POPSUGAR Australia: Congratulations on the book, it’s
beautiful and I’ve been reading it for the last few days.
Lauren Conrad: Thank you so much!
PS: Was Celebrate always going to be the next book for you,
or did your own wedding push the idea to front of mind?
LC: I had talked about it for a while, but I think I felt
more confident in being able to write the book after planning our wedding,
because I was into it and I felt like I learnt a lot and was in a position to
share those things.
PS: I like how the book is all about throwing an epic party,
yes, but also full of little life lessons about manners and kindness. Is kindness
a big driving force for you?
LC: I think so! I think treating each other well and
enjoying each other’s company is important. I’m a believer in kindness.
PS: You mention lots of memories you have around celebrating
with your family when you were younger. Do you get excited at the thought of
giving your children the same celebration-filled childhood?
LC: Of course, I think it’s so fun! That’s what so special
about throwing parties — the meaning behind them, and celebrating life
milestones. Whenever there’s an excuse to throw a party … [Laughs]!
PS: Are there any particular traditions you’re excited to
continue in your own family?
LC: Huh, that’s a good question! I don’t know, I don’t have
traditions when it comes to … unless it’s an actual holiday, like Christmas
or something. But when it comes to parties, I don’t have a lot of traditions.
You treat each one a little differently and cater it to whatever it is you’re
celebrating.
PS: What are your
most important tips for throwing a party or celebration?
LC: One is to have a plan. Every event is obviously
different, but just sitting back and making a list of to-dos — from invites to
guest lists to locations — sort of making a plan of how you’re going to do
everything so you’re not scrambling around at the last minute. I think it’s
important to put together a budget and make sure you’re realistic about your
planning when it comes to a budget. You don’t want to spend too much in one
area and have no money left for food [laughs]!
I also think it’s great to do something special, something
that people can take away — whether it’s adding a personal detail, and it
doesn’t have to be anything big, but even a sweet gift people can take away
from the party — because it’s great to do something memorable. One great tip is
to have an idea of what you want your event to look like, visually. Don’t be
afraid to pull inspiration from all over, because you want your event to look
consistent. There are so many things that go into a party, you want everything
to go with each other and complement each other.
PS: What three elements do you think are most important at a
party?
LC: The menu is very important — both food and drink. As
with everything else, it depends on what type of party you’re doing. If it’s a
cocktail party, it’s more alcohol heavy and you’re just doing light snacks. If
it’s a baby shower, there’s probably less food and more treats. And also
keeping the time of day in mind: if it’s around a meal, you ’re required to
feed your guests [laughs] otherwise you’ll have upset people. So I think the
menu is really important. I think music is very important at a party, it’s one
of those things that sets the mood. It’s not really thought about, but it’s not
difficult to do. If you take a little time to put together a playlist, I think
it is something that does affect your party. I think décor is very important —
it doesn’t have to be a lot, but decorating a party is what sets it apart.
Often people are entertaining in their homes, and you want to do something to
set that evening apart from any other evening in your home.
PS: I guess it’s what
you said in the book about making something an experience, rather than just
another event. How do you like to do that?
LC: I don’t think you have to go crazy. If I’m going to
really decorate a room, I think there are a lot of ways you can do it without
spending a tonne of money. One of my favourite things to do is fill a room with
balloons. It’s so dramatic! It’s fun and there are so many different shades, or
I’ll tie a beautiful ribbon from them — like a silk ribbon. When you do it, you
can get it all from the party store; it’s not that expensive but it’s so much
fun. I also always do flowers. I wrote about it in the book, but I like to go
down to the local flower mart and put together an arrangement. If you do it
yourself, you save a lot of money, you get exactly what you want and get to do
more flowers, which is really great — it’s a bit more dramatic. Another thing
that’s good to do is to keep the theme involved in all the elements of the
party. One of my friends is a baker, so anytime I have a party, I’ll send her
photos and we get creative with the dessert and it becomes part of the décor.
So it’s cool to carry your theme throughout.
PS: For you personally, what kind of events do you like
planning the most?
LC: I like throwing a party to celebrate a person, like a
big moment in their life. When you’re throwing a party for a friend, it’s so
fun to spoil someone in that way. Tie in their interests and things that they
love — I love celebrating people, like their birthdays.
PS: How did you find planning your wedding? Did you find it
stressful or were you quite calm about the whole thing?
LC: I … I feel like I was pretty calm [laughs]! I was
fortunate, because my wedding planner’s one of my dearest friends, so that
really made the process so much fun. I feel like I was really lucky in that
way. I think I was calm, I don’t know! [Laughs] You’d have to ask her.
