Hosting a successful event is as much about creating a great “atmosphere” as it is about promoting and planning. If you want to leave a lasting impression on your guests, and host an event that really dazzles, this brief guide should help to get you started:
Choose Quality Contractors and Ask the Right Questions
As the event manager, you should choose quality suppliers and stay in constant contact with them. It doesn’t matter if it’s lighting, catering or sound and vision, any reputable company that’s used to working at events will be more than willing to help you with any concerns you may have. These guys are professionals, so pick their brains as often as you need to.
Get the Location Right
Location is probably the most important part of a great event atmosphere. You need to make sure the venue suits the place you’re hosting it in: An awards ceremony is radically different to a rock concert, and the two will require very different ambiences if they’re going to give out the right atmosphere. In addition, you’ll need to make sure that transport access is easy, and parking is ample.
Use Lighting to Change the Mood
Lighting will go a long way to improving the atmosphere of your venue of choice. Using colour filters, LED spotlights and even video projection, a decent AV company will be able to transform a mundane room into a really dramatic place to host an event. You’ll need to liaise directly with the lighting company, and let them guide you towards the result your trying to achieve.
Use Music to Create the Right Atmosphere
Along with the lighting, music can have a huge impact on the mood of an event. Choose the DJ or bands wisely, as they can really cheapen the event if they don’t mesh well with the rest of your stylistic choices. If you’re booking a band, ask to be allowed to view them at another event as a guest before you agree to anything final.
Make the Right Food and Drink Decisions
Food and drink requirements are probably the largest potential drains on your event budget. There’s a host of ways to mitigate the costs of food and drinks, but just remember that style trumps portion sizes when it comes to catering. In addition to choosing the correct catering team for your event, you’ll need to consider the logistics to make sure everything runs smoothly.
Ice Cold Trailers, mobile refrigeration specialists agree: “Many venues just don’t have the facilities to cope with large scale catering requirements. If you have lots of guests, you’ll need to get the infrastructure in place to cope”.
Always Thank Your Guests
If you’ve taken the time to create the perfect atmosphere at your event, don’t leave out the farewells. This is a great opportunity to leave a lasting impression with business details written on postcards, as well as thoughtful goodie bags or small present. It doesn’t have to be flamboyant, and even a simple “thank you” message goes a long way.
So there you have it. A brief guide to making sure your event has the perfect atmosphere to create a lasting impression. With a little effort and planning it’s possible to create a stunning spectacle without breaking the bank.
By Harry Price
Harry Price is a personal trainer and successful young entrepreneur. He enjoys fishing, wakeboarding and playing football with his mates on the weekend.
