An Engaging Party for Your Senses: The Sights, Sounds, Styles, Savories & Sweets

Dress, check. Shoes and purse, double check. Passport and Green Card, documents present. I ran through my mental packing list as I stepped into the car that would drive me to New York’s LaGaurdia airport where I would board a plane that would fly me to an undisclosed location for my sister’s engagement  party.

Stems off to Madame Big Apple (the mother of Mme. Pink Lady) for hosting the most beautiful engagement  party in celebration of my sister and her fiancé's upcoming nuptials. A flawless execution with no details left unattended to, the Saturday, May 28, party was elegant enough to impress the ladies who lunch yet casual enough for guests to relax and mingle as they enjoyed an evening of culinary creations by Toben Food by Design and scintillating sounds provided by the Noah Leibel Quartet. 

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and in the case of my sister’s engagement party, I definetely agree. I will spare you from having to read paragraphs filled with big words describing the event of said evening and attempt to recap the evening through images. (There will still be some descriptive text.)

The Venue

My talent for producing creative events comes to me naturally via Madame Pink Lady. The party was hosted at The Richmond (location no longer undisclosed.),Toronto’s first green venue.  No plastic water bottles allowed, the Richmond keeps its environmental footprint to a minimum with the use of a waste-reduction policy, compact fluorescent light bulbs and seasonal menus. The venue is also pleasing to the eye with a loft balcony, high ceilings and soaring windows. 

The Richmond
The Noah Leibel quartet was situated on the loft balcony.

To add another layer to this jewel-of-a-find location, my mother arranged to have the walls lined with framed photos featuring my sister, her fiancée, and a very special image of his mother and father. A great use of what otherwise would have been white walls, this detail was essential in creating the relaxed atmosphere as guests were given a snapshot into their six year, cross-country courtship.

The Flowers

The Food
I realize that many people who read this blog do not live in Toronto but if you do or if you don't mind paying for a few round-trip tickets from YYZ to your local airport, then I highly recommend Toben Food by Design. TFBD's culinary creations are essentially "food art" and if we haven't seen images of their innovative and visually pleasing hors d'oeuvres, miniature desserts, and every other course in between, gracing the pages of Food & Wine magazine yet, then we will in the near future. I know. First impressions are important but did TFBD deliver? Would you expect anything less from a Le Cordon Bleu graduate who has worked in the kitchens of some of the world's most highly acclaimed restaurants? To truly experience TBDF's cuisine is to taste it but on this occasion you will not be scolded for your eyes being bigger than your stomachs.

The Style

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree nor would my family ever put the name of this blog to shame but it is obvious that we have issues when it comes to shoes. It was less than 24 hours until the festivities and my sister had not found the right shoes to wear with her Cut 25 sequin mini, Alexander Wang blouse, and the most incredible strand of pearls that you have ever seen. The pearls were an engagement present to my sister from her mother-in-law to be. (My sister hit the jackpot. Not only is she marrying her soul mate but his family owns one of Canada's foremost jewelers. Do you want to know a secret? Her fiancée will be opening up a store in Toronto in less than a month. Details and images to come.)  Crisis averted. She found the perfect pair of Louboutin's. I have never seen my sister look more beautiful. 

The Pink Lady wore diamante-embellished Badgley Mischka.
Madame Big Apple wore Jimmy Choo's Isabel in gold.
My sister wore the 120mm Prive in Pewter Christian Louboutin. 

And what did the Pink Lady wear? This post is not about me. It is about my sister. All I will tell you is that my hair was inspired by Audrey Hepburn's iconic up-do from Breakfast at Tiffany's.

My $15 tiara inspired by Audrey Hepburn's
up-do in the film Breakfast at Tiffany's.

This was only the engagement party. I can not wait to see what Madam Big Apple and the Mother of the Pearls have planned for the wedding.

I flew back to the Orchard of Style on Sunday to beat the Memorial Day rush. Completely exhausted, I took Memorial Day off from my getting out of retirement search to relax and grab a movie and dinner with my friends T and W. (Go see Amour Fou.) 

Coming Soon: The conclusion to the Nanny Diaries and the full story about that strange but true interview process that I went through with that yet to be named company.