Designing Life's Celebrations

A fresh guide to entertaining, with a focus on tabletop and floral design, from celebrity event designer DeJuan Stroud.

DeJuan Stroud is known for elegant weddings, celebrity events, and movie premieres, but his dream is to inspire and encourage everyone to bring flowers and beauty into their lives in an effortless way. In his first book, he presents seventeen at-home celebrations featuring spectacular tabletops, glorious centerpieces, and simple how-to floral projects. The party themes range widely from a Venetianinspired birthday dinner party with dramatic ribbon poles to Christmas in the country using fruits, spices, and herbs, but each one emphasizes the joy of celebrating life’s day-to-day occasions.

From conquering flower “stem fear” to learning how to map a table, Stroud demystifies the art of the tabletop, emphasizing above all his love for flowers, from the humble to the exotic. Readers will be inspired to create striking arrangements, set a beautiful table, and create decor for simple or grand occasions.

DeJuan Stroud grew up gardening with his parents and grandmother in Alabama. After a successful run on Wall Street, in 1996 he launched DeJuan Stroud, Inc. Twenty years later, he is one of the most successful event designers in New York City, with a client list that includes media giants Universal and HBO, celebrities Alicia Keys and Michael J. Fox, and notable New Yorkers such as Donald Trump and Michael Bloomberg.Jon Bon Jovi is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, philanthropist, and actor, best known as the founder and front man of the band Bon Jovi. He and his wife, Dorothea, have four children.