Bronson van Wyck, surrounded by blooms fit for a Hamptons fête
Orchestrating the perfect beachside soirée—from concept to execution to finale—is a perfect fit for Bronson van Wyck, the party planner behind many of the Hamptons most lavish events. A rare mix of roll-up-your-sleeves work ethic and ease in the most glamorous of settings, he’s a self-confessed perfectionist who is so focused on the details he has spent hours doing research for events, tied handdyed fabric into cherry trees along a walkway, and reinforced a party floor with steel beams because of its extra-heavy foliage. And, once the parties begin, he seamlessly fits in, but he prefers to blend into the background while ensuring a flawless event.
The summer is one of his busiest times as he plans parties for the world’s bestknown influencers and tastemakers. He and his partners in Van Wyck & Van Wyck (his mother, Mary Lynn, and sister, Mimi) create lavish affairs for brands like Chanel, Hermès, Dom Pérignon, and Van Cleef & Arpels; political figures including President Obama and former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush; and fashion’s high society such as Vera Wang, Andrew Rosen, and the Boardmans. “There is incredible natural beauty that surrounds you,” he says about the Hamptons. “It’s the beauty that’s in the light. It’s the clean air. It’s the variation you have in the greens between a field that’s growing potatoes and a field that’s growing corn. It’s fantastic.”
Although not all his evenings are filled with client events, he’s never far from a social gathering. “My idea of a night off is to have a dinner party,” he admits. “I just love to entertain.”
Bronson didn’t set out to be a party planner, but it has been a natural progression from his prior jobs: working for Pamela Harriman at the US Embassy in Paris—where regularly holding elegant parties was de rigueur—and as a Hollywood set designer. Childhood summers were spent visiting family in Nassau Point and Fisher’s Island, yet he grew up planting corn and soybeans on the same working farm in Arkansas where his mother was raised. It was there—a two-hour drive from the nearest city—that his appreciation of great gatherings was born. “When people came to see us, we wanted to entertain them because they had come so far,” he says. “Now we bring that to our clients.”
