A few weeks ago Zaza turned 4. It’s true what they say: kids grow up way too fast. The time is flying.
Anyway, you may have read my other event posts about Townes’ Winter Wonderland Sip and See, Zaza’s Pineapple Soirée, my baby shower, and our wedding. So, today we’re adding Zaza’s Eloise High Tea Party to the blog. She is obsessed with Eloise. A few months ago we took her to Eloise at the Plaza and she was in heaven so it was a no brainer for it to be the theme of her 4th birthday party.
With that, let’s get into all the details and all the people who helped make Zaza’s dreams come true.
Zaza’s Eloise High Tea Party
♡ Invitations
Once you pick your theme, the invitations are the perfect way to give your guests a taste of the party. Working with Cindy from Bliss & Bone once again, was the best experience. You know by now she has done so much for us: wedding invitations, baby shower invitations, Zaza’s birth announcement, Zaza’s birthday invites and Townes’ sip and see too. She’s incredible. She’s so creative, understands how important details are, and ALWAYS crushes it.
When our guests received the invitation they opened a gorgeous, thick envelope lined with pink bows and room service bells. Then there was a black velvet envelope embossed with a Plaza-esque crest. Then they saw a pink and white stripe invite that opens up to all the details of the party. To really bring Eloise into it we used a similar font as the book cover, black bows and little icons that just scream ‘high tea.’
Invitations really set the tone of the party and if you want an elevated invitation Bliss & Bone is your answer. They also do evites & seriously the whole situation is so streamlined & easy. Cannot recommend Cindy and her team enough.
♡ Location
We had the tea party in a private room at The Westgate Hotel. Huge shoutout to Tiffany and the whole team who paid such attention to detail and worked so closely with Brittany from Encore Events. They provided food and drinks, a projector and speaker, and set up a hot chocolate station for the kids.
♡ Decor
Because The Westgate Hotel IS a hotel, the vibe for an Eloise birthday was already set. With the help of Fancy Tables, we came up with amazing tablescapes to tie everything together. We had tall red taper candles, pink table linens, a luggage cart with pink striped wrapped gifts on it, hot pink feather boas, pink tea sets, pink glassware and themed menus at each place setting.
As soon as guest entered we had 2 big bunches of white balloons tied with a pink bow on either side.
A dress code may not count as decor, but it really enhanced the entire event. We asked for the girls/women to wear proper tea party attire and for the men to dress as butlers. Everyone put in such effort and it made the event an ‘experience.’ There was also an amazing actor dressed up as Eloise who played and sat with the kids.
♡ Food & Drinks
Before we sat down to eat, everyone enjoyed a charcuterie board by Olive and Nectar. It was a masterpeice. Almost hard to eat because you just wanted to stare at it. They are such a great company work with and they also offer grazing courses and food styling courses so you can learn how to do this yourself. I fully recommend them if you’re in Southern California.
We decided to do a set menu. We had finger sandwiches, pastries, and different kinds of tea. Of course, guests could order whatever they wanted to drink – we may have had a bit too much Champagne, but a little buzz never hurt a flea.
As I mentioned, there was was a hot chocolate station and we also had the most incredible custom cake from @cakesbymelodysd. Melody executed the vision perfectly and is so creative. Highly recommend her if you’re in the San Diego area. Not only was it incredibly gorgeous, it was delicious.
♡ Party Favors
It’s always nice to have a little something for your guests to take home to remember the event and I always love to include Taja non-toxic custom candles.
Taja is the best company to use for custom candles. I have them all around my house, I love to give them as gifts. For Zaza’s birthday we did a pineapple etched square base in kind of a frosted white. For Townes we did a frosted white with snowflake etched on it. The scent was vanilla and to say its mouthwatering is an understatement.
For this party we went for a striped base with a bow etched on the top and eucalyptus scent. All Taja candles are hand-poured with soy wax & no phthalates, parabens or synthetic dyes. Been a big fan for years and guests LOVE to take these home.
Lana is another person who I always order custom candy from. If you need inspo for any event, just go look at her Instagram @lananicoleevents. It’s a really fun way to get creative and personalize your party. It gives your event a ‘wow factor’ too. It’s such a special touch and Lana is amazing to work with. For this party we went with Zaza It’s (Cheeze-It’s), Zaza’s (Skittles), Starburst and Sour Straws. It’s nice to lay these out on display and kids can grab them and then send them home with your guests too.
♡ Party Planner
Encore Events always does such an incredible job organizing everything. They understand the vision, they get the details, they anticipate what’s needed & this party wouldn’t have gone so smoothly without Brittany and her team. As I mentioned above, they worked so well with The Westgate Hotel and any other venue we’ve used in the past. They execute my vision (I can change my mind a lot!) and understand that all the details matter.
Big thank you to Arielle Levy for the gorgeous photos that we’ll have forever. And thank you to our guests for taking part with the dress code and to the whole team for making this vision come to life.
x, Lauryn
+ tips for throwing a cocktail party at home.
++ for more on the best invitations, check out this post.
+++ shop my look here.
ELOISE PARTY DIY:
