I’m a November baby, a typical Scorpio in true form 🙂 and something I absolutely love doing is celebrating all occasions, not least of which birthdays because that is in essence celebrating LIFE.
The past two years have been a little different though. To be completely honest I was in an incredibly low place a few weeks before my birthday, both this year and last year. The past two years have put me well and truly through the ringer in many ways. It has been an emotionally, physically and mentally taxing time. Last year I was surprised with an incredible birthday night away and celebration with friends arranged by one of my besties. This year even 3 weeks before my birthday I hadn’t had the energy to give it a thought. When I spent time reflecting on everything we have been through as a family this year, and what I personally have faced and conquered, I decided that it was pretty amazing that Justin and I made it through this year, stronger than ever, and my brands and partnerships value me so much that my business has kept strong. I have so much gratitude in my heart for all my incredible friends who have helped us throughout this year, with never-ending love and support, and so wanted to spoil them all with a fun and wonderful night.
I made contact with Chelsea from POSH Events by Design and my goodness did she help me throw what Gogs calls “The party of the year” !! From our very first chat I got such a great feel about Chelsea, her energy was tangible. Not long after our first voice-note chat I had a pdf sent to me of a party theme suggestion. Chels said that after everything I had been through in the year she felt the theme should be “Strong & Fierce”, with a colour scheme to match. I wanted simplistic but chic & beautiful, and Chelsea absolutely nailed it. Here is the suggested theme:
From there Chelsea went on to contact all suppliers and make all arrangements on my behalf. She liaised with the caterers regarding food and ways we could bring “black and gold” into the menu. She contacted furniture, balloon and flower suppliers and arranged every detail of the event, from top to bottom. Chelsea’s attention to detail, communication and work ethic were stellar, and I cannot recommend her more highly for any function or event.
Here are a few pictures to show you how the event came together – my heart literally popped when I walked downstairs to see the set up!
SUPPLIERS:
We were so excited to work with wonderful suppliers for this event.
Furniture:
The tables, stools and lounge area were supplied by Furniture Lab, a very well-known and reputable company in Durban. If you are looking for furniture that stands out or makes a statement for your event then look no further.
FOOD:
Oh my goodness there are so many reasons I wish I could replay the party over again, but the number ONE reason would be to have that food in my home again. The incredible team from Food by Andrew Draper brought absolute magic to the event. Shanal & Sam were the master chefs of the evening, and honestly, words will not do their work justice, so I’ll just leave these here for you to salivate over…
Menu
As you can see, the food was exceptional. To top that, having the team in my kitchen was an absolute pleasure. Shanal and Sam were professional, friendly and with beautiful energies. They floated like fairies around the event laying the food out with perfection. They arrived with absolutely everything they needed for the event, including platters, flowers and decor. It was an absolute delight having them cater for us.
INVERROCHE GIN STATION:
What is a party these days without a Gin station? Boring.
Well, thankfully for us this party was made super extra with a Gin station and parasols from Inverroche. We were spoilt with their Amber and Cape Fynbos Gins, which went down an absolute treat. I garnished with grapefruit, orange, blueberries and rosemary, and had Fitch & Leedes tonic mixers. The brollies really completed the garden area, suiting the theme perfectly, and came well in handy when we had a slight wet spell around 10pm.
BAR:
We of course also needed a bar for the other drinks. I opted not to have a barman because I find that people tend to wait longer for their drinks rather than just helping themselves. Having said that, some of the guys enjoyed finding themselves behind the bar serving the ladies. The beautiful bar that perfectly matched the theme was supplied by The Mobile Events Co. It had the perfect amount of space behind the bar to house all the additional glasses and drinks, and the top was a marble-look which was just right up my alley.
BALLOONS:
I hadn’t imagined balloons to fit my theme, but Chelsea from POSH especially asked Taryn from Mad Hatters Party Shop to create the most sophisticated and stylish balloons I have possibly ever seen. The idea was for them to be floating around the space, but Taryn is all to familiar with my events and how the wind always taunts me and she suggested they rather be on rods. As it turned out we had the. most still evening Durban has seen in weeks :). The stands looked sensational the balloons brought with them such an air of sophistication and little bit of fun. Take a look at what Taryn created…
ATMOSPHERE:
There is nothing that completes an event like the fragrance that flows throughout. One of my ultimate candle brands – AFRICOLOGY – happened to match the theme of the party perfectly, and their OUD scent was selected to be the fragrance of the night. Not only are these candles absolutely beautiful to look at, but their fragrance floats through the air and what we know about fragrance is that it triggers memories. I am so excited to know that this scent will always remind me of my party.
CAKE- but better:
The main attraction of most parties these days is a cake, but I didn’t really want to go conventional with this. I wanted something different. Queue SUGARLICIOUS… who created the most wonderfully beautiful Macaron stack. They were absolutely delicious and moreish and all the good things!
DETAILS:
A good events coordinator is someone who keeps you updated and in the loop on all the things that matter. They sort things out when there are fires to put out, and they tell you there was a fire only when it was out. They go above and beyond the call of duty, and leave you with little surprises along the way. Chelsea did all the above and more. She never left me feeling worried or stressed, she was always upbeat and positive and had sorted out issues before I even suspected there were any. Not only that, Chelsea added detail to the party that meant so very much to me. She not only lit up our entrance to our home with lanterns, not pre-mentioned but so beautiful, little labels for the food and most especially she also personally printed little quotes that lent into everything the party stood for, what I stand for, and what I hope to encourage in all women; strength and bravery and overcoming hardship… with a smile!
Chelsea may not know this, but I was so incredibly touched when she first came to me with the theme of the event. It meant to me that she had really taken the time to understand me and do something that would really be “me”. Fast forward to me walking downstairs and walking around the event set-up and seeing the small print outs she had done for me, and well, I got a lump in my throat. It has taken a long time for me to believe that I am a strong woman. It has taken a lot of hardship for me to understand my true power. The fact that another woman saw that in me and chose to celebrate it, well, that just meant the absolute world and more.
FRIENDS:
The truth is, I wouldn’t have made it through the past 18months without the astonishing support and love from those I call friends and family. This party was a small way for me to in turn thank them for their love, kindness and from time to time kicking my butt out of bed. The year was tough, but I am tougher, and I truly count my lucky stars every single day for my support system. A few of them were unable to make the day, but here are pics of those who did… how blessed am I?!
The event itself went off more smoothly than I ever could have imagined. Everyone was in such incredibly happy spirits and we all absolutely had the best night… well, I certainly did. Dancing again, surrounded by some of the most incredible humans on earth.. it was just the biggest gift I could have asked for, for my birthday. Thank you to everyone who came and brought their A game… and a massive thank you to the incredible suppliers.
The suppliers listed here were either fully or partially sponsored in return for marketing exposure and I get to show you some of what they are able to offer to your event. I would never recommend a company or service to you that I do not believe lives up to excellence in the industry.
I got each of the guests a small thank you gift which I bought on Tags by Elysian
All images by Wilma Toweel Photography
These pictures do your beautiful celebration such justice! The food, the decor, the drinks, the friendship and the love! Not to mention those macarooooons!! A night to remember! Thank you for spoiling us with your love my beautiful friend x
Ah my Sammy you’re one phenomenal human I love you
Such a stunning event lovely – and Inverroche is the best!
Wow! What a stunning party, just dreamy, but I must say most of all I got a lump in my throat too – just reading about what the theme and special touches the coordinator put into the event to re-emphasised all that you have triumphed over. It is inspiring. Well done, from one random stranger to another – and one woman and mama to another! 🙂 Also… really love the hubbly bubbly!