In my experience hosting, attending, and now planning events, a memorable fete requires four ingredients: great food, plenty of booze, lively people, and unforgettable details. For my parties, my best friend Tara
Novotny always plans an amazing menu, and the liquor always flows freely; though I admit I usually underestimate how much my friends can actually drink (luckily there's a mini mart across the street with a great beer and wine selection, so a mid-party liquor run by my husband Carl usually goes unnoticed!).
For our third annual Holiday Brunch, "It's a Celebration," Tara and I wanted to "take it to the next level" by playing up the details. First, we identified our theme--a modern spin on winter wonderland, featuring polka dots and snowflakes in silver sage, olive, white, and silver--
because as with weddings, a consistent and cohesive theme is crucial to setting the tone of the event. All of our linens, ribbons, candles, and accents corresponded with this color scheme, including the amazing cupcakes created by
JoAnna Hiatt. Her cupcakes showcased shimmering handmade snowflakes and silver sage holly leaves and silver berries (show below).
Next, Tara went to work on the menu ("deconstructed" brunch favorites like chili
rellenos, cucumbers filled with salmon mousse, grapes rolled in blue cheese and
pistachios, mushroom turnovers, etc.). And I turned to my "go to" spot for personal touches:
My Own Labels. They offer adorable designs on coasters, labels, and tags, great customer service, and fantastic ideas for out-of-town welcome bags, favors, and bridal party gifts. For Holiday Brunch 2007, Tara and I purchased coasters, labels, and tags in a design that coordinated with our theme. Coasters read "eat, drink, and be merry...it's a celebration!" Labels, which we stuck on
candle votives and favors said simply, "enjoy!" Hang tags, which we tied around our favors with polka dotted ribbon read, "happy holidays!
tara and
emily."
For the favors, I headed straight to my one-stop-shop for the most wonderful products, packaging, and gift dressings:
Beau Coup. As with My Own Labels, I first used Beau Coup for my own wedding, purchasing
travel candles and
mini tins (to fill with M&Ms) for my out-of-town welcome bags. For Holiday Brunch 2007, Tara and I filled
mini spice jars with shelled
pistachios and dried cranberries (shown above). With the labels and tags from My Own Labels, the result was adorable. And a huge hit with our guests!
Expected at weddings, these details will be an unexpected but welcomed surprise at a house party. For relatively little cost, they will delight your guests and make them feel honored that you went above and beyond for their benefit. More importantly, it gets them excited for your next special event!
Details and Decor, Emily H Events; Photography and photo collages, Jessica Del Vecchio ; Menu, Tara Novotny; Cupcakes, Joanna Hiatt.
My colleague, who's getting married in November, asked me for ideas on where to find unique wedding jewelry. She's looking for large, chunky, estate style earings (but not "too granny") to go with her Chantilly lace gown. Designer consignment boutiques like Secondi and Annie Creamcheese immediately came to mind, and then I started to Google.
Even better, a Queen Bee one-of-a-kind is a wonderful "something new" for yourself! The "Eleanor" would be simply stunning paired with a wedding gown, particularly if you dared to wear more than one. If memory serves, I believe First Lady Laura Bush wore two strands of this rock quartz beauty at the Press Corps dinner several years ago. Queen Bee is also now available for private shows; what better way to liven up a bridal shower or bachelorette party than with jewelry shopping on demand?
