On Monday, June 12, hundreds of top event industry professionals gathered to celebrate with PartySlate at a “Sweet Summer Social” in Brooklyn. The soirée was perfectly placed at 74Wythe with its variety of spaces that include a stunning rooftop space with a built-in retractable glass roof — which meant that we didn’t stress when drops started to fall.
Rachel Behar and her planning team at Rachel Behar Events (RBE) curated a creative gathering with a sunny weather theme. She shares, “When PartySlate approached RBE to plan their June event, we happened to be in Florida at the time. We were inspired by the beautiful weather and the approaching summer season. We spent time looking into Pink Street and were inspired by all of the bright colorful pinks and greens.”
As always, PartySlate loves hosting events for the people who produce events. Chloe Labiner from the flexible space at 74Wythe says, “Alongside Rachel, PartySlate truly trusted our expertise by giving us full creative control to curate a vibrant event experience for those who know the industry best.” Event professionals from every category enjoyed donning colorful outfits and toasting each other against the New York skyline as their busy season gets underway.
A Glimpse of the Evening to Come
Guests were invited to PartySlate’s celebration via a luxe digital invitation, custom-designed for the gathering by TPD Design House. Jacqui Evans with TPD shares, “We started off using a mood board that Rachel Behar Events and PartySlate curated to give us the overall look and feel for the event. The boards were full of bright pinks, punchy greens, and soft yellows, which lent itself to a vibrant, playful summertime vibe. Pairing the PartySlate logo on both the invitation and day-of materials was top of mind.”
Evans adds, “We were also told to go for a more bespoke, eclectic feel, so we gave the invitation a hand-done quality that paired watercolor with a brush script and some irregularly shaped florals.”
The team also designed the party’s print materials and signage to direct guests and honor event partners, while also honoring the vibrant theme. Evans says, “As we started to think about the day-of signage, we introduced supporting patterns and graphics to give the event more breadth and dimension.” The team also took care to incorporate the logo onto signage that guests would see and interact with throughout the celebration.
Bombshell Graphics took TPD’s colorful designs and brought them to life at the gathering with materials that included a custom-printed dance floor, step-and-repeat, wrapped bars and stairway wrap that miraculously not only survived hundreds of guests, but looked new at night’s end.
MY DRAP put the chic design in each guest’s hands in the form of luxurious, custom natural cotton napkins that continued the summer vibe.
Design: Vacation Vibes
PartySlate events don’t happen without the dedication, generosity, and creativity of the vendors we work with. Behar says it best, “All the vendors brought on board are really experienced professionals. We made a design direction deck that included a lot of inspiration and a color scheme. From there, we sent it to the vendors and told them to work with what we presented! When sourcing our rentals and designs, we made sure we stayed true to our color scheme and playfulness. It resulted in an event that was sexy, eclectic, fun, and chic!”
Creative Guest Flow
Partygoers entered 74Wythe on the venue’s first floor where they experienced a warm welcome with a curated photo opp and a super creative catering spread. Chloe Labiner of 74Wythe shares, “Utilizing one of our interior spaces — The Room — as the first and last stop of the guest journey to the main event on The Roof not only allowed us to showcase the breadth of the venue, but also created an opportunity for all vendors to showcase their offerings and creativity.”
The flexibility of The Roof was integral to the success of our celebration. Labiner says, “New York weather is, at best, unpredictable. But with our retractable glass rooftop enclosure, you could never tell it was raining that evening.” She adds, “Next time, we’ll be sure to host a night cap in Jbird Cocktails — our hidden speakeasy lounge that cannot be missed!”
Whimsical Summer Aesthetic
Behar shares the process of choosing the Sweet Summer Social aesthetic, “There’s a time and place for a theme, and we felt for this party and being in Brooklyn, it should be more fluid and open to one’s own interpretation. It was important to us that everyone felt welcomed, relaxed, and ready to welcome the summer months!”
