How to Organize a Party

How to Organize a Party Divya: Birthdays, bridal showers, anniversaries or business dinners. No matter what the occasion, entertaining can be stressful. I'm Divya Gugnani here in New York City, here to find out the secrets to organizing a memorable celebration so let’s go behind the burner and meet the expert. So, I'm here with Eventiste Marcy Blum. Marcy, whether it’s a birthday party or a bridal shower, it does not matter what the occasion is. There is some general rules to planning a good celebration. Marcy: Yes, there are and they’re across the board. You’re right, it does not matter what the event is. And I think the number one tip would be to walk it through as if you are a guest. It sounds so simple again but so many people do not do it because if you’re the host, everything is going to be fine for you. They’re going to have waiters trailing you. You’ll never going to have to worry about where you park your car so you’re going to have a very different experience. But the party is about the guests. And you cannot be overly detailed. It’s impossible. No matter how detailed you are, you still forget something. Divya: I always make a list like I'm a Virgo, compulsive list maker. Marcy: I guess I could figure that out. Now that you mentioned makes total sense. Divya: It does. Marcy: Absolutely. Divya: You make a list of everything, you stay organized when you’re planning any event and whatever you can do in advanced, I try and do in advanced. Marcy: For me, it is much more effective to do something that I call a mind map. It’s not that I didn’t make it up, it’s a term so that the list is rather than linear and I say this to all my event clients, you know, when we did—50th birthday two years ago. He would call me at like 10:15 to go and I was thinking about we’re going to have absolute breakfast, that’s my favorite and then 20 minutes later he called me and say, “What color is this?” I was like, “Why don’t you just start making, just scribble things on a piece of paper.” I think food is becoming more and more important as you may have noticed and I think would you be playful and as simple as possible for the event because if you’re doing a bridal shower for example, women do not like to get overly involved in something complicated to eat while they want to open up presents. They want to be able to roast their girlfriend perhaps or even affectionately. They want to be involved in the other things that are going on so keep that in mind when you plan the menu. What is the party event? It’s interesting because the rule for many years was it shouldn’t be higher than from your elbow to your center finger and in the table like this which is sort of rectangle, that works. In a round table, most events have a 70-inch, 72-inch, or a 60-inch round table. You’re not talking to people across the table from you anyway. Divya: You can’t because you’re far away. Marcy: You can’t even if there were nothing in the center of the table. So, the most drama you’re going to get in a room with a very high ceiling or something that doesn’t have a lot of possess. It’s the high centerpiece, there is no way of getting around it. If it is a more intimate dinner, we do tables capes—so we’ll do mini buzzes and then maybe paper waste, pieces of crystal, salt and pepper shakers of all different kinds so that the table, the little details on the table itself are something to talk about. Divya: What do you think about the alcohol, fun stuff? Marcy: I think for an afternoon, for a luncheon, I think it’s absolutely fine and certainly less expensive to just serve wine and beer. Divya: It’s a corporate for the day time. Marcy: Absolutely. Divya: I think that the important part is also knowing your crowd and knowing what they’re expecting and looking for in the event. Is it a big celebration? Is it going to have bubbly because people celebrate when they have sparkling wine and champagne and Prosecco, or is something like they are coming and it’s a kid’s birthday. And the centerpiece is going to be the kid’s cake. Marcy: But I think if you are serving just beer and wine and you are doing it for whatever reason, it is going to cause you the same type of couple of different wines, have a—have a Pinot Noir, have a Merlot and have that as something to engage the bartending with as well as, you know, I live in Brooklyn. We always try to have a Brooklyn beer and a couple of different kinds and have it displayed on the bar so it’s not just red wine or white wine at least you are making that every detail. Again, it is not about the money but every detail should seem as if you’ve thought about it and you were trying to do something lovely for your guests. Divya: I see, probably great tips. Marcy: Thank you. Divya: Stay tuned to behind the burner where we give you the tips, tricks and techniques that are lighting the culinary world on fire.