5 Tips for a Fabulous Pool Party from Cameron Keating

Event planner Cameron Keating knows that nobody throws a pool party like a Palm Beacher. The senior designer at The Special Event Resource and Design Group shares clever tips for pulling off a poolside fête guests won’t forget.

Cameron Keating’s Top Tips:

1. Color, Color, Color! Use vibrant colors, like rich orange, green, yellow, and fuchsia to bring the wow to a pool party. Stay away from the obvious blue. The pool will add that color without any effort. Utilize these colors throughout, beginning with the invitation and incorporating them into the décor and even the food.
2. The great thing about pool parties that there is no reason to spend your inheritance on decor. Even though I am a sucker for expensive flowers like orchids and pin cushions, we can still use them in a creative minimal way. Utilizing a vibrant color palette, introduce small pops of color with flowers on your tables by incorporating pineapples or citrus fruits. One of my big secrets is taking a succulent or a cutting a Monstera palm from my yard and spraying them with orange, yellow, or gold paint.
3. Have fun with food that recalls childhood. Pass frozen daiquiris in hollowed-out pineapples with fun straws, hot dogs and corn dogs, and root beer and orange soda floats and ice cream sandwiches for dessert. Guests of every age will adore you.
4. Nothing replaces live music. Maybe consider booking Jimmy Buffet? I have been blessed twice in my career by having him entertain my clients’ guests. But, if you can’t get Jimmy, there are many great local bands that will transport your guests to paradise for a lot less. Personally, I love a traditional Bahamian steel drum band.
5. Take the trend of blow-up bouncy houses to the next level with an over-sized blow-up floating movie screen placed in the middle of the pool. Play favorite summer-and-sea classics like Beach Blanket Bingo or Finding Nemo. Or, keep the mood fun and casual with a Miami-based movie like Caddyshack.