If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if you tasked the area’s top event professionals to throw an over-the-top industry bash: meet Erin Go Glam.  

Each year, Helen Olivia, along with a few of our closest industry pals, team up to put on a party just for industry friends. Spearheaded by Ridgewells Caterers and Design Foundry, event planners, venue managers, and vendors alike all don their best frocks and gather for a fabulous event. 

Before we go any further, let's answer the question many of you are probably asking: Who is Erin, and why is she so glam? The name ‘Erin Go Glam’ was dreamed up by the team at Ridgewells Catering when they set out to brand an annual events industry event that fell around St. Patrick’s Day. There’s a phrase in Gaelic: “Erin Go Bragh,” which turned into “Erin Go Glam.” Six years in and the rest is history–and the event has become a cherished tradition for our local events community. 

This year, we were thrilled to find out that the venue would be the newly reopened Mellon Auditorium. If you aren’t familiar, it’s the quintessential DC events venue, situated right off Constitution and around the corner from the White House. The venue boasts soaring ceilings and signature herringbone wood floors. 

When we set out to start planning this year’s bash, we quickly settled on a Met Gala theme with opulent golds and whites. The goal was simple: create something that has never been done before. If it exists on Pinterest: we don’t want it. 

Probably the most inventive feature of the Erin Go Glam party was custom-cut, white carpeting to mimic the gardens of the Palace of Versailles. Each carpet was perfectly fabricated to match the shape of the custom tables that would sit on them. Design Foundry was an incredible event partner and knocked this out of the park. I was especially blown away by the custom mirrored, almond-shaped tables they created, which were the perfect backdrop for the floral garden centerpieces we created. At a whopping 8 feet in length they were both huge–and beautiful centerpieces. 

Massive 20 foot ginko trees were custom built by Design Foundry to decorate the bar area, and miniature ginko leaves were echoed throughout in the floral designs we created. 

My personal favorite floral piece? I loved creating an incredible tablescape of sweet pea—by the thousands of stem—to run down two long rectangular tables. I was delighted to see so many event planners oohing and ahhing over them when the doors opened!

Other memorable parts of the event: a permanent jewelry station put on by none other than She’s Unique. It was so fun to hear Katya’s name brought up by two other people in our planning meeting. It goes to show that her reach extends well outside of Alexandria, and she brought such a fun interactive element to the party.  

The drinks and food were nothing short of incredible, with host Ridgewells turning out a truly breathtaking meal, and our friends at Cocktail Curations pouring some of the wildest cocktails we’ve ever seen. Truly an art from both.  

So cheers to another fabulous year of Erin Go Glam for our Helen Olivia team and to our incredible vendor partners. It was a rare treat to experience the events industry as a guest of the party. While it felt funny to be the one in full makeup and a gown, it was also fun to play guest for a day!

HOST & CATERING: @ridgewellsdc
CO-HOST & DECOR: @designfoundry
VENUE: @eventsatmellon
RENTALS: @smthingvintage @perfectsettingsllc @tablemannersdc@bbjlatavola
FLOWERS: @helenoliviaflowers
A/V: @4wall @avld_events
PHOTO SALON: @lovelifeimages
COCKTAILS: @cocktailcurations
MUSIC: @lucyblackent
ENTERTAINMENT: @skylarkcreativegrp
INVITATIONS: @sugartaylorco
EVENT BRANDING: @epochdesign.co
PHOTOGRAPHY: @ronaldfloresphotography
VIDEO: @kkinscreative
BEVERAGE: @acebevdc
VALET: @mjvalet

RELATED: She Paid How Much?