You can keep your X-rated party favors and neon pink “BRIDE TRIBE” T-shirts. We’re officially on board with the Barefoot Contessa bachelorette, and we’re not the only ones.
Last weekend, a New York City bride-to-be and her friends celebrated her upcoming wedding with an all-out Ina Garten soirée in the Hamptons. Read: Everyone dressed up as Ina, Jeffrey or Michael (the florist, duh). “We all bought wigs and button-down blouses that looked like something Ina would wear,” the party planners told Today. “We had the bride close her eyes and we played the Barefoot Contessa theme song, and she walked out to see us all.” This is the only surprise party we’d ever tolerate, FYI.
And when the group posted a photo on Instagram, it attracted the attention of not only Jennifer Garner (Ina Garten 2.0), who commented, “The best thing I’ve ever seen. How was I not invited?!!”, but also the queen of chambray herself. Ina responded to Garner’s comment with a cheeky “LOL!!! How is it that I wasn’t invited too??!!!” Oh, Ina. It turns out you were, but you didn’t check your DMs in time.
And while Ina didn’t make it to the event, the partygoers still feasted on her recipes. Per Today, they hired a private chef to recreate her skillet-roasted lemon chicken, portobello mushroom lasagna, roasted asparagus and prosciutto bundles and strawberry rhubarb crisp. No word on the cocktails, but we bet they were whiskey sours. We hear Ina loves those.
The contessa herself loved the idea so much that she reposted the photo to her own account, saying of the fête, “I would have fit right in!” Yes, as long as you came bearing gifts of good olive oil, good vanilla and those famous brownies, Ina.