Looking to up the ante in terms of exclusivity, Bloomberg whittled down the guest list to its White House Correspondents Association dinner after-party this year, inviting 500 media and political types versus last year’s 750 invitees. “We wanted to do something different this year,” said Bloomberg spokesperson Judith Czelusniak, who oversaw the event. “We decided to make it smaller and more exclusive. We said, ‘What do you do with a smaller group? Well, let’s make it feel like home.’”
Working with Design Cuisine owner and partner Bill Homan, Czelusniak envisioned a three-piece, four-level tent (created by HDO Productions) with areas you might find in your own home—a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, a library, and a garden. “Why not let people walk in and get their food and drinks from the kitchen?” Czelusniak said. “A stylized kitchen, of course.”
Held in tents surrounding the Costa Rican embassy (guests never actually entered the building), the event was intently focused on pampering guests, while also making standard party elements more user-friendly. Design Cuisine, for example, created five-inch snack pails filled with bar snacks (pretzels, vegetable chips) that could be held on a pinkie finger—making snacking and drinking at the same time a less clumsy feat. Another easy-does-it element: mini cheese boards for two. Carpeting throughout the tents was extra-plush for guests’ sore feet, and in the glam mirrored bathroom—made up of 10 Porta Potties—amenities included scented Tocca candles, fancy soaps, and thick hand towels.
The party’s catering also featured a DIY element. A kitchen built adjacent to the tent’s blue-lit living room had three self-serve refrigerators continuously stocked with water, beer, champagne splits, sushi trays, mini fried-chicken buckets, and meat-loaf sandwiches. “Guests could stop by the fridge, grab a beer, and walk away,” Homan said. Another serve-yourself feature was a retro oversize porcelain tub filled to the brim with champagne splits. Bathrobe-clad attendants stood by, ready to offer flutes or straws.
Lighting played a big role in the overall decor. A highlight was the living room tent’s 20- by 20-foot chandelier created by Los Angeles designer Thomas Ford. Similar to the piece he created for In Style's Golden Globes fete, the chandelier was made up of more than 9,000 strands of knotted cellophane that reflected the pink and blue light projected from above. What seemed to be a blanket of sparkling lights from the living room was actually more than 700 custom-made lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling, each featuring a filament in the shape of a Bloomberg terminal. Casting orange-hued light, the bulbs warmed up the garden-themed tent and mimicked the circle-bedecked invitations, which also functioned as coasters. (Guests received a Bloomberg lightbulb in the gift bags.)
A line formed down the block to get into the party—and included many unsuccessful crashers—so tents were crowded. But sweet and savory passed hors d’oeuvres were plentiful, and the self-serve bars eliminated long lines at the manned bars. “There has to be plenty of space to walk around and lounge,” Czelusniak said several days before the event. “After all, this is essentially a networking party.”
