The Mommy Shorts Remarkably ABOVE Average Book Party
I'll never forget when I first met Ilana. It was almost 6 years ago, when our kids were in the same preschool class that we met. We hadn't said one word to each other for the first 5 months of our kids first school year. We'd both drop the kids at school and run off to work. It wasn't until this big gala that the school held where we started chatting over cocktails and hors d'ouerves. It was the usual conversation...you know...so what do you do? When she told me that she used to work in advertising, got let go after having Mazzy and then started a mom blog...I thought a mom blog? Hmph. I wasn't overly impressed. She told me the name of her site and I ran to the bathroom to check her out.
Turned out...she was way more than a mom blogger. She was a hilarious, sarcastic, marketing genius. I think she probably thought I fell into the toilet because I was immediately addicted to reading her blog and spent quite some time checking her out before heading back into the party.
We became fast friends. Not only her and I, but our husbands as well. We even got pregnant with our second children at the same time. Over the years we've been come so close, I consider these guys a part of our family.
When Ilana told me she was going to write a book I thought GOOD FOR YOU! Her writing is so brilliant it would be a shame not to write a book. I of course told her I would throw her a kick ass party as soon as the book launches.
And here we are today....
Ilana's book is now available in all of the major book stores and I couldn't be more proud of her. It's not every day you can say my friend wrote a book!
Naturally I wanted her party to be extra special. First, we needed a venue. I remembered my cousin Daniella once telling me about this fantastic coffee shop in Toronto called Maman. She said she's friends with the owner and that she has a couple of locations in NYC! I always kept this information on file and pulled it out for Ilana's party thinking it would be a great spot. Well...it WAS. It was perfect.
This Maman was located in Tribeca. Elisa, the owner could not be more lovely. I adore her. The space is rustic, has exposed brick walls and TONS of book shelves. Could this have been a better fit? I don't think so.
Ilana loved it and when we had our discussion on the menu we decided to go with a kids menu that had an adults twist to it. Things like grilled cheese, mini pizzas, chicken and waffles, milk n cookies and a huge table of cheese and charcuterie were served.
My favorite part? Elisa told me she has an ice cream cart in the shop! How perfect? Not only do Mazzy and Harlow love ice cream...But Mazzy has always dreamt of having her own ice cream store!
How about Harlow's love of waffles? Elisa suggested a waffle station for dessert! AH! Could not have been more perfect even if we tried.
I asked Maggie to design signs for Mazzy's Ice Cream cart and Harlow's waffle bar and gosh did she ever do a stellar job. So on brand with the Mommy Shorts blog!
Moving along...let's talk about all of the stunning little details here.
First off, I took great advantage of all of the vintage pieces Elisa has in the restaurant. Ladders, a high chair, a scale, the bakery counter...I covered it ALL with books, flowers and Ilana's favorite Instagram shots from her @MommyShorts account which we printed from Artifact Uprising.
When doing a party like this it's always important to me to stay on brand. Ilana has these yellow chairs in her house out east that she used to take the photo of her burnt toast for the cover of her book on. Well guess what? I found chairs that look almost identical for rent from RentQuest. I brought in a few to spice up the table where guests could sit.
When you walk into the restaurant Elisa has these awesome, deep couches making for really comfy spots to sit. They were decked in royal blue pillows. I love royal blue, but not for Ilana's party. So I reached out to Elisa's designer Tania Kovalenko Ltd. and she made me custom white covers to brighten up the couches for the party. I added colorful pillows in Ilana's brand colors and boom. I love love love how this turned out.
When the guests arrived, I wanted them to have that WOW, Celebrity type feeling with Ilana. I worked with Manhattan Neon to create a huge backdrop of Ilana's book cover created. Abby and I climbed up onto stools and pinned balloons all over the top to create a fun, festive look. It was exactly how I dreamt it. PERFECTION and everyone stopped to take a photo!
Ilana had so many friends, family and special guests at the party. One in particular, her new friend Sarah Bennett. One of the most amazing things about Ilana's work is how she is able to connect with her readers by integrating them into her site to share their stories. Sarah's story is not only courageous but one that will make you think twice the next time you complain about a chipped nail. I was happy to see her having such a wonderful time at Ilana's party.
To create a fun, happy vibe, we brought a DJ from our fave entertainment company, Generation Events. Tony C was spinning the top hits all night. At one point I found myself dancing with Ilana's mom. We had the best time.
Ilana said a few words to thank her girls for all the inspiration that they provided for the book and her career. It was so sweet.
Then Mike got up and surprised Ilana with the sweetest speech. More tissues please!
Last but not least, was the book signing. All authors do a book signing at their party, right? Well this party was a celebration for Ilana and I didn't want her sitting at a desk all night! So I created a book signing station TO Ilana. The guests all signed one book to Ilana to congratulate her on her successes. It was so sweet, especially when Abby took Mazzy over to the book to sign the sweetest note to her Mom.
To send everyone off at the end of the night, we had the most fantastic Mommy Shorts bags made. Thanks Imagination Branding for working with us to create these gorgeous bags. I bring mine everywhere now! These bags were filled with awesome goodies from all of Ilana's sponsors making an awesome swag bag.
Now it's time to take a moment to relish over the photos from the party. I knew that I had to bring in the best to take photos at Ilana's party because Ilana is absolutely obsessed with quality pictures. It's her thing! So who did I call? That's right. Dave Robbins of Dave Robbins Photography. Dave: I cannot thank you enough for ALWAYS making time for me when I ask you. For showing up with that charming smile and doing whatever I ask of you. Photograph THIS! Photograph THAT! Come over here and shoot Abby and I! Go over there and shoot Ilana and the girls! You're one of a kind and your photos are above and beyond the best I have ever seen. Truly. Thank you a million times over. THANK YOU!
