Blog Party

This little site turned one a few months ago, which was cause for celebration. And, what better way to thank all the brands, fans and friends that have supported us than with a bright night filled with cocktails, good deals, glam spots and photo ops?

Roberta Roller Rabbit, one of the first companies to support us, hosted at their gorgeous TriBeCa location. I used their vibrant vibe to create a poppy, punchy palette and planned the party around their visuals and this fun cake topper, now sold in our shop!

(Yay napkins,  cake standtablecloth.)

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And then an hour before the party said topper snapped in half (my fault, not theirs) in transit and my husband spent the next sixty minutes crazy gluing, drying and taping the hot pink plastic. Never a dull moment. Ever. Not where I’m concerned. He loves being married to me.

Lily Qian hand-painted the invite for me, which, I think, in the world of evites, is such a personal, special touch.

Krazy Straws custom made straws for us that doubled as photo props for the two photo booths (one old school actual booth with gifs and one make shift one with big initial foil letter balloons against a hand-painted wall that made for the perfect backdrop).

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**If you’re planning a party and don’t have a wallpapered wall in your home or party space, you can easily get a roll of Tempaper and cover it or make your own with a roll of art/craft paper and some paint, stencils, etc. It makes such a statement and looks great in photos.

I’m kind of over the hat, sunglasses, mustache and lip photo booth props so Allie Hasson made some sayings like “I came for the cake” and “I woke up like this”. There was also extra paper and pretty pens on hand for guests to create their own hashtags as well as a polaroid camera to capture instant images in addition to their phones.

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I also had her make the drink and dessert menus.

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I made sure there was plenty of confetti on hand because there’s nothing better for a gif then some flying confetti!

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My only real regret of the party was I took a ton of photos before and right when guests started arriving but then got into conversations, cocktails and photo booth fun and forgot to assign someone to snap away so I missed a lot of shots with some of my favorite people. Next time, I’d hire a photographer.

Well, that and I didn’t check the official party hashtag before I made it and had signs and napkins made. Turns out, #NatTurns1 has a lot of baby birthday pics. Ha. So it’s now, #NNATurns1. The things we learn in our first year!

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I had a bunch of different washi tapes in coordinating colors (hot pinkchevronpink dotgold dot) for guests to take one of the two strips from the Photo Booth or a polaroid and tape to one of the mirrors in the room. It made for a cool, instant art installation.

Instead of the standard black backdrop in the photo booth, we pinned a piece of colorful fabric up to make for a pretty and appropriate backdrop.

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We took the three signature straws (dream, believe, hustle), snapped off the bottoms and had them framed as a signature piece that greeted guests as they entered. It made for a cool, neon-sign-looking art piece that was so much more affordable than the real deal would be!

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For cocktails, we served the Peary Christmas with homemade rosemary simple syrup and homemade pear vodka.

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The wine was from Speak to continue with the positive, girl power, colorful messaging.

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In addition to apps, bags of individual truffle parmesan popcorn were passed around in these cute bags.

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 For desserts, we did Momofuku Milk Bar cake truffles, bought (Anyone can have it delivered!) Cereal Milk Mix and made mini cereal milk milkshake shooters served in plastic shot glasses, cut down pink plastic straws to fit and sprinkled some pink pizazz onto them to make them pop.

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 We used lucite everything (frames, trays, etc.) to let the colors really pop and shine through and let the food, calligraphy and favors be the stars, showcasing them best.

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In addition to signage around the space, we put the (wrong) hashtag for the party on the cocktail napkins as well.  For favors, I stuck with the poppy, positive signage feel and went with these cards and compacts for each guests along with gift cards for Zeel and Wunda Bar, which just opened it’s first location in NYC.

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And, of course, party goers got an exclusive 20% off all Roberta Roller Rabbit merchandise that evening just in time for holiday gifts!

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To treat my guests, I hired Priv for hair, makeup and nails, an affordable, glam-on-the-go service and Zeel for massages. For the nail station, I used a vintage tray and disposable paper placemats for each new session/manicure. I love this move for any kind of entertaining: a drink station, some flowers, appetizers, crafts. A tray with a piece of pretty wrapping paper that coordinates with the party and makes your buffet or tablescape pop, is an affordable, easy way to change up and customize your space.

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I knew the colors would be bright and there’d be lots of photos of me in front of the ikat, hand-painted wall so I chose an all white ensemble. Hosts spend so much time focusing on the other details and often forget about themselves, just throwing something on at the last moment with no thought to cohesiveness. You’re an essential part of the party and the whole palette should work together. I wore a jumpsuit (I’ve also worn this one and loved it!) to be comfortable- so important! You don’t want to nor will you have time to be tugging at things all day/night. And, I rented it- such an affordable and easy option. No running all over to a bunch of stores. Who has time for that?!

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I paired it with icicle earrings and the can’t be tamed bracelet and gemstone cone bracelet for a modern edge. (fuchsia fine paper)

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It was a really fun, successful night. Thanks to all who came out and each and every one of you who continue to support NNA. We’re so appreciative of your time and readership. The celebration continues!

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3 Comments

  1. Amanda on January 23, 2016 at 6:17 pm

    Looks like a fun party! Congrats!



  2. […] dream, believe, hustle print is from the first anniversary party of NNA, which obviously has special meaning, and is a reminder of what it takes to succeed in this little […]



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