5 Tips to Organize a Smart Outdoor Event

Summer is here and so is the time to relax under the warm sun with family and friends. Every year, I make it a point to take some time out from my busy schedule to arrange a wonderful outdoor event with plenty of food and free flowing beer. This year too, I have planned to host a gala poolside party for my friends. However, for all those who are first timers in organizing an outdoor event, let's have a look at the top tips to make your parties a grand success.

Select a Venue

Outdoor events should be organized in areas that provide sufficient recreational opportunities. For example, there should be a playground for the kids, a pond or a stream where you can indulge in some natural swimming, etc. However, the biggest challenge to hosting an event outside can be unfriendly weather conditions that may spoil practically everything. The best alternatives to open-air parties are arranging them on midsized yachts, outdoor amphitheaters or by erecting tents. If these are not possible, choose a location which may have some sort of natural shelter nearby for your guests to run to in case it rains.

Proper Communication

Outdoor weddings or birthday parties or similar events such as these should not be arranged in an area that is far away from the locality. Guests who do not have private transportation of their own will be hassled just trying to reach the location on time. Moreover, ensure the venue has a spacious parking area, for those who do choose to drive their way to the location. Thus, you should look into these matters to offer a tension-free, comfortable experience to the guests.

Choose a Theme and Decoration

The theme should go hand in hand with the image of the event. For example, if you are planning a wedding, then you can combine rich textured patterns with colorful flowers to make the area look chic and glamorous. For a pool party like the one I host every year, you can decorate the area with some real sea shells and use bright colored table cloths.

Lighting

I have decided to use hanging strings of lights around the pool to give a special effect to the setting and decor. Nevertheless, you can use some more lighting concepts such as hanging lanterns if you have planned a garden party. You can also set out colorful candles on the tables provided the region doesn't face strong winds that will blow them out.

Looking after the Comfort of your Guests

No one likes to sit on bare ground. It is therefore better to opt for modular sitting arrangements which is quite trendy plus is space-saving. Sanitation is one of the crucial elements to keep an eye on. The wedding or party area should have well-cleaned and hygienic restroom facilities with fresh towels, hand wash and tissue papers. You must not forget to keep one or more generators in case the power goes off during the event.

A Biltmore Wedding: Remember To Consider A Local Wedding or Event Planner To Maximize Your Budget

This time of year many new brides are considering where to have their dream wedding. One of the most popular wedding sites in the Southeast is the Biltmore Estate in Asheville North Carolina. While the estate itself is a wonderful venue, there are a great many choices of locations for the wedding and activities for your guests.

One thing that many brides don't consider until the last minute is guest activities. Your guests most likely will be traveling to attend your wedding. Planning some excursions and activities will make the trip even more memorable. Here are some options:

Outdoor Activities. The Biltmore Estate and Asheville area have a great selection of outdoor activities for your guests including bike rides and tours along estate trails, horseback riding, river float trips and carriage rides. For those who want an off-road driving adventure there is also the Land Rover Experience Driving School where, regardless of your skill level, you can drive the latest Land Rover vehicles on an off-road course.

Wine Tasting. Biltmore Estate has its own award-winning winery and wine tasting is a popular thing to do while at the Estate. Your guests will enjoy the guided tour of the Winery at Antler Hill Village. Originally a barn, this is one of the most popular 'to do' items on guests attending a wedding at Biltmore House.

Guided Tours. There are a number of guided tours available to those coming to Biltmore Estate such as:

Audio Guided Tour of Biltmore House. This tour allows guests to tour the house at their own pace with a digital audio guide that discusses many aspects of the main house.

Rooftop Tour. The rooftop tour takes guests to unrestored areas of the house as well as showcases unbelievable and vast views from the top of Biltmore House.

Behind-The-Scenes Tour. Your guests will learn the many facets of 'running' the largest single home in America including it's technologies, the Butler's Pantry and the roof that overlooks Winter Garden.

