I had the great privilege of helping plan and style an Eagle Scout Court of Honor for a wonderful young man. Styling this event was a fun challenge as there were not very many ideas already available online for inspiration. It was very thrilling to creatively incorporate important aspects from the Scouting Program into this event!
If you are not familiar with the Boy Scouts of America, it is one of the nation's largest and most prominent values-based youth development organizations. The BSA provides a program for young people that builds character, trains them in the responsibilities of participating citizenship, and develops personal fitness. To earn the Eagle Award,the Boy Scouts’ highest honor, (which is awarded at a "Court of Honor"), a Scout must be active with a troop, earn a minimum of 21 merit badges, assume a position of leadership in a troop and complete a service project which benefits his community.
Choosing a color palette for this event was easy. The Eagle Scout Award is very patriotic in nature, with red, white & blue as the prominent colors. It was decided that this color palette would serve as the basis for the Court of Honor. We wanted the feeling of the event to reflect the sense of honor and respect that is consistent with the Boy Scouts of America.
Knowing the front of the room (where the award presentation would take place) and the back of the room (where the dessert buffet would be served) would be the focal points of the event, I wanted to make these areas especially festive, almost stately. After all, every president of the United States has supported the work of the Boy Scouts of America since its founding in 1910, and each served as honorary president of the BSA during his term in office.
This particular year was also the Centennial year for scouting. The honoree wanted to incorporate a slightly rustic feel to some of the décor, so we added some outdoorsy elements, as well as some old wood baskets, crates & apple baskets.
The phrase: "Be Prepared" is an important part of the Boy Scout program and is the organization's motto. Each young man is encouraged to be prepared for any situation. A 2' x 4' wooden scroll containing those words was cut and painted to hang behind the podium where all speeches and presentations would be made to serve as a reminder that the one being honored at this special court of honor, was indeed prepared. The podium was decorated with the Boy Scout seal and patriotic bunting to recreate the feel of the Presidential seal, as seen when special White House press conferences are being held. American flags also lined each aisle and brought with them a sense of honor and respect.
The family of the award recipient made a wonderful light box that they used while the symbolism of the Eagle Scout Award was being explained to the audience. Each color represented lit up at the appropriate time. It was a special touch for the program.
The main dessert table was designed to allude to the American flag. With a red & white striped background and a navy blue table covering, I believe that purpose was achieved. In Scouting, the young men recite a pledge which begins with, "On my honor..." A wood scroll was designed and constructed with these important words painted on it to serve as a focal point for our backdrop.
Beautiful desserts were created from some of the most talented professionals. I wanted the cake to be impressive and a reminder of why guests were in attendance at this Court of Honor. 4 Kids Cakes designed a beautiful 3 tiered cake representing a scout uniform and sash and all of the patches & Merit Badges earned by this Eagle Scout. Her detail work was unbelievable and resulted in a masterpiece! Equally as impressiver were her Merit Badge fondant cupcake toppers. My idea for the toppers was to have her recreate the Merit badges earned and worn on the Boy Scout's sash. Christina of 4 Kids Cakes recreated all of these badges earned specifically by the guest of honor and duplicated another set to match. Attending guests were in awe of her work. In addition, beautiful custom gourmet marshmallows were designed by Madyson's Marshmallows portraying the Eagle Scout symbol. Cookies created to reflect the Boy Scout's Eagle project as well as the Eagle symbol were baked by Flour-de-Lys. Other dessert table favorites included pretzel rods, colorful rock candy, patriotic candy contributed by Oh! Nuts and colorful donuts.
