Friday, August 3, 2007

PDA + SDC = WOW!


This is going to be a long one today, ya'll. Thursday, August 2, the Gibbes courtyard was transformed into a mid-century mod creation by the minds at PDA and Stephen Duvall Catering & Events (herein referred to as SD for length purposes). They combined their forces to thank their loyal clients with a blowout and blog-worthy event.




Guests first entered underneath the handsome awning installed by Robin and the team at SD. Once in the courtyard there was a stimulating feast for the eyes beginning with the stage. If you've ever seen the Gibbes courtyard on a regular day, I guarantee you wouldn't be able to recognize it after SD and PDA were done with it. Robin, Amelia, and Ziggy from SD draped the entire facade of the stage in intricately pleated red fabric and it took A LOT of balancing, literally, to get up that high. They also built smart covers that hid the less-than-beautiful stair rails and enclosed the space a little more. Todd and the guys at PDA hung a fiber optic fabric backdrop that twinkled like a starry sky. Vintage Velvet swanked it up with lead singer Regina Ruopoli's voice cutting the evening like buttah!


PDA created a very unique ceiling installation in the tent which carried on the color scheme of the night, RED! They also, according to a few sources, hand dipped the lightbulbs red... they work hard for the money. Guests were also treated to some cinematic art on 4 plasma screen tv's, courtesy of artist and creative director, Kevin Harrison. There was a fresh fruit daquiri bar (pineapple, peach, strawberry and banana), a rotating dessert display, mini-burgers and pomme frites, a yummy caesar salad station, and fresh seafood and ceviche.


Jacqueline Lawrence, Design and Decor Director for SD showcased all of her new rentable inventory ranging from groovy red benches (don't even know how to describe them, see photo), uber-mod tulip chairs and tables in sleek white with red cushions. Nicole and Nikki from PDA placed small LEDs throughout the tree beds and fountain, and hung strands of mirrored discs throughout the trees to reflect all the light and add an element of fun(k). The arrangements of red gerber daisies in shallow white boxes and chocolate brown ribbon represented the carefree attitude of the evening.


The head honchos for PDA and Stephen Duvall, Jeff Nickles and Steve Wenger respectively, got on the mic and graciously thanked their clientelle for supporting them and told everyone to please party like rockstars... only not in so many words. The night ended with Charleston's hottest, DJ Moo Moo spinning, and the hardcore partiers staying until the lights came on, just how it should be. FUN!




There I am attempting to capture the spirit, like a cheerleader.

4 comments:

CDHofmann said...

Yep, all 160+ of those light bulbs were dipped using a product known as Rosco Colorine. It's a dye that comes in a variety of colors and can be mixed and thinned as needed. We strung up the tape lighting in the warehouse and hand dipped each bulb. The process took a day and cost about half as much as purchasing pre-colored lamps. Plus we achieved a deeper, more saturated color than was available off the shelf and we were able to have the wattage and size we wanted. It was time consuming, but met our exacting standards. Anyone interested in dipping light bulbs should give us a call.
- The PDA Warehouse Staff.

Sarah Bradley said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sarah Bradley said...

Nice, so it's not an urban legend!

Regina said...

Oooh...like buttah! I like it. ;-)

It's always great to be a part of such a well done, swanky event. PDA rocks. The Gibbes rocks. Stephen Duvall rocks.


Cheers,
Regina Ruopoli
Vintage Velvet