I’ve been PartySlate’s editor for about half of its journey to become the go-to resource for event inspiration — but this is the first time I’ve been planning a celebration myself. My daughter will become a Bat Mitzvah this fall, and her impending party has cast a different light on all of the dreamy events I get to peruse each month. Now, these celebrations aren’t just theoretical; they’ve gone from “wow, look at that live donut-making station!” to “hmm, could I pull that off?” But I recently discovered that my daughter has her own ideas.

About a year ago she pulled me aside to ask for potential themes for her celebration. I pitched the wonder of a sweet candy dreamscape like this one. “Any other ideas?” she asked. Then I went for a surefire hit: a rainbow theme. This is a girl who drilled ROYGBIV (the proper color order of rainbows, thankyouverymuch) into my consciousness when she was still in preschool and was even a “rainbow cutie” one Halloween (yes, that’s an actual costume that is sold in stores). She crossed her arms and said, “I like rainbows but that’s not what I want to be known for.”

Suddenly, it became clear that it wasn’t just a celebration marking a rite of passage, but a way of communicating her very identity. Which, I suppose, is what all celebrations do. Their mix of elements — our favorite foods, our favorite music, our favorite people — convey exactly who we are, what we value, and how we have fun.

I tried again, “Well, I’m seeing a lot of interesting graffiti-themed Bat Mitzvahs. Oh, and neon is very cool.” She sat up excitedly. “Yes, those!” Well, those are two ideas but perhaps her sense of self is complicated — gritty city combined with pop neon. I combed PartySlate to curate the perfect lineup of potential venues, planners, photographers, entertainment, and décor ideas into one glowing, colorific Idea Slate — neon slinky ceiling installationhere, glowing graffitied cocktail tables there, dramatic colorful lighting everywhere.

Then, a month ago, my daughter announced her preference to take a trip to New York with a small group of close friends instead of having a party. My own dreams of throwing her an epic celebration — the culmination of a year and a half spent marinating in gorgeous event images —  were dashed. Then, I realized that there was still planning fun to be had. After all, we’d need a private dinner space, and fun treats, and what about a photographer to capture our city fun? So my newest Bat Mitzvah Idea Slate was born.

In between all of this planning and re-planning, PartySlate has been flourishing, and I’ve had the pleasure of filling my inspiration tank over and over by attending creative events where I get to see the trends we write about brought to beautiful life. Like our PartySlate Miami launch where we had chic eco-friendly décor at an eco-friendly hotel, and our Washington, D.C. launch via a progressive dinner where guests were able to mix their own scents for custom take-home perfumes. And I am at a loss for words to describe our ultimate dinner party in NYC celebrating Vera Wang — whose very name evokes luxe wedding style — which boasted an all-white, candlelit dinner-in-the-round featuring an opera singer, a big room reveal, and roaming models decked out in Wang’s Spring/Summer 2020 Bridal Collection.

So here I am, feeling grateful in this moment with so much more celebrating on the horizon — in both my personal and my PartySlate life. And I’m looking forward to enjoying your events, showing up in gorgeous images on my computer screen daily.

Pamela

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