Party Planners bring pizazz to the table(2)

"There is a more grazing style," she said. "The meal has been cut down to hors d'oeuvres size and served throughout the evening. This is done more with spring and summer parties, as they are less formal than fall and winter parties."

So rather than having your guests interrupt their fun to sit down and wait to be served, the energy and social fun continues to ride throughout the party as each course is brought out in smaller portions.

Hoffman adds that bringing in out-of-state talent can help kick your party up a notch or two.

"Bring in a chef from out of state to work in your kitchen," she says. "Dueling pianos has been a fun trend. There are hundreds of themes to pick from when hosting a party."

A good party planner will find out what your party needs are, and will create the party you have in your head but can't seem to get down on paper. They'll also help steer you clear of any faux pas in party taste, decor or trends.

"I like to come into party planning at the beginning," Jacobs says. "I sit down with the client and a budget; talk about flowers, music, china, glassware, the food; and figure out the best way to put it all together. No size event is insignificant. Whether it's a small dinner party for 12 or a gathering of 400 or more, I'm there to offer my advice and consultation on everything."

Jacobs adds that she finds out how involved the host wants to be and works from there.

"I'm very big into presentation and services," she says. "I like people and I'm instinctive. The party is not about what I want, but what will work best for the client. If they want to be more involved in each detail they can be, or I can put together the entire party and have them be the face of it. I like what I do and get a great pleasure out of it. Many people procrastinate on the details, but I'm there alongside to help them enjoy the event."

"I help with the entire event," Hoffman says. "The hosts can simply hand me a list and just show up at the party. I make sure to execute everything they ask for."

With so many details and types of parties to be thrown, planners work on different rates and scales of pay. A smaller event may be charged at an hourly rate or even on a project base and quoted as "X" amount of hours per project, with additional hours billed at an hourly rate.

There's no real good way to say what a party costs. It all depends on how big of a party and how much the hosts wants to spend.

"A simple dinner party for 12 to 20 people can start around $2,000 and go up from there," Jacobs said. "I can put in as much as 25 hours planning and attending a smaller party. For a party of 60 or so, I can spend anywhere from 20 to 30 hours planning and implementing the party. Clients pay for my time, my experience and my knowledge."

"Costs are higher when you have to rent everything rather than having it at a facility that provides everything," Hoffman says. "A little party can run $5,000 and a large party can easily hit $100,000. My fees are graduated based on the group size."

"I work with the client," Gardner said. "Sometimes I charge a flat rate, or I just charge a percentage. And I don't mark up any vendor costs."

With so many things to think about in planning a party, it's a wise decision to involve a party planner from the beginning. Party planners agree that spring and summer are the busiest seasons for home and outdoor parties, due to the ease of being less formal and more casual. But summer is the overall winner due to weather concerns.

"With spring, you get more rain, and the fall, you don't know when it will turn cold," Hoffman said. "Summer is the hottest time for a home party."

A few other party rules to keep in mind:

• Cut your lawn;

• Turn off the sprinkler system;

• Check all city ordinances related to parties;

• Check with your neighbors and alert them to your party plans;

• Invite your neighbors to help diffuse any potential problems.

In short, get everything in order so you can spend more time enjoying your party and less time worrying about it.