Simon Thewlis of Event Pty Ltd is back with his second instalment about why the event organisation process is the same whether the guest list consists of 50 or 50,000 people…
Tip 4: Furniture doesn’t need to match
We often default to chairs and tables all being the same. But this doesn’t have to be the case.
With one event, we had:
- Lower-backed banquettes defining the sides of the event area
- White-clothed 900mm round tables (to keep it quite intimate) and rattan-style chairs opposite
- Stylised modern black chairs around 900mm round marble topped tables in the middle of the space.
This combination created a much more interesting look – and offered different types of seating.
Tip 5: Have more chairs than guests
Traditionally you would make sure you had the exact number of seats and guests to avoid empty chairs. with this event, there was no allocated seating. We wanted guests to find it easy to sit where and with whom they wanted. And to be able to easily move around during the night to chat.
We had 46 chairs and 40 guests. Some sat as threes or fours; others in larger groups. And they did move around a lot throughout the night (the banquettes were particularly helpful for this as extra people could easily join for a chat).
Tip 6: How to decide between plated food and buffet
A plated dinner:
- Involves a high level of service
- Can mean everyone is ‘stuck’ at their table a lot of the time
- Can be restrictive (with many memories of ‘chicken or beef’…).
A buffet:
- Gives more flexibility and choice
- Can mean a lot of time spent queuing
- Can result in a disjoined and less special vibe.
While this was a formal occasion, the client wanted the event to be very comfortable and enjoyable for the guests.
So, we used the best of both:
- When people arrived, three-tiered seafood towers were already on the tables. This meant they could eat as soon as they were seated. (Remarkably, we had just three dietary requirements and none relating to seafood).
- After a good amount of time, the wait staff suggested to a table or two at a time that they go and help themselves at the buffet, which was located back inside.
- Small groups went to the buffet in a fairly organic way. They got what they wanted and came back to their table to eat.
- While they were at the buffet, the wait staff removed the seafood tower so there was more table space.
This worked very well. Guests spent time at their table getting established and having something to eat. Then they got access to the buffet without having a long wait. They could choose to eat what they really wanted as there was a great choice. And some went to sit with others as they ate their desserts.
Tune in for part three next week…
