Sweet 16 at the Plaza Hotel Featuring Pharrell Williams

When the niece of one of Empire’s clients wanted to celebrate her Sweet 16 Birthday in New York City during Halloween weekend, Empire was asked to create an extraordinary costume party unlike any other Sweet 16.

To achieve the client’s vision of a Halloween Sweet 16, Empire quickly secured the Plaza Hotel’s spectacular Grand Ballroom and began working to transform the ornate space into a spooky, yet elegant lounge for 150 teenage guests.

The richly decorated ballroom was filled with large dripping candelabras of varying sizes that stood amidst groupings of tufted Victorian lounge furniture, all surrounding a giant central bar, complete with a Mocktail station with non-alcoholic juice concoctions.

Throughout the night, DJ Soul and a group of dancers in ever-changing Halloween costumes kept the crowd dancing. At one point, Thrill the World, a flash-mob zombie dance group, appeared and performed Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” with uncanny precision. To add to the magic of the night, illusionist Elliot Zimet engaged guests in unforgettable sleight-of-hand experiences. Additional activities included a make-up booth where artists were available to gross-ify, gore-ify and amplify guests' costumes, and a social media photo booth where they could instantaneously post party photos or leave with a hard copy.

The evening’s high point came when Pharrell Williams made a special birthday appearance. The famous singer-songwriter and producer serenaded the dancing crowd with his hits including “Beautiful” and “Get Lucky". His smooth voice and undeniable charisma had guests flooding the stage and dancing alongside him. He then led the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday” followed by an intimate meet and greet with the birthday girl and her closest friends and family.

Empire was proud to be a part of the evening and to help make the birthday girl’s Sweet 16 the most memorable night of her life.