Wanderlust-ing with Desi Lantern’s Bloggers’ Meet

As a bespoke wedding décor and event design brand, Desi Lantern has designed, created and customized events, distinctive beyond expectation, for over 7 years. In Kolkata, we have never come across any décor designer hosting and organizing a bloggers meet.

So, when this idea was suggested to us by our team, we were apprehensive initially-how would the Kolkata bloggersreact to the brand, since they usually feature fashion and lifestyle brands only on their blog.  The reach and benefit of digital media is growing by the hour, so we decided to give it a shot. It was a first that an event décor brand organized a bloggers meet in the City of Joy.

After endless brainstorming, research and analysis, we approached Nikita Agarwal Manchanda, Blogger-In-Chief: Pentwister, to co-host the bloggers meet with us. Our rationale behind organizing this bloggers’ meet was to create an unforgettable experience for each blogger as well as to showcase our work through their eyes, providing perfectly curated and unique décor at the event. Most importantly, we wanted to make them feel special and at home, personalized to the T.

With Nikita on board, we started to devise on a theme. We needed to plan the entire event around it, especially the décor. We didn’t really want to do the usual, run-of-the-mill kind of a décor; we wanted to break the monotony and bring out a theme that would resonate with everyone. And voila! Consensus was, that in today’s time of hectic work and stress, ‘Travel’ is a solace to everyone. Hence, we zeroed in on the Theme – ‘Wanderlust’. We began conceptualizing the event to craft an evening for the bloggers, making beautiful memories that will stay with them.

Once the theme was in place, we started thinking about how we would design and customize the invite. Since we are travel aficionados ourselves, we procured different items from around the world to put together the invitation. A Beautiful wooden tray from our trip to Bali, a Piggy Bank from Europe, and custom-made ‘Wanderlust’ travel tags personalized for each blogger, a leather journal etched with our brand logo, personalized greeting card and the brand brochure made up each invitation. The entire hamper that we put together beautifully for the bloggers, keeping akin to the theme.

The venue & date for the meet got checked- Ganges Art Gallery on the 17^th June, Saturday. The art gallery transformed into a space for travel enthusiasts, ready for wonderful journey with us around the world. We wanted the bloggers to interact, unwind and be comfortable like we do during vacations. A few simple games kept the tempo. On arrival, the bloggers were given a ‘Welcome shot’- a question attached to it that determined their seat for the event. A handmade denim neck piece for the girls, and a leather wrist band for the boys were handed over too; why denim you ask?It is most widelyworn fabric on leisure travel, as it’s fuss free and comfortable- Every little detail was considered and allied to the theme for the day.

We wanted the bloggers to experience what Desi Lantern is all about- thus we gave them an experience of a 5 course sit down dinner. An 18 seater table was laid out with flowers and centrepieces such as miniature monuments from different parts of the world. Items such as airplanes, cars, globes, small briefcases, pebbles, flags with the world map, cameras, mason jars, candles etc adorned the table. The flowers used were not the usual too- purple lavender, hydrangea, tulips and white peonies added that touch of elegance.

The activities for the evening included a ‘Trivia Quiz’ on greetings in various languages around the world. What followed suit was indeed a treat for our bloggers– a professional choreographer jiving to Latin American, Hip Hop, Salsa, Bachata and hit Bollywood numbers. Not only the bloggers but we as hosts thoroughly enjoyed all the dancing and couldn’t help breaking into a move.

The dancing brought everyone’s hunger pangs alive. The nibblers included a scrumptious Lebanese platter and some Proseco & White Wine to set the mood. The Lavish 5 course sit down meal included a signature dish from 5 different cuisines- to give a spot-on travel experience. It included Crispy Bowl from Mexico, Turkish Pizza from Turkey, Conchigli Pasta from Italy, Thai Flavoured Bundles in Peanut Sauce from Thailand and Choux buns filled with crème from France. Our guests for the evening were swooned by the arrangement.

A ‘Bloggers’ Meet’ is incomplete without truckloads of pictures, and the hot space is always the photo booth. Ours was a frame of a hot air balloon and few suitcases, inducing ‘Wanderlust’ in our fellow travellers. The bloggers went berserk clicking pretty selfies and creating eventful memories on social media. Brownie points for us!

The bloggers experienced a curated meet true ‘Desi Lantern’ style. Today, we can proudly say that we changed the maxim of the usual ‘bloggers meets’ in the city. Wanderlust by Desi Lantern gave its guests a complete fun experience, replete with quirky activities, amazing themed décor, scrumptious food and plenty of memories; It came together to have made Wanderlust the best bloggers meet till date, as per the bloggers’ unanimous consent. We, Priti Agarwalla & Sunaina Agarwal, founders of Desi Lantern, are grateful for the love and appreciation that each one of the bloggers have flooded us with – it just drives us to ideate, execute and deliver work par excellence and there’s nothing better than being valued for our effort.

