At The Guest List, we believe that the setting is the element most essential to a successful event. When it comes to planning an event, whether intimate or grand, the choice of venue is pivotal, as every subsequent, stylistic choice will flow from it. The setting communicates a party’s level of formality, its aesthetic, and prevailing mood. A setting profoundly influences décor choices, music, and dress code. And of course, all practical considerations—from the size of the guest list to the planning parameters—are dictated by the choice of venue. 

 

 But a setting’s influence is so much more than that—more intangible, elusive.  From “Fair Verona, where we lay our scene” to Northanger Abbey or Gatsby’s mansion, a setting has shaped some of the most enduring stories of all time. It is the unique property of art to take us somewhere else, imaginatively speaking. We go to the ballet perhaps as much to be carried off to the Lands of Snow and of Sweets as we do to see the exquisite dancing. When we attend the opera, the music is the masterpiece, but so too are the places we get to inhabit for a while—to Italian villages or palaces so far removed from the doldrums of daily life. When we dream, it’s usually of a certain place. And while a small party may not have the grandeur and importance of these, it too should take place somewhere beautiful. The event itself, however small, should unfold with some of the unpredictable beauty and transporting qualities of a dream. 

 

While we are devoted to beautiful design, we know that a party’s guest list can be its most artistic element. Like an artist or playwright, you craft the guest list that will contribute to your party’s unique magic. As your event unfolds, you watch as groups of three become five and more—or dwindle down to an intriguing pair. Those guests that arrived alone or began the night distant at some point fall into a kind of flow, effortlessly blending in, belonging.  Quiet, cordial comments give way to bright laughter and enriching conversations. Guests overlap and interact in complex and captivating ways, and the essence, the mood, of the event changes. There are certain events which we remember forever—and it mostly has to do with this intangible magic, the intriguing blend of personalities, the way the guest list just, for whatever reason, worked. Each guest brings his or her essence to the event, and sometimes these come together in a charged way.