Not a lot of sex and not a lot of city either

Last week we went to see Sex and the City 2 and to say we were grossly disappointed would be an understatement.  however, My event was so much fun that I almost forgot that tragedy of a movie and I really want to thank everyone who attended.  I didn’t know a majority of the people who attended, which I thought was AWESOME!

So what started this whole thing?  I decided that I wanted to celebrate the release of Sex and the City 2 with a small party at my apartment.  I wanted to incorporate swag bags, so I started e-mailing people who I thought would be able to contribute: nail polish companies, accessories, tee shirts, beauty products galore — I went through and pitched them all about my event and waited for responses.  I already had the name picked out (Sex and the City of Angels) and I created an invite to brand the event so I figured I could reach out to a few vendors and they’d send me some freebies.  Invite cost? Free

Turns out almost every person I approached was interested in participating and they were willing to donate larger amounts than I asked for.  I was thinking around 10 bags for 10 guests, but they were willing to donate 50 items or more, so that’s when I figured I needed a venue so we could make this a full-on production.

I wasted no time and got in contact with the X Bar at The Hyatt Regency in Century City.  I loved the venue and thought it would be spectacular for the views and the feel of the entire party, so after a few e-mails back and forth, I went through a walk-through and voila!  Location determined.  Everyone at the Hyatt was amazing, friendly and helpful.  Price?  Free

The whole premis of the party was to go see the movie afterwards.  So I contacted the PR Coordinator at AMC 15 and pitched her the party and she referred me to the manager.  I wanted to see if we could get a private screening or a few vouchers if we agreed to give them press — granted I didn’t have any — however because it was opening night they weren’t accepting vouchers and they had five theaters opening for the midnight showing so privacy wouldn’t have been an option.

I created an online invite at EventBrite and made it public so that not only my friends could RSVP but if women who wanted to could come and enjoy themselves.  EventBrite is a great service that does amazing analytics and reports for your event.  See my invite here.  Price?  Free

By making this a public event, I got an inquiry from Levine Communications (LCO) about coming and doing press on the event (go figure).  I was excited, however we did not have free vouchers for the event so they respectfully declined.  However, it’s another contact made.

All of the swag was fabulous and the gift bags were donated on behalf of two shops on Melrose Place — Temperly London and Dolce Vita.  So everyone got great swag and a cute bag to boot!

Swag included:

– Eyedews collagen under-eye treatment (Jenny McCarthy loves these!) — 50 for free
– LuxLash Beverly Hills discount card — 50 for free
– Scarpasa shoes gift card — 50 for free
– DNA11 & CanvasPop artwork and photo discounts — 50 for free
– Zestra arousal oil (they sent me so many that I gave everyone two and I have about 50 more here in my room.  Hit me up ladies if you’re looking to get frisky) — millions for free
– PurpleLab NYC cosmetics coupon — 50 for free
– Sex and the City themed tee shirt from House of Mental – 50 for free!

These bags made the party as fun as it was.  I went ahead and downloaded the Sex and the City 2 soundtrack and mixed it into a playlist with the first soundtrack and then added songs about California because, duh, the party was themed Sex and the City of Angels.

I cannot wait to host another party!   Ideas, anyone?