Looking forward while looking back… Kathy Hilton greeting guests at Paris' 5th Birthday

It’s OK to look back. Between social distancing and racial unrest, it’s hard to know how to feel on any given day. Taking comfort in recollecting happy memories, as we pray for healing in our country, is OK. If you’re feeling all of these things, it doesn’t mean you’re insensitive or out of touch.

My business has always been about special moments and celebrations, so I have an abundance of happy memories, including birthdays, milestones, corporate events and Halloween bashes. So many amazing people and celebrations, including several celebrity events!

As I think back about these events, it’s funny how so many of them are connected. One event leads to another event for friends or family through word of mouth. I’m honored that my clients, famous or not, have trusted me to plan and execute their event, just as they envisioned. Some of my fondest memories are of the epic celebrity parties…

Over-the-top parties for Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian

Early in 1986 we were focused on working hard, building a pretty solid reputation, and becoming known for large, over-the-top birthday parties for kids. We were contacted by Kim Richards (sister of Kyle Richards, from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills) and sister of Kathy Hilton (mother of Paris Hilton).

I went to the Conrad Hilton Estate in Bel Air, (omg…the home and grounds were just a little overwhelming), to meet with Kathy Hilton and Kim Richards to plan the birthday parties for their girls, Paris and Brooke. Paris’ BFFs, Nicole Richie (daughter of Lionel Richie) and Kim Kardashian were guests at the Hilton parties. So much fun, and kind of a big deal for us. Instead of feeling intimidated by the enormity of it all, I felt confident that we had built a great reputation with this crowd.

Little Mermaid comes alive!

We continued to plan events for Kim Richards, including an amazing Little Mermaid themed party for her girls, Brooke and Whitney. We had “real” mermaids swimming in the pool along with King Titan, custom hand-painted Little Mermaid t-shirts for every guest, and a very authentic full-costumed Sebastian! The kids had SO much fun, that none of them were aware of the security guards. Not something you see every day at a kid’s party.

Carnival Parties, Celebrity Dinners and Sweet-16 Parties with Tony Danza

For years we planned parties for Tony Danza, from the TV show Who's the Boss. We knew Tony through personal connections, and executed several parties for him and his family. Ha… talk about feeling the pressure!

I recall planning parties for Tony’s daughters, Katie and Emily, which included rides, food carts, puppet shows, costumed characters, custom birthday cakes and all of their friends! Sounds like every kid’s dream party, right?

Years later, we did Katie's Sweet 16 party and a celebrity dinner party for Tony and his wife Tracy. We spent days building a clear tent, decked out with custom-designed chandeliers. Talk about extravagant! The details of security and comfort requirements involved a lot of complex planning, but we stayed focused and got the job done.

One Party Often Leads to Another

Our relationship with the Danzas led to a large launch event for Kodak at the Directors Guild. This lead us to Frank Dileo, who at the time was Michael Jackson's manager. And this connected us to Germaine Jackson and an event at his home for the Jackson family. We work hard to earn our client’s trust and loyalty. Referrals have always been important to us, allowing us to keep doing what we love for so many years.

Halloween is Not Just for Kids!

More recently we planned a very large, and extravagant Halloween event for a very well-known celebrity couple. The guest list consisted of 175-people, mostly A-listers, in some incredibly elaborate costumes! Kim Kardashian was among the many guests, and we were thrilled to see her still attending one of our events after so many years.

I’m learning that it’s OK to look back and remember all of the great times, not with sadness, but with hope for the coming year, and a return to normalcy. Although we’ve had the honor of serving the entertainment industry, we treat every client with the same VIP service. We know your event is important to you, and that means it’s important to us. If nothing else, our experience planning parties for the stars has taught us to have a “nothing can go wrong” attitude in everything we do.