A multi-millionaire lawyer put an incredibly lavish spin on the traditional workplace party when he threw an extravagant $10 million bash to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his firm.
Thomas J. Henry, a 56-year-old lawyer based in San Antonio, ensure that his latest staff party would be one his 400 employees would never forget, pulling out all the stops to throw an over-the-top event complete with live musical performances by chart-topping acts, celebrity guests, elaborate food stations – and even ‘living’ statues to greet attendees as they arrived.
Held at the Henry B Gonzalez Convention Center, the party played host to 1,100 people, including the likes of supermodel Shanina Shaik, reality star Kendra Wilkinson, former NSYNC member Lance Bass, Kelly Osbourne – and Thomas’s 18-year-old model daughter Maya, rumored girlfriend of One Direction star Liam Payne.
Party people: Multi-millionaire lawyer Thomas J. Henry, the father of model Maya Henry – Liam Payne’s rumored flame – hosted a $10 million bash to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his Texas-based firm
Family affair: Thomas, 56, is famed for his lavish parties, and has thrown extravagant birthday bashes for both of his children, 18-year-old Maya (second from left), and her
Strike a pose: The entire Henry clan was present for the party, including Maya’s older brother, 19-year-old Thomas Jr. (left), and her 40-year-old mother Azteca (right)
The budding catwalk star, who has appeared on the runway for Dolce & Gabbana, put on an incredibly glamorous show at her father’s party, stealing the spotlight in a tight corset dress, which she paired with thigh-high lace boots and a large pair of gold and enamel cross-shaped earrings – all designed by D&G.
Maya, who hit headlines around the world back in March 2016 when her father threw her a $6 million Quinceañera, has clearly become accustomed to spending time in the company of the world’s biggest A-listers, and was seen happily posing up a storm with an array of celebrities, including singers Enrique Iglesias and Austin Mahone, who bother performed at the event.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Maya had struck up a romance with Liam, 24, after his split from British singer Cheryl Cole. According to The Sun, the pair enjoyed a romantic date night at London’s lavish Bvlgari Hotel, having also spent time together at Dolce & Gabbana’s gala dinner in Lake Como last month – where Maya was joined by her mother Azteca, 40.
However Liam was not by Maya’s side at her father’s work event – although she certainly wasn’t short of A-list company in his absence, nor was she devoid of entertainment.
In addition to spotted several star guests at the soiree, attendees were also treated to some serious talent on the stage, with performances kicking off early on in the evening, and carrying on throughout the night and into the early hours of the morning.
Austin, who is a long-time friend of the family, performed some of his biggest hits, much to the delight of some of the younger members of the audience, before the spotlight was handed over to Mariachi Nuevo Estilo, a mariachi band made famous after appearing on America’s Got Talent back in 2017. The Latin group delighted all those at the event with their unique take on big hits like Don’t Stop Believing by Journey, and Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses.
Star-studded: The lavish bash featured performances by an array of musical acts, including Enrique Iglesias
Party time! Thomas and Azteca jumped up on stage with Enrique, 43, to dance, much to the singer’s delight
A-listers: Maya, who wore a Dolce & Gabbana ensemble, was pictured posing alongside Enrique (left), and her good friend, singer Austin Mahone (right), who also attended her brother’s 18th birthday party in December
Stage star: Austin, 22, was one of the first performers of the night, and sang several of his most popular hits
Final act: Maroon 5 finished off the live performances with a bang, wowing the crowd with all of their biggest hits
Crooner: Lead singer Adam Levine, 39, played a variety of guitars throughout the night, as guests happily sang along to the band’s impressive performance
Impressive: The stage dominated the enormous party venue in San Antonio
But the biggest names of the night were yet to come: First, 43-year-old Enrique, who put on an incredibly energetic performance – despite asking the audience whether he was perhaps ‘too old’ to be up on stage – a comment that was quickly laughed off as he continued to perform some of his most-loved hits, including Bailando, Bailamos,and Heartbeat.
The singer even left the stage at one point to dance with several delighted members of the crowd – before inviting Thomas and his wife Azteca up on to the stage to join him. There, the happy couple danced and kissed, while being cheered on by hundreds of the lawyer’s delighted employees.
He then proceeded to tell his staff members to enjoy ‘a lot of drinks’, admitting that he was planning to ‘get drunk’ himself, and therefore wouldn’t be able to remember ‘anything that y’all do tonight’ come morning, a confession which no doubt thrilled his staffers. Thomas finished off his speech by telling his employees, ‘You’re all my family.’
According to a source close to the Henry clan, the lawyer was eager to give the people working at his firm a chance to experience life as he knows it; having thrown a number of over-the-top family events, he wanted to – in the words of the source – ‘let them see how he rolls’.
Rounding out the musical performances of the night was Maroon 5 – who had been flown on a private jet from Los Angeles to Texas especially to take center stage at the lavish bash. And they certainly didn’t disappoint. Led by Adam Levine, 39, the band performed all of their biggest hits from over the years, from This Love and One More Night to Moves Like Jagger – a crowd favorite – and She Will Be Loved.
Adam and lead guitarist James Valentine even threw in some incredibly impressive guitar riffs throughout their set, which also included tributes to other artists, like Michael Jackson and Alphaville.
