Party Planner to the Stars Reveals All!
Celeb event planner Larry Scott tells what it’s like to create one-of-a-kind shindigs for the rich and famous
When NYC Housewife Dorinda Medley decided to throw castmate Ramona Singer a surprise 60th birthday bash, she knew just who to call: celebrity party planner Larry Scott. “That crowd has been to a lot of my events,” Larry tells In Touch. “That’s why they wanted me.” No expense was spared for the affair: waiters donning Swarovski crystal masks served the 200-plus guests one-of-a-kind desserts, including Dunkin’ Donut cake pops, oversize Yodels and chocolate-covered Twinkies at a swanky NYC venue. “Dorinda said she wanted to go over-the-top,” he’s said of the event, “so that’s what we did.”
He’s used to going above and beyond for his star clients. For Drew Barrymore’s Hamptons Magazine bash last May, the Long Island native, 57, had bottles of her perfume placed in floral centerpieces (“You nailed it,” she gushed of the “Bohemian-flavored” event, according to Larry). And at his close pal Judge Judy’s grandson’s wedding, he handpainted the floors (“Special touches make things unique,” Larry says) and presented a five-tiered wedding cake complete with sugared calla lilies. He’s also thrown soirees for the Hadids, fashion’s elite, including Donna Karan, John Varvatos and Vera Wang, an A-list pop star (whom he declines to name) and politicians like Bill Clinton, Mitt Romney and even Donald Trump. “Just because they’re celebrities doesn’t mean they’re all idiots or they’re all great,” he says. “They’re just people.”
They can be demanding. “Some have overinflated egos,” Larry told In Touch over lunch at NYC’S Il Gattopardo. Though he won’t name names, he has a particular distaste for some “big-time celebrities” who show up late to parties where they’re performing for charities, and getting paid for it. “It’s just rude,” he says. Another pet peeve? He and the close-knit staff at Lawrence Scott Events (the unmarried New Yorker considers his 14 staffers his “children”), who handle every detail from the food to the decor to the entertainment and throw up to 125 parties a year, some with a budget of $500,000, have seen celebrities and their entourages request certain foods “and never touch them.”
Larry’s “all-time favorite, numberone celebrity, like, beyond,” is Judge Judy. She first hired him to plan an elegant Thanksgiving dinner, and
they’ve been friends ever since. “The best thing Judy does is come to meet the staff at events first. She thanks everyone. She’s kind.” His dream client would be Lady Gaga. “I want to do Lady Gaga’s wedding because what she does in her creative field, I do in mine. I am the Karl Lagerfeld of my business,” he says, adding that he wouldn’t necessarily produce a wild, wacky celebration for the eccentric music star. “Some-
times if people eat caviar every day, they like to eat that cheeseburger. So she might want something low-key because her life is so on a stage.”
Earlier this summer, he produced an event featuring Pitbull. But Larry says he knows when it’s time to squeeze in R&R. “At the end of the day, I’m not chasing money,” he says. “I just want to work with great people, do great parties and be happy.”
— Reporting by Diana Cooper