A Passion for Parties: Your Guide to Elegant Entertaining

Amazon.com
With a client list that ranges from corporate heavyweights Morgan Stanley and Marriott Hotels to style-setters Tommy Hilfiger and Kenneth Cole to Elton John and the Prince of Wales, David Tutera's party-planning prowess is indisputable. A Passion for Parties, his first book, reveals the secrets of the Tutera touch, so now partiers of all stripes can benefit from his decadent aesthetic. In 10 chapters that cover everything from choosing the date and the invitation to design concepts and the icing on the cake, Tutera distills his years of creating gloriously unrestrained events into practical advice for artful entertaining.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Can planning parties be as much fun as attending them? In this book, master of merriment David Tutera invites us to enjoy the entire process along with him. Tutera, who has organized soirées for Elton John, the Prince of Wales, and the Rolling Stones, reveals to us all the tricks of the party-planning trade: finding a flexible, unique space; gauging your food and wine needs; and synchronizing decorations with party favors. The result is a big, beautiful bible of party planning.

Tutera begins by guiding us through the tricky yet crucial first steps of making an event: finding a date and a location, and working out a budget for the festivities. "Thinking outside the traditional avenues will help in creating a remarkable event," he urges. "I have produced beautiful galas in newly constructed parking garages, and I have made a simple suburban backyard look, smell, and sound like Paris." The trick is to pay attention to details and to know where trouble usually pops up. And that's where Tutera's expertise can be useful: He has worlds of experience in throwing parties, from doggie birthdays to grand political functions, and he shows us how to ensure that the big event comes off without a hitch. Consider this sage advice: "When ordering invitations for a party where you will receive gifts, remember to order thank-you cards that match the design. It's a terrific final touch and usually results in savings when ordered at the same time."

Tutera goes on to share with us suggestions for decorating the party space, finding a good caterer, and setting a schedule for entertainment. The possibilities are endless, and with Tutera's guidance every reader will find ways to build personal touches into tradition. When Tutera designed a cross-cultural wedding for a Jewish bride and an Iranian groom, for example, he helped the couple to find ways of using the ceremony itself to create a bridge between their two worlds. "Instead of the traditional canopy, or chupah, used during the Jewish ceremony, I built a gazebo for the ceremony to take place under and created a fantasy garden setting under a tent. I utilized the symbolic items usually associated with a Persian ceremony, such as the ceremonial rug known as a saffray, by displaying them directly in front of the gazebo."

Tutera's creative party planning makes an event's difficulties seem like opportunities for fun, unique touches. If you can't hire him, grab the book! (Jesse Gale)

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Truly great parties cast a powerful spell. They delight the senses, lift the spirit, and enchant their hosts as well as their guests. No one wants them to end, and in fact they never do, as the best ones live on as cherished memories. But how exactly do you produce one of these magical gatherings?

The first thing you do is consult David Tutera's A Passion for Parties. One of the world's premier event planners, Tutera produces extraordinary parties for such disparate luminaries as the Rolling Stones, Tipper Gore, and the Prince of Wales. Now, in this lavishly illustrated entertaining guide, he reveals his trade secrets and helps you stage your own unforgettable event.

As inspiring as it is informative, A Passion for Parties is a comprehensive guide to planning any kind of party, on any size budget. Tutera begins with the basics: how to find a location; select the invitation; choose a theme; and make decisions about menus, table settings, music, lighting, flowers, and decor. Then he shows you how to apply those basics to a variety of events: intimate gatherings, birthday parties, weddings, formal celebrations, and holiday entertaining. For the major events, he guides you through the technical details -- what to know if hiring a caterer, live band, valet parking, or tenting service -- and pulls in specialists like wedding cake expert Sylvia Weinstock and culinary master Wolfgang Puck.

Best of all, Tutera identifies the key elements of all parties, large or small, and offers a dazzling array of possibilities to make each party special. Throughout the book you will find dazzling photographs that bring all of his ideas to life. So whether you are planning a romantic fireplace picnic, a ladies' breakfast, a tented bat mitzvah bash, a New Year's dinner party, a Memorial Day clambake, or the wedding to end all weddings, David Tutera helps you throw the party with your own personal flair.