On Saturday, I attended the Derby Day’s Event to celebrate the annual running of the Kentucky Derby at the Mint Museum in Charlotte. I had been preparing for this day all week! I spent a lot of time making my hat and it turned out just the way I hoped.
I am about to overload you all with photos! I couldn’t help but take a ton. I was obsessed with all of the fashion!
In honor of the Kentucky Derby, I had a mint julep. Honestly, I am not a fan of the mint julep and most likely won’t be. I need some kind of fizzy drink to enjoy alcohol unless its wine.
A mint julep traditionally consist of four ingredients: bourbon whiskey, sugar, water, and a mint leaf. The drink is made differently all around the world. Whenever you think of the Kentucky Derby, you probably think of the mint julep. But, why? It all started in 1983 when Churchill Downs decided to promote the drink as it’s official drink of the Derby. Each year, Churchill Downs sells around 120,000 mint juleps! I couldn’t barely drink one. They even sell specialty juleps for $1000 a glass! I’ll pass. But those expensive drinks are served in gold plated cups with silver straws. The bourbon is made from the Woodford Reserve, the ice cubes are from the Bavarian Alps, the sugar is from Austrailia and the mint is imported from Ireland. That seems like a lot of work for one drink! But the proceeds go to great causes.
I’ll move ahead and get to my outfit! As I said in a previous post, I retired my dress from last year’s Easter. I bought this striped pink and white dress from The Loft. They actually have a yellow one in stock currently. I went with tan wedges, a tan belt, a fun necklace, bracelets, and my crazy hat! I’ll get to more of my outfit later in the post.
The event had tables set up on the lawn for socializing and eating!
I went to the event with some awesome friends from my apartment complex!
The event had all kinds of fun lawn games set up. This would be a great idea for an outdoor wedding to keep your guest entertained and socializing.
I loved the Lily Pulitzer corn hole set! I think this would be a fun DIY blog post in the future.
But seriously…this had to be the best dressed event in Charlotte.
There was a fun photo booth set up inside.
The event also had bocce and croquet.
The Julep was very photogenic.
The event also offered food. There was pasta dishes
Rice, beans and salsa…
And fresh chopped salads…
There was a silent auction to bid on. I didn’t win…ofcourse:( My luck was shot yesterday.
You had to buy tickets to use as “money” for drinks and raffles.
I bought 20 to use for the raffles and betting.
I counted at least 50 Lily Pulitzer dresses! I’m obsessed.
The day was perfect and the weather couldn’t have been better.
Redbull sponsored a tint with T.V’s for Derby watching.
There was also live entertainment.
And don’t forget to take home the free coozies!
You don’t want to know how many photos I took of my Julip
There were sample shots of Marker’s Mark bourbon being handed out.
I was way too hot to drink bourbon, so I passed. I ended up chugging tons of water throughout the day.
This was another ladies hat! She and I both had the idea of adding real horses:) Her’s looked FABULOUS!
This was another favorite hat of mine.
I’ve never seen men dress so well! Just wait towards the end of this post…
I thought this photo was cute. The girls are at their table and the boys are checking them out! I’m the outsider who noticed 😉
More photos of incredible fashionistas!
I loved all of the floral dresses. I had to wear a cardigan because I get fried easily in the sun.
I loved the navy blue and dark green patterned dress! And how about those Dapper Dans?
Thank god there was an ice cream truck!
I promise this ice cream was one of the best tasting ice creams I’ve had! It beats my hometown ice cream in Iowa!
I ordered the honey vanilla with sprinkles and Sealy ordered the gram cracker nutella crunch!
This was my favorite couple ever!
Guess where I got these bracelets?…Kmart! Saw them when I went to buy a base for my hat and HAD to have them.
Time to bet!
I went with Dancing with Fate….and lost
I went with Candy boy…and lost…
I went with Commanding Curve…and lost…
They had a best dressed male competition.
The man in the dark blue jacket won. I thought the man putting his sunglasses on looked like Leonardo DiCaprio from Wolf on Wall street in that suit!
I entered the hat contest!
Here was the winner!
After all the announcements, there was the showing of the Derby in the Mueseum. This was the most exciting 60 seconds of the day!
The crowd was crazy!
Because I travel a lot, it’s hard for me to keep things. I knew my hat would be shoved into a box or destroyed in a moving truck. There was a little girl that couldn’t stop staring at my hat all day. So at the end of the event, I asked her Dad if it would be okay to give her my hat.
She looked better in it anyways. It matched her dress and cupcake necklace perfectly!
I wasn’t ready…but I loved my hair in this photo and Sealy looked good so I had to post.
Before I forget, I found my necklace at Kmart also!
After the Derby Event, we headed over to the Peculiar Rabbit for the after party!
Maggie says
PLEASE tell me what kind of mascara you wear! Your lashes always look fabulous 🙂
Lena says
I love love love your hat! (and the rest of your outfit).
I’m from Germany and I wish I could go to a Derby someday. It looks like so much fun! Beautiful pictures 🙂
Kit-Kat says
Oh. My. Goodness. Your hair is so freaking gorgeous!!!
I love the Kentucky Derby, not only for the classy dressing-up, drinks, and hats, but mostly because of all the beautiful horses. 😀 I’m so glad that you had an amazing time! ^^
Kimberly says
I love this post on so many levels!!! I am from Louisville, KY but now live in Charlotte, and I had NO IDEA about this event! I am so impressed by how local-city savvy you are, considering you travel so much. If I had know about this awesome Mint museum event, it would have been the highlight of my day running into you! And your hat looked fabulous. That was such a sweet gesture giving it to that girl.
Mariah says
Loved this post. I absolutely adore your hat and think that you definitely should have won that hat contest! 🙂
It was so sweet of you to give your hat to that little girl. I’m sure that made a great impression upon her and she will probably remember that forever. God bless you! 🙂 I loved your whole ensemble, you looked so gorgeous.
This may sound stupid, but… there was no actual racing there? I know it’s the Kentucky Derby, but I was a little confused as to what you were attending. You didn’t actually see the race did you? Were the televisions provided how people watched the race?
Thanks for all of the lovely pictures, I thoroughly enjoyed this. It is so neat to see everyone so beautifully dressed, outside, and enjoying themselves. It looks like a lot of fun. Thank you for giving us a glimpse into your fun day! 🙂
Allison says
I literally live right next to the mint museum and had no idea this was happening! Looked like an amazing time, love seeing your posts about Charlotte!
Jenny says
Can you please do like a hair tutorial or something… your hair is looking amazing! =)
Jacklyn says
It looks like a fun time! Someday I’d like to go to that!! And you and your friends looked fabulous!! And the hats were amazing! I did fall in love with this one girls outfit and hat. She had on the bright green and pink dress, I would have loved to have known where she got that outfit! And the men were delicious!! 🙂
Becky says
Your pictures are fabulous, but I have to ask- how did you take so many pictures of strangers without looking like a creep? I love taking pictures when I go out but I’m always afraid people will think I’m creepy.
Taralynn McNitt says
lol Well everyone was taking photos so I wasn’t the only one. Also, as a blogger, I’ve learned to suck it up and take photos!
Judi says
I love your hair in those pictures! And the event seems to great and like so much fun. It’s a pity we don’t have such an event in Germany.. I would like to create my own hat
Mary says
I love your dress and hat for the ever, too cute! You have such a warm and contagious smile. Do you live in Charlotte?
Ashley Agirre says
This event looks so colorful. It seems like it was so much fun and the dresses and the hats look amazing! I need to attend an event like this.
Jenna says
You are so sweet to give that girl your hat. I would’ve been stubborn after all the work spend on that hat hahaha