Tag Archives: best

Stay Within Your Event Budget

Posted on by

Large private parties like an anniversary or graduation party can cost thousands. If you plan a corporate event, the cost can go up exponentially. Planning a corporate event or another major event can be expensive.

As a party planner, it’s important to work with your clients to stay on budget while also planning the event of their dreams.

Before you can create a budget, you need to have a good idea of what things cost. You may be shocked to learn what caterers cost, or you may have had no idea that a photographer could cost so much. Call around to get a few estimates based on some standard details, or do an online search to get a ballpark for what others have paid in your area. Once you have that information, you can get a rough idea of what you might like to spend for each item on your party planning checklist.

Start by determining how much you can afford for your event. Create a couple of amounts: Set the amount you’d like to spend, and set the amount that you could spend if you stretched things a bit. By having a budget range, you will have some wiggle room for unexpected expenses. You’ll also give yourself some flexibility to indulge if you find a more expensive caterer that you love or you decide you want to spring for a nicer venue.

Break down your budget into categories for each item you will need for your event. For example, a typical event planning checklist for a wedding would include things like catering, venue, wedding cake, the officiant, flowers and wedding attire. Create a range for each budget item, ensuring that the total still falls within your overall budget range.

When you are shopping for party supplies, you might think their costs fall within your budget, but you might overlook the smaller costs than can push you over. For example, if you have £5,000 budgeted for catering and you find a caterer that gives you an estimate of £4,800, you might think you will be saving some money. However, after tax is added and you pay the tip, you could be well over your budget. Be sure to include these smaller expenses when calculating your budget.

Working within your budget also ensures that you stay on track and that you find ways to cut corners without sacrificing on quality.

Retirement Party Ideas

Posted on by

For almost everyone, music is the key to many wonderful past memories. And it’s one of the easiest ways to host some retirement home musical entertainment! Take your residents on a walk down memory lane with a musical group.

1.Barbershop Quartet
With perfect pitch and harmony, a barbershop quartet can dazzle any crowd! They generally have a large repertoire of tunes from years past and love singing for older crowds. If your guests have a request, most groups are happy to oblige. And get ready to see the ladies swoon!

2. Boogie Woogie Tribute
The Boogie Woogie is best known for those who lived through World War II. With lively patriotic songs, they entertained troops and kept their spirits up during a tough time in our history! Show your veteran retiree how much their service has meant with a Wartime tribute act. Songs like “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and “Pistol Packin’ Mama” will keep the crowd swaying to the beat!

3. Gospel Group
Depending on the religious diversity of your guest, a Gospel group may be a meaningful performance for them. As people are nearing the end of their lives, faith begins to play a bigger part. Booking a Gospel group guarantees a great show!

4. Crooner
Crooners were king in the ’40s and ’50s, with their smooth voices and sultry songs. Some of the best artists in history came out of this era, including Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Bing Crosby. Your residents are sure to feel some nostalgia with a performer like this! Whether you want an actual Rat Pack show or just a Frank Sinatra tribute, these performers love an older crowd that appreciates their act.

5.Beach Boys Tribute
Gaining popularity in the 1960’s, the Beach Boys launched a new type of musical sound with their “surf songs.” Their killer harmonies and clever lyrics helped them rise to the top of the music charts. Booking a Beach Boys tribute band is definitely one of our more energetic ideas for retirement home entertainment! If you want to see your residents groove to the music, you can’t go wrong with the Beach Boys.

Plan wisely

Posted on by

When you’re first deciding how to plan an event there are many things you need to do.
There’s an overwhelming amount of information and action to take – especially if you’re looking online.

Event planning is the process of budgeting, scheduling, choosing a venue for your event, coordinating permits and licenses, arranging entertainment including bands and speakers, and meeting with caterers to choose a menu. The term event planning is used when planning party and event venues.

Event Management is the process of overseeing and managing the entire event from start to finish, including the event team and/or volunteers. Typically, event managers have more experience than a planner and manage the entire project. The term event management is usually used when referring to large-scale events like festivals, conferences, or concerts.

Regardless of which title you choose to give yourself, there are 3 key qualities that an event planner must have to succeed.

Time Management – you must be able to coordinate multiple schedules at once, in order to be a successful event planner.

Resourcefulness – thinking quickly on your feet is critical to planning events – no matter what size – because even the best laid plans don’t always go as planned and you’ll need to know how to seamlessly fix issues without your client or the event guests knowing.

Budgeting – one of the most important skills to have as an event planner, yet often ignored because many of us like the creative side of event planning more than dealing with the bottom line. However, in order to be a successful event planner and make a profit, you must know your numbers. If budgeting scares you, sign up for a class at a local college to learn the basics.

Knowing how to schedule and organise correctly can make for a wiser selection, and have better organisation at your event.

Christening Entertainment

Posted on by

After the Christening ceremony many couples now opt for a family private party, complete with live music and children’s entertainers.

