Fete Events

There is something sumptuous about summer sunset on the beautiful Dune Beach in Southampton. Imagine how excited I was to have the opportunity to plan this all-white party on one of the most perfect nights of the year. We started with cocktails in the sand before moving inside the tent for dinner and dancing. Late night we headed back outside for a bonfire, fire dancing and more vodka shots. Dancing went on until 2am!

Clean Dinner Tables inside the Tent

This white tent was perfect for an all-white party.

Incredible events have soul and should share something about the host. My job is to understand each of my clients and then use this knowledge as the basis for the creativity. The fun (and challenge) is finding purposeful ways to weave this into the design, music, drinks, service, food, etc……

For a recent 60th birthday party, we came up with lot of fun ideas but one of my favorite details was suspending contemporary silver light fixtures over each white plexi top farm table. On each fixture, we wrote quotes and copy on each that had great meaning for the birthday boy.

While we love all the weddings we do (like our children, none more precious than any other), we’re putting together the coolest four-day wedding party on Italy’s Amalfi Coast later this summer. I don’t want to spoil any of the many surprises in store, but I will say that all of the senses will be hyper-engaged and the guests will never want to fly home. (How’s that for confidence?)

While scoping out the region on a recent trip, Josh and I came across a new favorite after-dinner drink, Passito di Pantelleria. Made from raisins and semi-dry grapes on Pantelleria, a small island off of Sicily, Passito (also known as “straw wine,” for its grape-drying method on straw mats) is a variation of Moscato and has a very high sugar content. We first tried it—Donnafugata Ben Rye Passito, to be exact—over dessert at a beach restaurant where we’re having dinner one night. It was a spectacular setting, located on a private cove and only accessible by boat, ye the drink clinched the evening… We were instantly in love with it, and helplessly enamored by the Amalfi Coast.

I’m constantly on the lookout for subtle, beautiful flourishes that make a table setting pop. These super high-gloss, lacquered candles from Danish company Ester & Erik (ester-erik.dk)—available in tapered, cylindrical, and cone shapes—have become one of my new favorite elements. They’re beautiful enough to leave unburned on your table all the time, yet their lacquer catches light in a warm, lustrous way.

A luxurious event doesn’t need to be stuffy. It can be downright “funky,” in fact, as was the case with a recent birthday bash for a client who loves funk music. Channeling the swinging spirit of Curtis Mayfield, James Brown, George Clinton, and the like, we tricked out the Angel Orensanz Center on the Lower East Side in full-on funk regalia. The birthday girl’s husband insisted the party have a lighthearted, effervescent vibe, and that the guests would really be inspired to boogie down—once they got past the velvet ropes (manned by our favorite sassy drag performer Peppermint Patty and our mustached 7 year old), that is.

The menu was decidedly “’70s,” right down to the fondue, while tie-dyed cupcakes and tons of retro candy like Pop Rocks and Smarties kept revelers in sugar shock. Our servers provided guests with unabashed, free love-inspired garb – gold chains, Afros, attachable chest hair and an Eyelash bar. This with the design set the stage for plenty of raucous dancing to the sounds of an amazing authentic funk band.

Litchfield County, Connecticut is the perfect escape from the big bad city—picturesque, idyllic, friendly and only 90+ minutes away… But, alas, there aren’t so many great restaurants to be found in the area. We were thrilled, consequently, to find ourselves at Community Table in Washington, CT. It’s a spectacular dining experience created by wildly talented Executive Chef Joel Viehland (recently nominated as a Food and Wine Magazine’s Best New Chef Finalists), out in the middle of nowhere. Any true foodie has noticed the industry-wide push towards locally grown ingredients, and Viehland elevates this concept—throughout his small menu and wine list—to an art form. (While wines are indeed local, diners can bring their own, for a small corkage fee.)

To get there, you drive along a local highway and pull up to an unassuming barn on the side of the road. They take no reservations—which creates an inevitably packed house —and the vibe is quite casual. Once we were seated, the flavors knocked us flat…. Truly incredible. My 7-year-old son was talking about the flavoring on his heirloom fingerling potatoes all week (Isn’t it great when you can expose great food to a child?) Guests experience nothing short of excellence, thanks to its straightforward, quintessentially “Litchfield County” vibe and Viehland’s marvelous talent. (He trained at Noma, after all… a two-Michelin Star restaurant in Copenhagen, voted best restaurant in the world this year by San Pellegrino’s Top 50 Restaurants list.)

 

Carmelized Onion & Mushroom Tart (shown below): House cured guanciale, gruyere, potatoes, 60 degrees celcius cooked egg yolk

Salt-Baked Heirloom Fingerling Potatoes (shown below): Vinegar poached onions, smoked (locally grown) paprika pepper aioli, herbs, nasturtium leaves

 

Once or twice a year I attend a design show in Paris.  It’s always a perfect excuse to take a break from NYC, hop the pond, eat some extraordinary food, wander the ancient streets, and experience a flood of inspiration. What’s really nice about this show is that some of the world’s best home and interior designers come together within this elegant marketplace. I go to open up my mind… not just to the things I’m seeing, but the innovative ways people bring style to life. Of course, Paris itself is an artist’s dream… Throughout Europe, artistry is revered as a part of life, with great design injected into every facet.

With that, I offer you my TOP TEN (well, TOP ELEVEN!) list of inspirational finds from my trip, in no particular order.

