How to Plan a Party Like Event Designer David Stark
Follow these tips and your guests will still be talking about the soirée days later
Hosting a great party doesn’t have to be stressful — especially when you have New York event designer David Stark as your guide, whose clients include fashion- and art-world heavy hitters like Louis Vuitton and the Metropolitan Opera. Here, Stark shares his tried-and-true tips for making a celebration memorable, and it comes down to this: “You set the tone,” he says. “If you are relaxed, carefree, and ready for fun, your energy will inspire the same in others.”
It’s all about the guest list.
“We can make a space look amazing, have incredible food, make sure the music is special, set the lighting just right, but if the mix of people is off, that glorious stage set never carries the show,” says Stark. “Don’t include just the usual clique. The whole point of a party is meeting new people, making new friends, and mixing it all up. As the host, you are the ringleader. Lead!”
Make a good first impression.
“An impression is created within the first ten seconds of walking into a party,” says Stark. “A wow entry moment is a great investment, and that display can be anything.” Think a giant vase of flowering branches or a cluster of glowing lanterns of various shapes. “Perhaps it’s an Academy Awards viewing fête, and a multilevel display of chocolate Oscars also plays double duty as a favor station upon the conclusion of the night."
Go au natural.
“I often rely on potted plants as instant decor,” says Stark. “In the summer, I pot herbs, flowers, vegetables, and topiaries, arranging them in clusters in the garden. When I entertain, I reconfigure the pots as decoration. After the party, they go right back into the garden.” In the winter, Stark uses greenery inside on his entry table, in the powder room, or on a dining table as a replacement for fresh flowers. “I never want my home to look like the florist stopped by, and potted plants always achieve that goal of casual elegance.” Stark’s one rule: Make sure centerpieces aren’t too fragrant and arrange them so they are either lower than 14 inches or higher than 24 inches. This way, they won’t disrupt the taste of the food, or the conversation.
The farmers’ market is your best friend.
Stark takes decor cues from whatever is freshest that day, which means keeping an open mind. “Is it a still life of perfect golden pears running down the length of a dining table in late autumn, interspersed with glowing candlelight, or do cheery zinnias preside on a breakfast buffet at the very height of summer? Could organic eggs be the basis of a natural Easter display and become an omelet the day after your celebration?”
Create conversation.
“Arrange seating in groups, facing one another to encourage intimacy, and set chairs around occasional tables, which provide resting spots for drinks or small plates. The goal is to bring people together, and the furniture is the guiding light,” says Stark. As for lighting itself, invest in dimmers. “Lower those lights to a sexy glow and add a lot of candles, and you have instant ambience.”
Don’t try to do it all.
“We would rather spend our budget on a few things done right than lots of things watered-down. Instead of having a full bar with a million options, serve one really good sparkling wine. Instead of having flowers everywhere, splurge on one large arrangement—that becomes your showstopper,” says Stark. But most importantly, “an old-fashioned host or hostess makes sure everyone is having fun, and that doesn’t cost a thing.”
Reported by: Architectural Digest
Hosting a great party doesn’t have to be stressful — especially when you have New York event designer David Stark as your guide, whose clients include fashion- and art-world heavy hitters like Louis Vuitton and the Metropolitan Opera. Here, Stark shares his tried-and-true tips for making a celebration memorable, and it comes down to this: “You set the tone,” he says. “If you are relaxed, carefree, and ready for fun, your energy will inspire the same in others.”
It’s all about the guest list.
“We can make a space look amazing, have incredible food, make sure the music is special, set the lighting just right, but if the mix of people is off, that glorious stage set never carries the show,” says Stark. “Don’t include just the usual clique. The whole point of a party is meeting new people, making new friends, and mixing it all up. As the host, you are the ringleader. Lead!”
Make a good first impression.
“An impression is created within the first ten seconds of walking into a party,” says Stark. “A wow entry moment is a great investment, and that display can be anything.” Think a giant vase of flowering branches or a cluster of glowing lanterns of various shapes. “Perhaps it’s an Academy Awards viewing fête, and a multilevel display of chocolate Oscars also plays double duty as a favor station upon the conclusion of the night."
Go au natural.
“I often rely on potted plants as instant decor,” says Stark. “In the summer, I pot herbs, flowers, vegetables, and topiaries, arranging them in clusters in the garden. When I entertain, I reconfigure the pots as decoration. After the party, they go right back into the garden.” In the winter, Stark uses greenery inside on his entry table, in the powder room, or on a dining table as a replacement for fresh flowers. “I never want my home to look like the florist stopped by, and potted plants always achieve that goal of casual elegance.” Stark’s one rule: Make sure centerpieces aren’t too fragrant and arrange them so they are either lower than 14 inches or higher than 24 inches. This way, they won’t disrupt the taste of the food, or the conversation.
The farmers’ market is your best friend.
Stark takes decor cues from whatever is freshest that day, which means keeping an open mind. “Is it a still life of perfect golden pears running down the length of a dining table in late autumn, interspersed with glowing candlelight, or do cheery zinnias preside on a breakfast buffet at the very height of summer? Could organic eggs be the basis of a natural Easter display and become an omelet the day after your celebration?”
Create conversation.
“Arrange seating in groups, facing one another to encourage intimacy, and set chairs around occasional tables, which provide resting spots for drinks or small plates. The goal is to bring people together, and the furniture is the guiding light,” says Stark. As for lighting itself, invest in dimmers. “Lower those lights to a sexy glow and add a lot of candles, and you have instant ambience.”
Don’t try to do it all.
“We would rather spend our budget on a few things done right than lots of things watered-down. Instead of having a full bar with a million options, serve one really good sparkling wine. Instead of having flowers everywhere, splurge on one large arrangement—that becomes your showstopper,” says Stark. But most importantly, “an old-fashioned host or hostess makes sure everyone is having fun, and that doesn’t cost a thing.”
Reported by: Architectural Digest
