When the pandemic hit in early 2020, acclaimed wedding and event planner Nathalie Cadet-James faced the uncertainty of how to run her business, Luxe Fête, in a time when large gatherings could no longer take place. Where others might have seen a hindrance, Cadet-James saw the perfect opportunity to bring to life the dinner party in a box, an idea she had been toying with for a couple of years, with Luxe Fête Social.

“Before the pandemic I thought of how I could bring what I do to more people and I started playing with this concept of a dinner party in a box, but the pandemic put it in full throttle mode,” said Cadet-James.

This is not the first time Cadet-James took a leap to evolve her career. In 2009, spurned on by the success of planning her own wedding and events for friends, she dove head first into the event planning business by founding Luxe Fête.

“I was at work one day as a lawyer and I called my husband and said, You’ve got thirty minutes to convince me not to quit my job. Honestly, I should’ve saved up a little bit more before doing that, but I’m a person that has to go for it or not. I don’t do baby steps towards anything and so I jumped,” said Cadet-James.

Her leap proved successful and it was not long before Cadet-James became recognized as one of the world’s premier event planners, designing events for the likes of Hillary Clinton, Christian Dior and Gucci.

In a day and age where everyone is preoccupied with what looks good on social media, Cadet-James designs primarily for herself, turning to her life and travels for inspiration. “When social media first came out I think I was a little bit caught up in what I was supposed to be putting out and then I realized that I wasn’t really creating, I was just doing what I thought people wanted to see,” said Cadet-James. “Social media’s incredibly important to connect with people immediately but I design for myself primarily because it’s my vision and then I share it with the world kind of in a very vulnerable fashion hoping they love it. I love it.”

Speaking to a moment when she knew her brand would be successful, Cadet-James recalled the time early on when a client paid her the utmost compliment. “I remember early on there was a wedding and the father of the groom was a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, he came up to me and was like, ‘Young lady, you could run a Fortune 500 company,’” said Cadet-James. “It really touched me to see that he was so happy and I knew then that I should continue working on this path.”

In a day and age where everyone is preoccupied with what looks good on social media, Cadet-James designs primarily for herself, turning to her life and travels for inspiration. “When social media first came out I think I was a little bit caught up in what I was supposed to be putting out and then I realized that I wasn’t really creating, I was just doing what I thought people wanted to see,” said Cadet-James. “Social media’s incredibly important to connect with people immediately but I design for myself primarily because it’s my vision and then I share it with the world kind of in a very vulnerable fashion hoping they love it. I love it.”

Luxe Fête Social offers six different dinner party sets, all with rich stories serving as inspiration for every detail in the set, from background music down to the fork. “The Grand Marnier story is this traveled collection, a wonderful picnic with friends, the ease and luxury of it. There’s one called Adou which is inspired by my aunt, that’s what I used to nickname her. There’s another one inspired by Frida Kahlo who I think is just an incredible muse for many and I took liberties on creating a box around her. There’s another box called Bloom Where Planted because that is my life story, wherever I go I’mma bloom regardless,” said Cadet-James.

Reflecting on the advice that she would give her past self, Cadet-James said, “My advice is just to be resilient. I kind of wish I told myself it’s okay to fall as long as I fall forward. The pieces really connect and make sense when you look back at it. Every relationship that’s been cultivated, every client that I’ve had, it all leads to something even bigger and better in the future. I wish I trusted the process a little more because it’s unfolding pretty nicely.”

At Luxe Fête Social, the way an event makes people feel is just as, if not more, important than how it looks. “One of the most popular features is the conversation starters because a lot of people don’t know how to talk to each other,'' said Cadet-James. “It’s so easy to jump on your phone and tune out but when you’re able to ask questions it really opens up the possibility of learning about someone else and then there’s this crazy thing that happens when we connect.”

Each box also includes a hand-carved stone heart from a local artisan in Haiti, her ancestral homeland. “Many of my Haitan brothers and sisters are artists, it’s just in the spirit of who we are, and there’s this wonderful woman that carves stone hearts in this town. We purchase these stone hearts from her and the way that I see it I’m giving you a piece of my heart and in doing so the consumer is also helping the local economy in Haiti. She’s able to send her kids to school and give them medical treatment from the amount of hearts that she sells,” said Cadet-James.

"I think there’s always something we can do. It doesn’t have to be big, it can be as small as a heart that you hold in the palm of your hand and it makes a difference."

Speed round with Nathalie Cadet-James

Favorite dinner party food item

Filet mignon is my personal favorite, guests love pigs in a blanket.

Place you’re looking forward to traveling next

Lake Como.

Favorite book

The Alchemist is always a book I need to go back to from time to time.

Dream dinner party guest list

My grandmother who passed away when I was maybe 18 months. I feel like when you know your roots you can fly and go anywhere so I’d love to learn so much more about who we are. Me, my grandmother, Oprah, Beyonce, Megan Markle, Grand Marnier and my mom, too, because Grand Marnier is her favorite liqueur.

Find Luxe Fête Social's dinner party in a box here and locate a Grand Marnier store near you here.