While the choices are many, any bride considering having a Biltmore wedding should consider using one of the local, Asheville-based, Biltmore and Asheville wedding planners. These professionals are expert at helping you maximize your budget while providing you a wonderful wedding complete with giving your guests an experience they will remember for a lifetime.

They have a proven list of various vendors including caterers, florists, musicians, photographers and other suppliers that are key to making your wedding the best that it can be.

Special Events Fundraising - Estimate Bigger Budget, Smaller Income When Planning

Special events are a great way to raise money. And a great way to lose money, too. So if you lack experience planning and hosting special events, or if your non-profit organization does not have a particularly high profile in your community, you should plan on your budget being big and your income being small. In other words, you should overestimate your costs and underestimate your income.

Special events are notorious for going over budget. Things get overlooked in the planning. Fees, taxes, service charges and other hidden expenses must be paid that were not accounted for. And then there is the simple, sheer cost of putting on the event: printing, postage, hall rental, lighting, sound, catering and more. Budget for more than you'll spend and you'll stay out of trouble.

If your special event is new, if it has never been tested to see how effective it is at raising net income, you should be conservative when predicting your income. You are excited about your event. And so are your volunteers. But will your guests and participants be just as excited? And if they are, will their excitement show up on your bottom line? In other words, will your motivated and passionate guests show their appreciation with their wallets?

Most special events that are repeated year after year take many years to prove themselves. You need many years of publicity, participation and word-of-mouth advertising before your event will attract the donors (and their donations) needed to raise a significant portion of your annual gift income. You also need to host the same event many times before you learn how to reduce your costs without reducing your income.

Regardless of how much you raise, special events create awareness of your organization and your cause, and they give you an opportunity to recognize your donors and volunteers and show appreciation. They do all these things even if you lose money. But if your goal is to raise money and not just raise awareness, then pessimisms is the way to go. Overestimate your expenses, and underestimate your income, and you can't go wrong.

Corporate Entertainment

The image of corporate entertainment has been damaged in the last couple of years. Reports of Government subsidised banks having expensive events entertaining clients, sticks in the throat for many people who have lost their jobs, or who are struggling to pay their mortgage. Hospitality tents at Wimbledon; half empty, but paid for in full, also annoy many people.

Yet in all cases, the banks booked and paid for the events before the financial crisis AND corporate entertainment is part of the process of developing relationships in business. Many businesses: particularly City companies are concerned about visibly entertaining clients given the current economic situation. They cannot be seen to be having 'jollies' even if they are entertaining existing and prospective clients. Of course, this has had an impact on the Events, Conference, Hospitality and Entertainment sector.

Simon Speller from Hillier Hopkins LLP Accountants said that the Event sector is a very good indicator of economic stability. Clients of his in this sector began to be hit at the beginning of 2008: before other sectors were affected, but, he optimistically said that his clients are now seeing increased activity in the latest quarter: suggesting that there is economic growth - or optimism.

Before the Credit Crunch, large or even limitless budgets were available for corporate entertainment, and lavish affairs were organised with no expense spared. Prices were high, and it was not unheard of for Event Companies to have huge mark ups on their suppliers prices, which they passed on to their clients. Now, however, the trend is for limited budgets and for fees to be negotiated and some entertaining to be cut.

One of our clients mentioned that they were no longer organising their regular hospitality events for all of their clients; instead of taking 100 clients for a corporate day at Twickenham, including watching an International; they were now taking 10 high earning clients to see the match and a curry: cutting the cost from 瞿700 per person to 瞿70. They were also going through their database; inviting people to fewer events and saving the best invitations to their highest earners only.

Another client, who works for a major supermarket that made record profits last year, said that all of the Christmas Office parties were cancelled last year as a cost cutting exercise. Normally her department of 20 would have had a budget of 瞿40,000, yet the company were reluctant to even organise an in house drinks party. Of course cancelling office parties impacts on staff morale and is not always the most effective cost saving measure!

