How To Throw The Perfect Party, According To The Pros
From wine to curating your guestlist, here’s to making your festive celebrations the best ones of the season.
By Aaron Kok - published
There’s so much unseen method to creating a magical, fabulous party.
Beyond just the food, the fashion and finding that all-perfect door gift for your guests, there’s also the monumental task of ensuring that the tipple selected complements the nosh, the decor sets the right mood, the music is at a perfect tempo, and the guests are feeling safe enough to open up and make new memories.
So how does one go about nailing all of these things? Let BAZAAR’s panel of party experts show you how.
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1. Choosing the Perfect Wine
BoundbyWine’s Elliot Braet (right), with his co-founder Germaine Wong
We all know the importance of good food, but equally important to the nosh is the tipple. While cocktails may not be everyone’s sip of choice, wine is always a safe bet. Yet, choosing the right wine can be deceptively tricky to the uninitiated.
“The hardest part about choosing a good wine is knowing your guests’ preferences,” Elliot Braet tells us. “Once you’ve figured it out, that’s three quarters of the battle won.” Situated in the trendy enclave of Joo Chiat, Braet’s BoundbyWine welcomes customers to stop in for a chat to get to know their comprehensive library of wines on offer.
Braet’s Tips for Acing the Wine Selection
Stay on par with the setting. For Braet, the first point to consider is the atmosphere of the party. You want something that matches and uplifts the mood, rather than simply splashing out for the sake of it. “Get wines that match the environment and mood that you have. There’s no need to bring a $400 bottle to a casual barbecue party,” says Braet.
Never hurts to ask for help. There are thousands of different wines on the market, so it’s perfectly natural to feel overwhelmed. “If you’re unsure, let someone with the knowledge and that you can trust help you with a recommendation based on your preferences and budget.”
Consider what’s trending in the market. “There’s a shift towards more approachable wine styles,” Braet tells us when asked about what he’s seeing rise in popularity amongst customers. “We’re noticing more people picking light to medium-bodied reds, as well as more white and sparkling wines.”
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2. Finessing Your Florals
Stanley Tan of Windflower Florist
An oft-overlooked aspect of a fabulous soiree, florals can do so much more than just providing an Insta-worthy backdrop. “They help to tie in the event’s theme and they’re mood-setters,” Stanley Tan, who runs Windflower Florist, shares with us. “From the type, colour of flowers and down to the arrangement, your choices on how your florals look can evoke different emotions and moods.”
He cites an example of how the textural scapes that dried flowers offer are an entirely different dimension and feel than what fresh flowers alone can achieve. “Whenever I notice guests marvelling at floral installations, I find myself appreciating how thoughtful these arrangements can be in elevating an event and its overall experience,” he says.
Tan’s Top Tips on Floral Planning
What’s the longevity? “Let your florist know how long the event will last and if the arrangements need to stay fresh for multiple days,” Tan says. According to the second-generation florist, this helps them decide which flowers to work with to keep everything looking its best for the duration.
What’s your budget? Tan advises that it’s “best to be upfront about what you’re willing to pay in the early planning stages, so your floral partner can meet your vision and tailor it to fit your expenditure sheet.”
What’s the theme? Tan says that having a clear theme always helps florists if you already have a theme or a specific colour scheme in mind. This helps us create arrangements that seamlessly blend into your ambience.
What type of arrangement are you looking for? Are you looking for a table centrepiece, an arch, or other bespoke installations? “Being specific in your brief can help streamline the party-planning process, because the florist can narrow down the proposal,” he tells us.
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3. Level Up Your Guestlist
Alexis Lhoyer of Chab Events
Having co-founded Chab Events, which has thrown plenty of mindblowing parties and bespoke experiences, co-founder and CEO Alexis Lhoyer is no stranger to throwing a good party.
“A truly great party leaves people with a moment,” he shares candidly over a call. “We talk about moments a lot in the business, because it’s not just solely about the music or decor. What you want is to have everything work together so seamlessly so that when your guests leave, they feel like they are taking a core memory with them.”
On the topic of guests, Lhoyer shares that while it’s safe and easy to invite close friends, there’s magic when you are able to curate a guestlist of seemingly disparate strangers. Think of the dinner parties that Truman Capote or Karl Lagerfeld used to throw, and the guests from all walks of life that would fill their dinner rooms.
Lhoyer’s Checklist for the Perfect Guestlist
☑ Contrasts are good. Feeling the doldrums of inviting the same old gang? You can consider shaking things up by inviting different people to your party. “You want that diversity of backgrounds, because it will give you the opportunity to explore interesting groups,” says Lhoyer
☑ Identify the roles. Lhoyer admits that in mixing up the group, there’s always a risk of awkwardness. “Not everyone is going to start a conversation, so in the different groupings, you want to ensure there are a mix of active and passive guests,” he counsels.
☑ Find the common ground. Perhaps the most important in curating your guestlist is to narrow it down to a single thread. “Even though your guests come from different backgrounds, having a commonality can help. For the legendary parties thrown by Lagerfeld, the commonality was him as a person. It can also be a thinking, an interest, you just have to find it.”
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4. Cue the Music Like a Pro
Producer, Songwriter & DJ, Myrne
“Music, to me, is such a primal and overwhelming sense,” Myrne says when we ask about the importance of a good tracklist at a soirée. “It’s paramount because it colours all the other senses.”
His pro tip on using beats to set the mood? “Base it on the people attending,” the Singaporean DJ shares. “Do they know each other? You might want some downtempo early so people can get to know each other. Is it a twilight party and you have a yoga class the morning after? Break out the deep house.”
Myrne’s Top 5 Go-to Songs to Keep the Party Lit
1. “Neutron Dance” by Krystal Klear
“It’s a great, infectious tune and feels amazing walking into a party with this song playing.”
2. “If I Can’t Get Down (Mousse T.’s Funky Shizzle Mix)” by Mike Dunn
“This is the part of the party where people start to groove and dance.”
3. Any remix of “Say It Right” by Nelly Furtado
Everyone knows it, everyone will have fun with it.
I’m not biassed. I think it’s euphoric and a great trance-y tune for a party peak.
This is usually the part of the night where it’s closer to dawn, and people are sitting around in small circles asking big questions about life. Congratulations, you’ve thrown yourself an unforgettable night.