Desert Chic: WeddingPro’s Palm Springs-Themed Vendor Social

Last month I had the privilege of partnering with WeddingPro to plan their New York City vendor social – made extra special since it was WeddingPro’s debut event here. (For those of you that missed the news, WeddingPro is the new baby of The Knot Pro and Wedding Wire Edu.) In addition to making sure our venue, Union Park Events, was dressed to impress, I wanted to throw one heck of a fun party for my fellow wedding vendors. We were in the midst of the wedding season so the mid-September event was the perfect occasion to have some fun and mingle!

**ALL PHOTOS BY** **JUSTIN MCCALLUM PHOTOGRAPHY**

Because of the timing of the party, just before the official start of Fall, I wanted the party’s style to be inspired by the idea of hanging onto Summer for just a little bit longer. And what better aesthetic for that than a Palms Spring-inspired vibe? With the color palette, we used various shades of red, pink, and yellow and were careful not to introduce any greenery when it came to the florals. The colors translated well into all of the event signage by icandothat design, which was centered around a simple, geometric theme.

Hands down the most standout detail of the night was the mustard yellow couch from Patina that was enveloped in FLWR’s incredible floral installation. I knew everyone was going to want a photo with that couch, so we decided to turn it into our portrait studio for the event, manned by the event photographer, Justin from Justin McCallum Photography. Since everyone loves a good photo opp, we included two more photo spaces, Flux Photobooth Company’s classic photo booth set up complete with a festive sequin backdrop, and Chellise Michael Photography’s super in-demand Lit Lounge downstairs.

From the bar’s over-sized centerpiece to small centerpieces on the tabletops, along with the stunning installation with Patina, I couldn’t get enough of FLWR’s floral design. Statuesque anthuriums, succulents, wild echium, dahlias and more created movement, interest, and color, carrying the Palm Springs vibes throughout the venue.

I’m sort of obsessed with balloon installations, so I, of course, had to find a way to incorporate one of Always Poppin’s masterpieces into the Social. The brick wall behind the check-in desk could not have been more ideal for Always Poppin’ to work their magic alongside the red acrylic welcome sign created by icandothat design.

Union Park Events, a newer venue in Manhattan, turned out to be the perfect backdrop for the Social. The location has so much built-in personality with amazing lighting features and so many fun nooks to decorate that our end of Summer vibe really came to life inside of its walls.

I would also be remiss if I didn’t give a huge shout out to Ritter Sport who sent us literally 75 pounds of chocolate that we successfully gave out to all of the guests in their take-home wine tumblers. The colorful cocoa paired with byPensa’s pastel yellow cake and hand-decorated cookies made for a sweet event. The Remixologists created a great mood with lighting around the venue and tunes throughout the Social.

This entire event would not have been possible without WeddingPro, The Knot, Wedding Wire and all of the incredible vendors listed below. These vendor relationships bring so much value to my event and wedding planning business. I know exactly who to point my clients to for their event needs based on my roster of vendors I know and trust (and who also happen to be at a variety of price points). And when I’m able to bring those vendors together on an event, the results are magical.