How To Pick The Right Entertainment
Welcome to our final blog on awesome event planning - how to pick the right entertainment for your event!
The make or break of an event can be nothing to do with the planning, food or venue, but down to picking the right entertainment. But what is the right entertainment??
Many events have such a mixed crowd attending, and it can seem quite overwhelming to try and find something that everyone will enjoy.
We recently put out a survey asking about people’s experiences of entertainment at events they’d attended, and responses showed that entertainment really does affect a guest’s overall experience of an event.
And we at Event Flair want to help you get this right! So let’s get started.
I have seen events where people have spent literally thousands of dollars on tiny little ornaments on tables, for their guests to not even notice them at all. Which brings me to my number one rule on theming and entertainment - go big or go home. When theming a space, concentrate on the big things. Big statues, drapery, and especially lighting - this can absolutely transform a space.
If you had to concentrate on one area of your venue, I would definitely recommend your entry way, because first impressions are absolutely crucial. I've been at the door at so many events, and have watched people time and time again looking around and making a decision about how they feel about an event and a venue before they even walk in the door - the entry way is more important than you may think!!
Which brings me onto the first type of event entertainment that you can have, which Event Flair calls “The Red Carpet Welcome”. This option is so simple, yet so, so effective. It can have guests smiling before they even walk in the door (which is exactly what you want), and it can work for almost any event.
Some examples:
Las Vegas showgirls dressed to the nines in bling, handing out some champagne and cocktails for a Las Vegas event
Fully painted living statues custom designed to a theme to welcome people at the door (this looks incredible and not something often done!)
For a Halloween event, someone dressed as the Grim Reaper at the door! We did this at a recent event and people absolutely loved it - our actor stood really still like a statue and frightened people out of their pants at the door!!!
The next type of event entertainment that an event can have is what Event Flair calls “The Main Attraction”. If you're looking to break up an evening, or if you want to have a highlight to your event that is more than someone over a mic saying “thank you so much for coming, it is so lovely to have everyone at our event, blah blah blah........” (no one wants that) then this is a really good option for you. It can also be a really cool way to start an event well and end an event well, and also as a tool to break up a long evening of awards (because that can be quite hard for guests - even if they have won something!!)
Some examples of what we've done in the past:
trapeze artists hanging from the ceiling.
Fire poi and LED artists doing light shows (amazing for outdoor spaces, or if you are needing everyone to move into a breakout space outside)
3 dance performances – one at the start of the evening, one in the middle, one at the end – each time slightly different. Starting stylised, classic and traditional, right up to the last dance being upbeat and getting guests ready to get on the dancefloor themselves!!
Moving onto the next type of entertainment, which Event Flair call “The Mood Setter”. Every event calls for a specific feel, and it's important to get this right, as it can make or break an event. If you want your classic cocktail event to feel like James Bond should just walk in the door, or for your Mardi Gras event to feel like you've just got off a plane to New Orleans, then this is a really good option for you.
Some examples:
an acoustic duo at a lazy Sunday event at a local bar
themed backup dancers along with a DJ to get people up and dancing (really effective and works well!)
a jazz band at the start of an evening, and then going into covers that everyone wants to sing to and dance to
The last type of event entertainment that Event Flair offers is “The Bespoke”. This is where we let our imaginations run wild in a good way. The Bespoke is perfect for themed venues, for product launches, and particularly good for repeat events – it can be such a struggle to make a repeat event interesting, so here’s your answer!
A few examples:
Welcome staff in wearable art skirts and sugar skull make up for a Day of the Dead photoshoot
Body painted warrior lion teamed with a steam punk zebra
Themed makeup station (very popular!)
From all these options (the Red Carpet Welcome, The Main Event, The Mood Settor and the Bespoke), are you needing some help deciding which one is for you? We’re here. Our team at Event Flair would love to meet with you and help you plan entertainment for your event, and best of all - this service is free.
To book a consultation, just fill out the form here and we’ll make a time to catch up - we might even shout you a coffee!
That is us for awesome event planning! Some amazing tips and tricks are still on the way for our next blog, stay tuned!