The christening or baptism of a baby or child stems from the Christian religious practices of immersing oneself in water to wash away sins (The Greek word ‘baptizo’ literally means to immerse, plunge, dip, or bury in water) and in later years the ceremony became associated with the taking of a name to symbolize new life. Adults may choose to be baptised later in life but whatever the age of the participant, the naming ceremony whether religious or otherwise is usually followed by a family celebration.

Make It Musical

Regardless of the size of your christening or naming-ceremony, musical accompaniment will both enhance the atmosphere and entertain your guests throughout the day.

Classical music such as string quartets, harpists and singers are popular choices for the ceremony, with jazz bands, swing bands & pianists proving good choices for the drinks reception afterwards.

If you will have a good number of children attending then it pays to hire entertainers to keep them occupied. Have a look on Red Masque’s Directory of Children’s entertainers, magicians and street entertainers. Also think about face paints & fancy dress costumes which are always a great way to keep them entertained.

Parties that stand out

Posted on by

How do you plan a Birthday Party that will really make an impression? How do you make it a special event that will stay in people’s memories for all the right reasons?

Birthday Party Entertainment Ideas

Birthday party fancy dress themes work really well, such as James Bond, Hawaiian, Phantom of the Opera, The Godfather, Alice in Wonderland, Hollywood Oscars Night or Wild West Theme.

It’s good to ensure there are plenty of attractions to keep guests talking and mingling so you could also consider casino tables which can tie in nicely with a James Bond theme, for example, and create a space for guests to meet, mix and break the ice. You could also hire some mix and mingle acts who will work the floor & get people talking.

For a rocking party, you could book a party band to play songs fitting to that theme or just a general rock and pop, ratpack / swing, soul or jive band to keep your guests dancing all evening long.

The tradition of holding a party to celebrate the anniversary of birth began centuries ago in Europe when it was feared that evil spirits sought out people on their birthdays. To protect them from harm, friends and family would gather around to bring good thoughts and wishes. Giving gifts brought even more good cheer to ward off evil spirits, and candles were placed on cakes to transport the birthday wishes directly to God.

Make A Party Great

Posted on by

When guests decide to get on the dance floor at a party, there’s a certain process involved of losing their inhibitions as they escape into the exciting world of music & lights. Memories and emotions can be ignited by the DJ’s choice of music and songs, often taking people back to their youth. What a great journey this can turn out to be if the DJ perfectly judges all the right tunes to play for your guests.

A good DJ should have a passion for all genres of music so that he can predict the response of people in the room when he plays certain classic songs from his collection. It is important for a DJ to read his crowd and he should instinctively know what kind of music will get people dancing. If you are providing a DJ with a playlist, it is advisable to allow the DJ some discretion to choose which tracks to play from your list and at what time to play them.

It is often surprising how late in the day, many people consider booking a DJ to provide their private party or entertainment despite how critical a great DJ is to the success of their event. This guide aims to help the first time booker understand what to look for when you hire a DJ, with tips and insights into how DJs work and what you need to do to get the best out of yours.

When guests share the dance floor it is similar to an audience laughing together at a comedian. Dancing helps people to unwind and relax and laughter relaxes muscles, boosts energy and triggers the release of feel-good chemicals. The feel good factor can also be promoted by the DJ if he plays positive uplifting music that is mainly found in songs written in the major keys.

It can be quite a challenge for a DJ to get guests dancing, especially early on at a corporate event where many of the guests might not know each other. Sometimes interaction over the microphone is required to help people feel more relaxed, and occasionally a little encouragement can be given to help create that essential party spirit.

There are a variety of different techniques which can be used and this is where DJ’s have varying styles and approaches. Some people like a DJ to be vocally interactive with their audience, whereas others prefer the more modern approach of minimal talking with the focus mainly on good music and taking requests.

Fail Proof Entertainment

Posted on by

If you choose a great event venue you won’t need to spend as much time dressing it up to look good. There are loads of interesting venues out there to suit a wide variety of styles and themes. Have a look at websites like www.venuefinder.com for venues in your area and visit before you hire. Remember that if guests are travelling from out of the area, it helps if the venue is easy to find. Consider how easy it is to find parking, and also how much accommodation is available near by.

Most people are happy to have a party DJ, but anyone who’s been to a party with a live band will tell you how much better the night was. We’ve even had brides tell us that the band ended up being the most crucial part of their whole wedding day, simply because they made the evening so unforgettable.

You need something to really get guests excited and live party bands do exactly that. They’re interactive, energetic and fun. Not everyone likes to dance, but with a great live band, performing the best classic and modern wedding party songs, even the most ardent anti-dancers will be rocking out, arm in arm, singing along on the dance floor with guests they only met a few hours ago.

It’s a small touch that really shows you care about welcoming your guests, and it ensures everyone feels positive as soon as they arrive. It’s your way to thank people for coming, and it gets people in the mood to party. In a practical sense, it also helps to alleviate the early queues at the bar, something which is sure to dampen spirits and cause frustration.

Some event venues will arrange for a member of staff to personally serve drinks as your guests arrive, or you can choose to have a selection of drinks available on tables near the entrance.

