Perrier Jouet's Le Bal de Fleur event had a fin de siecle, Belle Epoque theme, but the party's guests and its attitude were all 21st century. The barely black-tie party celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Fleur de Champagne bottle design, and mixed a motley crowd of socialites, models and downtown fashion types in the dramatic, turn of the century Surrogate's Court building on Chambers Street.
With its ornate amber, green and rust-colored marble furnishings, the building made a dramatic, original venue—no small feat, considering the crowd of frequent partygoers assembled by event and PR firm Ted Inc. To add to the venue's already-striking feel, caterer and event production firm Mood Food brought in pretty white flower arrangements, flickering light bulbs to simulate light from gas lamps and custom lighting gobos recreating the celebrated bottle's design.
The event began with a dinner on the venue's mezzanine for 129 guests, including Ivana Trump, Rocco DiSpirito and Muffie Potter Aston. Mood Food served a menu designed to complement an assortment of vintage champagnes (an unusual catering challenge), including lobster with champagne-poached leeks and a citrus vinaigrette as an appetizer, and capon filled with foie gras and salsify mousse, plus wild mushroom and truffle flan for the entree.
After the dinner was a ball downstairs in the court's main atrium, where a self-serve caviar station and lots of desserts were set out for 320 guests, including models, young fashion folks, food and travel press, assorted pretty young things, and junior American Ballet Theatre dancers. (The event had a silent auction benefiting the ballet company.) Mood Food also passed hors d'oeuvres on hand-painted glass trays.
The invitation called for "Belle Epoque or Fleur inspired" black tie, and the crowd had a variety of interpretations (a number of women turned up in deconstructed frocks, and a few of the men wore Vans sneakers). A panel including Food & Wine editor Dana Cowin and Vanity Fair contributor Amy Fine Collins served as judges of a so-called "Costume Court" presenting an award for the best look of the evening.
—Chad Kaydo
Read our Impresario profile of Ted Inc. founder Ted Kruckel...
With its ornate amber, green and rust-colored marble furnishings, the building made a dramatic, original venue—no small feat, considering the crowd of frequent partygoers assembled by event and PR firm Ted Inc. To add to the venue's already-striking feel, caterer and event production firm Mood Food brought in pretty white flower arrangements, flickering light bulbs to simulate light from gas lamps and custom lighting gobos recreating the celebrated bottle's design.
The event began with a dinner on the venue's mezzanine for 129 guests, including Ivana Trump, Rocco DiSpirito and Muffie Potter Aston. Mood Food served a menu designed to complement an assortment of vintage champagnes (an unusual catering challenge), including lobster with champagne-poached leeks and a citrus vinaigrette as an appetizer, and capon filled with foie gras and salsify mousse, plus wild mushroom and truffle flan for the entree.
After the dinner was a ball downstairs in the court's main atrium, where a self-serve caviar station and lots of desserts were set out for 320 guests, including models, young fashion folks, food and travel press, assorted pretty young things, and junior American Ballet Theatre dancers. (The event had a silent auction benefiting the ballet company.) Mood Food also passed hors d'oeuvres on hand-painted glass trays.
The invitation called for "Belle Epoque or Fleur inspired" black tie, and the crowd had a variety of interpretations (a number of women turned up in deconstructed frocks, and a few of the men wore Vans sneakers). A panel including Food & Wine editor Dana Cowin and Vanity Fair contributor Amy Fine Collins served as judges of a so-called "Costume Court" presenting an award for the best look of the evening.
—Chad Kaydo
Read our Impresario profile of Ted Inc. founder Ted Kruckel...
The Surrogate's Court building on Chambers Street served as a dramatic venue for Perrier Jouet's Le Bal de Fleur event.
A large champagne bar was set up in the building's grand lobby.
Guests ate a dinner catered by Mood Food upstairs on a mezzanine overlooking the main room.
Mood Food put out white flower arrangements on the venue's dramatic staircase.
