GOLD TABLE STAND | PINK FLAMELESS TAPERS | GOLD CANDLESTICKS | PINK VOTIVE CANDLES | GOLD TOTE | GOLD CHARGER PLATES | MIRROR RUNNER SQUARES | LACE FAN | ACRYLIC FAN STANDS | PINK NAPKINS | FLEUR DE LIS NAPKIN RINGS | MARIE ANTOINETTE TEA | GOLD BELLS | CARDBOARD BOXES | MARIE ANTOINETTE WIG | PINK JACQUARD RIBBON | FLORAL DRESS | CAMEO EARRINGS | LENNOX VERSAILLES CUP & SAUCER

Every year around this time, I find myself facing the same challenge: figuring out how to top the previous year’s rosé luncheon at Arnaud’s.

At this point, the Krewe des Cloches ladies have come to expect a theme, a little creativity, and a healthy amount of nonsense, so the pressure is entirely self-inflicted.

In years past we’ve had The Pink Lotus, a rosé-colored spin on The White Lotus, complete with monkeys and “Lorazepam” (M&Ms) and Rosé Royale, cheekily inspired by the cheeky Palm Royale. This year, somewhere between watching Bridgerton and enjoying entirely too much Bravo, I landed on the idea of Marie Antoinette’s Rosé Salon.

The dress code? Bridgerton Meets Bravo.

The tagline? Let Them Drink Rosé!

Like most of my events, Let Them Drink Rosé started with a Canva vision board. I used to be a binder girl; now I’m a Canva girl. Having an organized visual event plan is my jam, and I love having one place to collect ideas, colors, inspiration, and the overall feeling I’m trying to create.

That said, I am also the queen of last-minute wonder. My events usually get a theme and title and a home on my digital dashboard months before the event, and then they sit there. The actual details tend to come together somewhere between “I don’t have an actual plan” and “why am I using a glue gun at 8:00 on the morning of the event?”

But despite my procrastination and inability to plan ahead, naturally, I became determined to create a little corner of Versailles in New Orleans.

That meant sourcing antique hand mirrors from Etsy and eBay as a nod to the Hall of Mirrors. It meant tracking down enough Lenox Versailles teacups and saucers for every guest to take one home. It meant custom embroidered ribbons from my spicy and wildly talented friend Vilcy at Specialties by V, and convincing Dunn & Sonnier to indulge me once again with an over the top (of the table) floral display.

And then there were the fan portraits.

The fan portraits, for the record, were created the day before the event.

The same day I discovered I had only ordered twelve fans for fourteen women.

The same day I discovered overnight shipping is sometimes the only thing standing between you and disaster.

The same day I decided we had – HAD – to have actual KDC Chronicles from Lady Bellsworth.

As usual, it all came together at the very last minute.

Thankfully, the lovely Shantel Chapman helped transform our table at Arnaud’s while I continued running around making questionable wardrobe decisions in the name of authenticity.

And then the magic happened.

The women arrived.

And they absolutely, completely, and spectacularly understood the assignment.

Tiaras appeared.

Gloves appeared.

What had started as a pink idea on a Canva board suddenly looked exactly like what I had imagined months earlier.

Marie Antoinette’s Rosé Salon.

We gathered at Maison Fowler for our traditional first toast before boarding the limo bus to Arnaud’s, where French 75s awaited and a room full of women who genuinely enjoy celebrating one another settled in for an afternoon of fun and mischief together like we always do.

Vive la Belle Vie🥂

The truth is, I love the challenge. Give me a theme, a vision board, and an entirely unreasonable number of details and I’m a happy girl.

And if all goes according to plan, Christmas in July should be just as over the top.

Then again, with less than a month to go before the event, my Canva vision board for it is still completely blank.