You don’t need to be in Hollywood on Oscar night to watch the Academy Awards like a movie star. We cohosted a glamorous Academy Awards party with Kim, the manager of The Playwright. We transformed a traditional Irish Pub into an Oscar worthy viewing room with a fabulous red carpet, fitting for our celebrity guests. Guests loved our Oscar menu filled with previews, feature films, credits and concessions. We stayed up to watch the shocking Best Picture Award, where La La Land was simultaneously the biggest winner and loser. We are excited to share the details with you.
We met Kim at a New Year’s Eve celebration hosted by David and Susan Shapiro at The Playwright. Kim loves theme parties just as much as we do. We were excited to collaborate with her on this Oscars party.
THE INVITATION
A fabulous party starts with a fabulous invitation. In the past, we used Evite, Paperless Post or Punchbowl. Lately we have been using Splash to custom create our invitations. Splash distributes online invitations (think Evite, Paperless Post and Punchbowl), manages contact lists (think MailChimp), sells tickets (think Eventbrite), and creates a page to showcase the postparty photos (think Flickr). You can find our original invitation here.
THE RED CARPET PRESHOW
No Oscar party would be complete without a RED CARPET! We transformed ordinary red fabric into our fabulous red carpet. We also hung a shiny gold fringe curtain to create a glamorous backdrop. We asked our guests to dress to impress since the Academy Awards are as much about FASHION as they are about FILM. We asked the gentlemen to take a queue from Barney Stinson and SUIT UP! Ladies were asked to wear a gown or cocktail dress. Last year, Archana interviewed guests, but this year our friend Matt interviewed guests on who they were wearing, who they were most excited to see and who they expected the winners to be.
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
We used a combination of gold, black, red and white for our Oscar-worthy color scheme. Archana created adorable table centerpieces using film reels, Oscar statues, popcorn bags, clapboards, film strip and red/white foam stars. We also sprinkled film confetti and additional bags of popcorn on the tables.
Our guests LOVED our Oscar themed Photo Booth props from Printable Prop Shop on Etsy. It’s cheaper to buy the digital files and print yourself, but if you are pressed for time, you can order them fully assembled. The paparazzi caught the guests with their Oscars awards too.
AND THE OSCAR WINNING DISHES ARE…
Kanchana custom created an Oscar menu for the evening. She imagined “if these outstanding movies, actors, actresses and directors were dishes, what would they be?”
Our guests loved the Oscar inspired menu!
Guests also sipped on Oscar inspired drinks and specialty cocktails. Hellisoy, a habanero infused vodka, sponsored the Hellisoy or High Water. This cocktail was a delicious mix of spicy and sweet notes. We also included an Oscar-tini, which was a French martini with Chambord and pineapple juice and a Sully-licious, which was a Moscow Mule with a twist. Blue Moonlight beers and Can’t Stop the Champagne rounded out the cocktail menu.
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Mother Mousse created a custom Oscars cake for the Playwright and Twinspirational. The cake design featured a red carpet, film reel, clapboard, Hollywood stars, velvet rope and most importantly the Oscar.
OSCAR GAMES
The Oscars are a 3+ hour affair. We intended to play some games like last year’s Oscar Bingo or the traditional Oscar Ballots, but guests preferred to watch the Oscars or snap pictures by the red carpet. It was a little loud in the restaurant, which made games unexpectedly more challenging. If you are hosting your party at home, we highly recommend playing Oscar Bingo and muting the commercials to give your guests more time to chat. This isn’t the Super Bowl so guests can enjoy some off-screen fun.
BEST DRESSED LIST
The Academy Awards are not just about achievements in film. One of the best parts of the Oscars is seeing your favorite celebrities get all dolled up in their best or worst looks. Our Oscar party also delivered a night of unforgettable fashion. There was a tie for the award for Best Dressed Male and a four way tie for Best Dressed Female.
OSCAR SWAG
Why should Oscar presenters and nominees be the only ones to leave with fabulous gift bags? Our guests departed with an Oscar chocolate lollipop in milk, lemon or red chocolate.
THAT’S A WRAP!
Thanks to Kim and the staff at The Playwright for a wonderful evening. Special thanks to Eric, Yera and Shara for staying with us until the surprising mishap for Best Picture.
“Nothing can take the sting off the world’s economic problems like watching millionaires present each other golden statues” ―Billy Crystal
I love theme of the party and thank for sharing so I can have some inspiration for my future planing of parties. The props in the party look super fun and cool. I really looking forward to attend one of such party!
This looked like such a great night filled with all the important details of gorgeous fashion and wonderful food! I think this is has to be the only way to watch the Oscars from now on!
oh wow! That invitation totally set the mood for the party and was on point. What a fun time!
Wow this looks like the best time! The menu is so creative and the food looks incredibly tasty! I'm sure you guys had an awesome time celebrating the Oscars!
It wouldn't be an Oscars party without a red carpet and photos! Love that invitation. And the menu is so fun and on point!
The details made the party more exciting. I would love to attend this kind of party too. So much fun!
I need to go to an Oscar's party! This looks like it is way to much fun! The cake is amazing
I love the idea of hosting an Oscars party! My favorite part was definitely the red carpet and the little Oscar awards. The menu looks like it was to die for!
Now this is a gorgeous party!! So well planned and perfect down to the details. I loved the decor and everything! Also, that food looked delightful!
What a great idea for a themed party! Love the menu and all the little extras, including the props and the attire, and of course, the VITAL red carpet. BRILLIANT! xo Evelyn, PathofPresence.com
What a great idea having an Oscars themed party, it looked like you had such a great time and everything was on point!
Oh what a fun party! I love throwing parties for random things like this that are not birthdays or holidays. Well done!!
I feel like I just live vicariously through you and all your awesome parties right now. My normal Oscar party is a party of one, but I sincerely love the Oscars, so hopefully one year I find other award show lovers and steal all your ideas!
Looks like an amazing event!
Sounds like fun!! I love the details and it looks like everyone had a blast.
Looks like it was a fabulous party! I love that cake and the centerpieces.
What a fabulous party! That menu is killer, love the names for all the dishes and it sounds delicious! Nice job ladies!