Photography by Hayley Hay
If the past year and a half has taught us anything, it’s that we are innately social creatures. Our dabbles in isolation, our dry spells in embraces, and our smiles being covered indefinitely wasn’t just a lesson in human endurance, it was a reminder that social relationships and gathering are an essential part of being healthy humans.
So, when we were planning our events for the summer, we knew that there would be a collective hunger to satiate those parts of us that had been underserved; we started with an intimate gathering of women sharing stories over candlelight in the park, and we ended our summer party season with an all-out serata where we asked people to leave their worries at the door, even if just for one night.
Due to our desire to have a bigger party and share as much mutual joy as possible, we limited tickets to those who were fully vaccinated or proved to have a negative test. It wasn’t until we were [safely] elbow-to-elbow with friends that we felt like we could finally [and again, safely] exhale.
The food was plentiful, the drinks were flowing, and our shoulders swayed to the summertime beats that harmonized with the spirit of the evening. This was, if for one night, a chance to let go; let go of our worries, let go of our collective grief, let go of our inhibitions. It was, in every sense, an evening to forget.
We forgot as we devoured the hearty pastas, we forgot as we tore into the crust of our focaccia pizzas, we forgot as the fine bubbles of prosecco hit our tongues, we forgot as we raised our Spritzes and beers (and yes, even coffees) to the notion that we had all just gone through something separately but together.
And that will never be forgotten.
Thank you Un Po’ di Più for co-hosting this special event with us. Our shared philosophy for bringing people together over amazing food and ambiance made it an easy partnership and an obvious choice when we were thinking of locations.
We want to take the opportunity to thank these businesses who made this incredible evening even better and allowed us to feature authentically Italian products:
- JAYA prosecco, who has ruined us in the best way because we now know what prosecco is supposed to taste like and we cannot drink anything else. What a perfect way to celebrate with a glass of JAYA in our hands.
- Goodlife coffee, who roast coffee locally and believe that even though the art of coffee is complicated, thoroughly enjoying our coffee moments doesn’t have to be.
- Cavesa for their incredible selection of Italian wines and the knowledge behind choosing each bottle
- Family Store Market which allowed us to discover quality Italian products made by artisans at affordable prices
- Peroni, because what’s a Serata Italiana without the Italian beer since 1846
- Aperol, which to us is the equivalent of a summer evening in a drink
- LABO Gelateria, our local go-to shop for gelato (we’re neighbors in Chailly!) and for making a special flavor just for our evening
And a big shoutout to these local businesses who sponsored our gift bags and allowed us to spoil our guests with goodies:
- Cadesio Chocolate, a female-owned local business that desires to change the world one gorgeously packaged and deliciously crafted chocolate bar at a time
- Batmaid, a local cleaning service that works tirelessly to fight the black market and offer their housecleaners a fair contract.
- L’AmiKette, a local candy confectionary that uses regional and seasonal products to produce mouthwatering treats.
- BEAT fitness, which is more than a fitness boutique that doesn’t rely on contracts, it’s a community—and you feel a part of the family when you enter the doors and get your sweat on.
- Siradis, a local online food/snack company that is making it easy for us to eat clean with a clean conscience.
- Farmy, our go-to local online grocery store where we know our products are of the highest quality and come from the region.
And last but not least, an immense merci to our DJ for the night Le Dust Club for serenading us all night with your summertime jams, to The Happy Booth, who brought some magic to the evening with their interactive photo booth. What a perfect way to let loose, have fun, and have tangible memories to bring home with us as a souvenir, and to Hayley Hay Photography who captured the spirit of the evening with her talented eye. We can’t wait to party with you again