While brainstorming for my Date Night theme I created a bullet point list of possible theme ideas. Once I took a critical eye and started crossing ideas off the list, the list shifted leaving “Goth Party” and “Tea Party” side by side and my lightbulb turned on. Gothic Tea Party was a no brainer and I was instantly motivated.
I immediately put together a Pinterest Board with an interesting combination of color, floral, and lightheartedness mixed with dark, creepy, and moody shots. I chose The Dove House to keep this moody event feeling intimate. I have seen The Dove House transformed in so many different ways and I was excited to fill that sucker up with fog, black candles, tea cups, fake spiders, butterflies, and dark lipstick. I hand dyed 220 teabags to create the teabag curtain by the bar. With the help of Command Hooks I hung two different black canopies to try and alter the space in those areas as much as possible. I also thrifted a huge collection of vintage hand painted plates, teacups, saucers, and more. The Lionsgate Ladies handed out floral handkerchiefs to everyone as they arrived.
The vendors that I chose to bring this vision to life really knocked it out of the park. The Flour Shop provided an extensive cookie bar presented on floral tiered platters, surrounded by black candles, roses, and skulls. Three Leaf Catering crafted delicious finger foods presented on tiered vintage platters in each room. Party Liquor had the bar dishing out dry ice cocktails served in teacups. Elite Entertainment filled the building with a killer playlist and an energetic photo booth. Painted Primrose trickled roses through the building, and designed an incredibly beautiful, tall, asymmetrical arrangement that was overall dark with pops of color, full of sticks, moss, and twinkle lights. Lighting and Design by Scott filled the rooms up with fog and adorned the doorway at the top of the stairs with his neon ‘Til Death’ sign which provided a killer backdrop for photo ops. Event Rents helped bring that dark feel with their black flatware and black dinnerware, gold chairs and gold barstools, and all of the teacups the bar was serving drinks in to bring a little sweetness. Lastly Kelly Whitman Photography captured the vibe of this whole event in the most honesty and moody way as you can see from the photos below.
Looking around the room during this Gothic Tea Party was as if we had all stepped right into this little world I had worked to create and I couldn’t have hoped for more. Thanks to all that helped bring this vision to life and thanks to all that attended.
Vendors:
Caterer - Three Leaf Catering
Florist - Painted Primrose
Rentals - Event Rents
DJ & Photobooth - Elite Entertainment
Bakery - The Flour Shop
Liquor - Party Liquor
Venue - Lionsgate Event Center
Lighting - Lighting and Design by Scott
Our dates nights will be back soon!
- Author Alaina Reis