PS: What’s your best advice for brides who are about to
start planning?
LC: The best thing to do is have a calendar — we included
one in the book. It’s so important. You really want to plan everything because
there’s so much to do. Everyone always says planning a wedding could be a
full-time job, and it really could be, but people don’t have that luxury. Give
yourself enough time, and really enjoy the process — I think that a lot of the
time people get so stressed in planning a wedding because there’s so much
riding on that one day. So I think it’s important to take a step back and
remember you’re celebrating a union, it’s about you and your future partner,
and you should really enjoy that.
PS: I guess it’s what you said in the book about making
something an experience, rather than just another event. How do you like to do
that?
LC: I don’t think you have to go crazy. If I’m going to
really decorate a room, I think there are a lot of ways you can do it without
spending a tonne of money. One of my favourite things to do is fill a room with
balloons. It’s so dramatic! It’s fun and there are so many different shades, or
I’ll tie a beautiful ribbon from them — like a silk ribbon. When you do it, you
can get it all from the party store; it’s not that expensive but it’s so much
fun. I also always do flowers. I wrote about it in the book, but I like to go
down to the local flower mart and put together an arrangement. If you do it
yourself, you save a lot of money, you get exactly what you want and get to do
more flowers, which is really great — it’s a bit more dramatic. Another thing
that’s good to do is to keep the theme involved in all the elements of the
party. One of my friends is a baker, so anytime I have a party, I’ll send her
photos and we get creative with the dessert and it becomes part of the décor.
So it’s cool to carry your theme throughout.
PS: For you personally, what kind of events do you like
planning the most?
LC: I like throwing a party to celebrate a person, like a
big moment in their life. When you’re throwing a party for a friend, it’s so
fun to spoil someone in that way. Tie in their interests and things that they
love — I love celebrating people, like their birthdays.
PS: How did you find planning your wedding? Did you find it
stressful or were you quite calm about the whole thing?
LC: I … I feel like I was pretty calm [laughs]! I was
fortunate, because my wedding planner’s one of my dearest friends, so that
really made the process so much fun. I feel like I was really lucky in that
way. I think I was calm, I don’t know! [Laughs] You’d have to ask her.
PS: We want to know
what your ultimate party would look like. So if you had only one option for
food, what would it be?
LC: Ooh OK, what am I celebrating?
PS: Let’s say it’s your next birthday party! One option for
food, and one for drinks.
LC: OK! Well, if I only had one option, I’d do dessert.
Ideally, everyone’s gone to dinner and I’d give them a spread of dessert.
PS: Do you have a favourite dessert?
LC: A favourite dessert?! Ooh. It’s so simple, but I really
love cake — good cake. Not cheap cake with overly-sweet frosting, just really
good, homemade cake.
PS: What drinks would you have?
LC: Oh, I don’t know … If I was going to do a big party,
I’d do a full bar. I’d do a signature cocktail maybe. And for me, if I’m going
to do a drink, I like to give it a fun name. People love a signature cocktail,
so I’m going to do that and it’d be something that can be done in a [jug] so
the bartender’s not making individual drinks. I’d do a margarita or something
along those lines, that you can make a large batch of.
PS: What’s your favourite kind of music to play at a party?
LC: You know, the last … Well, the exception is this
year because it was my 30th, so I ran away, went on vacation [laughs]. But
[speaks to husband William] how many times have we done our birthday? I think
it’s been three years, I think we’ve done every year? We usually do a band —
one of my husband’s best friends is in a band, so we hire them for the night.
It’s really fun.
PS: Which guests would be there?
LC: I mean, if it’s possible, I think the more the merrier!
It’s fun to celebrate with a big group. Not so big that you can’t enjoy
everyone’s company, but it’s so much fun to get everyone together, because
people don’t necessarily get to see each other all the time and socialise. So
the more the merrier.
PS: Do you have favourite flowers?
LC: I do! I’m trying to think … I have favourite
flowers, but again, it depends on the event. I’d probably do … I think
Spring is really festive, so I’d do brighter flowers. I’d mix in a bunch of
colourful ranunculus, some garden roses, I also really like sweet peas. I’ve
been into recently mixing traditional flowers with wildflowers, that’s really
beautiful. So a floral arrangement that feels like fun and fresh.
PS: Have you ever done a flower arranging course or did you
just teach yourself?
LC: I sort of taught myself. I’m sure I don’t do it
perfectly, but I have so much fun when I do it! You learn every time, and I
love going down to the flower mart, shopping around and trying new things. I
know the basic rules of arranging but sometimes doing things that aren’t
necessarily traditional are beautiful too, so you can have fun with it.