Fewer people, better parties
Better hang on to those party hats -- event planners are already well into 2004. A few forecasts:
While this year’s social scene was packed with parties for hundreds and thousands, the trend for next year is “intimacy,” planners say. Never mind ballrooms and restaurants. The trendy gigs will occur in private homes and estates. The martini is still the cocktail of choice, the more colorful and cutely named the better. And authentic fare is in: Bring on the real Korean barbecue, please.
The VIP reception, however, has become declasse. “Why create a hierarchy within a room?” sniffs Bryan Rabin of Rabin Rodgers Inc. Why indeed. In a city where people prefer electronic communication, parties have become “just about the only place” where Angelenos come together, Rabin observes. “If you’re good enough to be invited, you’re good enough to be invited!”
Presuming you end up on the guest list, expect to be pampered, says Mary Micucci of Along Came Mary. In a war-weary world, courtesy served up with a variety of fare -- “little food vignettes, everywhere” -- good music and a soothing ambience -- “can’t beat candlelight” -- are musts. So are “parties for about 20 people,” where guests can really connect, she says. The at-home party is more relaxed, says Jeffrey Best of Best Events, because “at the end of the day, you feel more comfortable in a living room where you have some sense of security.”
Party producer Marianne Weiman-Nelson is counting Movie Night, Game Night and a “Sex and the City” Night among the smaller parties requested by her clientele. She’s also coordinating private trunk show events. “The focus is definitely on intimate parties,” she says. For bigger affairs, she will create intimate spaces within large environments. “It’s not just about the big tent anymore. I may create one area with a beautiful travertine floor and another with a garden.”
The trend toward multi-themes will be reflected at the Hollywood Bowl this summer when the Los Angeles Philharmonic makes its gala debut in the facility’s new $25-million shell. In a celebration of California icons, the bowl’s dining boxes will be transformed into vineyards in a tribute to Napa-Sonoma. The Golden Gate Bridge, Hollywood and the Wild West will also be spotlighted in the event design and onstage programming. “We’ll take different parts of the Bowl and create elements that adhere to our celebration of California traditions,” says the Phil’s special events director, Beth Taylor Hart.
Ben Ford of Chadwick Fine Foods and Special Events says party givers are asking for organic foods and are more involved in menu selection. “These days, you don’t just give hosts a list of foods to choose from,” says the son of actor Harrison Ford. “They want healthy menus, specially designed. Ninety percent of our menus are custom.” Popular picks: game birds such as goose and pheasant. “They’re more available now.”
L.A. Opera special events manager Sara Rodriguez says the explosion of the downtown theater scene is resulting in increased demand for intimate pre- and post-performance parties. “People love to talk about the arts,” she says. “These parties give them the opportunity.”
Observes Micucci: “Sometimes party trends carry over from one year to the next, and sometimes they’re born in the new year, when there’s a change in the scene or a planner does an interpretation for a client that becomes a hit.”
