On Monday, November 14, two hundred of the top event professionals in the country gathered in Aspen to launch PartySlate’s Colorado presence — and relax and rejuvenate at the first-of-its-kind PartySlate Retreat. The two-day gathering included a luxe welcome party, Aspen-centric activities, an education panel, a mountainview cocktail party, and an epic dance-all-night afterparty.
After a pandemic pause, the events industry is booming. It was the perfect time for PartySlate to celebrate our Colorado launch and a new partnership with Engage! Foundation. “Aspen is an iconic destination where people gather from around the world. We felt this was the perfect place to kick off our Engage! Foundation campaign to raise mission critical funds for event professionals in crisis and local charities,” said Julie Novack, PartySlate CEO & Co-Founder.
The Engage! Foundation was formed to provide support to event professionals in need and grants to select non-profits tied to the events industry. The organization also does good work in the communities in which Engage! Summits are hosted; they set up opportunities for attendees to participate in on-the-ground initiatives with local charities. PartySlate is thrilled to partner with the foundation to support their goals.
Guests were invited to our one-of-a-kind Aspen soirée via a digital invitation designed by Alpine Creative Group. Read on to learn more about our two-day gathering in Colorado.
Welcome Party: Aspen-Style
What do you get when you mix mountain glamour with a cozy historic aesthetic? Hotel Jerome. PartySlate worked with GoBella Design & Planning to curate a welcome party at the iconic Aspen hub in both their Wheeler Room and Living Room (which is usually not available to reserve, and thus a special treat).
Guests enjoyed snapping photos in front of chic, custom, branded entry signage from the team at Catering by Design (they offer so much more than delectable catering) — providing a picture-perfect moment for the beginning of the retreat that was the peak of luxury. Lively Productions lent a hand with each of these branded moments as did Six Productions with their lighting expertise.
A “hat bar” surprised partygoers with the opportunity to create a custom hat — with the welcome help of luminaries in the industry like David Beahm, Victoria Dubin, and Laurie Arons who offered their design insights. The team at GoBella Design & Planning conceived of the hat bar — a very Aspen-inspired touch — as a way to support Engage! Foundation with its proceeds. Guests chose from a collection of feathers, ribbons, and brooches for their alpine chapeaus, before getting their hats branded old-school style with heated irons.
Catering by Design curated a wooden hat display and stands that added a rustic quality to the occasion. Premier Party Rental brought in beautiful prism bars and high top stools to outfit the hat bar in glamorous style.
Élan Artists created the perfect sound for the celebration with their 10-piece band performing a just-right mix of networking backdrop tunes and sing-along-type song that engaged the attendees. Six Productions supported their sound, and the vibe of the evening, with production and AV assistance.
Hotel Jerome catered the affair with delectable passed canapes like butternut arancini, beef tartare, and poached shrimp with pickled kohlrabi. Their mixologists offered up mango margaritas, Aperol spritzes, and any other cocktails that guests desired. The Makery Cake Co offered guests homemade French macarons as well as a lovely towering white cake.
Cocktails were served with custom stir sticks by Acrylic Sticks and eco-friendly cocktail napkins from MY DRAP — both featuring PartySlate branding as well as fall leaves evoking the season.
Nuage Designs ensured that guests had plenty of beautifully-outfitted hightops and tables at which to gather, while Catering by Design added to the ambiance with dreamy candlelight. Completing the alpine aesthetic was a custom scent by Scentex which evoked pine notes and crisp winter air. The aroma carried through each of the events during the retreat, tying each gathering together with the power of the senses.
For an evening not to be forgotten, Sarah Roshan Collective captured dreamy, color-drenched images of guests decked out in their new hats. MiHi Entertainment offered a roaming photo booth that brought partygoers together for on-the-fly fun poses. Meanwhile, Amari Productions captured our welcome party — and all other PartySlate Aspen gatherings — in moving film for a video that showed the dynamic interactions and wow-worthy entertainment of our time in the mountains.
Morning Activities: Explore & Expand
The Aspen Chamber Resort Association offered PartySlate attendees a full slate of enriching experiences to choose from. Guests spent their morning engaged in the restorative practice of Yoga at Aspen Shakti, on a Smuggler Mine tour offered by seasoned miners, exploring downtown Aspen on a historical walking tour, or getting some fresh mountain air on the Hallam Lake guided tour. We appreciate the Chamber’s interest in giving our guests authentic insight into what the past, present, and future of Aspen is all about.
PartySlate Panels: An Afternoon of Learning
Hotel Jerome played host for our educational panels in their elegant Grand Ballroom space. Catering by Design once again wowed with a custom PartySlate backdrop that defined the panel stage with picturesque antlers, as well as a wood-printed stage facade. Six Productions set up screens with helpful information to flank the stage and provided mics and sound for speakers.
GoBella Design & Planning designed the room layout for guest comfort and visibility and ensured that each chair contained a PartySlate-branded notepad, and pen. Guests also received custom diffusers with the alpine scent designed by Scentex to take home (in handy airplane-approved, leakproof containers).
In addition to conference seating, attendees had the option to sit at high top tables from Premier Party Rental with luxe linen from Nuage Designs’ Ceci New York Collection — fitting as Founder Ceci Johnson spoke on one of the afternoon’s panels.
