5 New Books on Entertaining and Event Design From Matthew Robbins, Amy Atlas, Tori Spelling, and More

Amy Atlas is the undisputed queen of creating impeccably styled dessert tables, and her new book, Sweet Designs (Hyperion, $27.99), out April 17, includes more than 100 recipes and 75 craft ideas to recreate for all types of social events. After covering baking basics, Atlas shares how she finds inspiration for her dessert tables from items like checkerboards and Chanel jackets.

“His broad range of inspired ideas and his ability to design and create a wide assortment of vignettes or entire themes for weddings and parties, from the humblest of materials to the most elaborate and lavish ingredients, never ceases to amaze and delight us,” writes Martha Stewart in her introduction to Matthew Robbins’ Inspired Weddings (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $35), the New York-based event designer’s first book. While the focus is weddings with brides as the target readers, there’s plenty of design inspiration to be found in the book’s nine chapters, each focused on a “found” object (a pitcher, a vintage tin, a map) around which Robbins designs tabletops and accompanying menu and decor ideas.

Tori Spelling, who took a stab at wedding planning while filming her Oxygen reality show sTORIbook Weddings, is sharing her tips for planning stylish at-home parties on a budget in her latest book, celebraTORI (Gallery Books, $25.99), not to mention showcasing her knack for coming up with puns that play off her first name. The 200-page book, available on April 3, will cover topics like themes, dessert tables, flower arrangements, and DIY recipes.

Former Barneys New York accessories manager Dawn Casale and her husband, David Crofton, opened One Girl Cookies, a charming bakery in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, in 2005. Since then, their cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and whoopie pies have developed a cult following (a second location opened in Dumbo in early February). The couple’s first book, One Girl Cookies (Clarkson Potter, $22.50), includes 70 of their favorite recipes, like pumpkin whoopie pies with maple spice filling and strawberry rhubarb pie. Known for their stylish gift and favor packaging, Casale and Crofton also include tips for wrapping custom presents.

Australian event planner Lena Malouf, a former international president of the International Special Events Society, recently released her latest book, Events Exposed (Wiley, $50). The first half, “All About Business,” covers the basics of owning an event business, including identifying potential clients, developing strategies and proposals, setting budgets, and effectively delegating tasks to team members—information that veteran industry professionals will likely already be familiar with but that aspiring planners will definitely find useful. The second half, “All About Design,” covers Malouf's tips for tabletop, ceiling, and wall decor, plus creative ways to bring themes to life.