2021 Party Trends: Arabian Tent Company

We spoke to Katherine Hudson, Founder and Creative Director at Arabian Tent Company, one of our fabulous Marble Private suppliers. They’ve been looking ahead to summer 2021 and predicting the trends that will be influencing private parties, which we know will inspire some of our readers who are planning their future celebrations.

Sun on your skin, an ice-cold drink in your hand and sweet music in your ears… It is permissible to start fantasising about your summer party plans right now. In fact, if you are organising one, you can start planning right away – beginning of course, with the theme. Your theme will dictate your menu, music, cocktails and of course your décor.

A Festival-Themed Extravaganza

With the 50th Glastonbury Festival being cancelled this year, we can’t wait to see how we’ll make up for lost time at future events. It’s a perfect time to get stuck into a festival-themed party in earnest. Make sure you install a main stage and get the Marble Music team on board to help curate an epic roster of artists throughout the day. Create digital festival posters or flyers to send out as invites – with bands and DJs billed.

In terms of styling: hay bales, LED festoon, fire pits and huge installations will be what gives the party the ‘wow’ factor. To decorate, think bold colours. Bunting, parasols, tassel garlands, lanterns and LED trees. A disco ball or two in the trees or above the dancefloor is a must. Hire in a drinks supplier who will bring their own van, or set up some batch cocktails in kilner jars and a keg of local beer so guests can help themselves.

Top Tip: Two areas of music will add a festival dimension – even if it’s simply a main stage by day and a marquee for late-night dancing. Multiple chill out zones, nooks and cosy, beautifully lit places to relax will enchant your guests. Check out this Marble Private festival-themed party for inspo.

Where The Wild Things Are

A natural – that is biophilic – theme is highly effective and very achievable. Surround yourself with nature for a natural high. It’s been proven that including elements of nature in the design of our surroundings can have a hugely positive impact on our wellbeing, creativity, productivity, health and happiness. The closer we are to the natural world, the happier we feel. So adorn the interior and exterior of your marquee in greenery and foliage. Hire in a few high impact plants and trees if your location isn’t blessed in the tree department. Day beds draped in plants, vines, air plants and climbers will make beautiful nooks for your guests to congregate in.

Top Tip: Weave in rustic elements of earthiness: hessian, raw cotton, sheepskins and pallet furniture, knotted, waney-edged wood, sprays of foraged dried herbs and flowers, textures and materials that reflect the natural environment.

Sci-Fi Black Tie

Give your Sci-Fi theme a black tie twist. Think futuristic glam; a party where nothing is quite as it seems. Where Cantina Bar meets Groucho’s, and where swish and suave becomes slightly other-worldly. A lounge with LED bar and light-up dance floor where robotic techno hypnotises your guests. Encourage fancy dress. Mulder and Scully would fit right in – as would the Stranger Things cast and the Men In Black. Think silver décor and interesting, futuristic lamps on low tables. Flying saucers and dry ice. Project some weird images onto canvas walls and even trees to cast an alien landscape.

Top Tip: Serve a batch of drinks which glow in black light. (Tonic actually glows under UV…)

Neon and UV

This theme relies on excellent lighting. Install a neon centrepiece, preferably spelling out something cute, under which your party will glow and effervesce. This theme also relies on full involvement from your guests’ in their attire. Neon bright dancers will be a shining example as they twirl under the UV lights. Mirrors and lasers, white furniture and a light-up bar. EL wire is a staple of the biggest neon party on the planet: Burning Man. Look to the desert at night for inspiration.

Top Tip: You can now source biodegradable glow sticks! Using Marble Music services you can also enhance this theme through the power of music and entertainment. Check out this 50th party where we transitioned the celebration into night time using neon and clever lighting.

Arabian Nights

Transport your guests to an Arabian Palace. A plush and atmospheric haven filled with the scent of hookah pipes, where lanterns burn on tables draped in mirrored fabrics and velvet; a bohemian paradise where time loses all meaning. The Arabian interior is a bold and exotic red patchwork evoking the warmth of the Arabian desert. It was designed to feel as if you’re inside a giant mirror ball, with thousands of mirrors bouncing light from the ceilings and walls. Simply add plants, incense and music.

Top Tip: Allow Arabian Tent Company to transport you…

Photo by Marble Private and Arabian Tent Company, Words by The Arabian Tent Company