Death & Vodka Invitations

In our modern world there are so many awesome and easy ways to invite people to a shindig.  For most of the entertaining we do we simply text, email, or send out evites, but for our annual theme party we like to try to set the stage for the event and give our guests a glimpse at what might be coming.  This was particularly important for Death and Vodka because we really needed to set the stage for the funeral home and still convey that this was a 1920s speakeasy party.  

Over the years our invitations have evolved significantly and often have several pieces and parts.  We knew this party was going to need multiple pieces, but we didn’t want it to just be a jumble of papers that didn’t seem to go with one and other.  We decided to send the invitations out in two pieces over the course of a week.  First, we sent out a funeral notice announcing the death of Krzysztof Cesarz and the time and address of his funeral.  It might seem a little odd to send out formal announcements or invitations to a funeral, but according to the internet mailed out funeral notices were a thing in the 1920s.  The announcement didn’t mention the Mockingbird Lounge of the party, but it gave the party basics including the date, time and address. Shannon (our marketing major as a hobby daughter) designed the invitations and had them printed on Canva.

The second part of the invitation contained 3 different components and was designed to tie everything together and bring it back to the roaring twenties party. First, it contained a “personal” letter to each guest (yes, we merged each guest’s name.  But we did have 2 different letters one for individuals and one for couples.) addressing the death of Dear Uncle Krysztof and explaining the existence of the Mockingbird Lounge behind the funeral home.  

Second, it contained a small “membership” card similar to what some speakeasies or private clubs used at the time.  We had the cards printed through Canva, but we hand stamped a script M and the membership number in red on each card.  The cards also subtly let guests know that they needed to “inquire about pre-mortem plots”.  This was the password to get into the Mockingbird Lounge from Majewski & Sons.

The final piece of the invitations was a newspaper clipping that contained Krzysztof Cesarz’s obituary.  We found newsprint online at Amazon, which really helped give the newspaper an authentic feel. Rather than just sending the small clipped obituary we created a newspaper that took up about three quarters of a sheet of paper it had articles and advertisements printed on both the front and back of the paper.  We also buried clues to the party game in the newspaper articles.  This gave people that actually went to the trouble to read the whole thing a leg up!

In addition to our “snail mail” invitations we try to use email and social media to stay connected with our guests.  First, we send out email “save the dates” as early as the first of January for our late February early March party.  For this party, we attached the Mockingbird Lounge logo along with the date.  

A few years ago we started sending fun videos featuring our daughters dressed up to fit the party theme to remind guests about the party and share fun additional information.  This year Caroline was raising money for the 30 Hour Famine, and we decided to engage Prohibition Agents to accept bribes from guests at the party.  We used the videos to help give guests a heads up that this might be coming.  

Last, we use social media including Twitter and Instagram to try to share fun information related to the party with our guests.  We have one account, but were changing the names to fit with party them. I am going to admit I’ve handed the running of our “official” account duties over to Shan. She has just informed me that we are no longer going to be changing the social media because it was confusing. You can check out party updates on Instagram @cesarzpartyupdates and Twitter @cesarville.