TEAquila, Teapots & Tarts Event

There was some Mardi Gras madness mixed in with the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party in our WMODA Wonderland for Louise Irvine’s big birthday bash! The Queen of Hearts served TEAquila cocktails out of teapots and guests chose Royal Albert china teacups or Drink Me bottles for their tipple. Spirits were high for the battle of the queens!

Dr. Maria Portilla reprised her role as the Queen of Hearts from Chelsea Rousso’s Believe the Impossible fashion show where she was voted the audience favorite. However, she had a contender for the crown as Louise was modeling a gorgeous gown designed by Chelsea with a glass heart bodice. Louise’s long-held ambition was to wear Chelsea’s glass art and this novel design was inspired by the decorative dress panels worn by Renaissance queens.

Louise’s “audition” for the new Queen of Hearts proved that her achievements as a curator with ROYAL Doulton and WMODA deserved a crowning moment. To add to her glass tiara by Chelsea, she was presented with a beautiful glass scepter by Josh Fradis as a symbol of her coronation. The rival queens had fun shrieking “Off with her head” as they vied for acclaim from their subjects.

Around 150 guests enjoyed the party and DJ Trace got everyone moving and shaking to Dancing Queen and other favorites. Before the dancing, Dr. Unjeria Jackson talked about the art of tea and some of the crazier teapots from her vast collection. Guests also discovered more about wearable glass art from Chelsea Rousso who made glass bowties for the gentlemen of the court, including King George, Queen Louise’s consort. Suzanne Barton showed her beautiful artwork of Alice and friends dancing in an underwater wonderland and took lots of photos of the event. Dave Rosenthal and Lloyd Goradesky captured lots of great moments on video.

The tarts stolen from the Queen of Hearts in the famous nursery rhyme were made by Pride Catering of Fort Lauderdale and the birthday cake was by Storks Bakery in Wilton Manors. Thanks to our event sponsor Jonathan Desouza from Dream Big U for masterminding the catering. He also arranged hair and make-up for the two Queens by Andrew Hernandez and the Azmi Agency. Thank you to the staff and volunteers at WMODA for throwing such an amazing birthday party for the boss.

Save the date for the next extravaganza at WMODA Encore & Finale on April 1 when there will be another chance to experience Chelsea Rousso’s amazing runway show Believe the Impossible· Glass Fashions in Wonderland followed by a zany afterparty with DJ Trace.