This educational component to the retreat featured two panels of event professionals sharing ideas and insight. The first featured Guerdy Abraira of Guerdy Design, Ceci Johnson of Ceci New York, and PartySlate’s own Julie Roth Novack. The trio discussed how to create a healthy digital marketing strategy — from social media to search engine optimization and everything in between.
Rebecca Grinnals and Kathryn Arce of Engage! took the stage to share the vision and purpose of their foundation, which is chaired by our Aspen event planner, Emily Campbell. The inspirational chat led into the second panel which featured a discussion of “parties with purpose.” Presenters shared ideas for incorporating nonprofit events and charitable donations and activities into your business. The experts who discussed this topic were AJ Williams of AJ Events, Elizabeth Slossberg of EKS Events, and Emily Campbell of GoBella Design & Planning.
In between the enriching conversations, Catering by Design offered a perfectly-composed amuse-bouche, introduced by their CEO Syd Sexton. Attendees loved the bite of crispy forbidden rice and umami mushroom cake topped by an over-easy sesame quail egg, chili crunch, pickled radish and scallion salad. The catering team also offered a trail mix bar filled with curated ingredients so that guests could create their own perfect mix in little paper bags to take into the ballroom or back to their hotel.
Attendees had one last opportunity to design their own Stetson-style hat to benefit Engage! Foundation. It was fun to see everyone wearing their new hats throughout the two-day affair.
5th Avenue Digital Photography was on hand to capture the panel and attendees in photos, while Amari Productions recorded the panelists’ sage advice.
Evening Party: Mountain-Chic Cocktails
Guests gathered once again to network and toast in the shadow of the mountains at W Aspen. The chic cocktail party featured a minimalist, monochromatic design rich with candlelight and mountain mood.
GoBella Design & Planning and Catering by Design created a celebration that offered cozy glamour with rich hues of hunter green, gold, and cream. Guests enjoyed the view from the space at 39 Degrees as well as from the fire-lit Terrace. And Scentex once again filled the air with their curated aromas. Nuage Designs outfitted the space with luxe linen.
W Aspen’s bar warmed partygoers with spiked hot beverages that included hot chocolate, apple cider, and a traditional hot toddy. The hotel’s chefs catered the affair with passed canapes that included stunning bites like spiced cauliflower fritters, roasted fig with yuzu marmalade and brie, and ponzu salmon skewers with kewpie sauce.
An epic table-long charcuterie wowed guests with local burrata, bruschetta, olive tapenade, meats (including sopressata and prosciutto), homemade pesto, and more. Local salads and crudité rounded out the selection, along with a three-dessert bar.
Acrylic Sticks cocktail stirrers and MY DRAP’s cotton, compostable napkins again brought style and chic branding to the soirée.
Élan Artists engaged guests with show-stopping vocals and perfectly-played instruments, including a mesmerizing performance of “Always Remember Us This Way” from A Star is Born. Six Productions supported the music with on-point lighting and crystal-clear sound.
When guests weren’t eating, drinking, or dancing, they were snapping pics and gifs. Catering by Design and Lively Productions created a beautiful raw wood chevron backdrop with neon PartySlate signage that centerted the space — and provided a perfect photo spot.
Meanwhile, MiHi Entertainment entertained guests with their creative Vogue Photo Booth. The booth used professional lighting and effects to capture music video-esque clips. Partygoers kept the booth full all night, laughing and trying different poses and dance moves.
5th Avenue Digital Photography provided a hand by capturing beautiful professional images of the celebration while Amari Productions created a video documenting the joy of the full two days.
Afterparty: Dance-All-Night Entertainment
And after the party is the — afterparty! The neon-bedecked and totally swanky bar, The Sterling Aspen, was the perfect setting at which to end our amazing gathering. The nightclub offered specialty cocktails and a party vibe that reinvigorated partygoers.
There are DJs spinning the right mix of music — and then there is Élan Artists. Not only did they play tunes that got guests to their feet, but they blew the doors off the place with accompaniment by live singers, violinists, a bass player, and more. Their energetic performance turned the entire venue into a dance floor. Even after two event-packed days, guests lingered until the last note played.
More Thanks
PartySlate attendees traveled from 15 states to join us, and many stayed in our hotel block at W Aspen, a modern and luxurious hotel that also hosted our second night cocktail party. Upon check-in for their stylish stay, guests received goody bags with custom Aspen leaf cookies (of course) from The Makery Cake Co, macarons and chocolate bark from Catering by Design, and a card listing our event partners (for future reference as everyone will want to work with them).
On that note, we’d just like to extend our gratitude to all of our partners and our attendees for joining us in Aspen to focus on learning, growth, and community. Here’s to next year.
photographer for cocktail party + panel: 5th Avenue Digital Photography
photographer for welcome gathering: Sarah Roshan Collective
planning + event design: GoBella Design & Planning
design/décor/floral: Catering by Design
invitation design: Alpine Creative Group
acrylic stir sticks: Acrylic Sticks
cocktail napkins: MY DRAP
videographer: Amari Productions
linens: Nuage Designs
cookie favors: The Makery Cake Co
photo booth: MiHi Entertainment
rentals: Premier Party Rental
production: Lively Productions
venue + catering for Colorado launch party: W Aspen
venue + catering for welcome gathering and panel: Hotel Jerome
entertainment: Élan Artists
AV/Production + Lighting: Six Productions