How I became a VIP party planner
On their big days, the stars turn to Mindy Weiss.
From her beginnings as a custom invitation designer to planning massive celebrity events and weddings, Mindy Weiss dominates the event planning space. Weiss’ magic touch has been seen on everything from Diana Ross’ 75th birthday celebration and the wedding of Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi to nuptials on ABC’s “The Bachelor” and the elaborate first birthday extravaganza Stormiworld for Travis Scott and Kylie Jenner’s daughter Stormi.
USA TODAY caught up with the sought-after event planner, author and lifestyle expert to talk about everything from working 40 hours in a single weekend to planning events for the Kardashian family.
Question: How did you get your start in the business?
Mindy Weiss: I designed custom invitations out of my garage at my home, and everybody would come to the house and I would do these creative, really offthe-charts, crazy invitations. I did that for probably about seven years until one of my clients said, “Could you just do the whole party?” I actually didn’t want to be an event planner because I did a lot of event planner invitations for their jobs, and often they were so cranky and miserable. I thought, I’ll never do that! I was asked to do a party, he wouldn’t take “no” for an answer, and I planned that one party. I need to say that I grew up in a home where my mother gave the most fantastic parties – she was insanely talented and she stepped out of the box – so it was kind of in my blood, and once I did that one party it became like a drug.
Q: What does a typical workday look like for you?
Weiss: I get up at 6 a.m., lay in bed until 7 a.m., then I get dressed and do pilates three to four times a week. I’m in my office at 9. Monday is a hard day because I’ve just come off the weekend of parties and people are very anxious on Mondays. Monday is a day of phone calls and catching up, and then I work until about 7 and then I rush over to my grandchildren to give them kisses and hopefully get to put them to bed. Then, I’m home by probably 8:30, and then I start all over again.
On the day of an event, we meet with the staff and have an early breakfast to review the whole thing or the whole weekend. We start at 8 a.m., and then I pretty much can only last until midnight, so the girls will stay until it ends. Sometimes they’re getting back home or in their hotel rooms at 6 a.m. It’s a long day, a long process – first ones there, last to leave.
Q: What does your creative process look like?
Weiss: Thank God for Pinterest, because it’s really helped in knowing what the client loves and doesn’t love. Sometimes they’ll come to me with 10 different looks, so it’s up to us to eliminate and then kind of focus into one look. Once we get that down, then we design around that. We do a set-up for a client where we have the flowers, the tables, we give them choices of dishes and all the tableware, and we try to show them as much as we can to give them an idea of what it will look like that day.
Q: What is your about your job?
Weiss: My favorite thing is being part of people’s memories. It is such a huge responsibility, and I’ve been honored to be included in their life memories.
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Q: What have been some of your career highlights?
Weiss: Diana Ross’s 75th birthday; parties for Beyoncé; and one of my most exciting is working for Oprah. Now, I have to tell you, working for the Kardashians – kindest family ever. They are so creative, and they push me to another level. Kanye (West) really makes you think – “Nope, bring it to the next level” – so I’ve learned so much from them, and Kris (Jenner) is everything. When I hear someone say anything negative about them, I just want to say, you have no idea. They are very special.
Q: What advice would you give to someone who wants to follow in your footsteps?
Weiss: A lot of people think this job is very luxurious, and that you get dressed up to go to parties every Saturday night, but this is a seven-days-a-week job. It is hard, it is pressure, you need to be patient, you need to want to work hard, and you need to be able to keep a lot of secrets. If you can get up on Monday morning and start all over again after you worked 40 hours on the weekend or more, then this job is for you.