Saying goodbye is never easy. But we can lift everyone’s spirits with an AMAZING bon voyage party! My college roomie, Michaella, was bidding adieu to New York after 16 years!!! Since she and her husband, Matt, were moving to Minneapolis, I suggested a BIG APPLE to the MINNEAPPLE themed farewell party (in case you didn’t know, Minneapolis is nicknamed the “Minneapple”). She LOVED the idea. She hosted a beautiful party and I’m very excited to share it with you!
Michaella is an event producer at Lucent Projects. We had a lot of fun brainstorming Big Apple and “Mini” Apple ideas. She captured the spirt of New York City through a red, yellow and black color palette. Archana and I loved the little accents she incorporated. She designed her own red apple and yellow taxi cutouts to represent New York City on her buffet table and bar. My favorite was definitely the framed posters of Paul Steinberg’s famous cover of the New Yorker and its spoof dubbed the Minneapple.
Michaella hung a “Thanks for the Memories” banner above the buffet. Banners are great decorative pieces- they can also frame a space well. Michaella said this banner was incredibly easy to put together: triangle pennants from Paper Source, baker’s string and silver letter stickers from Michaels. Archana and I have created similar banners from scratch with cardstock, stampers, printed letters and ribbon. I must warn you, a DIY banner is VERY time-consuming. You can also purchase some from Etsy but the banners on the site can run you over $50.
I love incorporating flowers to add pops of color to a space. Michaella used gladiolus and sunflowers to continue her red and yellow color scheme. She used mason jars as vases. Ballon Saloon created a red, golden yellow and silver mylar balloon bouquet.
The menu featured some of Michaella and Matt’s “Big Apple” favorites: Grimaldi’s Pizza, BonChon’s spicy and soy garlic chicken wings, hummus from Zabar’s, selections from Murray’s Cheese and Ottomanelli’s Meats and assorted breads and crackers. Michaella used an adorable chalkboard easel to display her New York themed menu and chalkboard food labels. She found these items at Michaels.
Baked By Archana created the scrumptious Big Apple and “Mini” Apple themed desserts: New York cheesecakes with a strawberry topping and mini apple pie cupcakes with buttercream frosting. To round out the themed desserts, Michaella served apple slices with a yummy caramel dipping sauce. Guests also dined on fresh strawberries.
We originally considered Apple Martinis for the specialty cocktail. But then we remembered, we don’t really like Apple Martinis. Michaella decided to serve light, refreshing sangria in red, white and rosé with apples instead. Guests sipped on these drinks with adorable red and white striped straws.
Good luck Michaella and Matt in the Minneapple from all your friends in the Big Apple!
xoxo Kanchana
“Make your mark in New York and you are a made [wo]man.”––Mark Twain
Recipes From This Post
Spiced Apple Cupcakes: Sally’s Baking Addiction
Decorator’s Buttercream Frosting: Toba Garrett
Strawberry Lemonade Cheesecake Cupcakes: Cooking Classy
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Balloons: Balloon Saloon
Chalkboard: Michaels
Food Labels: Michaels
White Platters and Cake Stands: Pier 1 and Q Squared
Stand Mixer: Kitchen Aid Tilt Head; Kitchen Aid Bowl Lift (we prefer the bowl lift model, but it’s more expensive)
Cupcake Carrier: Wilton (includes cupcake and mini-cupcake pans)
Thanks for all the help putting it together! I always love a good collaboration – especially with good friends.
Oh my goodness this looks like it was such a fun party! I live outside the Twin Cities, hopefully Michaella will love the area as much as I do!
It is always important to give an amazing memory to your friends and family and this one did gave heartwarming event for us to remember.
It sounds amazing and very interesting one..glad you shared it with us..Thanks indeed for sharing your experience with us..decorations looks wonderful…great work though…
Wow, what a beautiful party. But the food is the showstopper! I would have loved every single type of food you made.
I’m not sure I should have read this post. Can I just say, I can’t help but drool over the picture! Who would not love to taste these!
Whoa! That will be quite a change. Living somewhere for 16 years then suddenly moving could be exciting though.
You guys always organize the best events. Beautiful decor. Best of luck to your friend.
You did an amazing job.the farewell party will remain in her memory forever
You designing ability is top notch. Minimal in cost it seems but beautiful.
What a wonderfully festive event. You did an outstanding job!
Where did you purchase the Minneapple poster?