They had the perfect floral partner in Wedded Events. Nada Khairuallah of Wedded says, “When we think of summer, we automatically think of the colors pink and green, especially after seeing the mood board created by Rachel Behar and PartySlate. We wanted to go wild with big, leafy green palms, bright pink and orange florals, and lots of beach balls — truly the epitome of summertime!”
Playful & Colorful Details Galore
Khairuallah of Wedded says of the vibrant affair, “We always aim for designs that feel whimsical and fun. We adore texture, so you’ll see throughout the space that most of our florals are either hanging or pointing upwards or downwards to really create depth and add a layer of playfulness.
“We then approached all that color with a schematic look. Color-blocking is our favorite style and adds a perfect touch to the multi-color palette that we knew we wanted to incorporate.” The team infused the space with vivid hues everywhere — from the florals to beachball installations in Instagram-worthy spots and inside lucite tables.
The design aesthetic extended to every corner of the space, from the entrance to the steps and the dance floor. Even the lounge areas exuded the joy of a lively summer day. RentQuest filled the space with furniture rentals and décor that furthered the theme in a beautiful way. Their seating — sofas, poufs, pillows, armchairs — and white, gold, and chrome cocktail tables created spaces for guests to create meaningful connections. Meanwhile, their colorful arch backdrops and framed bar made for picture-perfect spots.
Luxe Event Rentals added even more depth to the sunny aesthetic with chic fringed umbrellas, towering white metallic palm leaf installations, a lush boxwood hedge, and the coup de grace: laser cut panels that backed the stage, providing a tropical backdrop for the band and extending the theme to every corner.
The dance floor that the band filled with partygoers was from Party Rental Ltd. with a custom wrap by Bombshell Graphics, all designed by TPD Design House. It really does take a full team of talent to realize a memorable event vision.
Entertainment: Ambiance & Engagement
Floor Filling Tunes
Vali Entertainment created a curated musical journey that took guests from a welcoming entrance into networking then right onto the dance floor. Sam Guyton of Vali shares his approach for PartySlate’s networking celebration: “Sweet Summer Social, envisioned by Rachel Behar and the PartySlate team, was a celebration where every musical moment harmonized with the theme — from the elegant pop tunes played by a harpist upon arrival to the premier Bossa Nova band on the roof.”
He continues, “The evening began with enchanting melodies as guests descended the stairs, and the transition from Bossa Nova to light background music seamlessly led to the dance segment, where five additional singers took the stage in stylish gray suits, pink bow ties, and elegant pink dresses that beautifully complemented each other — and the theme.” Guyton says that his team focused on “showcasing the power of music to enhance and elevate the overall experience.”
He adds, “With each note and lyric, we poured our hearts into the music, igniting a powerful connection with the audience.” The performers filled the dance floor with a mix of Bossa Nova classics, Broadway hits, pop, and power anthems — closing with “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus, which delighted partygoers and had everyone singing along as they danced. Elevating every note was Safe Sound AV who provided production, audio-visual services, and lighting — all imperative in creating a celebratory vibe.
Unique Photo Opps
Every party should offer memorable photo ops — and this gathering over-delivered with the help of LA Photo Party. Their team provided two roaming photographers who captured in-the-moment shots of groups posing, added themed frames on the spot, then digitally shared the snaps with guests. Instant gratification, indeed.
LA Photo Party also created a totally unique photo booth perfect for posing. Their technology allowed partygoers to get creative and merge multiple photos into one color-drenched image. The experience resulted in fun moments like the same person appearing multiple times in the same Pop Art-inspired photograph.
Fresh Fare: Innovative Flavors & Service
We were lucky to have Deborah Miller Catering & Events curating a totally unique menu for our affair. Alexandra Trogisch from their team shares their approach, “Innovation, by nature, is the key to creativity. At Deborah Miller Catering, we constantly find ourselves inspired by the vision a client brings to us. For the PartySlate event, the theme of summer naturally gave way to vibrant fruit and floral colors as well as the bounty and beauty associated with the season.”