1. These driftwood mushroom stools stand about 18 inches tall, each are individually carved so they’re all different, and they offer a whimsical yet functional option for outdoor seating. (And hey, if you get hungry…)

2. There’s never a shortage of cheeky glamour at Louis Vuitton’s store on the Champs-Elysees—from their polished gold steps to this super chic window display. Who couldn’t fall in love with this zebra? And that gold, red, and black beading creates a dazzling desert effect that I’ll be borrowing someday in the future.

3. This image shows an incredible photograph that I’d love to have… It’s actually two mirror images put together to look like a V-wall, creating this effect that there’s a window into another gallery.

4. Stylish scooters and bicycles are essential elements of all great European cities. This classic dusty-red leather will just get better looking as time goes on, and the leather bike is more chic an accessory than any handbag.

5: I’ve had this Tim Burton, “Alice in Wonderland” card house effect in my head for a long time.

6: I already adore and collect nickel-plated lanterns. These oversized version are done up with chic brown leather straps, given even more style to an already timeless piece.

7: We forget how clean and cool a simple pegboard can be! This board is similar to any you’d find in an old garage, and the lettering is created with very simple yarn. But the font and the spirit in which it’s crafted is incredibly special.

8: We’ve all been in rooms that appear much larger than they are, thanks to a great mirror effect. Well these cubes are actually half-cubes, made to look like a full cube by mirror and shadow. Look closely and see this brilliant technique.

9: Rustic effects can be so elegant when done well. This simple concept—wooden pallets in lieu of a boxspring—would be perfect for a very chic, simple Americana farmhouse event.

10. That he blows! Josh’s favorite. This guy just sums up the beauty of life for me. A rose and its thorns, exemplifying that constant push-and-pull of tension that gives life its substance. Ain’t he cute?

11. We’ve all heard of ice packs for our eyes. So why not for our Pinot Gris? At this incredible restaurant/wine store, these rapid-ice wine chillers—sort of a frozen life jacket for your white wine—are a great notion for a fun, friendly event.  In Paris, they are quickly replacing the wine chiller filled with ice.

There are few elements as vital to the success of a wedding as its musicians. From the pacing of each piece, to the quality of the sound, to the intuition of its performers, ceremony music stirs all those in attendance, and sets a tone to last a lifetime. Bianchi Musica (bianchimusica.com), which provides exquisite chamber music for private events and weddings, is helmed by world-renowned pianist/singer/composer Pilley Bianchi—an extraordinary woman with whom I love to collaborate.

Pilley has turned me into a huge fan of piano music, with the original compositions she’s written for my clients. She has an uncanny ability to build anticipation, particularly as a bride is about to appear at the end of an aisle, and is adept at transporting guests into a beautiful state of mind. Adding to Bianchi Musica’s appeal is the fact that her musicians are exquisite, both in talent and beauty—fresh, angelic-looking women who are each accomplished chamber musicians in their own right.

Whether it’s their ethereal look, the exquisite sound, or Pilley’s ability to keep a wedding or event well paced and otherworldly, I’ve never been disappointed. She truly elevates what a ceremony can be.

**Side note on Pilley: Cultivating excellence must be a family affair… Pilley’s father trained his dog Chaser to understand the name of over 1000 objects. Chaser recently did a piece with Matt Lauer on the Today Show and was named the “smartest dog in the world!”.

http://www.bianchimusica.com/

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/41489081/ns/today-today_pets_and_animals/

Once in a blue moon, I’ll stumble upon an environment that provides a wellspring of inspiration. This happened most recently during a trip to Paris (France, not Texas), which, itself, is one of the most exquisite destinations on earth. Hidden in an alleyway, with no discernible signage, sat the concept store L’Eclaireur —one of its five outposts, that is—and as soon as I stepped inside I fell in love.

From the hypnotic video art installations to the well-edited and eclectic mix of merchandise—clothing, accessories, jewelry, artwork—the entire store felt fresh, unique, and untouched by commercialization. They even had a black Christmas tree made out of driftwood, which totally spoke to my dark side. (Yes, I have a dark side.) All of the elements worked together, undeniably filtered through one point of view, and my visit like a vacation within a vacation.

L’eclaireur

www.leclaireur.com

What is the concept of a concept?

The term “concept store” gets muddled here in America. Think: music, clothing, candles, books, home, furniture, food, perhaps a florist element, a museum-like quality to the artwork that’s for sale… A sophisticated destination with its own lifestyle point-of-view, where all five senses are stimulated. Paris has a handful of great ones. Colette was/is Paris’ first great concept store, which later was joined by Merci and L’Eclaireur. (It’s always been a dream of mine to open such a place… Only time will tell!) All I say is L’Eclaireur (leclaireur.com) achieved this beautifully, and I’ll certainly be back again.

MERCI

http://www.merci-merci.com/

 

 

BEFORE
AFTER

There are startlingly few Catholic churches in Manhattan that don’t have a 4:30 or 5PM mass on Saturday… meaning that, if you want to go directly from the church to your reception, you’d have to get married at 3:30 and either start the festivities soon after or have your guest sit around until early evening. If you’re in the market for a seamless evening celebration, the pickings are slim. One thing we pride ourselves on here at Fete is creative problem solving. I adore this beautiful, little-known church, though it’s in relative disrepair. If you saw it in the harsh light of day, you’d be none-too-impressed. However, I love a challenge.

After an impeccable clean-up job, we took the house lights down to hide the blemishes, and used dramatic up-lighting to accentuate the church’s fantastic architecture. The two large altar arrangements really caught the light dramatically, and the candles on the ground cast an otherworldly glow.