So why do organisations entertain? Is it for fun, or to make them look good? Is it to show off or to reward their staff? There is a little of all these factors when organisations entertain, but it is generally for business purposes. Providing employees with a fantastic away day experience or Office Party is a good reward for loyalty and hard work - hence the demoralisation when these are cancelled. However, first and foremost it is to establish and maintain relationships with clients.

If you arrange to meet a high earning client in McDonalds for a coffee, it says little about how you value the client and their business to you, but if you take care with the venue you choose to meet for coffee: that it is private and quiet to have the opportunity to discuss business in a professional way - it says so much about how you value the business relationship. Likewise, a restaurant where the service and ambience is not good (even if it is expensive) will do little for the business relationship that a lovely family owned restaurant where the chef and front of house really care about their customers.

It is no longer necessary to lavishly entertain clients with high budget events. If you have a limited budget, it is fine to have an in house drinks party, but ensure you have arranged the finer details - such as a cloakroom for coats; clean glasses (yes: that isn't always the case with hired glasses!) and a few canap矇s: and organising who is going to serve the drinks and canap矇s.

We have offered clients who are organising in house events a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) entertainer. The fee comes from their CSR fund, and the entertainer is a 'busker' who plays background music, and guests put money into his hat, raising money for a charity. The benefits are that there is a fundraising element to the event and the entertainment is paid from the CSR fund rather than from the budget, and the quality of the event is enhanced by live music.

If you are arranging entertainment at another venue, see what the venue events team offer with the package; for example, is entertainment included in the package; are they able to offer discounted accommodation? Is there an option for a cash bar? What is the difference in price between a buffet and served meal?

When adding the 'entertainment' element to an evening, here are my top tips for the perfect icing on the cake.

• We would always recommend going to a respected agency: someone you can talk to, rather than an internet based company. Friends of friends are not always reliable!

• A musician playing background music during the drinks reception and/or meal lifts the quality level of an event. A CSR funded musician adds value to the event, although this isn't always necessary. A harpist, string quartet, saxophonist, guitarist or pianist work very well in this situation.

• After a dinner, it is always good to have entertainment, to finish off the evening and enabling guests to leave happy. We have found Singing Waiters; Surprise Singing Guests and our Flamenco Guitarists and dancers particularly popular.

• After dinner speakers are a successful choice, although we recommend you are very specific in the contract as to what you would like them to speak about, and give them enough information about the expected guests, to ensure they tailor the speech for the audience.

• Stand up comedians are fun; however, many have material that might not be suitable for mixed audiences or specific groups. Personally I would avoid this option unless you are very confident of the comedian and know your audience well. Some events have been ruined by the choice of comedian.

• A singing act, such as our Romantic Tenor who sings Operatic Arias and Andrea Boccelli songs is very popular. As a rule, Tribute soloists and bands do not impress valued clients, so search for a good quality singer who will add value to your event. Make sure he or she has not set the sound levels too high, and if necessary, manage the sound checks to set the volume lower and request adjustments in the evening. A great evening has been spoilt by the entertainment being too loud - so manage the artiste!

• Get as much advice and help from the venue as possible. They are experts at their venue and might have some great ideas.

Corporate entertainment is an invaluable way of developing business relationships. At this time when people are cutting back, it is an ideal time to increase client hospitality to stand out from the crowd. Good entertainment is not about spending huge amounts of money, but taking care with the details, so that your clients have a positive experience and you, as a company, present yourself well. Good luck!

How to Host a Corporate Meeting That Everyone Wants to Attend

Employers will do just about anything to motivate their staff to attend meetings and pay attention. Why not host a corporate event for your next meeting? The combination of venue and food will be sure to motivate your employees to not only come but pay attention to what is being presented! Corporate events are incredibly easy to host and are even gaining in popularity!

