A White Party to Remember
August 2, 2015
It’s been almost a year since we merged our home and clothing stores as One K. Renee.
Over the last year, we’ve come along way building the foundation of our clothing and home business. To celebrate our amazing year and to get the team ready for more changes to come, we decided to have a party! But not just any party. We wanted to create an environment for our team that represents what we talk about all the time… living life beautifully.
There is just something magical about going to a party with a purpose and a theme… from the invitations to décor and everything in between. And the best part? It just was not that difficult to do.
So here is how we threw our magical white party…
The Invite
It’s always fun and important to set the stage with a great invitation. We love to use Paperless Post (www.paperlesspost.com), an online invitation service that allows you to choose and send invitations that reflects the tone of the party and your individual aesthetic. Their cards make a great statement and also provide you with a trackable guest list and rsvp system.
Of course, on our invitation we informed the team that they were to wear all white, which created lots of dialogue about what to wear and what might lie ahead at our all staff celebration.
Determine Your Location
If you are going to have a white party, you will likely want to have it outside. In our case, the perfect venue was Kelli and Jeff’s backyard with their beautiful pool and comfortable outdoor furniture (from K. Renee of course.)
Think About Simple Décor that Can Make the Biggest Difference
The simplicity of white against the lush green of the landscaping and the stunning aqua from the pool made for a beautiful backdrop for our event.
We chose to use over sized white balloons (which can be found at Nobbies) to float in the pool. These balloons can be filled to be 25-30” in diameter and were weighted down by sand at the end of the balloon string. The result was beautiful.
Of course, we also used a combination of white flowers and greens for our floral arrangements. We kept them simple, unstructured (5 minute floral arrangements) and naturally beautiful.
Napkins, plates and serving trays were also kept white…along with a good portion of the menu.
Create a Signature Drink
You don’t need to create a signature drink, but it is an easy way to support your theme and make a gathering memorable. We chose an icy white drink that was fitting for the theme and the heat of the night.
So simple to make with big impact...
- ½ cup Italian Lemon Ice
- 3 ounces of Prosecco
- 1 ounce of Vodka
It’s easiest to make a big batch of this drink by slushing your Italian ice (slightly thawed) with your chilled Prosecco and Vodka. Use a whisk to stir all the ingredients and break down the chunks of remaining ice. Garnish with a lemon slice and serve.
Determine Your Menu
Kelli and I decided to forgo a catered menu and do some home cooking. Life is busy, so we chose to prepare uncomplicated but delicious savory and sweet items.
Here was our White Party Menu...
- Meat and Cheese board
- Mini White Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
- Skinny Avocado Pizza
- Shrimp Cocktail
- Mini-Iceberg Wedges
- Tortilla Chips and Spicy Corn Dip
- Vanilla Fudge Brownies with Raspberry Garnish
- Chocolate Covered Strawberries
- Almond Bark Pretzels
With the decorations complete, food plated and our signature drink prepared, we were ready to start our team celebration.
Everyone looked especially beautiful in their all white outfits and the back yard provided all sorts of comfortable seating that allowed us to relax by the pool…enjoying each other’s company.
After an hour of socializing, we started our all staff meeting in comfort as we enjoyed the upholstered outdoor furniture that we feature in our home store.
We took a few moments to celebrate our successes over the past year and then Kelli quickly turned to sharing our vision of the next year to come and some exciting changes that we are planning on making. (Yes, this is a little teaser. So, keep posted in the next few months as we start a new blog series that will share in greater detail our plans for the future.)
It was a great meeting! As the day turned to night, we wanted to end the night by making a wish for the future. Each member of our team made a personal wish and we sent off 15 wish lanterns into the dark of night.
It was a magical evening. All the time spent to create a special night was rewarded by the memories that we will all share of our white themed all staff meeting. What will we do to top it next year?
There is still plenty of time left in the season of outdoor entertaining to create your own special gathering. Our team is always thinking about entertaining and living life beautifully. Don’t be shy about dropping by and letting us help you brainstorm simple, elegant ways to throw your own amazing gathering!
Photography Credit: Jennifer Ross Photography