Claire Hecht Miller was anxious. She was out running last-minute errands before hosting her first major party in her recently renovated home for 55 guests. “When I came through the door and saw the job that Jake Boone had done on the flowers and the table settings, I relaxed,” she says. “I knew I was in good hands.”
The idea for the party had been hatched months before, when she and her husband, Lee, had seen the Brasil Guitar Duo playing at a small club in Rockport, Mass., during a summer holiday. Taken by the duo’s talent, Lee went online and discovered they’d be in Maryland for another performance in November, and the idea of having a party with a musical performance by the pair was born.
Invitations with a black lace detail were mailed, Ridgewell’s was hired to provide catering and Jake Boone was brought in to design the flowers, tables and centerpieces.
Guests enjoyed butlered hors d’oeuvres and champagne upon entering the home, then were seated for the classical musical performance. Afterward, they adjourned to tables for the seated buffet dinner, which included peppercorn-crusted beef tenderloin, crab cakes, grilled vegetables, three-cheese potatoes and a red treviso salad with compressed Asian pear. Sauterne was served with dessert.
“Throwing a party is like putting on a little production,” says the hostess. “But once the planning was done and it was under way, I just relaxed and enjoyed myself.”
