Welcome to the very first Santa Barbara Gifting Lounge! This spectacular event took place last Friday night at the Four Seasons Biltmore here in Santa Barbara, and we are so excited to share this idea with you! This concept was born at Engage13 where Colette developed the idea of eliminating gift bag delivery, and allowing guests to come into an inviting space and fill their own gift bags! We provided gifts tailored to the guest count with abundant displays specifically geared towards men, women and children; along with a surplus of fabulous local Santa Barbara food vendors! As the guests arrived they were greeted with trays of delicious lavender champagne & specialty cocktails and as they walked in they saw the colorful arrangement of “farmers market” styled fruit, shown below- because we always love to have a quick and healthy option.
The guests began by choosing between a navy or green gift bag and then were free to wander through the room. Some of the fabulous local vendors we included were: Santa Barbara Popcorn Company, The Olive Oil Source, a Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc from Santa Barbara Winery, Lane Farms, The Montecito Nut, Jessica Foster Truffles, Sweet Lady Cook, and Santa Barbara Pistachios.
The Bride special requested these stunning hand-painted Santa Barbara Mission Tile trivets- which were incredibly beautiful in person. We offered the guests the choice between pink and regular sparkling lemonade, along with bottled water for refreshments in their room. The “Luxuries for the Ladies” station included a combination of 4 different fragrances of Dossage candles for the guests to choose their favorite.
I had the pleasure of hosting the Olive Oil & Balamic Vinegar Tasting Station which was so much fun. Guests could help themselves to taste a variety of 6 different flavors, and take home their favorites. Such a unique experience for the guests!
The guests were able to take home a bottle of either red or white wine from Santa Barbara Winery, and that was certainly a hit! The Montecito Nut is a new local company that creates the most delicious flavors of cashews, pecans, and almonds you will EVER try and she ran out before we were even half way done! Jessica Foster provided 4 varieties of truffles and allowed guests to taste samples before boxing up their favorite two!
Sweet Lady Cook allowed the guests to taste the different and unique flavors of fresh local fruit preserves that she hand-makes on a small piece of toast and select their favorite variety! We also created an adorable station JUST for the kids attending the wedding. With a large selection of candy, bath products, bracelets and other accessories for the girls and toys, wallets, and sunglasses for the boys the kids were totally blown away!
Needless to say, the event was a HUGE success and the guests had never experienced anything like it and could not stop talking about how much fun they had all weekend!! We couldn’t have done this with out the help of all of the incredible women shown above and an enormous thank you to the talented Stephanie Hogue for providing us with all of these gorgeous images!