Synopsis: As a doyenne of party planning for thirty years Liz Brewer is uniquely placed to offer guidance on the perfect party and on the wider subject of etiquette and manners

Over the years Liz has constantly been asked to define the secret of creating a successful party and her answer is that it isn’t the amount you spend that is the yardstick but “the care and attention put into every detail in order to honour and delight the guests and enable the host to also have an enjoyable time”.
For those of us who aren’t professional party givers this book shares her knowledge and wisdom gleaned from years of creating events and includes the nuts and bolts and do’s and don’ts to achieve success on a more professional level. So for example she considers issues as varied as:

• How to properly and effectively introduce people at a party
• How many canapés per head should you serve at a cocktail party?
• What do dress codes such as ‘casual’ actually mean?
• Creating stunning floral arrangements using almost anything from cabbages to bales of hay
• How to address an invitation to a cohabiting couple
• How to make your guest list more exciting
• and How to you get your guests to leave?

And if calamity strikes? Liz says retain a sense a humour, “there is generally a way out of even the darkest hole and often it is to start laughing”.

Alongside this Liz has written a chapter on etiquette for the 21st century dealing with such conundrums as the use (or not) of the mobile phone in social situations, post-entertainment thank yous, how to make an impression when you enter a room and whether it is suitable to kiss someone you are meeting for the first time.
Liz Brewer first shot to fame when she swapped life as a debutante in favour of launching Portugal’s first ever discotheque/night club. Aside from her successful career in PR and marketing she has also worked as a fundraiser and been the Diary Editor of Tatler. Her skills as an event organiser are always in demand and have included organising Dame Shirley Bassey’s 70th birthday party at Cliveden. She has organised parties in numerous locations from the sandbanks of the Zambezi, to mountain hideaways, private yachts, private islands and in some of the most stately of homes and historic establishments of Britain.

Liz’s clients have included Pierce Brosnan, Ivana Trump, Dame Shirley Bassey, Zandra Rhodes, Julian Macdonald and Cilla Black.
She is currently the etiquette and behaviour teacher for the ITV series From Ladette to Lady and has been interview or commented on the Royal Wedding for tv stations around the world including CBS, NBC in the States.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brewers-Ultimate-Guide-Planning-Etiquette/dp/0956803806

Hot Brands Cool Places Verdict
We loved the way this book is structured and if ever you are thinking of writing a book, the Party Tree that Liz has included is inspired! The detail on the tree also reveals how very comprehensive this book is, it covers so many different aspects of planning a perfect party, but also the basics of etiquette.

This is a stylish and fascinating book, easy to read and full of personal anecdotes and photographs, and packed with helpful advice. If you want to create a memorable occasion start with buying this book! Highly Recommended!