Stags and Hens

Posted on by

Nowadays it would be pretty unheard of to get married and not have a hen party or stag do in order to celebrate the final free moments before you tie the knot. Consequently we’ve heard of some pretty unusual hen party events along the way from perfume creation to go kart racing! But why is it called a hen party and why is it called a stag party? And where did these parties originate from?

A common misconception is that the terms ‘hen’ and ‘stag’ both originate from simple social stereotypes. In fact, it’s more likely that the word hen hasn’t always meant female chicken, in middle English, hen could mean the female of any bird and so a hen party was a party exclusively for ladies. Similarly, but going back even further, is the stag party, and you’ve guessed it, originally stag could mean the male of any animals, not just a male deer and so a stag party is one exclusively for gents.

So it turns out hen parties aren’t a creation of modern society and they actually go pretty far back. So where did the terms actually originate from? The tradition of the stag party, goes back even further certainly as far as tudor times. Just imagine how busy Henry VIII must have been with invites!

Numerous sources suggest that the very first stag party was actually held in the 5th century in Sparta, where a pre-marriage feast was held in order to toast the groom-to-be. On the other hand, hen celebrations have their roots more grounded in North African, Middle Eastern and Asian lifestyle. This is because the authentic phrase from which hens get together is believed to be henna, which is a wedding custom in all these cultures. Henna has significant importance in the East and is considered to have tendencies to be capable of purifying the bride and hold her risk-free from evil.

Here in the UK, we are somewhat on our own with our abstract names of hen and stag parties to see off the final moments of freedom. Australia is similar, but slight cultural differences mean that they call it hen party and buck party. Alternatively, America appears to be very vanilla in the naming of their pre-marital parties calling them a bachelorette party and a stag party respectively.

Whatever your background, there is no escaping the fact that marriage is possibly the most important decision of your life. So what better way to say goodbye to single life than to celebrate in style!

Where to have your party

Posted on by

When your corporate event or private party has come to a close, the food’s finished and it’s time to crack open another bottle of bubbly and get the party started. Unfortunately, it’s not always that easy. Get a function in a town hall and you might not have anywhere to set up a party band; have an event in a hotel and you might find your night winding to a rather quick close when the music is turned off at eleven to accommodate the other guests. Here are some venues below that would be perfect for an all night party..

Gibson Hall
For those of you who would love an outdoor reception, finding one in London can be tricky – unlike an isolated country venue in London you run into the risk of the surrounding neighbours putting in a noise complaint and getting the party shut down. Fortunately, Gibson Hall, a former bank transformed into a beautiful venue for hire, boasts a stunning courtyard garden and no noise restrictions – you can host a magical garden wedding beneath the stars without having to worry that you’re about to get told to ‘turn it down’.

Smiths of Smithfield

This venue is perfect right next to the City of London it’s conveniently located in the bustling hub of the city. The restaurant’s two private rooms can be opened out for larger parties and – most importantly – it is licenced for live music right up until 1am, so you can keep dancing as long as you’d like. The restaurant is even a short walk away from some amazing London clubs so, if you really aren’t ready to stop, you can head on over to keep the night going.

Southbank Centre
Ideal for any celebration – This world famous multi-art centre is known for its unparalleled festival programme, reaching 6.25 million people a year and featuring 5000 events by world-class artists.

The Level 5 Function Room is the largest of their events rooms; it comes with free Wifi, a fully integrated PA system and can be opened out onto a balcony for incredible views of the London skyline.

The room is accessible by lift – so you won’t have to worry about lugging heavy speakers up and down stairs – and comes with a variety of optional hired extras. These include: A sound technician to set up, two radio mics, a plug in and play system for background music. The room is licenced for entertainment until 2am, so the party doesn’t have to end.

Christmas Entertainment 2019

Posted on by

Are you looking book your office Christmas party this year? With dates already being booked up it pays to get in early – we thought we’d recommend a number of acts to hire for your corporate event!

Angela Jackson and Friends
What would a Christmas party be without any festive tunes? From Jingle Bells to I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day, Angela Jackson and Friends can belt out both carols and classic festive hits alike, so why look anywhere else for your Christmas tunes? Thinking that your staff or colleagues may well prefer a break from yet another outing for Merry Christmas Everybody by Slade? No problem, The Barbican Brass can also deliver a set that simply focuses on pop songs everybody enjoys. Something for everybody then! The true spirit of Christmas.

Duo Joys
A beautiful act and one that is very often the most popular piece of entertainment at parties where it features. The acrobats features two talented acrobats, the duo deliver a stunning performance that showcases their incredible flexibility, grace and strength. Sure to leave all entranced, this is a must see!

Human Statues
Appearing to all and sundry as normal Statue decoration, the Statues ‘jump’ out at guests as they arrive at your Christmas party and some of the photos are absolutely hysterical. One for those looking to focus on the fun of Christmas!

If you’re looking to book your office private party or corporate event entertainment and that job has fallen to you – do not fear, Red Masque has all the party entertainment you need.