{"id":219780,"date":"2025-10-02T15:08:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T19:08:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gardenandgun.com\/?p=219780"},"modified":"2025-10-03T17:20:05","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T21:20:05","slug":"a-new-book-from-the-southern-doyenne-of-entertaining-will-have-you-hankering-to-throw-a-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenandgun.com\/articles\/a-new-book-from-the-southern-doyenne-of-entertaining-will-have-you-hankering-to-throw-a-party","title":{"rendered":"A New Book from the Southern Doyenne of Entertaining Will Have You Hankering to Throw a Party"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Here\u2019s a smattering of wisdom that party planner extraordinaire Rebecca Gardner<\/a> shares in her new book, A Screaming Blast<\/em><\/a>: Arrange for at least three surprises at every party to keep the rhythm and energy upbeat. Don\u2019t serve canapes (messy) or Chardonnay (bad breath). And above all, \u201cparties are no place for minimalism.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n

\"G&G<\/a><\/div>
G&G Weddings<\/span> Now Available!<\/span><\/div>
Get our special digital issue and celebrate the big day in Southern style<\/div>
Get Your Copy<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The book offers up ample visual candy in the form of twenty gorgeous parties Gardner has thrown for clients, including a pink-poodle\u2013themed holiday fete with an overflowing retro dessert table, and an \u201calien balloon world\u201d at an art gallery. She also shares the essential ingredients of a killer event, sprinkles in hilarious asides (\u201cI once hired a saxophone player to laze against a tree in Savannah\u2019s Forsyth Park playing \u2018Moon River\u2019 and then pretended not to know him\u201d), and provides a personal look at her own journey.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Swan
Photo: Adam Kuehl<\/div>
Giant swan ice sculptures complemented a Liberace lookalike, folk dancers, and ballerinas at this New York party.<\/div><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe world I knew was hugely social, and not for show. Gathering was a ritual and a lifeline,\u201d she writes of her upbringing in South Texas. From there, she traces her evolution as a hostess, from her first job as the director of creative initiatives at the Savannah College of Art and Design to the founding of Houses & Parties<\/a>, her full-service event and interior design collective, over a decade ago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below, we caught up with Gardner about how her family influenced her over-the-top style, how to be a great host and<\/em> guest, and the current parties she has in the works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Photo: Adam Kuehl<\/div>
A brass band led guests to an outdoor dinner right along the tracks of the Napa Valley Wine Train.<\/div><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Where does your flair as a hostess come from? I loved learning about your grandmother\u2019s custom pans for buckwheat blinis topped with caviar, and your godparents\u2019 Easter celebration. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I grew up in South Texas surrounded by a gaggle of hairsprayed ladies with fashion and flair. They schooled me on how to do it. The bulk of our curriculum was learning how to party. We were taught, as toddlers, to speak to adults and garner attention by being entertaining. Teenage boys earned pocket money by taking coats at cocktail parties or parking cars as in Father of the Bride<\/em>. My Saturday afternoons were often spent decorating cookies and polishing silver for my mother\u2019s parties. I started my first business as a freshman in high school making and selling invitations for parties. They were covered in garish sequins, wired ribbons, and\u2014once or twice\u2014neon feathers.

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you share a little about the influence of SCAD on your career? You write that you learned there that \u201cyou must plan fun rather than wait for it to happen.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I studied art history at SCAD while I worked in the president\u2019s office planning events, designing interiors, and leading other \u201ccreative initiatives.\u201d At SCAD I learned how to work hard, really hard. I also met lots of incredibly talented artists, many of whom I still work with today. Adam Kuehl, the principal photographer of my first book and all of my work, was a student with me at SCAD. We\u2019ve worked together for twenty years. 

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“If it\u2019s worth doing, it\u2019s worth overdoing!” Talk about that as your MO.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I really think that anything worth doing is worth overdoing. Maybe that is because I\u2019m a Texan. I have ten thousand lights on my Christmas tree. I prefer dessert served with sparklers. You know, more is more fun. <\/p>

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
\"Tables
Photo: Adam Kuehl<\/div>
Gardner filled a cavernous space at a contemporary art gallery in downtown Los Angeles with alien balloon creatures designed by multidisciplinary artist Jason Hackenwerth.<\/div><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why am I so obsessed with the little ceramic snails you put on a tablescape? Where do you find things like this?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Houses & Parties is a three-ring circus. We design events, interiors, and have an online shop for marvelous unnecessaries to create memorable occasions. We make or commission almost everything in our shop, including the beloved ceramic snails<\/a>. 

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are a few favorite details or touches that come to mind for a recent party you\u2019ve thrown? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I recently threw a party for a client who has a great group of good-timing friends. They dress up and show up and show out. When dessert was served with espresso martinis, she emceed an awards ceremony complete with oversized show ribbons for \u201cmost dramatic,\u201d \u201cbest dressed,\u201d and \u201cparty pooper.\u201d These, too, can be yours at housesandparties.com<\/a>!

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s the key to being a great guest? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key to being a great guest is to bring something to the table. It can be an outrageous story, a controversial opinion, an expensive bottle of wine, or a great pair of legs. Doesn\u2019t matter. Just don\u2019t be dull. 

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A great host?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wish everyone hosting a party would dim the lights and act at ease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Photo: Adam Kuehl<\/div>
A table piled high with retro desserts at a pink poodle-themed holiday party.<\/div><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Your birthday is a big thing. Dior or Du Jour was your most recent theme\u2026what\u2019s next?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

I took a year off from my annual birthday party in preparation for this book tour. Next year will be bigger and better than ever. The theme involves melons. 

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most exciting party you’re working on right now? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am very excited to be working on ideas for a fortieth birthday that starts in the English countryside with a \u201cByron or Bashful\u201d costume directive. Remember the V&A\u2019s Anglomania exhibition? Get out the silk taffeta and lace cuffs. 

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you hope people come away with after reading <\/strong>A Screaming Blast<\/em><\/strong>? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope that anyone who reads my book is inspired to gather, celebrate, and make a memorable occasion. Without this effort, our memories will lean beige. I can\u2019t think of a worse punishment.

<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Garden & Gun has an affiliate partnership with <\/em>bookshop.org<\/em><\/a> and may receive a portion of sales when a reader clicks to buy a book.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Through themes, props, and unapologetic maximalism, Rebecca Gardner makes the case for keeping things interesting. 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