Posts Tagged ‘party’
Some things we come to naturally. Some movements, our bodies feel inclined to make. When we are engaged in those activities, time passes quickly and with ease, and we just feel at home. We feel like ourselves, or in some moments, almost amplified versions of ourselves when we are doing not only something we love, but something that just feels right.
For me, no activity is more natural than creating a scene in which a social event will occur. I love nothing more than starting with an empty room and the intended feeling of the final product. Like “soulful” or “intimate”. Or “liberating”- that’s a good one to build a party around. It’s very much like songwriting: taking an emotion and figuring out how to manifest that for a group. With food events I do it by working lighting, music, linens, food, flowers, even making custom art, whatever the space calls for. Then filling that up with people who are open and engaging. I threw my first dinner party at age 13 and have been doing it ever since.
this was a midsummer night's dream party with a custom roofless tent!
When you are setting the scene for an event, you have the power to create a feeling in the space that will extend to your guests: it is a gift that they are trusting you. It is also a great gift to give: to lend your guests not only your personal space and time, carefully prepared food and hand-picked booze, but also your goodwill and generosity. Inviting someone to dinner (at least to me) and really following through with creating a nice event, is the ultimate act of friendship. And if a little art and style comes into it, all the more fun.
I am throwing a dinner party for some friends soon, and thought it would be nice fodder for a new how-to series on Dinner Parties. Since I most often am asked how to throw together a stylish event without spending years creating it, I thought I’d keep a running dialogue as it all comes together. Heck, maybe I’ll learn something too. Or maybe you’ll just want to come over. Which is fine too.
I’m going to tip my hat to Pinot and Prose here, my NYC foodie friend with whom I hope to soon be throwing dinner parties constantly.
XO