words by Shannon Jenkins
Predictions of the world ending in 2012 may or may not prove true. Only time will tell. Whether or not you spend the year in style, however, is entirely up to you.
He may not be able to foresee Doomsday, but celebrity wedding and event planner David Tutera does have his own forecast of what to expect from parties and fashion in 2012. After all, the snappy dresser is the star of “My Fair Wedding” on WE tv, has penned numerous event planning books and has styled events for countless celebrities, including Jennifer Lopez, Elton John, Barbara Walters and Kenneth Cole.
Fenuxe recently snagged some precious time with David at the Ritz-Carlton in Buckhead to get his thoughts on upcoming style trends.
David advised hosts to keep it simple and not go over the top. He also said to avoid having so many guests that you can’t enjoy them and your guests can’t enjoy themselves. He said he expects hosts to embrace the feeling of home and keeping their events more about the heart rather than the drama.
As far as colors go, David suggested anything but simple.
“I’m so over seeing white sofas and all this loungy, sleek white and silver,” he said. “I did that 10-12 years ago. Please, everybody, let it go. My prediction is that we’ll embrace red, burgundy, and copper. We’re going to see deep, rich tones of bold, dramatic colors.”
When it comes to formal menswear, David likes to stick with the 1950s-1960s-inspired look and a classic tuxedo jacket. He said he loves a simple, white or color handkerchief. Ties should match your shirt color-wise, and don’t be afraid to play with prints on ties.
And what about the shirt?
“I try to get guys to not wear traditional tuxedo shirts,” he said. “I think Robert Graham has great ways of taking boring, basic men’s clothing and making it sexy and chic and very unique.”
David also encouraged men to embrace jewelry and accessories.
“Men have very few opportunities to make fashion statements,” said David, who suggested to play around with stylish shoes, watches and glasses. “Tom Ford is a perfect example. How he dresses—perfect.”
Now for what David does best: planning parties.
“The pace of a party is important,” he said. “I know from going to other people’s home parties that everyone tends to over-plan and over-execute and then when they get to the start of the party they bail out on the execution. The host has a couple of drinks, and they wind up becoming a guest.”
A successful event requires a certain flow, and regardless of the number of guests, there should be a beginning, middle and end to your party.
“You can’t have all the food out at the beginning,” David said. “You can’t have all the same drinks being served. It has to change.”
David suggested serving a variety of specialty cocktails at different times throughout the evening. Maybe change the ambience or serve each course of the meal in different parts of the house.
“That keeps the party unique and memorable.”
David said one way he adds a twists to a wedding (or a party) is to change the formula.
“The cake gets cut at the beginning of the night,” he said as one example. “Sometimes it’s fun to have the dessert served at the beginning and not the end. Have unexpected ways of letting guests be aware this is not a typical party.”
Q&A With David Tutera
Fenuxe: How did “My Fair Wedding with David Tutera” get its start?
David: I had done television on the Discovery Channel for one season and I swore to myself I’d never do television again. It’s a brutal business. The network came to me with this concept, and I did not take the phone call the first time. The second time I had my publicist take it; the third time I didn’t want to go for the meeting. The fourth time went to their office. “I went in, they pitched me the concept, I loved it and here we are.”
Fenuxe: What is your favorite part of doing the show?
David: My favorite part is stepping into these people’s lives that truly need help. I’ve been doing this for 25 years and the time leading up to this I’ve always worked for people who have astronomical amounts of money to host big celebrations. These are people [on the show] who truly don’t have any money that need help. They are kind, caring people. I love the fact that we can step into their lives and change their lives and make their dreams come true. It’s a breath of fresh air for me. Think about how much positive programming there is—not a lot. We are one that is positive programming and entertaining and doing well.
Fenuxe: When did you know you wanted to be an event planner?
David: I drove my family crazy. We talk about this all the time. I was the kid that when [my parents] would go out I would rearrange the house; I’d paint a room; I’d start baking. During the summer I’d go outside and dig up the shrubs and move them somewhere else around the house. I would redo everything. So when my parents came home they never knew what they’d come home to. But the funny thing is they’d like it. My dad tells this story every Christmas. My mom and dad went out and got this Christmas tree. One night they came back and I had taken the tree down, went out and bought a tree that was twice as big. I took the tree that they bought and put it in the basement and put the big tree up in the living room. [Also] I always got involved with my mom on decorating for our birthday parties. We don’t come from a lot of money at all. Every year my mom would do these themed birthday parties. So she’d go out and buy the table cloth, and the napkins, and the wallpaper, streamers, piñatas, whatever it was, and I started getting really interested in doing it. I would help her every year with my sisters’ birthday parties.
Fenuxe: When did you get your big break?
David: I started my business in 1986. I’d say probably 1994-1995 I got a call from Prince Charles’ office at the royal palace in London. I thought it was a joke. They called me to do a party for Prince Charles and Nancy Reagan in Bel Air. The phone call after that was from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to do the official Grammy party. It started trickling in.
Fenuxe: If you could plan the wedding of any celebrity (living or dead) who would it be?
David: I would freak to do Cher’s wedding. I will meet and be best friends with Lady Gaga, and I will do her wedding. I’m obsessed with that woman. Obsessed. Literally, I’ve never been obsessed with a celebrity before except her. I wish I could have done Grace Kelly’s wedding. I’m too young but that would have been a good one. I’m on a mission to do Gaga.
Fenuxe: What type of wedding would you plan for Gaga?
David: I would have to compose myself first. What I would do for her is what everyone would expect her not to have. She’s so out there that I think her wedding would be true—because I’m Italian and she’s Italian—mainstream, very classic, very traditional wedding with a little twist to it. I think everyone is expecting her to do something at some point, something so over the top ridiculous. I don’t think she’ll do that.
Fenuxe: How do you add your own twist to a wedding?
David: I change the formula. The cake gets cut at the beginning of the night and not the end of the night. Sometimes it’s fun to have the dessert served at the beginning and not the end. People are like “what’s going on?” Having unexpected ways of letting guests be aware this is not a typical party. Recently, I gave advice to Sharon Osbourne who was planning a dinner party. I was explaining that in the middle of the table you have designed into your centerpiece questions that are designed for the people sitting at that table; it strikes up some interesting conversation. It’s a way to be an icebreaker and add energy to what sometimes can be a boring dinner party.
Fenuxe: Did you ever have something go terribly wrong? How did you fix it?
David: I had a wedding where the bride’s ex-boyfriend showed up bombed off his butt at an extremely high-end black tie event on the beach. I called the cops and had him removed in handcuffs because he was uninvited and extremely drunk. The bride and groom never knew about it. I did a wedding where the older sister of the bride was the maid of honor and she was very drunk and wasted on something. She became belligerent and I had her walk outside on the street with me in New York, I hailed a cab and I put her in the cab with her friend and sent her on her way. The bride never knew about it. You can’t think too much. You have to react. You have to make it happen. Years ago I had the biggest wedding I’d ever done in my career at that point, which was 20 years ago. I had a centerpiece fall, the candles fell, the table centerpiece ignited and the linen caught on fire the minute before the doors opened at the Pierre Hotel in New York City. So I, like a magician, yanked everything off the table, got a waiter, set the whole table back up and had this beautiful haze of smoke filling the room. It looked like it was an effect. I had two choices: scream and cry and run or fix it. I fixed it.
