hostess with the mostess: a recap of my event with vera bradley!

i had a whirlwind weekend nurturing this little blog of mine! as many of you have been reading about for weeks on my instagram, i hosted an event in conjunction with vera bradley‘s soho flagship store this past sunday. as a new member of the style collective blogger community, i took this as an opportunity to invite (and meet) several nyc-area bloggers (or as we call them #SCsisters). i had about 15 “sisters” show up, plus their guests, and a few members of my own circle of family & friends. there were about 35 ladies in total. i was in heaven, surrounded by like-minded #bossbabes as we sipped, shopped (and talked-shop). to recap the day, i met with gina ribando of symposia nyc first thing in the morning. she did my hair in a beautiful half-down braided style for the event, which boasted a pop-up-braid-bar. obviously i had to stick to the theme! and she even put baby’s breath in it! check out her gorgeous work:next on the list, i had to shoot my outfit before our guests arrived… so i stepped outside with jacob goldberg, our resident photographer for the day. he snapped some amazing photos of my ‘hostess with the mostess’ look. i am so obsessed with this off the shoulder top from zara (similar linked to rewardstyle below), which perfectly compliments my slacks from express. topped it all off with some chloe and isabel jewelry (earrings and bracelet) and dolce vita mules (not pictured – but linked!).

it was almost party time!!!! allison kim of @sweetstuffednyc and brittany jeffery of @itsbritsbatch arrived next to set up their respective dessert stations. allison’s donut/cookie hybrids are seriously addicting. some were stuffed with (vegan!) cookie butter, and others were stuffed with nutella. there was even a matcha/green tea flavored topping!!!! i brought a doggie bag home for my husband who was so excited to try them. brittany’s macaron station was equal parts delicious and beautiful!!! they were dusted with shimmer and came in rose & pistachio. she came prepared with the prettiest pastry stands that really added to the aesthetic of the event. i think i might have eaten ten of them… but who’s counting, right? adoro lei arrived next with champagne, orange juice, parfaits & fruit cups. we spent the remainder of our setup making mimosas while the #VBSoHo associates stuffed swag bags with beauty samples, water bottles, vera bradley stationary, and all of our business cards which was a really nice touch. none of this setup would have been possible, though, without my koyal wholesale collaboration! koyal wholesale is the world’s largest event-decor supply company who sponsored mini ‘loaf’ tins (the most adorable idea in lieu of plates) – balloons – mimosa flutes – and fun vintage paper straws! all of the decorations you see pictured are courtesy of koyal. working with them was a breeze, and decking out our space with their goods really helped to create a festive environment for the girls. after setup was complete, we opened the doors and the ladies started arriving. we spent the next two hours getting to know each other, talking about the nyc blogging world, picking each others brains, telling stories of how we met our significant others, and shopping vera bradley’s spring/summer line. check out (many!) images from the entire event, also taken by jacob goldberg photography!

i had such an amazing time at this event. i learned about how people got started, i met seasoned bloggers with big followings – as well as newer bloggers like myself – but we all have one thing in common: a love of fashion and a love of social media. in fact, every vendor that i brought on board for this event is someone i met through (or related to) social media. it was a lot of fun putting this plan into motion and turning an idea into a reality, which is truly the goal for everyone who’s doing what i do. when all was said and done, i took a lap around the store and picked something out for myself — this gorgeous ‘big sky backpack’ in gallatin golden tan.

many, many thanks to the team at vera bradley soho for inviting me to host this event. it was a huge success all around, and i had a blast! until next time!