Party planners open up shop
[attach]4615[/attach]It looked like an elaborate episode of The Amazing Race. There were cows, pigs, jet skis and mountain bikes, with people facing off for challenges, games and races on 11 hectares of property.
Out of all the parties that event planners Casper Haydar and Elle Daftarian have thrown to date, which they say have ranged in size from galas for thousands to an intimate and romantic dinner for two, this stands out as one of their favourite.
“We did a surprise 40th birthday where we took 80 to 100 people out of the city to a cottage up north,” Haydar says. “It was a beautiful party.”
Petite & Sweet, their newly opened event and lifestyle boutique in Rosedale, is the amalgamation of Madison 8, their event planning, design and flower lab, and SweetFix, the luxury custom made sweet tables company that Daftarian runs with cake artist Yolanda Gampp.
“We were all looking for a new space, a new office and sort of decided we wanted to create another brand and have Petite & Sweet be sort of like the headquarters,” Haydar says, adding that most designers and event planners don’t have their own storefront.
“It’s very rare to go to one place and be able to do everything,” adds Daftarian.
She says people typically meet with event planners that have to source out other contacts for their clients to meet with, whereas here everything is offered under one roof.
But just what do sweets have to do with event planning? As it turns out, quite a lot. Whether it’s for a wedding or a corporate function, almost every party they throw also features dessert or one of their elegant sweet tables.
“I’ve known Yolanda for … over 10 years now, so we kind of brought her into the picture because that’s her expertise, so we have an expert in every department,” Daftarian says.
In addition to their combined services, Petite & Sweet also offers smaller-scale options for customers who want to buy just one macaroon and not a dessert table or a bouquet of flowers and not an event’s worth.
“We’re full service,” Haydar says. “You can come in and just book us for one service or you can come in and get the whole thing.”
He says these services include furniture rentals, event staff, catering, invitations and floral arrangement.
“It’s part of a whole lifestyle, where it’s not just a regular dinner party,” Daftarian says.
Although the shop’s mainly all-white decor has Parisian detailing like spindles that are inspired by Ladurée, a well-known French pastry shop, and black and white accents after Chanel’s famous colour combo, one of their main muses is a little closer to home.
The silhouette of the young girl in the store logo is modeled after Daftarian’s daughter Sophie.
“Sophie is just an inspiration I think for all of us,” Haydar adds. “She’s just very lively.”
