Mindy Weiss Shares Why Celebrities Really are Just Like the Rest of Us — At Least When It Comes to Parties & Events

When it comes to curating completely personalized, over-the-top parties for celebrities — the ones that fill our Instagram feeds for days at a time — Mindy Weiss is the go-to planner. She creates detailed, themed celebrations for every client, from product launches to kid’s birthday parties and baby showers to weddings for the likes of the Kardashians, Sofia Vergara, and Ciara. We recently had the opportunity to ask her about the experience of working elbow-to-elbow with such dream clientele, and she gave us the scoop on why these celebs are more like us than you might think.

Celebrity events tend to set trends for the rest of us. How do celebrity clients encourage you to think outside the box? 

We’re always trying to think outside the box, no matter who our client is. We never want our events to look cookie cutter, so thinking out of the box is essential. Celebrities are party hosts like everyone else, and personalizing their events makes them their own, so that’s something we really try to do. I create for their own taste and lifestyle and bring that to life in a party, and for them, that’s out of the box and exactly what they want. We planned the recent wedding of Cheryl Burke and Matthew Lawrence. She’s a dancer and so much of what she loves is anchored by that. She wanted everything to be bling-y; she loves anything that shines, so we focused on bringing those details into the wedding to make it uniquely them.

Do these celebrity clients usually come to you with an idea or concept? How involved do they want to be in the planning process?

Every client is different; celebrity clients really are just like everyone else. Sometimes they have a strong vision and come in with ideas, and other times they look to me for more direction and guidance. But no matter what, they have the same dream of their ideal wedding, and it’s the same process to bring it to life — just with a little more security than the average wedding.

What are your favorite trends for summer events? Décor, entertainment, food and drink, or otherwise?

This summer, I’m bringing in a lot of color to all my events. That is the biggest trend this summer. From flowers to the bar, there is color everywhere, even in cocktails in hues of blush, yellow, and orange.

Since summer brings great weather, we plan a lot of outdoor parties this time of year. With this year’s outdoor events, we’re bringing in a lot of international entertainment for the cocktail hour. Latin music, Jamaican bands, anything really energetic in an outside setting makes guests feel like they’re on vacation.

What’s an event trend that you think will fade fast?

I think we’ll see fewer professional dancers intertwined into the entertainment. The added value of professional dancers with the band is something I think will fade.

Alternatively, what is a current event trend that will stand the test of time?

Ceiling treatments in tents, ballrooms, or just about anywhere are here to stay. We’ve seen a lot of greenery and florals hanging from the ceiling, and I don’t think that’s going away anytime soon, though I do expect it to evolve and change. People are getting more creative to make it different and using new materials and blooms to change the look.

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