Crudité Radically Reinvented
Upon entering, guests were ushered into a cocktail space that impressed with lush décor and even more lush fare with a garden-like, fully edible installation from Deborah Miller. “Gardening engages all senses – sight, smell, taste, and touch — and the action of gardening connects people to each other and nature.
“At the Party Slate event, we showcased our living garden, which is a reinvented way to interact with crudité. Our Chef dipped baby vegetables into green goddess dressing and herbed compound butter before planting the vegetables into soil made from ground pumpernickel bread infused with truffle oil,” says Trogisch. “As guests approached the garden, they picked their vegetables from the ‘soil’ then returned the leafy green tops to a composting bin, which also served to remind people of our need as a world and a community to reduce, reuse, and recycle.”
Wow-Worthy Stations
Trogisch says, “Through conversation, the colors of green and pink took center stage, naturally leading our designer and Chef to create “Summer Slices and Cool Vibes,” a station devoted to celebrating the diversity of watermelon and preparing it in ways to surprise and delight.” Think watermelon pizza with ricotta salata, summer melon, basil, and balsamic glaze or watermelon sliders with miso-grilled watermelon, watermelon pickles, mint pistachio labne, and arugula.
Another culinary vision from the team was their “Elevated Taste of New York” station which featured lucite shelves against the NYC skyline (as seen from 74Wythe). The small glass bowls featured gazpacho served to order, with unique offerings like white grape gazpacho and greenhouse tomato gazpacho.
Yet another wall station featured creative bites like a peach and rhubarb burrata with freshly grated basil pop rocks for a taste that delighted as it sizzled sweet and savory. Passed service rounded out the evening’s creative offerings.
Making sure that every service touchpoint was perfect, Party Rental Ltd. provided catering rentals like beautiful glassware and chic serving trays.
A Sweet Ending
No celebration is complete without a dessert. Luckily for guests of this PartySlate event, Vincenzo Salvatore Cakes baked a variety of delectable pastries in perky summer flavors. Guests enjoyed mini cupcakes that featured lemon, carrot cake, and more sweet tastes. Additionally, the team displayed their cake design work with three tiered cakes showcasing classic wedding vibes as well as more modern aesthetics.
Lavender and Pine Gifting took care of goody bags — in this case goody — with beautifully wrapped cartons containing everything you could want at the end of a fun night — chocolate, water, and cookies from Vincenzo Salvatore.
All of the Memories Made (& Captured)
It was definitely an evening worth remembering, and we are grateful that Genevieve de Manio Photography was on hand to beautifully capture the dramatic soirée. The team shot gorgeous candid pictures of guests having fun as well as photos of every colorful design detail and delectable dish. Meanwhile, Kenneth Cooper Films captured moving images that told the story of the celebration with an engaging video that takes us right back to the night. Both will remind the hundreds of guests of their good time (and will make those who weren’t there, wish they were).
And More Thanks
Producing a beautiful celebration — like PartySlate’s Sweet Summer Social — requires a talented team of partners. In addition to the vendors listed above, we also want to thank Willow House Beauty for our party-ready hair and picture-perfect makeup. They made sure that our PartySlate team looked (and felt) our absolute best.
And lastly, we appreciate Serrano Solutions who provided topnotch security for our celebration.
event planner: Rachel Behar Events
venue space & beverage: 74Wythe
production, a/v, lighting: Safe Sound AV
entertainment: Vali Entertainment
catering: Deborah Miller Catering & Events
florals & décor: Wedded Events
rentals & lounge: RentQuest
décor rentals: Luxe Event Rentals
catering rentals & dance floor: Party Rental Ltd.
photography: Genevieve de Manio Photography
videography: Kenneth Cooper Films
photo booth: LA Photo Party
signage: Bombshell Graphics
invitation & graphic design: TPD Design House
napkins: MY DRAP
team hair & makeup: Willow House Beauty
dessert: Vincenzo Salvatore Cakes
take aways: Lavender + Pine Gifting
security: Serrano Solutions
hotel: Moxy Williamsburg