Board

Heaven Sent

Children are gift from God! Desi Lantern was overjoyed to be part of the baby shower celebrations with the Saraiyas. For the special day of the mother-to-be, we did the decor with ‘Heaven Sent’ as the theme. Let’s get a sneak-peek of what we did at the venue:

This corner defined our theme. We used the concept of hot air balloons and created an installation of the same. Use of white balloons give a feel of clouds.

‘Heaven Sent’ theme got a vintage look with this set-up. Using the stuffed clouds and hot-air balloons, we created crib mobiles. The vintage chest added to the aura

Besides the balloons and nets, we created the hot-air balloons with jute bags and tiny stuffed cushions to hang it on the crib mobile

Keeping up with the theme, we packaged the gifts for guests with a message for everyone

Even the drinks station got a makeover

When t2 Turned 10 – This is what we did for Them~

Sunday evening saw the who’s who of Kolkata gather at the Crystal Hall of Taj Bengal. It was t2’s 10th anniversary party and Desi Lantern was proud to be the decor partner for the event. So here is what we did for them…

Fantastic Furniture is the Key to Dapper Decor

We used some of our chique and classy bespoke furniture which we have assembled from all over the world. Why be ordinary when you can be extraordinary! These were unique and tailor-made designs. For us events are special occasions and we believe our clients would never like ready-made run of the mill furniture for the guests whom they have invited for this special occasion. Keeping in mind this fact we provide exclusive furniture for the event like no décor house in Kolkata does!
…Continuing the story in Cushions

And why only furniture? A custom event demands customized furnishings too – including the cushions. So, for this party we also showcased some of our handmade goods like the cushion-cover with customized embroidery of t2 and ‘t2@10’, wooden table decor with laser cuts, which were hand-painted, and scrabble boards. The table decor too was customized. Also, our new range of wooden furniture was showcased for the first time at the event!

The Magic is In the Details

We tried to create interactive corners at the venue which grabbed the attention of the guests. The entrance of the venue was themed in gold, black and red where a scroll with the ‘essence of t2’ greeted the guests. The backdrop of the greeting venue was adorned with cage chandelier lights. We tried to give different detailing for t2 with floral installations and customized food stations were designed for each cuisine.
Creating a Selfie Zone at T2 Party

For selfie enthusiasts, we created a ‘selfie station’. And check out who all made the best use of the selfie station here…
Time for Something Cerebral

A scrabble corner, which was also a sitting area, also awaited the guests at the event where scribblings like ‘Like the aloo in my biryani’, ‘ Trending and Trendy’ and ‘ Like Red Bull Jaeger’ adorned the walls. This was the perfect spot to catch our breath and indulge in some self-love before you again swayed to the tunes at the party.
..and here is what they had to say
(lets have a wow video or thank you video from anyone who was there)

A concluding note

The difference between mediocrity and excellence is the attention to detail. At Desi Lantern, we strive for innovation and excellence by taking personal care of every detail for each of our party. This T2party was no exception – despite the hard work at the end we were happy that we managed to do something special when our favourite paper turned 10!

Desi Lantern creates ‘heavenly’ look for baby shower

“A blessing from heaven, a heart full of love. A gift for the mother, family’s treasure trove”
This is how we brought in Pooja Saraiya’s babyshower, with utmost love and care. We designed the event with the theme ‘Heaven Sent’, where all the elements were set up in sync with the concept. From the installations to the drinks section, we added a little bit of heaven to everything. Let’s catch a glimpse of the work we did:

A lot of meticulous planning went into deciding on the elements and this is how this corner took shape. At Desi Lantern, we focus a lot on detailing and quality finesse. We opted to set up an installation of hot air balloons and clouds for the event.

We created fluffy clouds and hot air balloons with the help of stuffed cushions and balloons. Crib mobiles were made out of these elements put together.

We incorporated a vintage look to the event as well with a wooden chest paired up with flowers. This was part of another corner we created.

When so much was done for the venue, how could we leave the gifts behind. We designed the packaging for the goodies meant for the guests with a message from the mother-to-be.

Even the drinks section got the essence of the theme with hot air balloons buntings and balloon installations.
To see our clients happy gives us immense joy at Desi Lantern. We strive to re-create our client’s vision to the perfection. Ultimately, it’s the smile on their face that makes us happy. It was a special day for the mother-to-be and so we had to make it even more interesting for her. A day to remember and cherish! It gave us great pleasure to be part of Pooja’s big day. We personally looked into the details and every element was handcrafted with love! Bless you Baby Saraiya!