Stay-at-home moms, Denise and Pam started their collection of handmade jewelry and accessories, Oak Lane Designs, earlier in the year and we were honored to help them throw a launch party to celebrate their joint venture. The key to the parties decor was pulling from the beautiful, vintage elements of the collection and enhancing the room with the rich hues of fresh flowers and antiques.This party was not only the first episode we shot of Dina’s Party it happens to be my favorite. I adore the vintage feel and the ladies were so grateful for our help. Be sure to visit them at www.oaklanedesigns.com to check out their line.
To create an old world feeling we rented amazing furniture and props from Props for Today and Olde Good Things, both located in NYC. The mirrors, tables, couches, and chairs created the perfect ambiance we needed to change the room and create a great flowing party. Find them at www.propsfortoday.com and www.ogtstore.com. I could spend hours a day in both, prop houses are a perfect place to get inspired for just about any event.
My good friend and Florist extraordinaire Grayson from Prudence Designs created the amazing flower arrangements throughout the room, we share a love of that worn weathered vintage feel so I knew he would be perfect for this event. How gorgeous is his line of gowns by the way? Find Grayson and his team at www.prudencedesigns.net.
How incredible were those invitations? Don’t forget that invitations set the tone for your event. The small oak trees that held the hand made invitations were created by the very talented florist, Michelle from MDS Floral Designs, located in Manahawkin, NJ. Visit her at www.mdsfloraldesigns.com.
The printed invites were from an awesome paper store, Parcel in Montclair www.shopparcel.com. We personalized them by burning the edges to give them that antique feel, attached them to our recycled screen door oak leaves and once in the mini oak tree we had them hand delivered to their guest. Can you imagine the surprise when not only are you invited to such a special event but you have this wonderful arrangement too!
The wow factor in the entrance was so fun to create. The large oak tree was the perfect element to welcome guests into the party. We found a great assortment of real and artificial foliage from American Foliage and Design Group of NY. Visit them online www.Americanfoliagedesign.com. I then added gilded oak leaves, purple uplighting and crystals to make it really magical. Add some gorgeous models in amazing vintage inspired gowns modeling the jewelry who is our guest of honor for this event and you’re all set!! We hired models from Axis Models and Talent. They also walked amidst the guest, wearing Oak Lanes jewelry and hair accessories. A perfect way to show potential buyers how the pieces look on. Learn more about Axis at www.axismodels.com.
The beautiful textured linens that created an eye-catching table-scapes were from Wildflower Linens and Cloth Connection, two of our favorite linen rental companies. Visit Wildflower at www.wildflowerlinens.com and CC at www.clothconnection.com. I chose burlap mixed with lush satin and delicate lace to create that vintage feel. We even had some custom made out of antique fabric finds, everything from old napkins to a wedding gown. I added vintage broaches to add that extra special focal point to wow the guests.
We chose to display some of their accessories WITH the food which I normally don’t like to do but I really wanted the guest to see every detail! The food was pretty good looking too! Palermo’s Bakery created the delicious and equally appealing cupcakes, which were decorated to mimic the broaches in the Oak Lane collection. Check out their talents at www.palermobakery.com.
The Brownstone in Paterson, NJ never leaves our guests hungry and always tantalizes the taste-buds with their delicious menu. Contact them to cater your next event at www.thebrownstone.com.
Musician Robin Filippone set the mood with her smooth jazz sounds. Explore her musical talents at www.robinfilippone.com.We always like to add interactive element to their evening, so we called on Smash Entertainment for the retro cigarette girls and Charlie Chaplin impersonator. Find them at www.smashpartyentertainment.com.
I had so much fun building the work room for these ladies, I couldn’t see them make this beautiful jewelry off of their sons ping pong table for one more second!! Our Carpenter Dave did an amazing job using recycled oak wood to create this space. It was actually therapeutic for me to organize all of their antique finds and fabric. Terry Fisher from Closet Gallery in Medford, NJ helped find some of the vintage finds that accessorized the ladies new work space. What better to organize vintage finds than an antique sewing box? The rest of the accessories I found at good ol Homegoods! Most of my clothes on the field trips were from Coco Boutique, check them out here www.cocoanexperience.com. The military jacket that everyone went gaga over was by Yoana Baraschi. The Jeans were Joe’s Jeans and my boots were by Tori Burch. The gorgeous vintage inspired dress I wore for the party was by the amazing Angel Sanchez. The necklace was by Juicy and the shoes were Jimmy choo. Till next week xoxo
