{all images by Jessica Burke Photography unless otherwise specified}

prepare yourself for a bit of an image-heavy post today as i try to recap my “late launch” party from last week. we had over 75 friends, vendors, and clients in attendance and i was completely and totally blown away by the support and happiness that surrounded me. if you’re wondering “why did you have a launch party when you’ve been around for going on two years?”, well, i had never formally “announced” LLD here in San Francisco, and though many knew i was here, i wanted to do something fun to let everyone know i was around. that, paired with my new website and branding, felt like a perfect reason to throw confetti and drink champagne, and thanks to the help of hazel & jane with the preparations as i ran around like a madwoman that day, i’d say the party was a huge success!

and one of my favorite parts??

henny & lucia of utterly engaged/d*lsh design (who designed my new site and branding) showed up to surprise me! they came all the way from socal just for the event, and i could not believe it. there were happy tears followed by lots of hugs and laughter. i love those girls more than they know!

this event was so much fun because i was able to put something together that was totally LLD - from pretty new england-inspired linens to coral peony arrangements that i labored over, to homemade jam favors for my guests to a custom menu from culinary eye catering that was totally sentimental in every way. every detail from the event had a reason, and that was really special to me. let’s get started, shall we?

{see that little paper flower at the base of the arrangement? yeah, that took me about 15 minutes to make. the plan was for everyone to have one to wear - but that plan was immediately scrapped after making the first one haha}

first off, it would be completely ridiculous not to mention one of my absolute favorite friendors/ photographers, Jessica Burke, who so kindly took time out of her night to come early and take some of these gorgeous images for me. did you know she shoots in film? she is so freaking talented and you can see her work all over my website, from my headshots to this gorgeous wedding (our first time working together!). thank you Jessica for doing this for me!!

i stocked up on my faves at the flower mart a few days before and created mini arrangements of coral peonies, poppies, ranunculus, succulents, grape hyacinths, beach grass, and lavender. i loved the bright and fresh colors and tried to make as many “mini logo” arrangements as i could, to replicate the flowers in my branding. there was definitely no shortage of peonies!

{iphone pic - Rhody was tempting fate by trying to mess with my blooms!}

{iphone pic of my LLD logo bouquet}

{iphone pic of one of my favorite arrangements}

i was totally dying over the linens from La Tavola - i chose coral reef, maya in duck egg, and miranda in aqua (the linens on the welcome table). they were SO gorgeous and it was all i could do not to keep them and make them in to pillows or send them to mckay to make me a clutch haha :)

and what LLD party would be complete without homemade strawberry jam favors? i chose a pretty patterned card stock and designed a “thank you” note to print on the blank side, and used glue tape to affix my business cards inside glassine envelopes (and secured with LLD stickers) on the other side. and i think the custom signage i designed might have been one of my favorite things - it was fun to write whatever i wanted on the signage to give everyone a little insight as to the sentiments behind each “detail” of the party. fun fact: i used strawberry crates to prop up the jars in the front and back of the jam display.

i wanted to make the party fun, but not too “crafty” looking - know what i mean? i spotted these paper dot garlands on Oh Happy Day and recreated some of my own in LLD colors to hang sporadically throughout the main hallway. want to make some of your own? allow yourself a TON of time. they took forever but the end result was exactly what i was going for!

for cocktails, i went with my favorites - bellinis and blue moon. i set up a bellini bar with sparkling wine, peach puree, raspberry puree (thanks to my husband for pureeing it all for me!) and orange juice. not only did the colors match perfectly, but it tasted pretty yummy too. i ordered straws from the amazing Hey Yo Yo on etsy - her prices are great and i literally sent her a pic of my logo and she sent me straws to match - love her!

blueprint studios, one of my favorite rental companies, was kind enough to donate the bar and high boys for the event - SO thankful to them!!

oh, hey, classy keg sign. how you doin’?

guests drank their beer in lovely little masons (duh) and topped with an orange slice, the way it’s supposed to be done. we didn’t get around to keg stands but don’t underestimate us - it could have happened ;).

and the food - oh the food. culinary eye completely knocked it out of the park on that one. my menu requests included grilled cheese and tomato soup shooters, one of my grandmother’s specialties (for whom the mason jar in my logo represents), mini angus beef sliders, and crab cakes. the guys wanted to do one more appetizer so they added mini deviled quail eggs - little did they know that deviled eggs were one of mimi’s favorite things. it was so sentimental and i’m pretty sure she was looking down with a huge smile on her face, rum and coke in hand. that was really special to me, especially since the basis of my company comes so much from mimi.

culinary eye even went as far as to present some of the food on a tray of “clovers” inside a terracotta dish - can you believe that? hire them stat. their food was out of this world and their service was top notch.

anyone who knows me knows that i’m more in to salt/savory than sweet. but if ever i need to satisfy my sweet tooth craving, i know immediately what i want - and that is a red velvet cake pop from sweet lauren cakes, or a fleur de sel caramel from my dear friend nicole of the the caramel jar. and cake pops and caramels we had!

i’m not sure when i had my first cake pop  but i do know i never forgot it. i always recommend cake pops over cupcakes just because i think they’re so much fun - but they’re also the most amazing treats ever. check out the details Lauren put in to this batch, with glittery blues, polka dotted corals and “lovely” scripted ones!

and on an even more exciting note - Sweet Lauren Cakes announced the launch of one of their new products - pie pops - during the party. everyone was going crazy over them, they were SO good!!

the caramel jar holds a special place in my heart because we served their fleur de sel caramels as our wedding favors, so i’ve known the lovely owner, nicole, for almost 2 years now! our guests are still raving about her caramels to this day, so i knew i had to incorporate them in to my launch party somehow (and i also give them to my clients as part of their “welcome jar” when they book an event with LLD so these were the perfect addition to the night)!

in the back section of the party, gary sexton photography had his photobooth set up - i seriously love his photobooth not just because he’s awesome, but because it’s just so cool looking! it’s a rustic wooden photobooth that you can jazz up with any backdrop you’d like. and he can customize the images for you so it’s nicely branded to your event - bonus! everyone had a good time in there :)

all in all, we drank out of mason jars, danced to some tunes, chatted with friends, ate yummy food and had an amazing time. i couldn’t be more thankful to everyone for being there, and to those who were throwing your support at us from afar.

and if you think i lasted all night in my pretty party dress, think again. this is what the end of a LLD launch party looks like once all the guests have gone home!

:)

big thanks to:
blu bungalow
todd page for staying up until 7am your time the night before to get the site just right!
culinary eye catering
jessica burke
hey yo yo
the glamourist
d*lsh design & lovely jubilee for making the trek
sweet lauren cakes
the caramel jar
blueprint studios
la tavola
gary sexton photography