Food is one of the best known ways to draw a crowd. Deciding on a menu that will fit various tastes and still please everyone is sometimes a challenge but it certainly isn't impossible! One key to creating a menu that is good for everyone is to have a number of options. Offering a meat dish, a type of fish and a vegetarian dish will cover the bases for those who have certain aversions and will lessen the possibility of anyone feeling as though they cannot eat anything. Try to be aware of any serious food allergies as well and be sure that those individuals are supplied with a dish that will not make them ill.

Also, do not choose a menu that is too unfamiliar to your guests. Try and keep it simple so everyone can enjoy the beautiful--and expensive--meal. This of course does not mean you need to serve macaroni and cheese. Simply try to avoid tastes that are more than likely acquired tastes. For example, if serving a type of jambalaya or Cajun dish, be sure that it is spicy but not too spicy as many people have low tolerances for spice and could be made uncomfortable. This somewhat challenging decision is made easier by your locale. If in Texas, steak will most definitely be a bigger hit than sushi. If you are in Spokane, seafood could be a bit more popular.

This may sound like a lot to juggle, however after making the initial menu decisions, trusting your caterer to adjust for someone's allergies and/or dietary constraints is perfectly adequate. A good caterer will be able to work within dietary guidelines with next to no trouble if he/she is made aware of a situation beforehand. Be very selective with choosing a caterer. The quality and flexibility of the menu will more than likely be determined by your budget. Check with your event venue to see if they can recommend anyone in the area that will be able to fulfill all of your expectations.

Always remember you won't be able to please every single person in attendance. The important thing is to have enough options that a majority of your employees will enjoy the food and pay attention to whatever information you need to pass on to them during this meeting. If they are happy with the menu, they will listen to the presentation. If they are unhappy, it will detract from their overall focus.

Great New York Venues For Fundraisers

If you're planning a fundraiser in New York, looking for the perfect venue can be more work than planning the party itself. Raising money is of course no easy task but it certainly helps to have the perfect location and atmosphere to have people breaking out their checkbooks while not breaking the bank. Fortunately New York has some incredible venues that offer just the ambiance you're looking for regardless of the cause. The following should give some insight into the type of event you can hope to hold and make all your financing dreams come true.

OpenHouse prides itself on being what they describe as "an experimental marketing location." The great thing about this retail space turned private event rental is its ability to showcase products. The open space can be utilized for clothing racks, sculpture or novelties like makeovers etc. A great idea for any fundraiser is to showcase art on the walls. This will encourage the artist's friends and relatives to attend and sell additional tickets. The space is 4,500 square feet and has a 300 person capacity. It's equipped with 5 skylights and a staging area. This is an absolutely perfect place to hold a product launch, arts fundraiser and the like.

The Frying Pan is a wonderful and scenic location for a fundraiser. This historic boat is forever docked in Chelsea and hosts all kinds of public and private events. This is a wonderfully unique experience and a large venue complete with a full service bar, DJ booth and kitchen. If you're searching for a rustic maritime theme, you certainly can't beat this.

If a rooftop were more the ambiance you're looking for then Midtown Loft and Terrace would be a dream. This place hosts everything from weddings to fundraisers and fashion shows. Its gorgeous cityscape backdrop will make for some excellent event photos. It's also in a fantastic and convenient location in the heart of the city.

The Guggenheim is not only one of the best museums in the city but a wonderful place to hold a private event. It's futuristic scenery and space age looking mod d矇cor certainly gives a fundraiser a unique and powerful edge. The Wright, which is the restaurant/event space just recently won the coveted James Beard award. The space is 1600 square feet and its architecture is certainly an art piece in itself.

If your event includes a film screening or performance you may want to consider The Helen Mills Event Space and Theatre. They offer all inclusive event packages and a 140 seat theatre onsite (which is rented separately). The sprawling bar and convenient location definitely will create the perfect atmosphere for a gorgeous New York City party.

It's certainly not an easy feat to plan and organize a fundraiser that will not only meet your goals financially but your standards in terms of venue and service. New York has some incredible options to accommodate all your needs and impress your guests. Regardless of the fundraiser it's important to choose your space wisely and make sure all of your contributors consider their donations well spent!

