Every year, we are handling more and more milestone celebration parties. I love that people are choosing to spend their birthdays and anniversaries with friends and family, rather than fancy vacations and material objects. I think it's a true testament to our changing culture that is valuing experiences and relationships more than objects and materialism. This March, I worked with a great client who embodied that philosophy.
When Jacqueline first sat down on my office couch and started telling me about herself and what she wanted for her birthday party, I had a venue in mind immediately... Gibson's Italia Rooftop. Jacqueline wanted a posh location that felt polished, but not fussy. She wanted her friends to gather to have good drinks, food and some fun music and the venue needed to be cool, but not too hipster.
Although we did look at a few venues, Gibson's Italia Rooftop ended up being the perfect fit. This space is a private room on the top floor of Gibson's Italia, situated at the split of the Chicago river facing east. It was March, so we didn't open up the retractable roof, but the guests did enjoy the spectacular view of the Chicago skyline and the river.
Jacqueline wanted to keep the theme subtle and sophisticated, so we settled on a rose gold décor theme, based on the invitation design. The "forty" theme, in rose gold, was added to the custom cookie favors and the cocktail napkins. The peach and blush roses, were in bronze and gold containers, and we filled the tables with tons of candles. The custom cake, from West Town Bakery, was an extra tall rose foil cake on a rose gold sequined table.
The guests enjoyed passed hors d'oeuvres, from Gibson's fabulous catering, and an open bar for four hours. DJ Akib played to the crowd as they mixed, mingled and danced in the cozy lounge highlighted by Blooming Rose light projections. Good food, good drinks and good friends to make this a 40th celebration to remember.