Celebrity party and wedding planner Mindy Weiss is the expert behind Hailey Baldwin and Justin Bieber‘s luxe South Carolina wedding, Kris Jenner‘s Great Gatsby-themed 60th birthday party, Stormi Webster’s “StormiWorld” first birthday and much more. It’s safe to say she knows a thing or two about throwing a successful bash, and now she’s telling Life & Style exclusively the tricks she’s learned along the way — including the most requested item from clients! Whether it’s a holiday shindig or someone’s big day, the event planning guru confessed “alcohol” is top of mind for most party throwers, celebrities and non-celebrities alike.
“You know, the bar has become a big focal point. So, we’re setting up interesting bar areas,” Mindy explained. She noted that most people are moving back toward simple and tasty sips. “A big trend is draught beers, prosecco, Aperol spritzes. We don’t need really complicated mixology drinks anymore. People are loving gin and tonic and really old-fashioned drinks. But, where they are and how they receive it is up to me to make it look really inviting.”
No matter how elegant the affair, don’t forget the basics. “Think about your guests, they want to eat. So always have enough food and enough drinks,” she pointed out. Whether you live in a studio apartment or a sprawling Calabasas mansion, Mindy has tons of options for creating an inviting drink space. “In the kitchen, I’ll do an ice bar [and fill up the sink with ice]. In the den, a bar cart. A lot of homes don’t have built-in bars — if they do fantastic.”
Don’t forget to add a touch of fun to your bar space. Mindy is heavily in the holiday spirit and has cute ideas that will get you all the way through January. “We’re always decorating [bars] … for Halloween, we have skeletons sitting on barstools with drinks in their hands. For Christmas, we’re doing a lot of stuff with pine garland — a lot. In fact, we’re doing one where they have no room for a Christmas tree and we’re actually doing a pine Christmas tree with a wall — just making [the garland] go down on the wall — with Command Adjustables Clips.” She also added that holiday cards are “a big decorative item that doesn’t cost anything.” She explained, “By getting twine or flower garland or pine, you can hang the cards from that — huge trend.”
The A-list planner’s favorite thing these days is utilizing wall space in a fun and unexpected way. However, she’s not afraid to turn to an old favorite. “My big thing is twinkle lights on the walls. Because, when people come in, twinkle lights [are] magical … Even at all my events and all my weddings, I stick it somewhere because it’s instant magic,” she gushed over the affordable accessory.
You don’t need a big budget to add a touch of fun and *magic* to your party — just lots of drinks!