How to Plan a Hamptons Theme Party

How to Plan a Hamptons Theme Party Rhiannon Ally: We’ve all heard about the glitz and glamour of The Hamptons. But most of us cannot quite spend the whole summer’s hair so we thought we would bring The Hamptons to you. celebrity event planner Mark Addison is here to help duplicate the look, feel, and even the taste of a good old summer Hampton party. Welcome Mark! Mark Addison: Thank you. Rhiannon Ally: Nice to have you. So, I hear you are doing a big party for Kelly Ripa this summer? Mark Addison: We do. We have a fabulous of event that happens in The Hamptons every year , it’s called Super Saturday. It’s in the end of July and it’s a wonderful fund raiser for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Rhiannon Ally: That’s great. And so, most people whom of course won’t get an invitation to Kelly’s party but you are going to show some things they can incorporate into their own parties. Mark Addison: Absolutely. The Hamptons is known for their beautiful beaches, incredible landscaping and of course the fabulous homes. Rhiannon Ally: Of course. Mark Addison: So, my table here, this my signature well table and it’s inspired by The Hamptons just a little bit shock meets big chic. Rhiannon Ally: I love it. It is beautiful. It will take little bit of work but you are going to show us some simple ways to do this. Mark Addison: It is simple to do and it’s really easy to find all these items. So, I start with my centerpiece. And I’m inspired by the beautiful landscaping in the houses and hydrangea are everywhere and this beautiful blue purple town really was my inspiration for the starting of this table. It’s gorgeous. You just cut them on short and you got a nice big bunch and it’s an ideal centerpiece. Rhiannon Ally: It’s just a nice pop of color. Mark Addison: It is. And that’s really our foundation color as well. And then I wanted to do something that was little bit more beach shack. So, I’m inspired by the grasses that grow all along the coastline and also used in landscaping. So I created this beautiful beach landscape centerpiece that starts with layers of blue and white sea glass and a collection of seashells and these are actually my personal seashell collection. Rhiannon Ally: Wow! Mark Addison: I collect them all over the beaches that I go to all over the world and I like to save them and bring them to table. It’s a great conversation starter about where you found them. Rhiannon Ally: I love the contrast here too. Mark Addison: Yeah! It’s nice. Rhiannon Ally: So what about place settings? Mark Addison: Well let’s talk about the table setting. And don’t be afraid of color. I’ve said it here and I said it to all my clients, do not be afraid of color, embrace it. Start with the solid, and I love using solid tablecloths and then you know, you don’t think about the beach without thinking about bathing suites, sun dresses. So, I wanted to really bring in that quality with the mattress print. Rhiannon Ally: Definitely makes the table just look a bit offset. Mark Addison: I may think I have bathing suit exactly the same color. And then I’d layered it with a solid color that would really bring out the tones in the tablecloth and the napkin. And then made a really simple napkin rang out of a shell rope. Rhiannon Ally: That’s all that is, shell and rope. Mark Addison: Shell and rope, easy to do. Rhiannon Ally: Okay so talk about what’s under these shells on the actual plate. That’s not sand. Mark Addison: It is not sand. What I’ve done with the place setting is I’m going to do some non-traditional plates compared with your plates that you’d have at home. So this is a simple white café plate and I have a bamboo plate underneath which is 100% biodegradable and compostable. They’re fantastic. And then I layered it with couscous and have a shell plate on the top. Sand is great under your feet but not in your food. Rhiannon Ally: Okay. Let’s talk food. Mark Addison: Okay. Well, I think the great way to display it again I made a beach landscape for a buffet or you can use it to serve orders as we’re doing here. Again, I used couscous on the base of it. So, we don’t get sand in our food. I created a little bit of a centerpiece here again with my collection of sea shells. And then these wonderful little shells here that you can place the food on and I have just a variety of different sea foods from shrimp, crab cakes and of course our little corn cuts. Rhiannon Ally: Okay. So and quickly this is rose petal sangria? Mark Addison: Well, also I think you know it’s ideal for the summer time. It’s me with roses and I put rose petals in it. And again I brought all those colors together that I’m using on the table, the oranges, the lemons and I put blueberries in there to bring back the -- Rhiannon Ally: I love all of these ideas and they are fairly simple even though it looks like their fairly tough. Thanks Mark. We’ll be right back.