With holiday party season in full swing, it was great timing to speak with celebrity party planner Ron Wendt, whose clients include the likes of Cartier, Chanel and Louis Vuitton.
Ron shares his tips for creating the perfect event and how he built the business he has today.
What does your company do?
We create decor for corporate and private events with a specialty in high
end luxury brands as well as not for profit charity galas. We listen to
our client's needs and develop decorative strategies to achieve their
goals. Even if it is a wedding, there is so much subliminal story
telling that happens through color references, texture, shape and volume.
We love finding new and elegant ways to translate these messages, making
our client's presence known without being overt. One of the highest
compliments I can receive about an event is to hear a guest say ..."this
is so her (/him) or them!"
How did you start the business? What were you doing at the time?
I was designing gardens and (my partner) Philip was an actor working in commercials and
daytime television. His theatrical background and training coupled with
my knowledge of the floral and botanical world created the perfect alchemy
for Ron Wendt Design. We were asked to design an important corporate
luncheon for which we used a strong botanical approach. It was lush, it
was textural and it was a huge success and led to many introductions. I
still love designing gardens but find the immediacy of event design so
exhilarating, meaning, that all the elements come together in a much more
condensed and rapid timeframe.
What was your first big break?
It was a friend's New York wedding in a beautiful 5th Avenue hotel. She
has impeccable taste. It was my first experience personalizing an event
for a private client. It was challenging and exciting choosing custom
tabletop fabrics and materials and then of course finding the perfect
flowers to complement them and still relate it all back to the bride and
her amazing gown which of course she had designed herself. It was and
still is an amazing journey to take with a bride and her family.
What have been some of the highlights of your career thus far?
Last year I did a series of parties in Paris for a private client, all in
the private dining rooms of Five Star restaurants. Each evening had a
completely different ambience. The last farewell evening was themed
"Time Flies". For the stunning 18th century interior, I was able to
"borrow" from an antiques dealer friend over a million dollars' worth of
gilt bronze 18th French clocks, and arrange them amongst period style
vases frothing with the most beautiful garden roses I think I will ever
see! The room was dimmed and alight with amber flickering candlelight.
It was sublime!
I have also worked on some exciting projects with my fashion and luxury
clients like Chanel, Cartier and Louis Vuitton in New York and across the
country.
Top five tips for creating the perfect event?
1. Remember that the memory of your party/event starts at the point of
arrival. Install a dramatic decorative element so that your guests know
they have arrived at the correct destination.
2. Begin at the beginning. The party begins on arrival. Elevate your
guest's arrival experience perhaps with a carpeted entry, scent the air so
that they are transported from their everyday world immediately, let them
hear the music and light the way in candlelight or beautiful washes of
light.
3. Once in, create a heart or focus to the reception with a decorative
element. Guests like a space that is grounded. They like to know they
are in the center of things and are able to see and be seen, not crushed
against a bar or in the way of the catering staff.
4. Separate a cocktail reception from its dinner counterpart. Everyone
knows this but sometimes, events are held large open loft spaces, so its
important to create a screen, a facade, or a baffle so that the dinning
room is a revealed surprise instead of a foregone conclusion!
5. Quality. Make certain that everything your guests come in close contact
with leads to a pleasant tactile experience. If you have a floral
centrepieces they should be well crafted specimens and beautifully
presented. The dinner napkins should be linen or a natural fibre. The
tablecloths should be of a material that is pleasant to touch. Often they
are the largest design element in the room and the one thing that your
guests come immediately in contact with. The chairs must be comfortable.
The music, lighting, temperature must all be comfortable and appropriate
to meet your goals. If you have a large guest list, ask your caterer what
they do best and keep it simple but maybe add a personal twist to it.. A
meal that is prepared and presented beautifully is better than one that
tries too hard and misses!
What can we look forward to from Ron Wendt Design in the future?
While I will continue to hone my event design services through research
and travel, I am happy to say I have been designing gardens again and look
forward to one in particular coming to final fruition this spring. It's
interesting, I have arrived at a very different place in garden design
today than where I was when I made the shift to the glamorous world of
parties and galas. I think the one informs the other!
Elliot Carlyle
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