Stunner: Victoria’s Secret model Shanina Shaik made an appearance at the event, wowing in a blue off-the-shoulder mini dress and a pair of strappy heels
Friends: Kendra Wilkinson, Kelly Osbourne and Lance Bass also joined host Thomas at his milestone celebration
Stage stars: Stand-up comedian George Lopez (left) MC’d the event, while Lil Jon (right) DJ’s after the other musical acts had finished their performances
Party people: Kendra, 33, and Lil Jon, 47, were pictured posing happily together, while Kelly, 33, struck a pose in her all-black ensemble. Shanina, 27, spent much of the evening with celebrity makeup artist Patrick Ta, 27
Celebrating: Up-and-coming singer Imani Scott (left) attended the event, as did Alex Pall (right with Lil Jon), one half of music group The Chainsmokers
Social media star: Patrick shared several images of the event on his Instagram account, including one with Shanina
Friends: The makeup artist has been friends with the family for years, and even did Maya’s makeup for her Quinceañera
After Maroon 5 exited the stage for the night, 47-year-old rapper Lil Jon then hit the DJ decks to keep the party going and ensure that the guests remained entertained long after the guitars and drums had been put away for the night.
But the musical acts – although thrilling – were not the only memorable aspect of the evening.
In addition to live performances, guests were treated to all manner of delicious delicacies being served up at different stations scattered around the enormous venue.
From fresh seafood and steak tacos to freshly-cooked sliders and an extravagant dessert table, Thomas and his party planners ensured that no attendees went hungry. There was even a team of sushi chefs serving up fresh sashimi and nigiri all night long, with over 200lbs of blue fin tuna carved up on site throughout the event.
Those in need of a chilled sweet treat were able to get their fix at the liquid nitrogen ice cream bar, which offered up different alcoholic flavors.
Drinks-wise, 500 bottles of Champagne were served during the evening, as well as tequila, Jell-O shots, and limoncello shooters served in test tubes.
Then there were the decorations.
Elaborate: As guests arrived at the event, they were invited to walk along a tree-lined red carpet that was decorated with candles – and human statues
Posers: The statues cast dark shadows against the red carpet thanks to the bold uplighting being used to highlight them
Milestone: The party was held to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Thomas’s law firm, which has offices in five different cities across Texas, including Houston and San Antonio
VIP: There were several roped-off sections for the family’s celebrity guests and high profile attendeees
Details: Thomas spared no expense on the event, ensuring that there were eye-catching elements spread throughout, from ice sculptures (left) to seven-foot-high letters spelling out his initials (right)
Delicious delights: There were a number of different food stations at the party, from a shellfish bar to a large dessert table
Upon arrival at the event, guests were greeted with enormous seven-foot letters spelling out Thomas’s full name – and then also his initials – just in case they happened to forget whose party they were attending.
One inside the building, a lengthy red carpet lined with trees and hundreds of glass-contained candles guided them into the party venue itself – as well as a host of ‘living’ human statues, which offered an air of mystery and intrigue, and lent an air of Grecian debauchery to the affair.
Party planners also focused on bringing the outside in, decking out the venue with more than 40,000 roses that had been flown in from six different countries, as well as 1,000 Phalaenopsis Orchids.
Last but not least, there was a photo booth covered in ivy and a digital photo station positioned in front of an enormous flower wall.
The lavish party comes less than six months after Thomas threw himself an over-the-top $4.5 million party in celebration of his 56th birthday – a decadent affair that took place in Miami Beach, Florida, and saw the likes of Cardi B and DJ Khaled hitting the stage to perform for guests, including Kim Kardashian’s best friend Jonathan Cheban and singer Austin once again.
The father-of-two isn’t afraid of sharing the wealth, however – both figuratively and literally.
Tradition: The family has hosted numerous multi-million dollar events over the years, including a $6 million Quinceañera for Maya back in March 2016
Wild parties: Thomas Jr. had an extravagant 18th birthday party in December, which cost his father a whopping $4.5 million
In December 2017, he treated son Thomas Jr. to an incredible party for his 18th birthday, an over-the-top celebration which came in at a whopping $4 million, and featured burlesque dancers, aerial artists, contortionists, and musical performances by Migos and J Balvin.
Despite Thomas Jr.’s young age, his birthday party was still full to the brim with A-list guests, including Rumer Willis, Ashanti, Lance Bass, and Aubrey O’Day.
The teenager, now 19, was also gifted with a brand new $250,000 Ferrari 488 Spyder, and an IWC Portugieser Tourbillon watch, which can cost over $200,000, depending on the model.
But it was model Maya’s $6 million Quinceañera that first earned party planner Thomas and his family viral fame.
The beautiful brunette – who at the time was labeled ‘America’s luckiest teen’ – played host to some of the world’s biggest stars, including performers Pitbull and Nick Jonas at her birthday soiree, which was attended by more than 600 people.
Thomas and wife Azteca hired the services of New York social event planner David Monn and a team of 150 event planners to organize the party at the purpose-built venue, which was decorated with 30-foot tall cherry trees in full blossom, walls of roses, fountains, a ‘garden room’ and a ballroom with butterflies suspended from the ceiling.