Pointers on throwing parties with flair

Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Throwing parties for families or business partners now can be done at your own residence as long as you know the tricks. A successful party will boost the image of the host and at the same time strengthen your relationships.

To ensure your guests are properly taken care of and comfortable, details must be focused upon starting from the invitations, the guest list, the seating around the dining table, the music accompanying the party, the menu and the etiquette, not to mention the table setting.

Noted fashion designers Harry Dharsono and Adjie Notonegoro shared their expertise in table setting during The Art of Creating a Stylish Party table setting workshop at Plaza Indonesia, Central Jakarta, last Wednesday. Actress Christine Hakim, the plaza ambassador, hosted the event.

Harry chose the Romantic Europe theme for his glamorous table setting with his own collection of old porcelain and silverware made in England and France. He chose a soft-tone elegant flower arrangement for the dining table.

"The real 'flowers' in my parties are not the flowers themselves but my female guests," he said.

To show respect for expatriate guests, Harry suggested using tableware or other elements from the guests' countries.

His also suggested a personal touch for party on the coffee table, after dinner, by serving famous kinds of Indonesian coffee from Toraja in South Sulawesi, Bali and Medan.

Music is another detail to focus on, as it will help create the desired ambience. To pamper the guests' mood and senses, Harry said he often hired a small orchestra to add a touch of class to the party.

As for a cultural touch for his parties, Harry often sits on the floor and plays gamelan (Javanese musical orchestra) with an aim to introduce traditional music, to non-Javanese guests.

"I want to show my guests my roots are in Indonesia," said the designer who has spent several decades of his life in France and England.

"If the hosts have no idea what kind of music is best suited for their event, they can seek professional advice."

Amicable conversation, he said, can be maintained by avoiding sensitive issues like politics, marriage and economics among other things, while business conversation and name card exchanges can be done after dinner, at the coffee table during what he called the Coffee-Cigar-Cognac time.

As for Adjie, he prefers the Asian Beauty theme highlighted by a bunch of white roses arranged along the edge of the dining table. Adjie used white as the main color and black and silver for the accents.

"I use this type of floral arrangement to enable smooth conversation between guests and I add candles to warm up the ambience," said the designer, dubbed as "Mr. Roses" by close friends for his deep love of roses.

With rose petals scattered on top of the dining table, Adjie also presented a lovely touch by using silver butterflies for the napkin rings and several others perched on the candelabra, which gave a sense of dining outdoors in a white rose garden.

"I use butterflies because of the beautiful shapes and colors. It is also a symbol of elegant beauty and used to symbolize other beautiful things, like heaven. It's my grateful expression for God's kindness," he said.

For the tableware, Adjie used his own collection of silverware and Chinaware.

"I entertain my guests with my own collection. It's my way to show respect to them," said the designer who often throws parties for family and close friends.

For the menu, both said they preferred to serve dishes that fit their guests' tastes, but in a unique presentation.

Batik expert Iwan Tirta, who appeared as a speaker at the workshop, stressed the importance of making the guests comfortable. The host is urged to encourage an easy flow of conversation by carefully planning the guests' seats around the dining table.

"It's advisable to invite people from different lines of business to encourage interesting conversation of different topics. For this purpose, a designer can be placed next to an actress, for example," he said.

As for the menu, Iwan suggested hosts use professional caterers.

"A close supervision from the host or the butler is very important. The menu must be created and tasted at least a week prior to the event," he said.

Iwan also added that serving buffet meals is more practical and flexible since it doesn't require the host to hire a team of waiters.