Origin Story
Description
How it Could Have Been Better
Specs
The Three Overwhelmingly Cool Aspects of the Party
Video Gallery of the Night of the Event
Image Gallery of the Night of the Event
Image Gallery of the Construction of the Event
Image Gallery of the Cooking of the Event
Origin Story:
I was feeling the mood to do a party in late 2016 (after the VIP Oscars Event) but it’s quite a decision to commit to a party the way we do it. I finally convinced Lily that I would make the party a “C” level party, which has a very restricted budget for money and time. We love Mardi Gras, and we both enjoy cooking very much and love Cajun food . I flew us to New Orleans and booked a hotel in the French Quarter in January for Lily’s surprise birthday trip, in part because it would get us in the mood and be able to enjoy looking forward to our little “C” level party. We bought some top-notch decorations while there.
Description:
I decided that I would just represent the French Quarter with a facade. Originally I had the idea of allowing guests to climb stairs to the balcony and be able to throw beads to guests below, but this would require a must stronger level of construction and also, I wouldn’t be able to put the band in front of the facade because guests would need to be below the balcony to catch the beads. So I abandoned this idea. I visited a few fencing companies and was able to buy two pieces of rod iron fencing that were super cheap and I made the facade be the length of the rod iron put together. I also purchased 3 real propane lanterns from New Orleans. They weren’t cheap but I knew they would add such an amazing level up on my facade – anything that brings realism really makes a big difference. I also knew I could use the lanterns in the future – which I have. The facade I built from plywood and 2x3s. I added plastic piping as “iron” columns. Last I added two TV monitors turned vertically in wooden frames and talked my friend Kevin into making video content for me of both an attract mode where the window “curtains” in video would open and close on their own from time to time and then during the band playing music the videos would seamlessly transition to other videos of ladies dancing in silhouette as if there is dancing going on in the “building”. The IMS can do this easily and Kevin’s creative content is always great. The day before the party I purchased a bunch of ferns from Lowes and added them to the facade.
Once the facade was done we concentrated on the food. I ordered online crawfish life from Louisiana, flown in to the airport. If you’re going to do a crawfish boil, there’s nothing quite like flying in live crawfish. Another level up for the food. I made the Chicken and Andoille sausage two days ahead of time to allow the flavors to meld together – this makes it so much better. It also means I don’t have to make it the day of. The morning of we made our version of the Hurricane (which includes a half shot of Tequila, which is the version we liked best when we were in NOLA in January) and I made a second version with an S-ton of Everclear 190 proof. Yes 190 proof – got it in Arizona. I expected that the high-octane version wouldn’t be very popular with guests, but instead they downed it as well. A few days before the event I had some extra time and decided to augment the facade by making our front porch into a little themed room. The porch is small so it’s easy to theme quickly, especially in the minimalistic way I was. I facaded our front porch with plywood and fake used brick, and I actually made two doors and bought black decorative hinges and doorknobs. Inside, I played back a Zydeco song (juxtaposed from the jazz music the band would play) and put a table on the porch and decorated it and hung a chandelier with beads hanging from it. Lastly, out front I put out a lamppost (the same one the truck had “crashed” into in the Zombie Party set) and added street signs I bought in New Orleans and put beads on that as well. Brian helped me light the band from trussing (same trussing I used for the Sweet 16 Alice in Wonderland party.
Usually when I hire staff I hire people who are good at what they do, and I don’t care so much what they look like. In this case I felt that the party would be enhanced by having young ladies, so I hired a server and bartender that were also models, with the idea that it fit in with the often wild nature of Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
I’d like to say here how well it works to go above and beyond with a few things, it elevates everything else you’re doing. It’s not always easy to decide what to do in this regard, but it’s worth the effort. This was a “C” level party, but it sure felt like a “B” level because of how good the food, drink, facade, and band were.
How it could have been better:
We ran out of food and drink. Other than that, I don’t know as it was a “C” level party. More Cowbell?
Specs:
Date: April 1, 2017
Level Party: “C”
Food: Ooooeeee! I did a crawfish boil with taters, corn, and Andoille sausage – had the Crawfish flown in from Louisiana Delta Dash. I made chicken and sausage gumbo, crawfish etouffe, red beans and rice, and bought Popeye’s buttermilk biscuits, Lily made these amazing Muffaletta sandwiches with real olive mix from Central Market in NOLA (honestly, the best muffalettas I’ve ever had, including all the times I’ve been to NOLA), and she made several King’s Cakes and some pecan cookies.
Drink: Open Bar, Our own Hurricanes, plus our own Hurricanes with a shot of added Everclear – holy smokes!
Canned Music: None
Live Entertainment: The Happiness Band configured with Jazz players – wow!
Staff: Lily, Brittany, Kyle, Brian and Darylyn, Kevin
Staff hired: Bartender, Server
Actors: None
The “Three Overwhelmingly Cool” aspects of the party that we relied upon to make the party successful were:
– The amazing jazz music really made this party pop
– The food and drink – Lily and I cooked the food ourselves and made the Hurricanes, and it was da bomb!
– The New Orleans facade backdrop was really neat
