Party Like a Rock Star: A Celebrity Party Planner’s Tips and Tricks for Throwing an Unforgettable Bash

A top Hollywood party planner on how to design a wide range of fabulous f tes Jes Gordon knows that girls just want to have fun. In Party Like A Rock Star, she shows them how. Gordon--a party-planner extraordinaire who has helmed events for the likes of Madonna, Barbra Streisand, Nicolas Cage, and Jennifer Lopez--presents a fun, comprehensive guide to event planning that reveals her tried-and-true secrets, culled over twenty years in the biz. With color photos throughout, but with step-by-step details that make the book much more than another impossibly perfect photo shoot, Gordon shows readers exactly how to create a unique event, one that reflects their own personalities and individual aesthetics. This hip, easy-to-follow guide will transform anyone's approach to entertaining--from birthday parties to baby showers to anniversaries. Topics include: *Creating a concept for any party--a concept that reflects you *How to budget--from a small soiree to a big bash *Stocking a home bar and whipping up smart cocktails *Whetting guests' appetites--with insider secrets from chefs *Being a flawless host--or guest *Etiquette guidelines and gift ideas *How to produce a party from beginning to end--colorful case studies and detailed instructions

JES GORDON has been one of New York City and Los Angeles’ leading event designers and producers since 1992. Her stint as Events and Décor Director for New York City’s famous Tavern on the Green led to private design commissions for celebrities, including Madonna, Barbara Streisand, Harrison Ford, Nicolas Cage, John F. Kennedy Jr., Woody Allen, Mel Gibson, Puff Daddy, Sting, Elton John, Tom Clancy, Michael Crichton, and others. She has designed events and created branding strategies for such large corporate clients as Target, JC Penney, Johnson & Johnson, Gillette, CVS, Red Envelope, Smith & Hawken, Lifetime Channel, and Rowenta, among many others. She founded her own company, J. Gordon Design, in 1994; this year, Jes celebrates more than a decade of success with a newer corporate identity, jesGORDON/properFUN (www.jesgordon.com). From a large-scale launch event for Target in an industrial warehouse to a Tuscan wedding feast staged in a Greenwich Village carriage house to a product launch in a private villa in South Beach, jesGORDON produces events on any scale, always with a unique aesthetic. Jes splits her time between New York City and Los Angeles. JESSICA BAUMGARDNER is a writer and editor who has written for Good Housekeeping, Seventeen.com, and Nerve.com. She is a frequent contributor to Glamour, and has written about eatingand entertaining for the Washington Post and Time Out New York. She lives in Santa Monica.