A Succession themed party with Dart Collective

Our friends at Dart Collective have always thrown a good party (remember this fun holiday party?), but this might be our favorite one yet. We were honored to attend this sultry winter soiree as media partners along with our event booking company MatchBook. The Succession theme is on point, the venue is a castle, and planners Penny Layne hit on literally every trend of the moment within that concept. Sophisticated bows, candlelit everything, produce as design, funky hand lettering and illustrations, all of it. Design pro Layne Kula is here with the details behind the party, and Logan Cole shared the photos below:

Succession themed winter party at Wrensmoore Castle

Layne explains, As longtime fans of the show Succession and everything it does (and doesn’t) stand for, we were psyched. The backdrop was the iconic Wrensmoore Castle—an old estate nestled in the Alhambra Hills. It was the perfect setting for a party that felt just a bit barbaric and really gave vendors an opportunity to celebrate a remarkably successful season and really party down.

Guests were greeted at the base of the gate and escorted up via golf carts to the entrance — and what better way to create a fun and interactive first impression? As guests arrived, they pulled up to a fountain overflowing with candles, large pennants featuring the Dart Party Crest, a vintage white Rolls Royce, as well as a trio of Classical Musicians and Strings playing a traditionally, haunted catalogue—of course with the Succession theme song peppered in every so often. Guests made their way into the house which was dimly lit and filled to the brim with a variety of varying activations—a luxe food display fit for only the best and complete with an enormous shrimp and seafood tower, a roaring fireplace, bows on bows, towers or maraschino cherries, and a standalone espresso martini bar.

This past season was all about bows (as you know): from life-sized bows as welcome decor to pretty little ribbons wrapped around wine glasses just waiting for guests to snag. Going overboard with trends was a cheeky way for the creative team to flex their skills and celebrate all the inspiration we’re inundated with all year long in weddings.

Nothing more fitting for a trend-filled Succession themed party than an espresso martini, right??

We mean, even shrimp are having a moment right now.

From a design standpoint, we wanted to play on a clean, streamlined look, rich textures, and everything that was current at the moment. Succession is so much about what is happening then and there and we thought what better way to do that than with a wink, wink nudge, nudge and get all of the poppin’ trends in. It felt like a perfect extension of the theme, the venue, and the kind of party you always want to go to that people are too afraid to throw.

Kale towers, turnips and bar lamps dressed the tables chic black bars featured cocktail napkins with Succession’s iconic slogans, and a no-nonsense party approach resulted in the drink menu—we opted to keep it simple with dirty martinis, negronis, and margaritas. Other activated food stations offered indulgences like bruléed brie and white truffle macaroni and cheese, and champagne tower among others, as well as heavy passed apps like braised short rib tortellini, sirloin sliders, black tater tots with micro celery, and truffled grilled cheese with caviar and gold flake. From a vibe check standpoint, we never wanted to miss a beat—epic music like a bossanova band kicked off the cocktail hour, and as the night got rowdier, we transitioned inside for a DJ and live band hybrid.

Find Dart’s full band list here, and DJs right here.

Wanna learn how to plan a party as creative as this? Hop on over to MatchBook and get matched with your perfect creative team for free!

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