Corporate Team-Building Event Trends For 2009

Corporate Team Building Event Planning

Team Building Events consists of several event types such as Meetings, Product Launches, Tradeshows, Conventions, and Reward & Recognition Events. Along with the various corporate event types there are key components to all event planning elements. Here are a few things to consider:

·         When establishing the team building meeting agenda for a conference, event and meeting,  planners need to use the opening general session to have leaders reinforce the objective, recognition and key messages of the program.

·         Incorporate event elements that spark and engage the Five Senses - Taste, Sight, Smell, Touch, and Sound

·         It is important to incorporate corporate entertainment into the convention agenda - - this helps break up formal presentations.

·         Try to incorporate a Trade Show or mini Exhibition Hall into your Corporate Event or Convention. This can help networking for industry professionals and current and potential sponsors to mete and network. In some cases an Expo can help provide revenue for operating for the company organizers.

·         Creating fundraising events can maximize fundraising value if incorporated an element of an annual conference or convention

·         Finally Corporate Events should incorporate a closing evening reception. By adding this event element you allow attendees a chance to network and discuss the event.

2009 will be the Year for TEAMS to GO GREEN

An Grean Team Event is an event that takes into consideration the environmental impacts of the occasion as well as the social effects and bringing associates together for a common cause at the same time.  This includes everything from transportation, marketing material, to catering and travel. Eco-friendly Events helps differentiate a company from the others. It shows your commitment to the improvement of our environment and will make your organization stand out as a leader in your industry.

In order to achieve a Green Event, events should be organized electronically, minimize carbon emissions for travelling key guest speakers, delegates and executives. The goal is to save energy, practice recycling, and adopt environmentally-thoughtful measures wherever practical and possible.

 Some of the design basics for Green Events are as follows:

"Don't Rip it.....Click it"

Provide Online Registration for your guest instead of paper invites and RSVP's - online registration management systems can be totally paperless, preserving our trees and minimizing paper waste. Guest, key speakers, and organizers can receive all communications electronically, from venue location, to directions and maps, to all joining instructions.

"Keep the Scene Green"

Green Decor - For Décor, use rental items to reduce waste and L.E.D. lighting will help reduce energy.  Design arrangements will be more commonly taller and grander, due to the economic challenges people tend to stray away from conforming to the obstacles faced. If a company is going to invest in an event they will ensure they get the best for the dollar. Taller arrangements set a sense of elegance and grandeur. You should also consider utilizing a florist that offers the following:

·         Fair Trade Flowers

·         Organic and Edible Blooms from Eco-conscious Growers

·         Recycled containers

·         Incorporating elements such as fruit and herbs to your centerpieces (Organic Botanicals)

Green Corporate Transportation - With today's Automotive Companies taking a conscious approach to preserving our environment and producing a large number of fuel efficient Hybrid vehicles, there is a large number of luxury hybrid vehicles available for all corporate events.

Corporate Team Gift Bags - The key to a successful Corporate Team Building Event is creating a lasting impression of your company's brand and  associates, and what better way to achieve that but through offering corporate giveaways with your company's brand logo. There are many promotional Eco-friendly gifts that will incorporate a company's logo and still maintain the quality of a non-eco friendly item. These promotional items are made of recycled, bio-degradable, and/or energy efficient products.

Here are some examples:

·         Bamboo USB Drive

·         Solar Powered Garden Lights - These lights include a place for a company logo to be imprinted

·         Recycled Tote Bag

·         Water Power Desk Clock - No batteries required. The user just fills up the holding tank with a small amount of water

·         Note pad and pen made of recycled paper

·         Pen Caddy - A desk item that is not only eco friendly but stylish. It is made of bamboo with a zebra stripe design. The company made a whole line of coordinating desk accessories

·         Bamboo T-Shirt - This is just a sample of the apparel available out of bamboo. Company logos can be done with tradition silk screening or embroidery.