Behind-The-Scenes at a Most Glamorous Garden Party















Last Saturday I was lucky to get a rare sneak peak into the last hours of the decorating, finalizing of the furniture placement, tweaks to the flower photography backgrounds, and full on party preparation throughout the venue space at Liberty State Park for this year's Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic in Jersey City, NJ. When I arrived at 8:30 in the morning, after an hour of down pouring rain, I watched teams of designers and productions crews rushing around pulling everything together before the expected 10,000 party guests were to arrive mid-day. It was spectacular to see it all come together as previously I've only admired this party from photos on Instagram and other blogs. In person, this event is more than one can imagine simply because of its size, but everything was absolutely stunning!! Truly beautiful!

The fashion hype also definitely lived up to the party's reputation. Dressing for this party is not about pulling out your coolest street-style -- this party is about wearing your chicest daytime garden party clothes. Getting dressed for this party is an art in itself! The ladies were all wearing incredible dresses or stylish pants with beautiful high heels and great accessories. An interesting pair of sunglasses or a chic hat is always a good idea. And the men of course were all looking equally fabulous in their carefully selected shirts, tailored pants, and stylish shoes that also had an edge to them. Everyone really made a statement with their fashion choices! 

The next day, after my legs recovered from standing in heels for hours as the host in the VIP tent, my thoughts moved towards dinner. Being Sunday evening, a roast chicken sounded like a good idea, and apricots as they're in season and similar in color to the yellow-orangey color of the Veuve Clicquot logo. 

                

I really love this roast chicken recipe. It's a perfect spring/early summer dinner if you're looking for something a little different that says "fancy" but actually is really easy to pull together. You don't even need to marinade the chicken before cooking, it's really all in the sauce. I find the sauce to be a nice balance of sweet from the apricots and the roasted red onions with a slight tang from the red wine vinegar.

Here's a cooking tip I found somewhere in my cooking travels that I use every time I make a roast chicken. Turn the oven up to 450 degrees. Once the oven is up to temperature, place the chicken in the oven and turn it down to 375 degrees while it cooks. Cook the chicken 20 minutes for each pound and baste along the way, two or three times, to ensure a moist and perfectly cooked bird.



Hope you enjoy!


xo L



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