Not Your Ordinary Tea Party

We recently had the opportunity to plan a super fun event for Brit + Co as a launch to their new San Francsico office, and we're excited to share this wonderful experience with you.

Brit + Co is a company led by founder & CEO Brit Morin.  Using an online platform to inspire a growing digital generation, they offer many ideas and tutorials that peak the interests of creative minds to make.  Their creative recipes can be found through a variety of Brit + Co’s outlets including their website, email subscriptions, mobile app, monthly Brit Kits, and the Brit + Co Shop.

We were brought on board to help plan a program for a fun, DIY inspired mixer that would be equally bright and upbeat as Brit + Co themselves! The goal was to create a unique, intimate event for a small group of movers and shakers that included top bloggers and influencers, familiarizing them with Brit + Co's brand. With a 35 person guest count, a little over a month to plan, a great team of creative sponsors, an awesome new Brit + Co office as the venue, and a custom blend of White Label’s Sweet Flora and Love Lines as our base, we designed and produced this Not Your Ordinary Tea Party. 

A glimpse of the event began with an invitation from our White Label’s Love Lines. 

Guests were greeted with Chocolate Rocket mini tea lattes upon arrival, and Brit Morin herself offered a warm welcome to her guests. 

HuntLittlefield, one of our White Label collaborators, created petite floral vignettes with a muted color palette to allow Brit+Co’s vibrant and playful company colors to highlight the event.

David’s Tea sponsored a refreshing assortment of beverages, including a DIY tea station, Tea Cocktail Bar and a preview of their new Fall 2013 Tea Collection.  Featured DIY tea flavors included green, oolong, black, white, fruitful and herbal teas.  A Strawberry Rhubarb Fizz cocktail was also a hit amongst the guests!

Evernote sponsored all of the food catered by Craftsman and Wolves, which featured an interactive DIY sandwich station.  In true Brit + Co style, guests were able to design their own coasters using washi tape, and build their own bite-size sandwiches.  Craftsman and Wolves also displayed sweets that included chocolate marshmallows, passion poppy & caramel chocolate madeleines and strawberry olive oil cake. 

 

Splashes of Brit + Co’s vibrant brand colors were used to bring the space to life.  Coincidentally, these colors also paralleled White Label's Love Lines and quickly became an inspiration for decor.  To bring in some DIY elements that was so representative of what Brit + Co's brand stood for, we created Instagram stations that allowed guests to style their food and upload their creations.

Guests were gifted take-home bags that included "Summer Soirée Party” Brit Kits and tea starter kits by David’sTea. 

This was a great event that allowed Brit + Co to showcase their new office, mingle amongst their creative peers, and highlight their brand.  Although there was no wedding cake, escort cards or bridal bouquet, the White Label service was perfect for this intimate event to be brought to life to hit the perfect DIY spot! 

 

Special thanks to Blueprint Studios for the awesome furniture pieces, and Studio Mucci for the cute balloon tassels!

Photos by Brit + Co.

A Sexy and Sultry Birthday Party in San Francisco

Though the majority of our events happen to be weddings, we really love to plan all types of events! Just last week, we worked with one of our former brides to plan a fabulous 75th birthday party for her Godfather.

The venue was OSHA Thai Restaurant at the Embarcadero Center. They have a great private dining space that worked perfectly for this party of 24 guests. Along with Gloria Wong, we transformed one room into a modern lounge area, and the other room a sexy, sultry dining area with a 24' long table decked out with acrylic candelabras, jewel toned flowers, and gold speckled votives.

Guests arrived by a luxurious limo bus, and were in absolute awe when they walked into the event spaces. Greeted with passed champagne, everyone was in great spirits and eager to party with the birthday boy.

When we pulled open the double drapes to reveal the dining room, guests were once again in awe at the transformation.

After a toast by the birthday boy, Richard, guests indulged in an amazing 6 course menu custom created by OSHA's Executive Chef Lalita Souksamlane.

Following the sumptuous dinner, guests were invited back to the lounge area for the cake cutting, more desserts, and a wild night of dancing, karaoke, and entertainment!

Thank you to our team of partners who helped to pull this gorgeous event off in just a little over one week! 

Event Planning + Production: Jubilee Lau Events

Event Design: Gloria Wong Design

Venue and Catering: OSHA Thai Restaurant

Floral Design: Nancy Liu Chin Design

Photography: Chung Li Photography

Lighting: Enhanced Lighting

Cake: Studio Cake

DJ + Karaoke: Jason Mitchell

Draping for Lounge: Blueprint Studio

Draping for Dining Room: Enhanced Lighting

Furniture Rentals: Blueprint Studio

Tabletop Rentals: Classic Party Rentals

Linens: La Tavola

Calligraphy for Menus: Maybelle

Favorite Holiday Things

'Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la la la la la....

Who doesn't love Christmas? It's such a joyous, festive time! Since there is less than a week until Christmas, I thought it'd be fun to post some of my favorite things for the holidays this year!

1. Chocolate gingerbread house petits fours--how cute is that? I'm definitely saving this idea for next year, when my daughter is old enough to enjoy this together!

It's a Martha Stewart creation. Click here to get the full recipe.

2. Marshmallow Snowflakes--another super cute MS creation. Homemade marshmallow is such an inexpensive way to add some spark to your holiday party. Add it to the hot chocolate that you're serving your guests, and they will be ooohing and aaahhhing for sure! You can find the recipe here.

3. Holiday Hand-Dipped Strawberries--a festive twist to a much loved dessert. No time to make it? Just order it on Red Envelope!

4. Gem Martinis--I'm all about throwing a great party to wow your guests, but it doesn't always have to be ultra expensive. Focus on the little details. A fun, colorful martini glass goes a long way and it's only $4.95 each at cb2!

5. Telluride Stocking Collection--I love these vibrant, cute stockings at Pottery Barn Kids! It's perfect to enhance any fireplace mantel, and there is plenty of room to stuff them with all sorts of goodies!

Mini cupcakes

I just had to take a short break to post this picture that I found on Bakerella. What a fun treat to serve your guests, especially the little ones, with a nice cold glass of milk! Forget the oreo and use these adorable mini cupcakes! For full instructions on how to make these, visit Bakerella's Blog

Showcasing....Le Papillon!

Many of you may recognize the familiar butterfly logo of the extraordinary French restaurant Le Papillon, located on Saratoga Avenue in San Jose. Established in 1977, owner Mike Mashayekh's talent and passion has resulted in one of the finest restaurants in the Bay Area.

You may not know though, that Le Papillon also caters special events outside of their restaurant.

I have worked with Mike and Jondel in previous years, and their ability to bring their culinary excellence from their five star restaurant to anywhere a client chooses has proven to be amazing. One can dine under the stars in the middle of an open field with Le Papillon's fabulous food and exceptional service!

I will always remember a wedding that I worked on together with Mike and Jondel, at Villa Montalvo. It was important to the couple to have a full vegetarian menu for their reception. Mike and his chef created a phenomenal 5 course vegetarian menu, which blew the guests away!

A couple of weeks ago, Mike outdid himself again by generously inviting 50 Event Professionals to his restaurant to enjoy a four course luncheon. We were allowed to pick directly from the menu and I must admit it was VERY difficult to choose because everything sounded so delicious. It was such an enjoyable afternoon lunching with my good friends in the industry. Thank you so much to Mike and Jondel for organizing this fabulous event!

www.lepapillon.com


My dear friends Dianne Devin and Linda Hylen on the left and Todd Rafalovich and Ingela on the right


Me with Dianne from Kohl Mansion and Megan and John Woods from Enhanced Lighting