11.22.2010

{event showcase} 40th Birthday at Club Bryan

Today I have the pleasure of sharing a fun milestone birthday celebration with you!  Last month, over the Halloween weekend, my client hosted a 40th birthday party for his wife.  Her only request was to dance.  Therefore, I transformed the lower level and pool deck of my client's home into a night club.  Here are the details.

Hustle on over and bust a move
Amy’s turning 40
So we’re having party!


The birthday girl has a passion for tennis so the night club theme evolved to "40 Love" at Club Bryan!  The birthday cake and cupcakes were made by Amphora Bakery.

Catering trick: to display a sheet cake place a stack of 2-3 small plates in each back corner.  The stack of plates prop up the cake for a better display.  Thanks for the tip, Jim!


As guests arrived downstairs, they passed through silver beaded chains to reveal a dark night club with lots of lights, including a custom light on the wall and lights that moved to the beat of the music.

The DJ played great music, dance hits through the decades with extra attention to favorite songs from the 80's and later in the night, guests enjoyed karaoke too, which turned out to be a huge hit!


Our color scheme was sapphire blue and sparkling silver and the look and feel of the night club was contemporary with a disco edge, like South Beach meets Studio 54.  To make this work, we rented white furniture and linens, draped the existing couches in blue fabric and created a backdrop for the DJ (thus, hiding the Bryans' entertainment system) using white drapes and a tufted backwall.  We accented with blue and silver pillows, candles and uplights.  To really drive the theme home, we had a disco ball centerpiece on the food buffet that lit up and spun around; it was personalized to read "40 Love"  and "Club Bryan".

On the buffet, we served a tasty array of hors d'oeuvres including my favorite - Southwest Trifle with layers of guacamole, creme fraiche, salsa verde, cornbread and pico de gallo - and a new favorite - Miniature Beef Fajita with citrus cream, roassted corn, black bean quinoa and smoked chili sauce (shown above).  The birthday gal also loved the Tomato and Fennel Soup Shooter with Manchego Grilled Cheese. Super yummy!


Outside on the pool deck, guests enjoyed the bar and more seating with outdoor heaters to keep them warm. 

In addition to beer, wine and soda, two specialty drinks were offered at the bar:

40 Love
a.k.a Gator-ade, a nod to the Bryans' alma mater

Hurricanes
a nod to where the Bryans' met many years before


Creating "Club Bryan" was a lot of fun!  Many thanks to the Bryans for entrusting me to produce this very special party and to my A-team of vendors - Fusions Cuisine, Bialeks Music and Gala Events - for helping me!

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