It was the perfect summer day at Maple Shade, the historic Hamptons home of KDHamptons founder Kelli Delaney Kot and Dr. Mark Kot. Hosted by KDHamptons, the Luxury Lifestyle Diary, LUX Lifestyle Magazine and Bed Side Reading, the exclusive “Books, Bubbly, and Blooms Garden Party” was held on July 2, attracting invited Hamptons influentials, tastemakers, writers and passionate readers who came to celebrate the holiday weekend. A dynamic group of selected authors signed their hot new summer reads and over 200 guests toasted summer with Kelli’s favorite cocktails while being served delicious artisanal bites.  Sharing many of the fun party details below,  but if you want to jump straight to my photo album just click HERE.  Thanks for joining everyone!

The consummate Hamptons hostess, Kelli Delaney Kot is known for always adding a fun party trick to all of her gatherings. Guests swooned over Kelli’s jaw-dropping BLOOM BAR concept which was filled with over 1,000 fresh cut floral stems from Island Time Farm of Shelter Island. Island Time Farm owners Kelci McIntosh and Chris DiOrio arranged beautiful custom bouquets sweetly wrapped in burlap and sealed with a pink pin for each guest to take home – a flower lovers dream! Weston Table Founder and CEO, Dianne O’Connor curated the BLOOM BAR design to look like a French flower market.

Kelci shares, “We had such an incredible time. All of the party guests were so fun and interesting and brought such a positive and kind vibe! I’ll never forget when we met and you asked if we wanted to fulfill your dreams of having a BlOOM BAR at your event. We did it and it was gorgeous! Not only did Chris, Dominique and I have a blast, but we got such an outstanding response that we are now adding a BlOOM BAR to our offerings at Island Time Farm. I love nothing more than to share the beauty of flowers with others.” Learn more about our BLOOM BAR HERE.

Weston Table Founder and CEO Dianne O’Connor curated the BLOOM BAR design to look like a French flower market. Dianne O’Connor believes that “style is a form of wordless speech”. The BLOOM BAR featuring more than 1,000 flowers from Island Time Farm sang of elegance, beauty, and all the best parts of summer entertaining. Dianne included 19th century copper jugs and watering cans and filled the zinc wine bottle holders of a mid-1800s French rafraichisoire with vases of flowers to share as party favors for guests.

Dianne included a collection of vintage items and a European Wicker Basket Garden Wagon filled with hundreds of blooms to create a bit of South of France magic in the Hamptons. The aromatic Long Island grown lavender nestled in Myrtlewood Garden Trugs fully embarked guests on a journey of the senses to Provence. The wooden textures of the European Wicker Basket Garden Wagon offered a natural backdrop for the explosion of vibrantly-colored blooms.

The event was hosted in the Kots’ gorgeous blooming gardens which featured charming conversation tables and sitting areas styled with Weston Table decor including French table linens, Arte Italica Scalloped Pitchers filled with layers of peonies and pink Chinese forget-me-nots. Tables were layered with beautiful NY Botanical Garden tea sets by Tea Forte, melon cups, Oishii strawberries, and the sweetest floral cut out cookies from Cheryl’s Cookies.

To download your images from the event, visit our exclusive photo album HERE.

Twenty authors were selected by Kelli and Jane Ubell of Bedside Reading which places books by the bedsides, poolsides, firesides and in the hands of VIPS through their partnerships with luxury and boutique hotels. Learn more about our featured authors and books HERE.

 The authors and books in attendance at the event include:

• • The Fin Tastic Cleanup by Laura Mancuso
  • I Wish I’d Known/Shine by Sarah Vie
  • Kobe Manatee Climate | Change and the Great Blue Hole Hazard by Robert Scott Thayer
  • Karma Under Fire by Love Hudson Maggio
  • Praesidium by McKinley Aspen
  • The Fairmounts by Valierie Nifora
  • The Baker’s Man & The Necessity of Lavendar Tea by Jennifer Moorman
  • On a Rooftop in Beijing by Maggie Paredes
  • Child Bride by Jennifer Turner
  • Equestrian Life in the Hamptons by Blue Carreon
  • Lady Be Good by Pamela Hamilton
  • Butter Side Up & Jane’s Jam by Jane Enright
  • Underwater Daughter by Antonia Deignan
  • Trust Your Intuition by Robin Pollak
  •  How to Love Yourself by Rachel Madorsky
  • The Finer Things by Lauren Erickson
  • French Holiday by Sarah Ready
  • VEG Forward by Susan Spungen
  • Village Beaches by Philip Andrew
  • North Bay Road by Richard Kirschenbaum

Guests toasted with Harry and David Sparkling White Wine which has a textured creaminess and light citrus flavor that complements just the right amount of crisp minerality, making this wine perfect for a warm summer day in the Hamptons. Harry & David’s award-winning wines are made with grapes primarily sourced from Oregon’s many micro-climates situated in the rich Umpqua, Rogue, and Willamette valleys, as well as the Pacific Northwest. To hear more about Harry and David, check out KDHamptons’ article here.

The cocktailing crowd was thrilled to try Via Carota’s new line of exquisite craft cocktails which are inspired from their award-winning namesake West Village restaurant. For more information about Via Carota’s Craft Cocktails, read KDHamptons’ article here. Kelli chose to serve the White Negroni, Old Fashioned, and Espresso Martini. Another hit were the tequila cocktails by 21 Seeds which are infused with cucumbers, jalapeños, oranges, and grapefruit. Read more about the delicious tequila beverages here.

More party tricks included a custom Sundae Donuts bar and serving mouth-watering Oishii Strawberries which are the summer hit of TikTok and Instagram. These “Omakase” and “Koyo” supermodel strawberries are vertically grown and can be delivered to your door through FreshDirect. To read more about the Montauk born donuts and unique berries, read KDHamptons’ article here.

KDHamptons is obsessed with the new non alcoholic brand, Mingle mocktails were served at the event and also made the 2023 LUX LIFESTYLE HOT LIST.

Andrea Correale of Elegant Affairs designed a delicious farm to table menu for the party…see more HERE.

Kelli’s gifting table for guests included luxurious beauty products from Biography such as the new Open Garden Wash and Creme as well as the delightful sets from Kelli’s favorite tea company, Tea Forte. Tea Forté’s new limited-edition Jardin Collection offers an assortment of organic teas in the prettiest packaging curated in collaboration with The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG).

The guests were fun & fashionable as always, the bites & bevs were delicious, the authors sold a big bunch of books and the event was a FABULOUS success! KDHamptons  and  the LUX LIFESTYLE  team are now back to work focusing on our next amazing summer event: THE 2023 HOT LIST AWARDS on August 5th!  To see more great images from the event, visit our exclusive photo album HERE.

Images by Eric Striffler