Pointers on throwing parties with flair<\/p>\n
Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Throwing parties for families or business partners now can be
\ndone at your own residence as long as you know the tricks. A
\nsuccessful party will boost the image of the host and at the same
\ntime strengthen your relationships.<\/p>\n
To ensure your guests are properly taken care of and
\ncomfortable, details must be focused upon starting from the
\ninvitations, the guest list, the seating around the dining table,
\nthe music accompanying the party, the menu and the etiquette, not
\nto mention the table setting.<\/p>\n
Noted fashion designers Harry Dharsono and Adjie Notonegoro
\nshared their expertise in table setting during The Art of
\nCreating a Stylish Party table setting workshop at Plaza
\nIndonesia, Central Jakarta, last Wednesday. Actress Christine
\nHakim, the plaza ambassador, hosted the event.<\/p>\n
Harry chose the Romantic Europe theme for his glamorous table
\nsetting with his own collection of old porcelain and silverware
\nmade in England and France. He chose a soft-tone elegant flower
\narrangement for the dining table.<\/p>\n
\"The real 'flowers' in my parties are not the flowers
\nthemselves but my female guests,\" he said.<\/p>\n
To show respect for expatriate guests, Harry suggested using
\ntableware or other elements from the guests' countries.<\/p>\n
His also suggested a personal touch for party on the coffee
\ntable, after dinner, by serving famous kinds of Indonesian coffee
\nfrom Toraja in South Sulawesi, Bali and Medan.<\/p>\n
Music is another detail to focus on, as it will help create
\nthe desired ambience. To pamper the guests' mood and senses,
\nHarry said he often hired a small orchestra to add a touch of
\nclass to the party.<\/p>\n
As for a cultural touch for his parties, Harry often sits on
\nthe floor and plays gamelan (Javanese musical orchestra) with an
\naim to introduce traditional music, to non-Javanese guests.<\/p>\n
\"I want to show my guests my roots are in Indonesia,\" said the
\ndesigner who has spent several decades of his life in France and
\nEngland.<\/p>\n
\"If the hosts have no idea what kind of music is best suited
\nfor their event, they can seek professional advice.\"<\/p>\n
Amicable conversation, he said, can be maintained by avoiding
\nsensitive issues like politics, marriage and economics among
\nother things, while business conversation and name card exchanges
\ncan be done after dinner, at the coffee table during what he
\ncalled the Coffee-Cigar-Cognac time.<\/p>\n
As for Adjie, he prefers the Asian Beauty theme highlighted by
\na bunch of white roses arranged along the edge of the dining
\ntable. Adjie used white as the main color and black and silver
\nfor the accents.<\/p>\n
\"I use this type of floral arrangement to enable smooth
\nconversation between guests and I add candles to warm up the
\nambience,\" said the designer, dubbed as \"Mr. Roses\" by close
\nfriends for his deep love of roses.<\/p>\n
With rose petals scattered on top of the dining table, Adjie
\nalso presented a lovely touch by using silver butterflies for the
\nnapkin rings and several others perched on the candelabra, which
\ngave a sense of dining outdoors in a white rose garden.<\/p>\n
\"I use butterflies because of the beautiful shapes and colors.
\nIt is also a symbol of elegant beauty and used to symbolize other
\nbeautiful things, like heaven. It's my grateful expression for
\nGod's kindness,\" he said.<\/p>\n
For the tableware, Adjie used his own collection of silverware
\nand Chinaware.<\/p>\n
\"I entertain my guests with my own collection. It's my way to
\nshow respect to them,\" said the designer who often throws parties
\nfor family and close friends.<\/p>\n
For the menu, both said they preferred to serve dishes that
\nfit their guests' tastes, but in a unique presentation.<\/p>\n
Batik expert Iwan Tirta, who appeared as a speaker at the
\nworkshop, stressed the importance of making the guests
\ncomfortable. The host is urged to encourage an easy flow of
\nconversation by carefully planning the guests' seats around the
\ndining table.<\/p>\n
\"It's advisable to invite people from different lines of
\nbusiness to encourage interesting conversation of different
\ntopics. For this purpose, a designer can be placed next to an
\nactress, for example,\" he said.<\/p>\n
As for the menu, Iwan suggested hosts use professional
\ncaterers.<\/p>\n
\"A close supervision from the host or the butler is very
\nimportant. The menu must be created and tasted at least a week
\nprior to the event,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Iwan also added that serving buffet meals is more practical
\nand flexible since it doesn't require the host to hire a team of
\nwaiters.<\/p>",
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