who did the flowers. That was the business.
It began with handcrafted paper flowers, which is where the name comes from. Coming up on ten years later it's a full event styling operation: balloon installations, silk flower walls and floral arches, greenery walls, round flower walls, table letters, props and rentals, grab-and-go garlands for DIY setups, full event planning and styling, and now their own event space for rent.
"Balloon company" undersells it
I want to push back on the category label, because "balloon decor" makes people picture a small arch by the cake table.
I've seen Blooms and Paper do everything from a single garland at a house party to full-venue builds that run into five figures. Same team, same standards, wildly different scale. That range is rare, and it's the thing most people don't realize they can even ask for.
If you have a theme, they'll build it. Princess, circus, carnival, butterflies, Cocomelon, Boss Baby — I've seen the lot. The conversation is never "here's our package." It's "what do you want people to feel when they walk in?" Which is exactly how I approach a show, so we tend to get along.
They don't just decorate. They run the room.
Here's the part I didn't expect when I started working with them.
At Milen's carnival, Blooms hadn't just built the set. They'd sourced the whole entertainment lineup — a themed performance act, the kids' activity zone, and me. Different companies, different contracts, all coordinated by them. At the end of the night the performers ended up in the same photo together, which tells you something about how the day ran.
That's not a decor company. That's a producer.
When a client tells me "Blooms is handling it," I stop worrying about the timeline, the setup window, and whether my performing space will actually exist when I arrive. It will. It'll also be lit better than I asked for.
Decor, kids' play areas, and vendor sourcing — balloon twisters, cotton candy, entertainment — under one roof. For a parent planning a first birthday while also, you know, parenting a one-year-old, that's the entire value proposition.
Why decor matters more than entertainers admit
Most performers won't say this out loud, so I will: a great room makes me better.
When guests walk into a space that's obviously been built with care, they arrive already impressed. Their expectations lift. They're primed to be delighted before anything has happened. I'm not fighting to create energy from a cold start — I'm adding to energy that's already in the room.
I said as much in an email to Ayame after Taaj's first birthday this summer:
"What a beautiful party, and as always, your setup made the whole room feel special before I even pulled out a deck of cards."
I meant it literally. Half my job was done before I walked in.
The reverse is also true, and I've lived it. A beige banquet room with a folding table and a sad streamer is a much longer night for everyone.
Who they're right for
Based on the events I've shared with them:
- First birthdays. Home turf, and it isn't close. If you want the party your kid will see in photos for the next twenty years, start here.
- Milestone celebrations and showers. Baby showers, engagements, big birthdays, anniversaries.
- Weddings. Arches, walls, installations, full styling.
- Corporate and brand events. The scale is there when the budget is.
- DIY on a budget. The grab-and-go garlands exist so you can get the look without the full build.
The through-line
The reason this partnership has lasted years is simple: we want the same thing.
Ayame isn't selling balloons any more than I'm selling card tricks. She's selling the moment a guest walks through a door and their face changes. I'm selling the moment somebody's jaw drops six inches from their own hands. Same job, different tools.
Some will say passion doesn't matter as long as the quality is there. I'd argue the opposite — without the passion, the quality doesn't survive the fiftieth hour of a build nobody will consciously notice. Blooms notices. That's the whole thing.
If you're planning something in the Lower Mainland and you want the room to do half the work before anyone says a word, go talk to them.
Blooms and Paper — Surrey, BC, serving Metro Vancouver.
info@bloomsandpaper.com
And if you'd like magic in that beautiful room once it's built, that part's me.
