In keeping with the party’s wintry palette, Jennifer Heebe and her daughters, Sarah (left) and Anna, chose soft-white dresses with metallic accents. Jennifer’s beaded sheath is by Jenny Packham, and the twins’ “confetti dot” frocks are by Kate Spade.
Working with event designer Kenny LaCour of Grand Events and floral designer Stephen Sonnier of Dunn and Sonnier Antiques & Flowers, Jennifer re-created the sparkling ambience of the hotel’s famed restaurant inside a clear-topped tent on the sprawling front lawn of her New Orleans home. Built in the Beaux Arts style by architect Emile Weil in 1907 and redesigned in 2009 by interior designer Gerrie Bremermann and landscape architect Mary Palmer Dargan, the home (also known as the Benjamin Monroe House) has hosted its fair share of social and philanthropic events but none quite as “exquisite” as the 155-guest dinner dance that took place last December.
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In the foyer, a Louis XVI giltwood mirror and marble-top console speak to Jennifer’s love of all things French.
Big hugs for Jennifer’s husband, Fred.
Place settings featured pieces from Jennifer’s own collection of sterling flatware, china, and crystal, acquired piece by piece over the years.
On the escort card table, paperwhites and pillar candles in simple glass vessels nodded to the iconic floral style of the George Cinq Hotel in Paris.
“The flowers were not only beautiful but were brilliantly designed for conversation,” Jennifer says. “The runners hugged the tabletops, and the candelabras towered above them so you could talk to the person across from you without talking directly into the décor.”
The place settings—china, sterling flatware, and crystal from Jennifer’s own collection—added elegance and meaning to the festivities. She began acquiring ‘a fork here and a flute there’ during college and, over time, amassed an impressive assemblage of antique, heirloom, and new pieces from the flea markets outside Paris and the auction houses of New Orleans and New York.
“It meant so much to me to incorporate these pieces into the evening,” she says. “Each one reminds me of the person who gave it to me or the place or time that I discovered it. Birthdays are a celebration of life, and my collections are a part of my story.”
